Black restaurant worker beaten, enslaved for years, Charleston lawyers say

[EyeBRollin]

If he was a convicted felon who murdered another person, I would disagree.

You would be wrong. Even "murderers" (they are alleged at this point) deserve their day in court. Shows you don't give a damn about justice or the constitution.

 

[TheVirtualMind]

Sure.

Yes, the first one is a bad choice by the officer. The second one was perfectly fine. Guy is fighting and keeps trying to reach for a gun he was carrying.

 

[Trunks]

"
A pair of Charleston attorneys on Monday filed a federal lawsuit against an Horry County restaurant, accusing its white operators of beating a black employee and using racial slurs over several years of “slavery,” a statement said.

The civil suit in U.S. District Court lists 14 accusations against J&J Cafeteria in Conway, owner Ernest J. Edwards and manager Bobby Paul Edwards, who are brothers. It also names the restaurant’s registered corporation, Half Moon Foods Inc.

It covers a range of conduct, such as false imprisonment, discrimination and unfair labor practices, alleged to have occurred toward the end of Christopher Smith’s 23 years of working at the Conway restaurant.

Smith, who the attorneys described as mentally handicapped, was rescued last year after state social workers fielded a tip from someone concerned about his safety. Bobby Edwards, 50, of Lakeside Drive in Conway was arrested Nov. 19, 2014, on a charge of second-degree assault and battery. That criminal case was still pending Monday.

In the statement Monday, lawyers Mullins McLeod and David Aylor called Smith’s ordeal troubling and outrageous.

“This lawsuit cannot change the past,” Aylor added, “but hopefully it will bring about positive change in the future.”

A telephone message left Monday for the restaurant’s owner was not immediately returned.

Reviews of the business on Yelp.com included a mix of praise for its Southern fare and complaints about experiences with its staff members.

Smith worked from an early age at the restaurant and later lived in a nearby ****roach-infested apartment owned by the business, his attorneys said. They called the living conditions “subhuman.”

The physical and emotional abuse lasted from 2010 until his rescue on Oct. 10, 2014, the attorneys said. It started when Bobby Edwards started managing the place and continued after complaints to Ernest Edwards, they said.


Smith was forced to work 18-hour shifts six days a week and an 11-hour stint on Sundays, they said, and he wasn’t paid for much of it or allowed breaks. The attorneys estimated that Smith was paid about $2,842 yearly.

He was hit with a frying pan, burned with grease-covered tongs, and beaten with butcher knives, belt buckles and fists “while being called the N-word repeatedly,” the attorneys said. The assaults took place in places like a walk-in freezer as he screamed for his life, they said.

He was targeted, they said, because he is black.

After responding with Conway police to the tip, S.C. Department of Social Services representatives found scars on his back.

Smith later said, according to the suit, that he never came forward because he thought the attempt would result in more harm or his death.

Reach Andrew Knapp at (843) 937-5414


http://www.postandcourier.com/archi...cle_27d52c5d-bd9a-5c87-83fd-31ab7bcbaeec.html

That is disgusting.

 

[EyeBRollin]

1. I understand facts and data, that is why I aask for them. If you were reasonable, you would resort to facts and data, not insults.

No, you understand neither.

2. That is called evidence. Testimony is unreliable evidence. The real evidence are videos, fingerprints, blood spatters, etc,...

No. There's no trial without a suspect.

 

[EyeBRollin]

I said convicted murderer, not accused murderer. If he was convicted then no, he would not have the right to escape custody without being shot.

Why would a convicted murderer just be walking among the public? Man... think dude. I try not to insult but come on. Use your brain.

If he was just accused, then I would agree he should not have been shot unless he represented great danger to the public. But again, that is why I said evidence and facts are important.

He wasn't, and was killed any way. So why can't you admit that the officer ****ed up?

Right, because he's black so he's guilty of something.

 

[EyeBRollin]

2. The suspects are the officers and the video proves they killed him. Your suspect sentence makes no sense in this case.

No, the suspect is the dude the officer is supposed to be arresting so he can go to court.

1. I ask for facts and present a reasonable argument. You call names and then make stupid statements like your second one here.

No, you don't present a reasonable argument. You play stupid until it's intolerable.

 

[EyeBRollin]

1. Perhaps he escaped? That does happen. This is why we need more information and we don't suddenly riot and burn down neighborhoods.

2. If he wasn't a danger to the public then yes as I already said he should not have been shot.

You seem very aggravated and not following the logic very well.

There is no logic. You can't accept a black man shot unjustly on video for your eyes to see. You're pathetic. He was just another guilty black dude that deserved to be killed. I knew this pages ago, which is why I cut to the chase. You are a klansman.

 

[BlueAlpha1]

No, the suspect is the dude the officer is supposed to be arresting so he can go to court.



No, you don't present a reasonable argument. You play stupid until it's intolerable.

You're a race baiting coward and racist yourself.

 

[EyeBRollin]

You're a race baiting coward and racist yourself.

Right, equal justice under the law is "race baiting." You're a white supremacist.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Justice means a trial, questions, evidence.

We'd have a trial if these men lived to see one.

 

[TheVirtualMind]

Well, this was a bad idea to leave open...