Family outraged after man convicted in Connecticut killings gets clemency from Biden in drug case - News
Relatives of an 8-year-old boy and his mother who were murdered by a Connecticut drug gang are outraged that a man convicted in the killings was one of nearly 2,500 people whose drug-related prison…
Relatives of an 8-year-old boy and his mother who were murdered by a Connecticut drug gang are outraged that a…
Relatives of an 8-year-old boy and his mother who were murdered by a Connecticut drug gang are outraged that a man convicted in the killings was one of nearly 2,500 people whose drug-related prison sentences were commuted by former President Joe Biden in his last days in office.
Adrian Peeler served a 20-year state prison sentence for murder conspiracy in the 1999 shootings of Leroy “B.J.” Brown and his mother, Karen Clarke, in Bridgeport — killings that shocked the city and led to improvements in state witness protection. Prosecutors said Brown and his mother were assassinated to prevent the child from testifying in another murder case.
In December 2021, Peeler finished his state sentence but began serving a 15-year term in federal prison for dealing large amounts of crack cocaine.
The federal sentence would have kept him behind bars until 2033. He is now set to be released in July.
Clarke’s brother, Oswald Clarke, said the commutation caught his family by surprise and that they were angry and dismayed.
“I’m sick and tired and I’m disgusted,” he told The Associated Press in phone interview Wednesday. “It’s a very shocking thing. My family is very distraught about it. It’s like we’re being traumatized all over again.”
It wasn’t immediately clear how Peeler, now 48, came to Biden’s attention, and the former president did not publicly disclose specific reasons for commuting Peeler’s federal sentence. Email and social media messages were left with former White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre and current White House spokesperson Harrison Fields.
In announcing the clemency actions Friday, Biden said he was commuting the sentences of people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, saying their prison terms were too harsh. The Democrat said he was seeking to undo “disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice.”
A grand jury indictment of Peeler in the drug case did not mention the killings, only that he and others conspired to sell multi-kilogram quantities of crack cocaine.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who was the state’s attorney general when Brown and his mother were killed, said “someone dropped the ball” in Peeler’s clemency. He and other political leaders in Connecticut, including Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, criticized the commutation.
“This was a really vicious murder that changed our laws,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “It also highlights how we need to take a look at the pardon system to see how it can be improved.”
State Sen. Stephen Harding, the Republican minority leader, called the clemency “a slap in the face to all Connecticut victims of violent crimes and their families.”
Peeler’s lawyer, Michael Brown, declined to comment on the clemency. He said Peeler has worked hard to rehabilitate himself in prison and is a different person than he was a quarter-century ago.
“The guy has done a lot of work on himself and helped a lot of people during his incarceration,” Brown said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office in Connecticut, which prosecuted the drug case against Peeler, said Wednesday that it was not consulted or notified in advance about Peeler’s clemency. The office declined further comment.
Prosecutors have said Peeler, at the direction of his older brother, Russell Peeler, gunned down Brown and Clarke in their Bridgeport home Jan. 7, 1999. Authorities said the brothers wanted to eliminate Brown as a witness against Russell Peeler in the 1998 killing of Clarke’s boyfriend, Rudolph Snead.
Brown had identified Russell Peeler to police as the person who shot Snead in a 1997 attack that Snead survived. The boy, who had been riding in Snead’s car when he was shot, was expected to testify about the drive-by attack at Russell Peeler’s trial for subsequently attacking Snead again and killing him at a barbershop.
Both Peelers were charged by the state with capital felony and murder and faced the possibility of the death penalty. Despite Adrian Peeler being the alleged shooter, a jury only convicted him of murder conspiracy and he was sentenced to 20 years in prison on the charge and five more years on other charges.
Russell Peeler was convicted and sentenced to death for ordering the killings. He was resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release in 2016 because the state abolished the death penalty. He also was sentenced to 105 years in prison for killing Snead.
In response to the killings, the state legislature passed a law creating a new witness protection program that includes special protections for children.
Federal authorities said Russell Peeler ran a sophisticated crack cocaine dealing operation in Bridgeport with a hierarchy that included his brother. Before the killings, prosecutors said Adrian Peeler had a criminal record that including shooting an automatic weapon into an apartment where four young children were inside but not injured, escaping from a halfway house and assaulting a correction official.
In the federal drug case, Adrian Peeler pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine and was sentenced to 35 years in prison. A judge in 2021 reduced the sentence to 15 years, citing revised sentencing guidelines meant to eliminate disparities in prison terms for those sentenced on powder cocaine charges and those locked up for crack.
“We’ve tried for years and years to keep this guy off the streets,” Oswald Clarke said. “And it’s a major insult in every way, and the whole state of Connecticut should be shocked, appalled and embarrassed, and the federal government regardless of who’s in power, they all should be embarrassed for the kinds of things they are doing.”
Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
No one spoke to the Invictus Games athletes before making a change to something they use for competitions are now problems are arising.
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Justin Bieber has caused concern among fans after sharing a photo of himself seemingly smoking with a bong.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Sir Keir Starmer has announced changes to â??hopelessâ?? judicial reviews that he says are holding up infrastructure projects.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The animosity that spilled out between tech billionaire Elon Musk and OpenAIâ??s Sam Altman has less to do with politics and more to do with who is first in the artificial intelligence race.Musk on Wednesday came out swinging against Altman after he appeared next to President Donald Trump for the anno...
