with the minor et cetera of the mosque as a backdrop. >> that's it for this edition of al jazeera america, i'm antonio mora thank you for watching. "america tonight" is next. see you again in an hour. hour. on "america tonight" - speaking out for a sister and for justice. >> the emotional, your feelings. you are like why aren't they saying my sister's name? women and the law. when they are victims of excessive force, why the silence. >> what has defined the ultimate frame of racism has been a male

experience. >> all leading to a flash point. one year after michael brown's death in ferguson "america tonight"s lori jane gliha with the man the community counted on for change. >> i think we are seeing things move forward in a small way, but things didn't get that way overnight, but it will take time. >> thanks for joining us i'm joie chen. a year ago, ferguson was no longer a community, but it took a death of the unarmed teenager michael brown at the hands of police to turn it into a flashpoint and the national discussion and the shorthand for the many communities, where clashes with law enforcement. away from headlines, ferguson recovered from a moment in the spotlight.

lori jane gliha followed up in ferguson. half-a-dozen times before it faded away. they bring an indepth look. >> this is west flor sent avenue, the main drag cutting through ferguson, missouri. looking at it now, it may be hard to believe this was the epicentre of mass protests last august. now boarded up buildings and graffiti are reminder of what happened here the the scene different from a week ago. k ago. last summer the streets were filled with thousands of people protesting the death of michael brown. and an intense police crackdown. >> i remember hearing gun fire and ducking for cover. even wearing a mask to protect from the tear gas in the air.

police had riots here they wrote in military style vehicles calling on protesters to vacate the street. >> leave the street... >> the quick trip wrongly rumoured to do the store that michael brown robbed. it burnt to the ground. >> i am sure a lot of people thought that they had stole from the quick trip. >> 27-year-old bodene was one of the first protesters. >> the protesters didn't start there. there were arsonists there. they kicked off the wlol first right. >> what did you think. when the quick trick was going up in flames. >> this is crazy. >> burnt to the ground man. >> this is footage shot on the schedule zone during the first few days of protest.

>> when you look at it now, it's so different. >> i used to come here every night to get snacks and stuff like that and just to see, like still hard to believe. for something this big to happen. sitting like definitely inspiring me to talk about it. >> even with all of the attention on the city. and the ground-breaking of a new job center on the site of an old quick trick. he said there's a long way to go. one waiter this area looks a lot different. is this area different? >> it's still the same. still the same. still a lot of things that need to change not just within this area st. louis in general. policing and black relegses.

not every cop is bad. not every black person that they run into is a thug or trying to kill them. this is the place it began, where officer deron wilson shot and killed michael brown. >> a year later a single dove marks the spot where michael brown's body was left for hours. for months many came to pay respect, building a shrine to michael brown. >> reporter: what did you see when you went outside last year? >> i saw a heavy police presence and there was a dead body in the middle of the street for five hours. >> chris lives and works at the apartments. >> do you remember what you welt when you saw michael brown. >> i thought it could have been

me. >> reporter: he says his community is healing, and every day he does his part. he walks a quarter of a mile up to west norrisen picking up trash. >> how would you say ferguson as a whole as changed? >> probably the most peaceful it's ever been. >> reporter: last year he says his friends would not visit often because police control his community. >> they would be in different parking lots and stuff like that. you pull them over you see them being toed. what do you feel in inside. it was more so to money as opposed to making the community feel safe. >> reporter: how do you think the police community interaction changes. >> we see a lot less of them. it's like they are there when

you don't need them. >> what should they be doing. >> just patrolling. i'm not saying they have to get out and talk to people. just patrolling letting them know hey, we are here. >> newly promoted ferguson police sergeant recognises investigations between the mostly white police department and black community were far from perfect. >> ferguson changed for the better. there's things that were brought to light that we didn't know or overlooked. i'm looking forward as a new sergeant to implementing different types of programs that will help and for other departments who have issues like the past year. i'm learning from mistakes. >> what specifically have you noticed that has changed at your department since last august. >> interacting with the citizens and the officers being there for one another.

