ABOVE: Thelonious ‘Shawn’ Searcy addressed a mass rally against wrongful convictions in Wayne County June 4, 2021, speaking from home on tether. He and Darrell Ewing, as leaders of Operation Liberation, organized the event, which drew hundreds who filled the streets outside the Frank Murphy Courthouse in downtown Detroit

Link below is to Fox2 Detroit report 10/14/22

https://www.facebook.com/1302219946/videos/622812139537620

“It’s over–FREE–19–it’s over!” — Thelonious ‘Shawn’ Searcy

Tether removed immediately after hearing

“Dismissal of the charges is appropriate given the severe and deliberate violations of the defendant’s due process rights.”–Judge Thomas Hathaway

Dismissal is “WITH PREJUDICE,” meaning charges cannot be brought back

Judges cites suppression of evidence: .40 caliber bullets in victim’s body, not .45’s;  store videotape likely showing the actual killer, and the criminal record of key prosecution witness

By Diane Bukowski 

October 3, 2022, updated Oct. 7, 2022

Atty. Michael Dezsi (l) with Thelonious Searcy (r) as they left court Oct. 3, 2022. Screenshot FB Live

DETROIT – Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge Thomas Hathaway today dismissed all charges against Thelonious ‘Shawn’ Searcy in a stinging order which repeatedly cited the prosecution for “allowing blatant lies to stand.”

He said Wayne County prosecutors and police deliberately withheld evidence that should have been given to the defense under Brady v. Maryland :: 373 U.S. 83 (1963),  a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. That evidence would have saved Searcy from  spending 17 years in prison for the Sept. 6, 2004 murder of Jamal Segars outside the Detroit City Airport, a crime he did not commit.

“This Court concludes that the damage caused by the suppression and withholding of the exculpatory evidence cannot be cured,” Judge Hathaway said. “Therefore, it holds that dismissal of the charges is  appropriate given the severe and deliberate violations of the defendant’s due process rights that denied him and fair and impartial trial. Accordingly, this Court GRANTS defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.”

The dismissal is WITH PREJUDICE, meaning that the charges cannot be brought back. Most of the cases of Wayne County’s 32 exonerees to date have involved only dismissals WITHOUT prejudice, leading some to speculate that possible reinstatements of their original charges have been held over their heads since.

“I am so happy to see Mr. Searcy turn the page beyond the nightmare of his wrongful conviction,” defense attorney Michael Dezsi told VOD.

Wayne Co. Pros. Kym Worthy (l) Chief Judge Timothy Kenny (r).

“The Court did not mince words in describing the blatant lies, perjured testimony, and suppressed evidence that was known to the prosecution and investigating officers all of which was unknown to the defense at Searcy’s first trial.  As Judge Hathaway concluded, ‘the price to be paid for this failure falls on the prosecution.’”

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy declined to comment on the judge’s order. Judge Timothy Kenny, now Chief Judge of the 3rd Judicial Circuit Court, presided over Searcy’s trial and an evidentiary hearing in 2018. Attorney Dezsi was appointed to the case for that hearing, and has represented Searcy in “years of hearings, evidentiary hearings, and multiple appeals” since, as he told VOD.

Patrick Muscat, the Assistant Prosecutor at Searcy’s trial, also led the prosecutions of Wayne County exonerees Davontae Sanford  and Kenneth Nixon. None of the prosecutors and police involved in these and other Wayne County wrongful convictions have been charged or otherwise held accountable for their roles to date.

AP Patrick Muscat (r) led prosecution of exonerees (l  to r) Kenneth Nixon, Davontae Sanford, and now newly-exonerated Thelonious Searcy.

“It’s over–FREE–19–it’s over!” Searcy exulted on Facebook Live as he and Dezsi left court today. He referred to the total of 19 years, including two on tether, that he spent in the custody of the Michigan Department of Corrections. Judge Hathaway granted his release to home confinement in 2021 against strenuous objections by the prosecutor.

Thelonious Searcy with (l to r) daughter Shyra Searcy, wife Tyria Searcy, daughter Paige Braxton

“This win is dedicated to God and my family,” Searcy exulted in a Facebook post. “My faith in God empowered me to fight for my return. My motivation was getting back to my family. Under no situation was I willing to lay down and surrender my life to a system that systematically targeted inner city minorities in poverty stricken communities for crimes that they knew the suspect may be innocent of. Giving up when I knew I was wronged was something I just couldn’t do.”

Searcy said he went straight from the hearing and got the tether removed, which has restricted his employment and other opportunities.

See: Judge Thomas Hathaway’s complete order granting Thelonious Searcy Motion to Dismiss, Oct. 3, 2022 http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Thelonious-Searcy-Order-Gg-Defs-Mtn-to-Dismiss-10.3.20223311-2.pdf

Thelonious Searcy (bottom r) listens March 19, 2018 as Vincent Smothers (on stand with head bowed) testifies he killed Segars, not Searcy. Standing is defense attorney Michael Dezsi, at far right, AP Timothy Chambers. Asst. State Atty. Gen’l Oronde Patterson argued the case most recently against Searcy, but to no avail. Photo: VOD

Searcy fought his conviction from day one from his prison cells, researching every aspect of his case. His grandmother Edna Richardson filed a Freedom of Information Act request for him which led to the procurement of his homicide file. Suppressed forensics evidence he found in that file was key in overturning his conviction.

