As president of the Lake County Branch of the NAACP, I speak for this branch. Since this tragic event occurred in Lake County (Clearlake Park) the Lake County Branch is and always has been the lead branch in the Renato Hughes matter. We have been in attendance at each court hearing. As we continue to monitor the judicial proceedings, we routinely communicate with State Conference President Alice Huffman about this case. As a civil rights organization, our role is to insure that Mr. Hughes gets the fair trial that the constitution entitles him to.
The parents of Renato Hughes, Christian Foster, and Rashad Williams formally filed complaints with the Lake County Branch of the NAACP in February 2006. While all parties involved in this matter have been irreparably harmed (including Dale Lafferty) it remains our position that Mr. Hughes is entitled to have his day in court.
We do question, however, why Mr. Edmonds, and others have not been charged with any offense in these pending proceedings.
Finally, we were neither informed about, nor invited to any prayer vigil or event that recently took place in front of the courthouse in Lakeport.
Aqeela El-Amin Bakheit
President Lake County Branch
NAACP