i a never seen officers smile and hey, good morning. just the camaraderie that we have. >> last summer tensions between police and protesters were high. stitt police captain worked around the clock, trying to keep the piece. today he insists he sees a change dialogue and listening. progress. i seen the community reach out to each other, and we are seeing families living outside the north country coming in and sharing and the healing and change. i think we are seeing things move forward in a small way, but things didn't get this way overnight, and it will take

time. many people were effected by wlapd in ferguson. the shooting marked months of protest. for sum, like the owner of the strip mall. it's been a time of rebuilding. >> this man owns what is left of this popular strip mall on west florissant avenue. over the past year vandals ransacked several areas multiple times. in november this building burnt to the ground. >> national card guarded the gas station, standing here with a gun. no one came here stopping the guys. >> also they owned a market down the street. the august 2014 - he shared surveillance video with "america tonight" showing someone shooting out his windows in a

large group. >> all your hard work and life savings. >> do you remember what we were standing on a year ago. >> smashed bottles and scratch-up tickets. >> how much do you think the community has changed. they've gone through a lot in the last several months. >> i think so. i think so. after all, it's ferguson. this happened in so many different places in america. people are all aware. they are more concerned. i think everybody learnt lessons, and also the police department. they can't just shoot and ask questions as before. i think it has changed. >> much has changed on the streets for business owners and residents. for ferguson native the fight started after michael brown was killed, a fight for justice. >> what's changed?

there's an ongoing struggle every day which they are fighting for justice. >> seal stood with bowed een and michael brown's mother on the night they learnt there would be no indictment against the officer. >> i'm glad it was recognised on a global stage. so many around the world don't understand. they say the attention has not done much. >> something is terribly wrong with our system. it needs to change. we need to talk about what they'll do and what should be done. they are doing his part to help fix up the area where he grew up. he recently helped convert a school into a gym to get kids off the street. he is ready for a new beginning. many like him are ready for ferguson to move out of the spotlight and into a future

bringing everyone together "america tonight"s lori jane gliha joins us from ferguson. what happened there in ferguson really became part of national conversation. i wonder now, a year out from that, how communities see that. do they feel that they got played in this? >> you know the community has had mixed reactions. the only person i spoke to not one person views what happened over the last year the same way. i'll say that some of the people that live in ferguson mentioned they like the attention that they got internationally, because it brought a lot of issues in the great er-st. louis area to -- greater st. louis to many that didn't mow what was going on. they felt people came out. something that was popular on twitter and talked about ferguson. they didn't see that they had left behind changes. people left here in ferguson.

there's been a bit of a mixed reaction. >> and we are coming up to the anniversary of the day this weekend. >> is it there a sense there'll be much drama or will it pass quietly. >> i would say right now it's pretty calm. i feel like there's a lot of energy in the air, and i say that this guy pulls up in the vehicle, he's blasting a song a song he had written about michael brown. on the back of the vehicle were signs saying "stop the violence", it's a big attitude and push that the community is feeling. >> that said there's a lot of stuff planned over the next few days. i'm getting a lot of stuff in my email inbox. michael brown's parents are hosting various events there's a march, a moment of silence. there's a big hip hop concert. there's a lot of stuff planned. it will be peaceful again. >> "america tonight"s lori jane

gliha in ferguson missouri another view is in the website now. sheila macvicar there with the city's mayor. aljazeera.com/americatonight. >> a troubled prison and a new attempt to protect prisoners. >> a clash with police another victim falls. i need to talk to you. saying keep them alive. she'll have to be on a machine, she'll be a vegetable, 24 hours care. i can't imagine leaving my sister like that you know. >> why some deaths pass unnoticed. and the campaign to say her name. name.

our fast-forward segment takes a look at a crisis in a troubled prison system. it holds a large population where corruption is a problem. michael oku went inside with a look at the trouble behind bars. >> lying face down with my face on the ground, hands behind my

back. and i have four or five officers around me. >> reporter: that is what happened says this man when he went to visit his brother, in a notorious gaol. men's central gaol in downtown los angeles. in july 2010 he got a zone call from his younger brother arrested and held at the gaol. juan, a veteran of desert storm had trouble adjusting to civilian life since leaving the army. he had a few minor scrapes with the law, never amounting to much. what figuraa heard left him stunned your brother calls you from gaol? >> yes, si. >> and tells you that his teeth are busted. >> yes. >> and his ribs are broken. >> yes, sir. >> did he give an indication of how he sustained the injuries. . >> the los angeles sheriffs. >> that the los angeles sheriffs

hurt him. >> yes. >> reporter: did you believe that? >> yes. >> he went to the gaol hoping to see his brother. after get ghts the run around he -- getting the run around he approached a deputy. so began his own ordeal at the hands of the los angeles sheriff's department. this is an x-ray of his arm after the incident. how is your arm now? >> it's very weak. >> is it there still pain. >> yes. >> the gaol system run by the los angeles sheriff's department is a place where broken bones and beatages have been used to -- beatings have been used to discipline prisoners. after the visit he was questioned by sergeant gonzalez. he pressed him suggesting that he was responsible.