In 2016,  Searcy filed a pro se motion for a new trial with assistance from a “jail-house lawyer” friend. VOD discovered that motion in his court file in 2017, and has covered his story since.

VOD was the only media outlet to attend  every session of a powerful six-month evidentiary hearing in front of Third Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny in 2018. Despite Kenny’s denial of Searcy’s motion six months afterwards, testimony from that hearing led eventually to today’s dismissal of all charges.

Shawn Searcy’s grandmother Edna Richardson in early portrait. She helped him file FOIA.

Vincent Smothers, the self-acknowledged “hit man” who also admitted the murders of the four victims in the Davontae Sanford case, took the stand for two days. He described in great detail consistent with the physical evidence how he and a now-deceased partner caught Jamal Segars in the midst of a “Black Party” crowded with auto traffic held outside Detroit City Airport. Smothers said he killed Segars using a .4o caliber gun. The Wayne County Medical Examiner turned four bullets in Segars body over to the Detroit Police.

A state Court of Appeals panel ruled that AP Muscat and trial judge Kenny deliberately diverted the jury’s attention away from those .40 caliber bullets, which were not consistent with the .45 caliber gun that the prosecution claimed was the murder weapon. It said Judge Kenny “abused his discretion” by evaluating and disputing Smothers’ testimony himself, a matter that is reserved for a jury.

Judge Hathaway listed these reasons for granting Searcy’s motion to dismiss in his order:

“This Court finds the following violations of defendant’s due process rights: (1) the prosecution was aware of Witcher’s criminal history on account of DPD’s Hit List containing his infractions; (2) the prosecution intentionally violated defendant’s right under Brady by suppressing the forensic analysis of the bullet taken from the victim’s body which was not consistent with the gun offered at trial as belonging to defendant; (3) the prosecution suppressed the VHS tape; (4) the prosecution suppressed the criminal history and arrest record of the prosecution’s key witness, DeAnthony Witcher.”

Judge Thomas Hathaway talks to Searcy after his ruling Oct. 2, 2022. FB post

Regarding the forensics evidence, Judge Hathaway said, “At the time of the trial, the  prosecution’s forensic examiners were aware of the bullet caliber type removed from the victim’s body and that it did not match the handgun offered at trial.

“Defendant argues and this Court agrees that there is nothing more exculpatory than this single piece of evidence which was suppressed from the defense and the jury.”

Judge Hathaway said the two forensics technicians who examined the bullets in the case, David Pauch and Kevin Reed, had been involved in other cases of wrongful convictions. He noted the defense had objected to qualifying Reed as an expert witness because he had no training in ballistics, but that AP Muscat had him testify at trial anyway, saying falsely that the bullets from Segars’ body were too deformed to analyze. Reed’s faulty work and other factors led to the shut-down of the entire City of Detroit crime lab in 2008.

He said the prosecution had argued in their motion opposing the dismissal of charges that the defense could have discerned that the bullets involved were .40 calibers from the Medical Examiner’s report and claimed the defense had not exercised “due diligence.”

.45 and .40 caliber bullets

But Hathaway said, “To the contrary, the prosecution argues that defense counsel who had the autopsy report about the bullets, could have ascertained by process of elimination, that the .40 caliber bullets had to have come from the victim’s body. However, this Court disagrees as the Michigan Supreme Court rejected a diligence requirement as part of a Brady violation.

“In People v. Chenault, 495 Mich 142, 152 (2014), our Supreme Court concluded that ‘[w]e disagree with the prosecution’s suggestion that the diligence requirement is consistent with the Brady doctrine generally.’ In the instant case, the prosecution is asking the Court to ignore binding precedent and impose a diligence requirement to reject defendant’s Brady argument. However, this Court declines the prosecution’s suggestion to decide against precedent.”

Police seized a videotape from this store at Conner and Whithorn, directly adjacent to Jamal Segars shooting scene on Conner.

Searcy and his attorney said they had repeatedly requested a copy of a VHS tape from a store located adjacent to the shooting scene from the prosecution, but were told the tape did not exist. However, they cited multiple still photographs from the videotape provided as part of discovery earlier.

In his ruling, Judge Hathaway wrote, “Similarly, the VHS tapes confiscated by Officer Zwicker was clearly Brady material that should have been given to the defense. Defendant argues that the VHS tapes that were confiscated are another reason why his case should be dismissed. Indeed, [eyewitnesses] Edmonson and Holmes told Officer Zwicker that they saw the shooter run into the corner store. Zwicker went to the store to confiscate a VHS tape that he placed into evidence. To date, this tape has never been produced or viewed by the defense.”

Judge Hathaway quoted AP Muscat’s testimony at the evidentiary hearing: “In regard to discovery, there has been some off the record conversations about an in-store video. I’ve never seen a copy of that video and I’ve been told by Sgt. Anderson that there is not a copy.”

Private investigator and former TV 2 reporter Scott Lewis interviewed Vincent Smothers in prison about his role in the Segars killing. His audiotape (featured above) heightened public awareness of Searcy’s wrongful conviction and was played during the evidentiary hearing prior to Smothers’ direct testimony.

