
-
Giroud strikes late to lift Lille past Monaco, Rennes implode early at Lorient
-
Israeli bulldozers uproot hundreds of trees in West Bank village
-
David strikes on Serie A debut as Juve ease past Parma
-
Sabalenka into US Open second round as Fritz, Shelton advance
-
Israeli strikes in Yemen's capital kill four, Huthis say
-
England's Botterman aiming to be world's 'best loosehead prop'
-
Kneecap defy critics with 'Free Palestine' chant at Paris gig
-
New Zealand start Women's Rugby World Cup defence by downing battling Spain
-
Winless Man Utd need to 'grow up', says Amorim
-
Shelton romps into US Open second round
-
Kneecap defy objectors with 'Free Palestine' chant at Paris gig
-
US envoy criticises France's lack of action over antisemitism
-
Trump clashes with Democrats as he expands National Guard plans
-
Raducanu cruises to first US Open win since 2021 triumph
-
Man Utd still winless after Fulham draw, Everton win to open new stadium
-
Hamburg draws blank on Bundesliga return
-
Spain heatwave was 'most intense on record'
-
Chaotic Rennes set Ligue 1 red card record and lose 4-0 at Lorient
-
Russia and Ukraine exchange POWs, civilians
-
Moyes sees big step forward after Everton win stadium opener
-
Vingegaard wins on Vuelta mountain to take overall lead
-
Vingegaard wins on Vuelta mountain
-
Zelensky calls for Putin talks as peace efforts stall
-
Everton beat Brighton in new stadium opener
-
Higgins strikes as Ireland see off Japan in Women's Rugby World Cup
-
Fires ravage an ageing rural Spain
-
Marc Marquez coasts to seventh successive victory in Hungary
-
Arteta backs Eze to create 'magic moments' at Arsenal
-
US envoy visits Ukraine on independence day as peace efforts stall
-
Bangladesh and Pakistan bolster ties but war apology 'unresolved'
-
Rowe signs for Bologna after Marseille bust-up
-
Three tons as record-breaking Australia crush South Africa
-
France's regulator says unable to block dead streamer's channel
-
UK vows to speed up asylum claims as hotel protests spread
-
Head, Marsh, Green hit centuries as Australia make 431-2 in 3rd South Africa ODI
-
Pujara announces retirement from Indian cricket
-
Bird call contest boosts conservation awareness in Hong Kong's concrete jungle
-
Kneecap to play Paris concert in defiance of objections
-
Indonesian child's viral fame draws tourists to boat race
-
Australian quick Morris out for 12 months with back injury
-
Son scores first MLS goal as LAFC draw 1-1 with Dallas
-
India's Modi dangles tax cuts as US tariffs loom
-
Indonesia turns down ear-splitting 'haram' street parties
-
North Korea test-fires two new air defence missiles: KCNA
-
Sinner, Sabalenka chasing rare repeats as US Open gets underway
-
Venezuela rallies militia volunteers in response to US 'threat'
-
Musk's megarocket faces crucial new test after failures
-
UK's mass facial-recognition roll-out alarms rights groups
-
Home hope Henderson, Aussie Lee share Canadian Women's Open lead
-
Fucsovics holds off van de Zandschulp for ATP Winston-Salem crown

From US death-row cell, he turns to music for salvation
Music has helped Keith LaMar survive the mind-numbing sameness of nearly 30 years on death row in a maximum-security prison in the US state of Ohio.
Now he hopes his love and involvement in jazz -- along with the intervention of musicians drawing public attention to his case -- will help him escape execution for a murderous crime he insists he did not commit.
LaMar, who turns 53 on Tuesday, is accused of killing or ordering the killing of five fellow inmates during an 11-day prison riot in 1993.
His execution is already scheduled -- for November 16, 2023.
LaMar said he has spent the past 30 years preparing himself psychologically, morally and legally for whatever comes next.
"So, if and when the time comes, and I am an unfortunate victim of the state ... it won't be because I didn't try to do everything in my power to prevent that," he told AFP by telephone.
During those decades behind bars, though, he has become a huge jazz buff.
"Music is a big part of my life," he said.
He is particularly a fan of the music of John Coltrane, saying iconic albums like "A Love Supreme" have helped him cope with his anger and isolation.
The very first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning in a cell "the size of a closet" is to put on a CD, he said -- that, and write.
- Jazz concert from behind bars -
LaMar pleaded guilty for the crime he was originally arrested for at 19: the murder of a childhood friend -- an addict who had tried, at gunpoint, to steal drugs LaMar was selling.
He says he tried to turn his life around during the early years of his original 18-year sentence, completing a high-school equivalency degree before enrolling in university classes from his cell.
But he wants his case around the Lucasville Prison Riot to be reopened, contending that trial was gravely tainted by judicial irregularities.
In that regard LaMar is no longer alone. In addition to a team of lawyers working to reopen his case, several jazz musicians -- including the Spaniard Albert Marques -- have come together to demand "Justice for Keith LaMar" and raise awareness of his case.
Last weekend Marques's group gave a concert at New York's Jazz Gallery to celebrate release of the CD "Freedom First," composed jointly by LaMar and Marques. Some of the proceeds will cover LaMar's legal expenses.
During the concert, the firm but seductive voice of LaMar himself could often be heard over the speaker system.
Marques said LaMar, who wrote several of the song lyrics, narrating his life and commenting on his fate, "is part of the band and earns the same as the musicians."
"The idea is not to play for Keith, it's to play with Keith," Marques told AFP.
But how could LaMar participate from a death-row cell hundreds of miles away?
"He can make calls from jail, for which he has to pay," Marques said, adding with a touch of sarcasm that the guards "can't prohibit something that they can't imagine happening."
Marques said the band wants to "raise awareness" about a case involving one of his "best friends," whom he has visited in maximum-security Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown.
- 'Meaningful, purposeful things' -
LaMar says in his book "Condemned" -- written in his cell, then dictated by phone to a friend -- that he has been "trying, with all my might, to redeem myself." And he explains his version of what happened during the riots, which changed his life forever.
According to LaMar, prosecutors wrongfully withheld interviews with 13 inmates who witnessed or took part in the riots; evidence was destroyed; and prosecutors failed to disclose information that might have proved his innocence.
Prosecutors and appeals court judges, however, have insisted LaMar's guilt is proven.
"When you (are) poor, Black and in a racist country, you plead guilty," he said, referring to limited recourse he believes African Americans have in the justice system.
In a country which has seen stunning cases of wrongful conviction, "the truth can only set you free when you have enough money," LaMar said.
But music can also deliver truth. Musician Marques has been "one of the blessings of my life," LaMar says, and his last, best hope of drawing wider attention to his case.
Above all, he says, he has gained a "friend."
"I'm trying to stay caught up with meaningful, purposeful things," LaMar said, because that gives some sense to his life -- and ensures those who believe in his innocence also "believe in me as a human being."
M.Furrer--BTB