A murder suspect is saved by his transportation pass. A young Bronx man is free on bond tonight, thanks to a witness: his rail pass. Jason Jones had told prosecutors that he had left work, ridden a bus with some co-workers and cashed his paycheck, and later taken a subway to see his girl the night that they said he shot and killed a government drug and guns case witness, The New York Times reports.  Federal prosecutors had charged Jones, 26, and his older brother in the case on a witness’s statement. Both men could face the death penalty if the government proved its case. But, months after his arrest, Jason Jones’ New York MetroCard transportation pass is proving to be a reliable witness. A retired detective working for Jones’s lawyers was able to retrieve MetorCard from Jones’s wallet at city jail, and was able to convince New York Transit authorities to pull up records to show where Jones had traveled on the night of the incident, the Times reported. The pass backed up Jones’s story, and a photo showed that Jones was five miles away at the time of the May 24, 2008 shooting in the High Bridge section of the Bronx. Both Jones brothers have been released on bond while prosecutors continue to investigate.

Eight are arrested in Klan initiation murder.  An Oklahoma woman invited to a rural Louisiana campsite for a Ku Klux Klan initiation ritual wound up shot to death when she asked to be taken back to town, the sheriff of a New Orleans suburb said Tuesday. Eight people were arrested after authorities found the woman’s body hidden under some brush, on the side of a road several miles from the remote campsite where the initiation reportedly took place, FOX News reports. Read the rest here.

Hudson Murder Suspect Won’t Take Polygraph; Funeral Plans Made 

Jennifer Hudson’s brother-in-law and main suspect in her family’s murder case is telling police that they can forget about him taking a lie-detector test. According to The Associated Press, the moment that investigators asked William Balfour to take a polygraph examination, he “stopped cooperating” with detectives.  Read the rest here.

The man who kicked his girlfriend’s daughter in the head and then dumped her body in the woods will spend the rest of his life behind bars with no chance of parole.  It took a jury just about three hours to decide 29-year-old Harrell Johnson’s fate.  For seven years  a Kansas City community waited to bring  the killers of 3-year-old Erica Green, known as “Precious Doe,” to justice. Erica’s mother, Michelle Johnson, testified during the trial that Johnson kicked the baby in the head because she didn’t want to go to bed. Michelle said Harrell was high on drugs at the time. She pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in Erica’s death.

Linebacker Norman Griffith Jr. murdered.

Two teenagers are charged with first-degree murder in the death of a South Carolina high school football player. Norman “Pooh” Griffith Jr.’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday after his body was found in an SUV that appeared to have been in an accident. Cops say robbery was the motive behind the Pahokee High tight end and linebacker’s killing. Willie Felton, 16, and Carl Lee Booth Jr., 17, have been arrested in connection with the incident. Griffith, Pahokee’s team captain, had attracted interest from Division 1 colleges including Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Clemson.

The fact that Troy Anthony Davis is about to be executed for murder even there’s no weapon, no fingerprints and not a single drop of DNA shows just how unfair the American system of justice is, says a growing number of high-profile leaders. The 39-year-old Georgia man is scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday night after being convicted of killing Savannah Police Officer Mark Allen MacPhail in 1989. But Davis’ case has drawn worldwide attention because of how skimpy the evidence is that sent him to the death chamber. Go here to learn about last minute calls to action to save Davis. Get more on the story here.

Four little murdered girls are remembered.

The bells of the 16^th Street Baptist Church tolled four times Monday, marking one of the most horrific crimes in U.S. history – a bombing that snatched the lives of four little Black girls 45 years ago. About 200 people were on hand at the recently renovated church, for a special service to commemorate the brutal murders of 11-year-old Denise McNair and Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, all 14. Their deaths helped focus the world’s attention on the brutality of Jim Crow that gripped the American South at the time. Among those addressing the crowd Monday were Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.), who praised the growth of his home state, saying, “We are a nobler and better place.” He read from a letter sent to the church by Sen. Barack Obama: “I imagine that in quiet moments, many of you have thought about who Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley might have become had they been allowed to grow up. Maybe a doctor and a history teacher, a singer and a social worker – their world would have been one of increasing possibility, symbolized in no small part by this magnificent church and the community that built and sustains it.” The 16^th Street Baptist Church finished its $3.8 million renovation, to repair a cracked foundation and other damage sustained in the 1963 bombing, just in time for the ceremony. No one was brought to justice for the murderous act until Robert Chambliss was tried and convicted for the bombing in 1977 when he was sentenced to life. In 2000, the federal government indicted two others for murder.