Scott Lewis testifies March 19, 2018 at Thelonious Searcy evidentiary hearing.

“I am happy for Thelonious,” Lewis told VOD. “Michael Dezsi did an amazing job on this case. He discovered new evidence in the middle of an evidentiary hearing erasing any doubt that Searcy was wrongfully convicted. I wonder how many other innocent people are languishing in prison with a life sentence because they can’t afford good attorneys and investigators, and there are not enough pro bono [advocates] to go around.”

Judge Hathaway’s ruling on suppression of Brady materials in Searcy’s case is expected to be cited in an ongoing case involving Searcy’s brother Derrico Searcy and his co-defendant Darrell Ewing. Ewing has filed an interlocutory appeal of 3rd Circuit Court Judge Darnella Williams-Clayborne’s denial of his request to dismiss their case due to continuing Brady continuing violations going back to his original trial in 2004. Williams-Clayborne also contended that Brady violations do not apply post-conviction. The appeal is currently under consideration by the Michigan Supreme Court.

Darrell Ewing (l), Derrico Searcy (r)

“T’m overjoyed for the victory my brother and the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) just scored being completely set free and cleared,” Ewing told VOD. “Not only was he vindicated, but the illustrious Judge Thomas Hathaway issued an opinion that slammed the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office for the injustice and grave misconduct that took place in his case–knowingly entombing evidence of innocence from the gate.

“His victory was a two-for-one as the pen that freed him gave my Judge Williams-Clayborne all the authority she requested in deciding to dismiss my case. So, I’m beyond elated and giving all praises to God, those who labored and beat the ground for us, making noise and protesting and the Voice of Detroit who covered our cases from day one, when no other media outlet would dare.”

CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH! FREE DARRELL EWING, ALL OTHERS WRONGFULLY CONVICTED, UNJUSTLY SENTENCED | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

VOD’s legal advisor noted many other cases involving requests for dismissal due to Brady violations will be affected by Judge Hathaway’s ruling, which sets a precedent in particular for Wayne County criminal cases brought back to the trial court on post-conviction motions.

One of those cases is that of Ricky Rimmer, who has filed motions for a new trial and evidentiary hearings after 47 years in prison, citing violations of Brady v. Maryland due to the prosecution’s failure to disclose the extensive criminal histories of the chief Detroit police officers in his case. The motions are set for action in front of Third Judicial Circuit Judge Christopher Blount on Jan. 6.

MICH. LIFER RICKY RIMMER CITES RACIST, VIOLENT HISTORY OF DPD COPS HAIDYS, HARRIS IN MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

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Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE.

VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.

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RELATED Documents and Stories:

Judge Thomas Hathaway’s complete order granting Thelonious Searcy Motion to Dismiss, Oct. 3, 2022: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Thelonious-Searcy-Order-Gg-Defs-Mtn-to-Dismiss-10.3.20223311-2.pdf

Michigan Court of Appeals order vacating Searcy conviction, 10/21/21 http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/COA-Thelonious-Searcy-20210211_C349169_62_349169.OPN-3-bullet-evidence-highlighted-2.pdf

Continue reading →

Michael Thompson Clemency Project Rallies families, friends of 12 Michigan lifers, applying for clemency with Mich. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan prison population has tripled over the last 40 years; clemency project is first step in battle against mass incarceration

Ricardo Ferrell (l), Mike McCurdy (r)

By VOD Field editor Ricardo Ferrell    and Mike McCurdy

FLINT, MI 9/16/22 – With momentum garnered during the Michael Thompson Clemency Project’s (MTCP) last event “Fighting for Freedom” on Juneteenth at Flint’s Capitol Theatre, advocates, family, friends and supporters again gathered, this time at the Vehicle City Social Club for a letter writing campaign.

Letters of support are being sent on behalf of the MTCP’s 12 applicants for commutation to the Office of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan’s Parole Board. On this night in a room where many tears were shed, the stories of MTCP’s constituents were told by friends and family members who got on stage and shared how having an incarcerated loved one has impacted them and their families as well.

Michael Thompson at Vehicle City Club September 15, 2022 ZClingenpeel Mlive.COM

Michael “Meeko” Thompson, Founder and President of the Board of Directors of MTCP shared his compelling story with the crowd, about his 25-year struggle for freedom after being given a 42-60 year prison term for selling three pounds of cannabis to a friend.

Now some 20 months after Gov. Whitmer signed his commutation, he went on stage as a clear example that clemency can help right the injustices of our system of mass incarceration. He vowed to continue to travel the country talking to crowds and advocate for prison reform and push for clemency for those left behind.

Some of the incarcerated men who were the subjects of the event, (including VOD editor  Ricardo Ferrell) chose to be there vicariously, telling their pre-recorded stories. Aside from Ferrell’s story, LeRoy Washington, who has known MTCP founder Michael Thompson (‘Meeko’) since he was a kid, shared his story as well. Washington said Thompson was a positive influence on him and always steered him in the right direction. He described how when he was 14, Meeko stepped in and deterred him from joining a gang.

(L to R) VOD Field Editor Ricardo Ferrell (l) and Leroy Washington (r), 2 founders of “My Life Matters Too.”