>> reporter: at some point you were told to leave. >> i was not told to leave, if i was i would have left. i was backing away from the officer because he was saying "there's noing nothing i can do for you." i said who is the boss. >> did you have that tone of voice. >> no that's what they said to me. >> reporter: according to a report they didn't like it when visitors disrespected the sheriffs. this man was held for five days but never charged with a crime. >> fast-forward to the changes now under way. l.a. county cut a deal with the federal justice, agreeing to improve conditions and stop the use of excessive force. if the facility don't meet benchmarks for the 15-plus

inmaintains, the government will crack down and soon. >> next law enforcement, judds, and the victims whose stories don't make headlines. the campaign to get us to say her name. >> and fixing the system. friday flashpoint ferguson ignited a money making machine. the judge trying a new approach. friday on "america tonight". friday on "america tonight". . >> al jazeera america gives you the total news experience any time anywhere. more on every screen. digital, mobile social. visit aljazeera.com. .

>> hunted to

in ferguson we saw a movement take shape and take off. biggest supporters may have been the ones left behind. black women are seen as members of the movement those associate are african-american men. now the voices are raised loud louder. >> on that here is christopher putzel the morning, march 31st, 2012 a month after the murder of traifon martin. this man turned on his tv to the

news that two had been shot. >> i'm looking at the tv. there's a surgeon on the tv and says that the young lady who was shot - there's a slim chance that she'll survive. they don't want to operate or do surgery, because it will kill her. i'm looking and i see 22-year-old girl 39-year-old man shot. i sent my prayers to the family i hope god heels their minds, soul and i hope they are all right. >> reporter: what he didn't know was that he was praying for his own sister. dante, an off duty police detective fired shots into a group of people standing in an ally near his home. sutton's sister was shot in the back of the head and barely clinging to life in hospital. >> that said let's me talk to you. said if you keep her alive.

she'll have to be alive. she'll be a vegetable. she'll be in 24 hours care. i can't imagine leaving my sister like that you nope. i'm the one that had to pull the plug. how can you pull the plug on your sibling. that was one of the hardest decisions i had to make in life. pulled the plug on my sister. >> for sutton the pain of losing his sister was compounded by the silence around the case. it would take two years or the officer to be charged with involuntary manslaughter a judge believing the charge was not severe enough because the officer's actions were beyond reckless resulting in acquittal. >> you first see it and experience it. you expect the cavalry to come. you expect uprises, you expect people to speak out on what is

going on. but that didn't happen and that is what was said. i must say in the beginning, the emotional. the fill-ins why aren't they saying my sister's name. why are they saying my kid's name. >> kimberley is trying to make sure someone is saying names like rachias. in response to the black lives matter crenshaw organised the say her name campaign as a way of make sure lives are not left out of the movement. >> what we were noticing is women were killed at the same time. but their names were not said when we knew her in the protest in the demonstrations when demands were made. families represented. there were the families of the men, whereas, you know families

of those taken by the police are not shedding fewer tears. children's lives are not left harmed by the absence of their parents. in addition to say her name cen she held workshops, helping victim's families find their voice. >> most of the women here are meeting someone who experienced the same thing that they have for the first time. >> reporter: before you came here, did you feel alone in your grief? >> yes. being here helped me. i was able to share with parties, we are hear for each other. i learnt that they don't have a similar group. i feel like i have a support group. >> the importance of keeping women and girls in the mix, is

that when the policies impact the community as a whole. the only way to understand that and advocate for interventions affecting reference is to make sure girls are in the definition in the first place, and that is important to say her name. snoop through the say her name campaign sutton found a voice. say her name - i see that the work that i have been doing is not in feign. speaking about her, and other victims. it is starting to spread like a wild fire. alberto and others. you know it may be little right now. but it's the most important thin, it started. we have to start somewhere

that is it "america tonight". tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter or fib, and come back we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow. >> it creates a huge opportunity for the small business owners. >> these are all different strains.

i'm ali velshi and i'm devoting the show to the trafficking of children as sex workers, a crime most think happens somewhere else. it's happening here in the united states. tonight - we bring you the story of a 15-year-old girl sold for sex online. hundreds of times. and the website that listed her for sale. mary snow has the story. >> we did everything with the kids. that was our philosophy as being parents. keep our kids busy and out of trouble. >> reporter: tom was a stay at home dad, his wife nicole