Comedy legend dies. Legendary comedian Wonderful Smith, who made his mark as part of jazz great Duke Ellington’s revue died at an assisted-living facility in California. He was 97. His most famous routine was pretending to call up then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt to converse about the hot topics of the day. In addition to his on-stage comedic acts, he also became one of the few Black DJs for the Armed Services Radio Network after being drafted into the Army in 1942 at the beginning of World War II. He even escorted Hattie McDaniels to the 1940 Oscars. She was the first African American to win an Academy Award for her role in “Gone With The Wind.” Comedic actor Charlie Chaplin was among his devoted fans.

They killed an African-American man - just because he was Black

Two Kansas City men will spend the rest of their lives in prison for killing a man who was on his way to work - just because he was Black. A federal judge ruled that Gary Eye  and Steven Sandstrom, whose lives were spared by jurors for the March 2005 murder of William McCay, should never be free again. “I’m innocent of all these charges,” Sandstrom said. “This was not a hate crime. Not even close to it, your honor.” But Eye opted not to say anything during his sentencing hearing. Yvonne McCay, the victim’s mother, said she is now ready to move forward. “Justice has been served,” McCay said. “None of this will bring him back, but I pray constantly to God to remove this malice from my heart for these individuals.”

Ex-husband of Atlanta mayor dies. David McCoy Franklin, the ex-husband of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin who was a trusted adviser of former Mayor Maynard Jackson, died Sunday, according to a death notice issued by Murray Brothers Funeral Home in Atlanta . He was 65. No cause of death has been disclosed. Franklin had suffered a long illness, Angelo Fuster, former spokesman for Jackson , told The Associated Press. Fuster said that Franklin ’s political smarts were “quite valued,” AP reports.

Blacks are the target of choice for Taser-wielding Houston Police

Life can be shocking if you’re Black and life in Houston . A new study released Monday revealed that Houston Police officers have used their Tasers on African-American suspects more than any other group of people. Read more at BET.com/News.

Philly cops nab third suspect in cold-blooded murder. Philadelphia Police have netted a third suspect in connection with the slaying of a 78-year-old Korean War vet who was shot in the face last week by thugs who attempted to rob him outside a Veterans of Foreign Wars post. The murder of the “sweet and gentle man,” as neighbors described him, shocked the community and the police, which launched an intense investigation into the homicide. Last Thursday detectives arrested two 18-year-olds, Karl Jarmon and Terrell Bennett. Their alleged accomplice, 15-year-old Gary Autrey, is now under arrest, according to homicide Lt. Mel Williams. The trio is being held without bail, charged with murder, conspiracy and weapons charges, police said. “We are satisfied that we took these predators off the streets and we made an arrest in a timely manner, and we were able to give the family closure,” said Lt. Williams. “It’s a tragedy whenever people prey on the old.” Enor Williams had been married to Connie Williams nearly 40 years and, according to The Philadelphia Daily News, was a devoted volunteer at the post. “I hate that [the murder] was the last thing that happened to him,” his 59-year-old widow told the newspaper. “I knew they would find him,” she said of the suspected gunman. “I don’t know how, but I did.” *

Governor To Decide Kilpatrick’s Fate

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s poltical future now rests in the hands of the governor.  Gov. Jennifer Granholm said on Tuesday that she may use a provision in the state constitution to have him removed from office for misconduct, The Associated Press reports. Read more about the city counci’s appeal to the governor and the charges Kilpatrick faces at BET.com/News.

Skin head gets 25 years for murdering a Black man. The justice system is finally bringing some closure to the nearly 20-year-old murder of a Black man in Philly. Thomas Gibison, a White supremacist, was convicted of conspiracy in the 1989 shooting death of Aaron Wood and was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison, The Associated Press reports. A friend of Gibison testified during the trial that they went to North Philadelphia to find a Black man to kill so they could earn a White supremacist tattoo. Gibison already is serving time in prison for unrelated weapons offenses charges.

March on Washington anniversary remembered. Forty-five years ago, thousands descended on D.C., and changed America forever. See the photos here.