Like the others, Washington is hoping that his application for commutation, prepared by the law offices of Kimberly Kendall Corral, will receive the required recommendation of the Michigan Parole Board and prayerfully be granted by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer soon thereafter, bringing to an end his 28 years behind bars.

The dire need for both prison and criminal justice reforms was a major topic at the event. Flint’s Mayor Sheldon Neely spoke about the need to give incarcerated individuals a second chance, and for legislatures to finally step up and reform the system.  Neely once held the seat as a Michigan State Representative before being elected mayor of Flint.

Flint Mayor Sheldon Neely

Never before had the families and supporters of MTCP’s incarcerated constituents gathered to tell their stories in one spot.

“The event was a huge success,” said Marshall Clabeaux, Codirector of MTCP, “We collected several letters on behalf of our constituents and were able to get a glimpse into the lives that are so drastically affected by the continued draconian and unnecessary incarceration of these men. Every story is different, but each of these men have proven they are ready to re-enter society and each of them is counting on the Governor to hear their pleas.”

The event made it clear that Michigan has a real problem with elderly prisoners being held beyond a reasonable time. At what point is enough, enough? Thompson asked, referring to the cruel and unusual nature of continuing to incarcerate the elderly for crimes they were convicted of in their youth, and in abusive conditions, while they no longer pose a threat.

Claudia Perkins-Milton at court hearing on Flint water settlement.

Flint resident and candidate for Flint School Board Claudia Perkins stressed that there exists a noticeable disparity in sentencing practices for People of Color. And the sole person that can do anything about it in many of these cases is Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

In 2019, Governor Whitmer issued an executive order, creating the Michigan Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration. The stated goal of the bipartisan task force was to examine why the prison population has tripled in Michigan over the last 40 years, and what can be done to reduce the population. If one of the aims of the Michigan Prison Task Force is to reduce the population of those incarcerated, finding candidates like the listed 12 applicants should be a starting point.

These men combined have served around 400 years and counting. When is enough ever enough, especially when they have aged out of criminality, are elderly and sick, and struggle each passing day just to get out of bed and hope for another day?

MICHAEL THOMPSON PROJECT FIGHTS FOR CLEMENCY FOR 11 MICHIGAN PRISONERS WHO HAVE SERVED 30-40-50 YRS. | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

LEROY WASHINGTON, DAUGHTER CO-FOUND NATL. ANTI-BULLYING PROJECT TO CHANGE, SAVE LIVES | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Thousands of protesters shut down Hall Rd. in Sterling Heights June 6, 2020 after the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN, showing it is possible to mobilize against racism in Macomb County. Are such mobilizations needed to support Terry Wilson and others whose lives have been taken by Macomb Co. courts and police?

TERRY WILSON RE-TRIAL SET FOR FEB. 14, 2023 IN MACOMB COUNTY

Have issues of predominantly white juries, racist prosecutors been addressed before trial?

Family called earlier for change of venue

Wilson testified he was defending himself, but AP Jurji Fedorak told virtually all-white jury he “wanted to show how big of a man he is in his neighborhood.”

Ferrell

COA overturned Macomb County conviction of Reinaldo Jemison Sept. 15 citing defense failure to investigate and raise self-defense argument

By Ricardo Ferrell

With Editor Diane Bukowski

September 24, 2022

Channel 4 coverage of Terry Wilson’s overturned conviction in 2019.

MOUNT CLEMENS, MI – The fight to get justice for Terry Lamont Wilson of Clinton Township has been going on for nearly a decade. Family, friends and other supporters say they want to see him get the new trial that was granted in 2019 by Macomb Co. Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Faunce, after a 2014 trial was shown to be tainted by racism.

But they want a fair trial in front of a jury representative of the population of Macomb County, and a prosecutor who does not make racially biased statements at trial. They say Macomb County AP Jurji Fedorak is clearly planning to sabotage the case.

Terry Wilson’s mother LaShanda Kelley (r) and brother in court Aug. 16, 2022 (Photo Jameson Cook/Macomb Daily)

Court records show that Judge Faunce has set a trial date in the case for February 14, 2023.

“It’s been three long agonizing years waiting for Terry to get another trial and chance to hopefully prove that he never planned to kill William Clark, and that he only shot Willie because he feared him,” Corey Kennedy, a longtime friend of both Clark and Wilson, told VOD. He said he believes the jury got it wrong and his friend should have have been convicted of manslaughter, at most.

The U.S. Census reported in 2021 that 23.5% of Macomb County residents are from communities of color, including with 76% listed as white.

U.S. CENSUS 2021 REPORT ON RACIAL DEMOGRAPHICS OF MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN

A jury of 11 whites and one Asian convicted Wilson of first-degree murder and felony firearm possession in Clark’s 2014 killing. Judge Faunce overturned the conviction in 2018 on appeal, after an evidentiary hearing on his motion for relief from judgement revealed that jury foreman Harvey Labadie called Wilson a “n—–r” during deliberations. Faunce did not address the issue of the racially exclusionary jury. Most mainstream media coverage has focused solely on Labadie’s remarks.

Macomb Co. AP Jurji Fedorak (l) MCCC Judge Jennifer Faunce (r)

According to a legal brief filed by appellate attorney Wade Fink, a juror believed to be Labadie also said “he believed defendant was guilty because he was ‘ghetto’ and ‘black’ and (murder) is what (ghetto black people) do, and this is the way they are.”

