Soulful send-off A homegoing service was held for Whitney Houston on Saturday at Houston's home church
Pages C1
Vol. 83 No. 47
CAC Audited FEBRUARY 23 – 29, 2012
COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Critical evidence withheld
New uncovered evidence shows that Goerge Allen could not have been the source of the semen found at the scene of the stabbing of Mary Bell, on Feb. 4, 1982.
Innocence Project says DNA exonerates George Allen By Rebecca S. Rivas Of The St. Louis American Four months ago, a team of lawyers tried to prove the innocence of George Allen, 55, a man convicted of a 1982 murder and rape, by presenting new evidence to a Missouri court.
On Friday, the lawyers submitted an amended petition to the Cole County Circuit Court with further evidence that calls into question Allen’s conviction 30 years ago, including lab findings that were never turned over to Allen’s attorney. In Allen’s trial, prosecutors produced
no physical evidence or eye witnesses that connected Allen with the stabbing of Mary Bell, 31, in her apartment in the LaSalle Park neighborhood on Feb. 4, 1982. The new uncovered evidence shows that Allen could not have been the source of the semen found at the scene, the petition states. Allen’s advocates hope the new evidence will persuade Attorney General Chris Koster to move quickly to release him, said Barry Scheck, co-
The officer prompted Allen to give him answers to fit the crime, often asking Allen to change his answer to do so.
See ALLEN, A7
Dr. Ross receives Carver Award Sigma Gamma Rho recognizes kidney disease expert and diversity dean By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American Stress, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, family history and even a lack of nutrients when you were developed in the womb play a factor in manifestation of chronic kidney disease. Audience members at the Emerson Theatre got the word from a physician who has dedicated his life to educating and empowering “Where is others about the outrage, kidney disease where is the and how to prevent it. scientific Will Ross, focus? M.D. M.P.H., Where is the associate dean of diversity and funding to address this assistant professor of medicine epidemic?” at Washington University – Dr. Will Ross School of Medicine, was the keynote speaker at the 36th Annual Dr. George Washington Carver Celebration at Harris-Stowe State University. Today’s food insecurity, the lack of access to nutritious and affordable food, can play out in future generations, Ross explained. “In pregnant females, there is this lack of nutrients supplied and those nutrients are trace elements,
See ROSS, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
Let’s Move STL Kayla Boyd, 12, double-dutches while dribbling a basketball during the second annual So You Got Moves Expo presented by the City of St. Louis Department of Health. The event was held at St. Louis Community College–Forest Park. The expo focused on healthy lifestyles for families within our community as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s national Let’s Move initiative to address the obesity epidemic.
54M AMERICANS Young professionals GET PREVENTIVE HEALTH CARE 3.4M in MO, IL benefit from Affordable Care Act
confront gender disparities Black women deal with being better educated and more affluent than black men By MK Stallings For The St. Louis American
By Robert Joiner Of The Beacon The Affordable Care Act is hotly debated, but it’s already delivering at least one new benefit to an estimated 54 million Americans. They now have access to preventive services, ranging from colonoscopies to mammograms, that previously had required co-payments. More than 1 million people
See HEALTH, A6
“I don’t want you to pull up to my house in an Escalade on rims when you’re living in a low-income apartment,” said Jamillah Boyd, a program coordinator for a local university. She was talking to her friend Nykea Watts, an adviser at the same institution. Although a conversation on socioeconomic differences between black men and women is not a typical
The Census estimates that 58 percent of jobs held by African Americans in the St. Louis metropolitan area are held by women.
topic for drinks after work, it flowed in a way that data cannot. “There is a gender gap because the ratios are off,” Boyd said. “There are not as many men at the university level, degreed, advanced-degreed.” The 2010 Census estimates that 16.4 percent of AfricanAmericans adults in the St. Louis area hold a bachelor’s or graduate degree. The genSee GENDER, A6