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees list has been revealed, with Eminem, Janet Jackson and more being left off the honourees list.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against a man they said had falsely claimed to possess videos implicating the music mogul in sexual assaults on eight celebrities.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
The NewJeans members have further spoken out against ADOR and HYBE and have appointed a legal representative.
On January 23, the members released the following statement:
Hello, this is Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein.
Through the media, we confirmed that ADOR has not only filed a lawsuit against us to “confirm the validity of our exclusive contracts” but has also applied for an injunction to preserve the agency's status and prohibit the signing of advertising contracts. We received the lawsuit and application documents a few days ago, and we have appointed Shin & Kim LLC as our legal representative.
Since ADOR and HYBE have appointed Kim & Chang as their legal representative, we believed it was necessary to have a law firm capable of responding to them. To address the rapidly progressing injunction, we felt that Shin & Kim, which is already familiar with the issues and wrongdoings of HYBE and ADOR, is the most suitable choice.
HYBE and ADOR have failed to fulfill their responsibilities as an agency to protect their artists and support their growth. Throughout our activities, we faced numerous obstacles, both big and small. They even disguised their intent to suspend our entertainment careers indefinitely as a long-term break, essentially abandoning and replacing us. Even after the lawful termination of our exclusive contracts, baseless criticism against us has been spread through the media and “cyber wrecker” (Korean slang term referring to those who maliciously spread false rumors online) YouTube channels, much of which could only have been provided by ADOR and HYBE.
It is difficult not to conclude that ADOR and HYBE are at the center of all these issues.
While ADOR and HYBE publicly claim they want us to return, behind the scenes, they have continued to harass and attack us relentlessly, just as they did before. Recently, they even secretly met with some of our parents in an attempt to persuade or sow discord among us. Instead of resorting to underhanded tactics to defame, divide, and manipulate through false information and media play, we hope they will address the matter truthfully and fairly.
We will state this firmly. The five of us have no intention of ever returning to HYBE or ADOR, where even the minimum level of trust cannot be expected.
After the termination of our exclusive contracts, we wanted to conclude our remaining scheduled activities and agreements amicably and without conflict, and we hoped to avoid causing harm to the involved representatives. However, seeing ADOR and HYBE disregard such intentions and efforts and cause harm to us and others through improper means, we have decided to no longer remain silent.
Through legal procedures, we will clearly reveal the wrongdoings of ADOR and HYBE and fight confidently in court to bring the truth to light.
We feel apologetic for causing concern to our fans who cherish and love us. However, we will fight until the end through legitimate means so that we can share our music with you freely again as soon as possible. Please show lots of support. Thank you.
Following the statement, the members also took to their Instagram account to announce that they are taking suggestions for a new group name to use temporarily:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFJgeqBS_hk/
Source (1)
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 YouTube channels, much of which could only have been provided by ADOR and HYBE.
It is difficult not to conclude that ADOR and HYBE are at the center of all these issues.
While ADOR and HYBE publicly claim they want us to return, behind the scenes, they have continued to harass and attack us relentlessly, just as they did before. Recently, they even secretly met with some of our parents in an attempt to persuade or sow discord among us. Instead of resorting to underhanded tactics to defame, divide, and manipulate through false information and media play, we hope they will address the matter truthfully and fairly.
We will state this firmly. The five of us have no intention of ever returning to HYBE or ADOR, where even the minimum level of trust cannot be expected.
After the termination of our exclusive contracts, we wanted to conclude our remaining scheduled activities and agreements amicably and without conflict, and we hoped to avoid causing harm to the involved representatives. However, seeing ADOR and HYBE disregard such intentions and efforts and cause harm to us and others through improper means, we have decided to no longer remain silent.
Through legal procedures, we will clearly reveal the wrongdoings of ADOR and HYBE and fight confidently in court to bring the truth to light.
We feel apologetic for causing concern to our fans who cherish and love us. However, we will fight until the end through legitimate means so that we can share our music with you freely again as soon as possible. Please show lots of support. Thank you.
Following the statement, the members also took to their Instagram account to announce that they are taking suggestions for a new group name to use temporarily:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DFJgeqBS_hk/
Source (1)
%23reveal) |
|
|
Blumhouse's "Drop" has released an official trailer with Meghann Fahy and
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Burgess appeared on NewsNation to double down on his claim that he was in possession of nearly a dozen flash drives containing Combs’ alleged sex tapes.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
Twitter (X) is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 619 million monthly active users worldwide. One of the most exciting features of Twitter (X) is the ability to see what topics are trending in real-time. Twitter trends are a fascinating way to stay up to date on what people are talking about on the platform, and they can also be a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to stay relevant and informed. In this article, we will discuss Twitter (X) trends, how they work, and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are a list of topics that are currently being talked about on the platform and also world. The topics on this list change in real-time and are based on the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be localized to a Worldwide country or region or can be global, depending on the topic's popularity.
How Do Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends Work?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are generated by an algorithm that analyzes the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. When the algorithm detects a sudden increase in tweets using a specific hashtag or keyword, it considers that topic to be trending.
Once a topic is identified as trending, it is added to the list of Twitter (X) Worldwide trends. The topics on this list are ranked based on their popularity, with the most popular topics appearing at the top of the list.
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be filtered by location or category, allowing users to see what topics are trending in their area or in a particular industry. Additionally, users can click on a trending topic to see all of the tweets using that hashtag or keyword.