Classes are canceled and police are guarding all entrances to the University of Central Arkansas, as detectives continue to investigate an overnight shooting that left two students dead and a third person injured.

Late this morning, investigators identified the dead as 19-year-old Chavares Block of Dermott, Arkansas — a UCA student who lived off campus — and 18-year-old Ryan Henderson — a student from Little Rock who lived in Arkansas Hall, a campus dormitory near the site of the shooting.

A third victim, Martrevis Norman a non-student from Blytheville, Arkansas survived with a gunshot to the leg and has already been treated and released from the hospital.

Police have yet to make any formal arrests, but say they have identified four suspects — all from the central Arkansas area, but none of them students. At the time of posting this blog, two of those suspects are in custody.

UCA police responded immediately at 9:19p ct last night, after an officer heard shots fired from an alley between Arkansas Hall and the Snow Fine Arts Center. Police received a 911 call at the same time.

About ten minutes later, students and faculty received phone calls and emails through an automated warning system, telling them to stay inside and lock doors. UCA purchased that system last year after the massacre at Virginia Tech.

Today, police are guarding all campus entrances, only allowing members of the University community inside. Authorities say they do not believe this was a random attack and they consider the campus safe. But members of this 12,500 student university are, understandably, on edge.

Pastor Kenneth Glasgow

“Let my people vote,” said Pastor Kenneth Glasgow. The ex-con turned civil rights advocate is calling on the State of Alabama to clear up confusion that, he says, is preventing thousands of eligible residents from voting.

The issue stems from a 1996 amendment to the state constitution, which — in theory — limits Alabama’s practice of taking away the voting rights of felons, unless their crimes involve “moral turpitude.” However, the legislature did not define which crimes fell under that legal term, which is used to describe an act of intentional evil.

“There was so much confusion with so many different lists,” Rev. Glasgow said. “The Board of Registrars didn’t know which list to go by.”

In an effort to clear up the confusion, Alabama Attorney General Troy King’s office spent months examining which crimes the courts had ruled as involving moral turpitude. Among the findings:

• Murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, sexual torture, bigamy, incest, sex crimes against children, burglary, robbery, theft, transporting stolen vehicles across state lines, income tax evasion, forgery, fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud,  possession of marijuana for resale, sale of marijuana,  unauthorized sale of a controlled substance and impeachment have been ruled as crimes involving moral turpitude.
• Alabama state courts have ruled that other crimes do not involve moral turpitude, including: assault, doing business without a license, violation of liquor laws, aiding a prisoner to escape, mere possession of marijuana, and driving under the influence.

King said his office issued a partial list because, for certain other crimes, the courts are inconsistent in determining whether they involve moral turpitude.

“We said to the registrars, ‘If you have somebody who comes in who’s convicted of another felony, then you need to call our office and we’ll either litigate it, or we’ll adjudicate it,’” King said.

Civil rights groups estimate 250-thousand Alabamians have lost their voting rights due to felony convictions. Just how many will have those rights restored remains unclear.

Keep Reading …

6:00 PM UPDATE:

investigators are confident the bomber is dead. They found the body of 78-year-old Lloyd Sylvester Cantrell behind the McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle & Fordham law firm shortly after the 10 a.m. blast.

An autopsy will determine whether Cantrell died in the explosion, or from some other cause. Either way, police say it appears to be a suicide.

Investigators have yet to confirm a motive, but say they believe this was not terrorism and that the bomber acted alone.

As I type this blog, investigators are still examining the suspect’s SUV. They’re using robots and exercising extreme caution because the vehicle is filled with, what police believe may be, secondary explosive devices along with gasoline containers and canisters of liquid propane and/or natural gas.

Police say they received a 911 call as the suspect was ramming his SUV into the side of the building. When officers arrived, he ran to the back of the building — then the explosion.

2:45 PM UPDATE:

The person responsible for this morning’s bombing at a Dalton, GA law firm may have died in the blast.

Around 10 a.m., police responded to a 911 call reporting a “disturbance” at the firm of McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle & Fordham. When an officer arrived, he observed a suspicious person trying to flee. The officer pursued him toward the back of the building and then the bomb went off.

Authorities discovered a body in back of the law firm and are trying to confirm whether it belonged to the individual who set the bomb. Investigators say it’s unclear whether the bomber had planted the explosive device, or had it on his person.

Four people inside the law firm suffered injuries and were taken to a local hospital. One was admitted. Two were treated and released. A fourth victim was taken to a burn center in Augusta, GA.

When we arrived on the scene, thick smoke was billowing out of the law firm as a hot spot from this morning’s bombing flared up. Early this afternoon, firefighters were allowed inside for the first time. Police had kept them out until a state bomb squad could check the structure for any additional explosives.

12:20 PM POST:

Atlanta bureau is en route to Dalton, GA. Police and ATF are investigating an explosion at a law firm in the small town’s central business district.

The blast caused at least four injuries and blew out windows at McCamy, Phillips, Tuggle & Fordham — a law firm specializing in personal injury and wrongful death cases involving vehicle accidents.

Four victims are listed in stable condition at a local hospital.

A school across the street was placed on lock down, but suffered no damage in the blast.

Investigators say some type of explosive device was used and that they’re looking into a person of interest. So far, no arrests.

Blog posted from I-75 as we head to Dalton, approximately 80 miles northwest of Atlanta.

Three weeks before America elects its next president, voting rights advocates are clashing with enforcers of voter identification laws. The worst case outcome is discrimination or election fraud, depending on which side you believe.

Georgia has become the latest battleground. Its Republican secretary of state is under fire from immigrant advocates and civil rights groups for using drivers license databases to verify the citizenship of people who register to vote.

In a federal lawsuit, the groups claim the system is flawed because databases often fail to reflect changes in status, forcing naturalized citizens to produce additional proof of their qualifications to vote.

“It’s creating an intimidating effect on people wanting to vote,” said Elise Shore, an attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).

As a former segregationist state, Georgia is required, under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to obtain “preclearance” from the U.S. Department of Justice before implementing policies that could affect voting. Shore said she believes Georgia’s database checks fall under that requirement. Click on the video to listen to her comments.

done

But another federal law, the Help America Vote Act of 2002, requires states to verify new voter applications with drivers license or social security databases.

“All they’re doing is complying with a federal requirement,” said Hans von Spakovsky, who served with the DOJ from 2002 to 2005 as Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights (his duties included providing advice and expertise on both the Voting Rights Act and the Help America Vote Act).

Keep Reading …

For the students, faculty and alumni of the University of Mississippi, it’s not just what the candidates say in tonight’s debate, but what hosting the event says to the rest of the world about Ole Miss in 2008.

For many Americans, even in the South, the university conjures images of the 1962 riots that broke out after President Kennedy sent in the National Guard and U.S. Marshals to escort James Meredith, the school’s first black student, onto, what was then, an all-white campus.

Forty-six years later, the school is about to host its first presidential debate and the first African-American nominee of a major political party.

“The irony of those facts to me is a bit overwhelming, heartwarming and I smile about that,” said Ole Miss Chancellor Robert Khayat.

done

Today, the university has a minority enrollment of 19 percent, and is trying to boost that figure even higher. Student groups actively promote race relations on campus. And Ole Miss is doing its best to make amends to individuals who suffered from the segregationist policies of the past. Keep Reading …