Former Columbus Division of Police officer Andrew Mitchell shot and killed Donna Dalton (aka Castleberry) on the morning of August 23, 2018, shooting her three times. He was a 54-year-old vice cop. She was a 23-year-old sex worker. When he asked her for sex services and she quoted him a fee of $25, he attempted to arrest her. She then stabbed him in the hand with a knife.

The jury that was seated yesterday in his murder trial in Franklin County Common Pleas Court learned before the trial began that those facts are not in dispute.

They will not, however, learn that the City of Columbus settled a civil lawsuit brought by Dalton’s estate for over one million dollars in November of 2020.

They will also not learn that Mitchell is facing trial in September in Federal Court for kidnapping and rape of two other sex workers, witness intimidation, removing evidence, and lying to the FBI. At least two jurors were dismissed during the jury selection process for having knowledge of the charges in the Federal case.

When a gruesome six-minute video of Ukrainian soldiers shooting and torturing handcuffed and tied up Russian soldiers circulated online, outraged people on social media and elsewhere compared this barbaric behavior to that of Daesh. 

 In a rare admission of moral responsibility, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to the Ukrainian President, quickly reminded Ukrainian fighters of their responsibility under international law. “I would like to remind all our military, civilian and defense forces, once again, that the abuse of prisoners is a war crime that has no amnesty under military law and has no statute of limitations,” he said, asserting that “We are a European army”, as if the latter is synonymous with civilized behavior. 

Monday, April 4, 2022, 6:30 PM
Location:  Columbus City Hall, 90 W. Broad St., Columbus 43215. 
Do we have to beg for this?  Bring cardboard and paper cups.  This is the second of three actions coordinated by the B.R.E.A.D. organization to raise awareness of the shortage of affordable housing for people with low income.  The current required set-asides for housing developers do not serve people with income at or below 80% of the Area Median Income.  People with lower income are just left out of the equation, and most often can't afford rent without assistance. 

To your surprise, perhaps, my answer is an emphatic, unqualified NO. In this Busting Myths column, I will be schematic, but I am prepared to expand my understanding of both city and state in response to readers’ questions. For background, I refer you to my essays on DeWine, the state, and Ohio Republicans published in Columbus Free Press since September 2021, available on the website.

Is Mike DeWine actually a governor?