During Wilson’s first trial, Assistant Prosecutor Jurji Fedorak reinforced that depiction, telling the jury that Wilson “wanted to show how big of a man he is in his neighborhood.”

During a pre-trial hearing held August 16, AP Fedorak reneged on a plea offer that was originally discussed on July 15th with Gary Kennedy, the appointed appellate attorney now representing Wilson. The offer had a reported deadline of August 16th. If Wilson declined a plea to the lesser charge of second-degree, with a supposed cap of 25 years, he said the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office will take him to trial.

Macomb Co. AP, former Clinton Twp. police officer Vincent Collura

Homicide detective Gilbert, who investigated the death of William Clark, was present in the courtroom August 16. Clark’s brother DeAnthony Rodgers was also present in addition to Wilson’s mother LaShanda Kelley, and brother.  Vincent Collura, a former Clinton Township Police Officer who handled the original case, who is now assistant prosecutor, sat next to Fedorak.

Fedorak asked that the proceedings be adjourned until August 22, to give Wilson an alleged “last chance” to think about the 25 year offer. But an earlier upon offer given to Wilson’s previous attorney Robbie Lang consisted of 18 years and the mandatory two years for the firearm.

Lang, from the Law Offices of Michael J. Smith & Associates, wrote regarding that offer, “…We have also discussed with the prosecutor, what at this time, is the lowest possible sentence cap that would be approved by the mother of the victim and the higher authorities in the prosecutor’s office that controls these negotiations, being 18 years, plus the two years on the Felony Firearm… if in fact, this type of plea bargain and sentence cap can be agreed upon by all sides, it is our strong recommendation that you accept it…”

COA reverses Macomb Co. Judge Joseph Toia’s ruling in case of Reinaldo Jemison, remands for new trial including self-defense investigation

During the first trial, Judge Faunce herself included a possible charge of manslaughter for the jury’s consideration. It is not known if Wilson’s defense attorney at trial asked for that charge to be considered.

Reinaldo Jemison (l) MCCC Judge Joseph Toia (r)

On Sept. 15, 2022, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the 2019 second-degree murder conviction of Reinaldo Jamison, citing defense counsel’s failure to properly investigate or pursue a self-defense claim. The COA said Macomb County Judge Joseph Toia  erred when it accepted the “patently incredible testimony” of defense counsel David Cripps regarding evidence that Jemison had raised the self-defense claim to him from the beginning.

“Defense counsel was ineffective when he failed to properly investigate or pursue a self-defense claim,” the court said. “The trial court clearly erred when it accepted defense counsel’s patently incredible testimony on this issue. Moreover, defense counsel’s deficient performance in this regard is sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of defendant’s trial. We therefore vacate his convictions and sentences, and remand for a new trial. We do not retain jurisdiction.” See: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-ontent/uploads/Warren-murder-conviction-reversed-by-the-state-Court-of-Appeals-–-Macomb-Daily.pdf.

Related:

COA ruling overturning conviction of Macomb Co. resident Reinaldo Jemison

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Reinaldo-Jemison-COA-9-15-2022.pdf

LIFER TERRY WILSON FACES NEW TRIAL IN HISTORICALLY RACIST MACOMB COUNTY; CHANGE OF VENUE NEEDED | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Deadline Detroit | Selweski: Ugly racial politics resurface in Macomb primary attack mailings

VOD must pay its quarterly web-host fee NOW! Or, it will fold and DISAPPEAR, taking 12 years of stories with it.

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CASH APP at 313-825-6126 $MDianeBukowski

VOD Editor Diane Bukowski, Field Editor Ricardo Ferrell

By Diane Bukowski

September 5, 2022

DETROIT — The Voice of Detroit was founded in 2010, by its editor Diane Bukowski, when the Michigan Citizen newspaper dumped her after publishing 10 years of her ground-breaking stories, then went out of business three years later. Bukowski was known for her articles on prisons and the police, the dismantling of the City of Detroit, its departments and neighborhoods, the Detroit Public Schools, and multiple other issues.

Published pro bono, the Voice of Detroit has forged on, focusing since 2021 on articles related to the most dispossessed among us, whose lives are taken by mass incarceration and street executions by law enforcement. VOD Field Editor Ricardo Ferrell, incarcerated for decades, has helped keep that coverage going, with more than 40 articles from inside the walls of the MDOC. Photos of the subjects of those VOD stories appear in this post. To read the articles, put any name in  the VOD search engine at the top right of this page.

VOD ‘s first series of articles on the wrongfully convicted include these men.

VOD is financed out of the minimal fixed incomes of its editor and staffers, f0r the benefit of the people. Every quarter, we must pay a web-hosting fee which has now increased to $465.00, to keep VOD on-line, in addition to multiple other expenses.

VOICE OF DETROIT HAS LED THE WAY IN THE BATTLE FOR JUVENILE LIFERS,, PARTICULARLY FROM WAYNE COUNTY.

VOD DOES NOT EXIST WITHOUT THE INTERNET. If $465.00 is not paid this month, VOD and twelve years of its stories will DISAPPEAR from view. 

