[Ppnews] Change of Venue in Racist Clearlake Case!

[Political Prisoner News]

A Lake County Court, ruled in favor of a change 
of venue motion in the case of Renato Hughes today.

Renato Hughes is a 22-year-old black youth who is 
charged with the murder of two of his lifelong 
friends in a case involving an alleged forceful 
entry into the home of Shannon Edmonds, a white 
resident of Clearlake on Dec. 7, 2005.

Renato Hughes, of San Francisco, is being charged 
with the shooting deaths of Christian Foster, 22, 
of San Francisco, and Rashad Williams, 22, of 
Pittsburg – even though it was Edmonds who did the shooting.

The murder of two young Black men, both shot in 
the back and killed while fleeing the home of a 
white man is being blamed on the young Black 
survivor under a law – The Provocative Act 
doctrine – that holds the “co-perpetrator” of an 
alleged felony responsible if the act results in a “lethal response.”

So one of the Black victims of this armed attack 
by a white man was now being charged with murder 
in an almost entirely white county. Close to 400 
residents had been interviewed and none of these 
prospective jurors where African American.

Instead of the D.A. prosecuting Edmonds who 
admits to shooting both unarmed men in the back 
while they were fleeing and after they had 
already left his property, “he is trying to 
sentence Renato to double life in prison without 
the possibility of parole. The D.A. has created a 
story to hold Renato responsible for Rashad and 
Christian's deaths rather than the drug dealing 
murderer, Shanon Edmonds” according to E'leva 
Hughes, Renato’s sister. “They continue to 
protect the killer even though his girlfriend 
recently filed a restraining order against him because he tried to kill her.”

This represents a tremendous victory given that 
the California State Supreme Court had earlier rejected a similar request.

“Finally, Renato will have a chance at a fair 
trial and the injustice of the Provocative Act 
doctrine can be challenged,” exclaimed his 
attorney Stuart Hanlon. A new venue will be decided in the coming weeks.






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