Task force created to examine expulsions of black students in Richland 2
Richland District 2 is under examination from a 53-member task force after a black parents association raised concerns over ongoing expulsion statistics — specifically, that the majority of students expelled from Richland 2 are black males.
The task force will take a close look at what's being called "transition years," which fall during 6th and 9th grades. They will try to discern what triggers result in punishable offenses by the school district.
The panel includes community leaders, police officers, faith leaders, parents and several other groups.
Richland 2 is the largest district in the Midlands and has expelled a total of 110 students during the 2013-2014 school year for top tier offenses such as assault and battery and sexual misconduct. Officials say this information is not currently broken down by race.
In that same school year, Lexington 1, the Midlands' second largest district, expelled 54 students.
Body found in house fire near Columbia
On Sunday morning, law enforcement officers discovered a body after putting out a house fire in Batesburg-Leesville. The fire happened at around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to Lexington County Coroner, Margaret Fisher.
The body was found in the remains of the home after firefighters responded.
The name of the victim will not be released until a positive identification of the body has been made, according to Fisher. An autopsy will be conducted Tuesday in an effort to determine cause of death.
Father of five slain Lexington children expects to face death penalty case
District prosecutors have not yet announced if they will try the death penalty against 32-year-old Timothy Jones Jr., who is accused of killing his five children earlier this year.
Jones' attorneys have written several appeals to Circuit Judge Thomas Russo in order to prevent a death penalty case. However, Russo has not accepted the appeals and has issued a gag order against the two men. Thus, they can no longer write appeals or speak to the press about the trial.
Jones is accused of murdering his children, all of whom were between 1 and 8 years old at their times of death in August, in the family's home in Red Bank, South Carolina. Reports say the children's bodies were uncovered in Alabama in September, after Jones gave authorities instructions on where to dig.