We are calling especially on the families and friends of those featured in VOD, prisoners in the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Wayne County Jail, and those killed by police, such as seven year-old Aiyana Jones,  to step forward and donate to keep VOD going. We implore other justice-seekers to step forward as well, including attorneys, advocates, and activists everywhere.

VOD has led the way particularly in fighting for Wayne County’s juvenile lifers, 50 of whom Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy has forced to continue battling for re-sentencing ten and more years since the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the practice. JLWOP is unknown across the globe, except in the United States.

Screenshots of Wayne County Jail detainess interviewed in March, 2022. Eleven detainees filed suit against the County in June, citing gross violations of their rights, led by Darrell Ewing (bottom right).

This year, VOD has covered the heroic battles of detainees in the Wayne County Jail, many held for up to four years in violation of their constitutional right to a speedy trial. The County has held trials at a snail’s pace, limiting them only to selected courtrooms.

The detainees have been denied even a “breath of fresh air” in recreation outside the jail, and even inside in the gym, since the COVID pandemic began in 2020, leading to severe deterioration of their health. They are denied in-person family visits, and their right to receive mail in a timely and legal fashion has been severely curtailed.

VOD Editor Diane Bukowski’s 10-year career with the Michigan Citizen was highlighted by her breaking stories on Serial Killer Kop Eugene Brown, and Detroit’s Booty Boys rapist cops Michael Osman and Michael Parish, as well as many others which exposed murderer police. VOD has continued that record, particularly with its coverage of the horrifying murder of 7-year-old Aiyana Jones in 2010 and continuing through the years of trials involved in the case. VOD was the ONLY media outlet which told the whole truth about the murder and the trials, while the mainstream media devoted itself to maligning Aiyana’s family. 

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/DETROITERS-KILLED-BY-POLICE-1992-2020-merged.pdf

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Donations for the Voice of Detroit are urgently needed to keep this paper, which is published pro bono, going. Among ongoing expenses are quarterly HostPapa web charges of $460.00 (due at the latest by Sept. 19 this month), costs for research including court documents, internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc. The editor and reporters are not paid for their dedicated work, and many live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated. Please, if you can:

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DETAINEES IN THE WAYNE CO. JAIL SUED TOP OFFICIALS JUNE 23, 2022  FOR VIOLATIONS OF RIGHTS TO SPEEDY TRIAL, OPEN COURTS, VISITS, RECREATION

EWING V. WASHINGTON AMENDED COMPLAINT #22-cv-11453 FILED AUG. 12, 2022

Federal lawsuit by 11 detainees seeks class certification, appt. of attorney, jury trial, expedited handling re: detainees’ severe health conditions

Detainees say one committed suicide Aug. 6, unable to endure “harsh conditions” for months and even years

A ray of hope:  Plaintiff Javonte Wiley, held for 4 years, won his freedom Aug. 12 after the Michigan Supreme Court outlawed “one-man” grand juries

By Diane Bukowski

KEEP VOICE OF DETROIT ON-LINE! DONATIONS NEEDED BY SEPT. 4 for $465.00 WEB HOST FEE https://www.gofundme.com/VOD-readers-up

August 28, 2022

Families and friends of Wayne Co. Jail detainees demanded speedy trials, open courts, recreation for their loved ones March 17, 2022.

“You can judge a nation by how its treats its prisoners. Leaving the question to be asked, are these horrible and torturous conditions fair? Or is this how those who are presumed innocent should be treated? Note Wayne  County has been dubbed the holder of the nation’s office with the highest wrongful convictions.”  — From amended complaint filed Aug. 12, 2022

Screenshots of men in Wayne County Jail in March, 2022. Darrell Ewing, who led detainees in filing their lawsuit, is shown at bottom right.

DETROIT — Armed only with loose leaf paper, pens, and long-simmering outrage against what they say is their illegal and inhumane confinement, 11 Wayne County Jail detainees filed suit in U.S. District Court June 23 against Co. Sheriff Raphael Washington, Wayne Co. Chief Judge Timothy Kenny, and four other county administrators.

They say the defendants are violating their constitutional rights to speedy trials, open courts, family visits, and recreation.

“All Plaintiffs and Class Members (thousands) have been charged and detained in the Wayne County Jails, that is in violation of both Michigan and the U.S. Constitution 180-day right to speedy trial,” the detainees’ original complaint begins.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox

The detainees have moved for class certification, a jury trial, and appointment of an attorney, saying up to 1500 others are being held in similar conditions. The case is registered on the trial docket of U.S. District Court Chief Judge Sean Cox and is currently awaiting a hearing.

Detainees say the defendants, who also include Wayne Co. Dep. Sheriff Frederyn Allen, Co. Chief of Jails Robert Dunlap, Co. Chief Corporation Counsel Richard Lynch, and  Co. Administrator Zenell Brown, are violating the U.S. Constitution’s First, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteen Amendments and multiple federal statutes due to their detentions without trial, in some cases for as long as four years.

Other issues include cruel and unusual punishment, and denial of due process and equal protection.

Wayne County Jail Detainees Say County violates these U.S. Constitutional Amendments.

“Plaintiffs like Antonio Richards, Javonte Wiley*(see box below) and Lamont Lofton [are being] held without trial in the excess of three years—an enormous dictatorial and egregious, conscience-shocking speedy trial violation!” the complaint says.

“Plaintiffs Roderick Graham and Shannon Groom are like thousands awaiting their day in court, held without being tried three times the speedy trial guarantee—18 months. This is a disturbing and mind blowing violation of the Sixth Amendment.”‘

In amended filings Aug. 12, they are asking the court to expedite their complaint,  citing in particular the Aug. 6 suicide of one detainee. They say they have been confined 24/7 to their “rocks” (cells) since the County’s cancellation of all indoor and outdoor recreation and access  to even a “whiff of fresh air” at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

“The conditions in the jail are the root cause of plaintiffs’ and many others’ [new] diagnoses of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, anxiety, stress and mental anguish,” they say.

In response to the filings, Erika Erickson, Communications Director for Wayne Co. Sheriff Raphael Washington, and Zenell Brown, 3rd Judicial Circuit Court Administrator, each responded to VOD’s July 27 inquiry for comments on the lawsuit, that they cannot comment on pending litigation and that they have not been legally served.

In their filings, the detainees are asking Judge Cox to ensure that that legal service is carried out forthwith due to the long-standing and now immediate threats to their mental and physical health.

“Consider, due to the long-term denial of recreation and all those immured in the jail and confined strictly to their living quarters (cell), the Plaintiffs have put on and gained an excessive amount of weight during these trying times. Take Plaintiff Cotton for example . . . Since being denied recreation has gained approximately 200 pounds, is having heart problems, chest pains, became a diabetic, and is steadily gaining weight due to the Defendants’ denial of recreation. Further, Plaintiff Graham has put on 120 pounds since being denied recreation. This is sad, as jails and prisons across the state long ago gave inmates access to recreation, visitation, and fresh air.”

JAVONTE WILEY FREE! After 4 years in pre-trial detention, Javonte Wiley walked free Aug. 12. His case was the first dismissed as a result of the Michigan Supreme Court ruling outlawing one-man grand juries.

The complaint says that detainees have tried to stay in shape working out off of bars and poles in the cells, with many getting injured and ticketed when the bars break. It cites other health issues including rising blood pressure and blood sugar rates as high as 600, along with breathing and other problems related to rampant asbestos, black mold and loose lead paint chips in the jail.

Detainees were told that the Third Judicial Circuit Court would be fully open Aug. 22 to expedite trials and other hearings, but that has not happened, they say. The complaint estimates that a back-log of 10,000 cases announced by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym  Worthy, will not be resolved until 2050 under the current court restrictions.

“Moreover, the defendants also assume residents of Wayne County (the impoverished) can afford access to Zoom or YouTube  to observe court,” the complaint notes. “A recession looms and inflation is at an all time high, yet the defendants have instituted draconian policies mandating the people of our great state to view court only via Zoom and YouTube, not allowing in-person spectators. . .This ought not to be in today’s time, when there’s a whopping amount of distrust for police and the judicial system, with an incredible  rate of wrongful convictions.”

The complaint alleges that U.S. Mail including legal mail from attorneys and courts is being “held and stockpiled” for two weeks up to two months.

Each detainee has filed signed affidavits describing their own individual legal issues and complaints. Links to the actual documents in the case, available from the court’s PACER website, will be appended shortly. Meanwhile, see full statement of facts (typed) in amended operative complaint filed Aug. 12 at:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/WCJ-Lawsuit-text-typed.pdf

RELATED STORIES:

MICH. SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN 1-MAN GRAND JURIES; UNCONSTITUTIONAL, ‘CAN’T CUT CORNERS’ | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

VIDEO VISITS TO INMATES AT WAYNE COUNTY JAILS SHUT DOWN, ACCESS TO FAMILIES, COURTS CURTAILED | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought   

FAMILIES MARCH FOR MEN HELD WITHOUT TRIAL UP TO 4 YEARS IN WAYNE CO. JAIL; DEMAND “OPEN THE COURTS” | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

UNLAWFUL, UNJUST! RALLY THURSDAY MAR. 17 TO FREE WRONGLY HELD PRISONERS; OPEN VISITS, COURTS, FILES | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH! FREE DARRELL EWING, ALL OTHERS WRONGFULLY CONVICTED, UNJUSTLY SENTENCED | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

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Donations for the Voice of Detroit are urgently needed to keep this paper, which is published pro bono, going. Among ongoing expenses are quarterly HostPapa web charges of $460.00 (due Sept. 4, 2022), costs for research including court documents, internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc. The editor and reporters are not paid for their dedicated work, and many live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated. Please, if you can:

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The newscast above was published in 2021; Terry Lamont Wilson has now been in the Macomb County Jail for three years.

Terry Wilson faces new trial in Macomb County this year after judge threw out 2014 conviction due to racist comments by member of all-white jury

Wilson’s mother says, “My son is still not safe in Macomb County,” and wants a change of venue.

Macomb County known for openly racist politicians, employees, courts and police, national neo-Nazi group

Wilson testified he was defending himself in chaotic scene during shooting death of  a friend, but had no intent to kill

R. Ferrell

“Unrepresentative juries . . .also produce wrongful convictions and unfair sentences that disproportionately burden Black people and people of color-” 2021 Equal Justice Initiative study

By Ricardo Ferrell, VOD Field Editor
 with Diane Bukowski, Editor

Terry Lamont Wilson (MDOC photo)

Terry Lamont Wilson, in prison since 2014 on a charge of first-degree murder, won a new trial in 2019 after his appellate attorney Wade Fink discovered that the jury foreman on his all-white jury, Harvey Labadie, repeatedly made racist remarks during deliberations.

Despite the testimony of four fellow jurors, Labadie denied making the remarks when confronted by a Channel 7 News reporter. “I didn’t say racist comments. I have never said racist comments in my life. I am a Democrat.

Fink said at the time, “Huge victory for our criminal justice system but also another reminder that pernicious racial bias continues to exist.”

Wilson is still locked up three years after Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Faunce, who presided over his original trial,  ordered a new trial because of Labadie’s comments. At the same time, she ordered him remanded to the Macomb County Jail without bond. She has repeatedly denied motions asking for changes in his terms of confinement due to his health issues.

Macomb Cty AP Jurji Fedorak, Judge Jennifer Faunce

Wilson’s mother LaShanda Kelley told VOD she fears that flagrant racial bias is still rampant in Macomb County and wants a change of venue.

“My son is not safe in Macomb County,” she said. “He needs a change of venue. Jurors openly discussed the trial on Facebook during deliberations and one referred to my son as a ‘n—r’ repeatedly. That juror called my son ‘ghetto,’ implying that is the way THEY all are. One juror said she felt bullied into voting in favor of the verdict. Even though Terry has been granted a new trial, I still worry that he won’t receive a fair trial again.”

Judge Faunce’s 2019 ruling vacating Wilson’s conviction was widely covered by the media, but little was said about the all-white jury.

The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), headed by nationally prominent Attorney Bryan Stevenson,  known for his historic U.S. Supreme Court victories on behalf of juvenile defendants, published a 2021 study, “Race and the Jury.”

It begins, “Unrepresentative juries not only exclude and marginalize communities of color, they also produce wrongful convictions and unfair sentences that disproportionately burden Black people and people of color. Our failure to remedy this longstanding problem of racial bias imperils the legitimacy of the U.S. legal system.”

The report says the entire judicial system plays a role in producing all-white and non-representative juries, including judges, prosecutors, and even defense attorneys who do not challenge such juries.

It notes that, historically, not one top court in the 50 states has upheld such a challenge. However, Michigan’s Supreme Court, which has recently issued many ground-breaking rulings on behalf of defendants, may want to take a look at Wilson’s case in the event that another non-representative jury is selected or other indications of racism occur.

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/race-and-the-jury-digital-EJI.pdf

MACOMB COUNTY’S HISTORY RIFE WITH RACISM

Macomb County has been dominated for decades by white elected politicians, courts and police. In 1972, pro-segregation presidential candidate  George Wallace won the Democratic primary election there.

In recent history, leaders have included  long-time Warren Mayor Jim Fouts,  known for his comments likening Blacks to chimpanzees, using the “n” word, and imitating a monkey with a banana. Warren is the third largest city in Michigan. Its voters have elected and re-elected Fouts four times so far with majorities as large as 85 percent of the electorate.  He is currently seeking a charter revision so he can run a fifth time.

(L-r) Warren Mayor Jim Fouts, hate group leader Richard Spencer, Sterling Heights City Council member Paul Smith

Terry Wilson is from Clinton Township, also the birthplace of Richard Spencer, leader of the Foundation for the Marketplace of Ideas, termed a neo-Nazi hate group by civil rights organizations.

The group has faced heated protests at Michigan State University and other colleges nationally where its leaders were scheduled to speak.

Another Foundation leader is Paul Smith, who ran for mayor in Sterling Heights, the fourth largest city in the state, and still has significant support there. Deadline Detroit said, “He and his wife, council candidate Moira Smith, refer to Latino immigrants as ‘wetbacks’ and gays as ‘fags.’ At one rally,  Smith displayed a protest sign depicting President Barack Obama’s severed head on a metal pole.” See: Deadline Detroit | Selweski: Hate Group Cozies Up to 2 Macomb Cities; What Does That Say About Them?

Macomb County Morgue

In 2020, three Macomb County Morgue employees were fired after allegations of sexual harassment and racism. They involved one worker bringing in a cake with a Black penis in its frosting  the day after the murder of George Floyd. They were also accused of mocking Black family members, including one incident where a worker said, ‘Show them a picture of his penis. Maybe they’ll recognize him by that.” 3 Macomb County morgue employees fired amid allegations of racism and sexism | Metro Detroit News | Detroit | Detroit Metro Times

Current and former Macomb County Prosecutors Peter Lucido (l) and Eric Smith (r).

Former county Prosecutor Eric Smith, who was in office during Wilson’s trial, was sentenced to 21 months in prison in February on charges of “obstruction of justice,” related to his theft of over $74,000 from his campaign funds, and suborning perjury from witnesses who testified in front of a federal grand jury.

Current Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido has faced allegations of sexist behavior since his time in the State Senate, which have been renewed by his current employees.

Lucido is quoted in the  Channel 4 broadcast at the top of this story saying that he is confident Wilson’s second trial will result in another murder conviction, although Judge Faunce introduced a third charge of voluntary manslaughter after hearing testimony at the first trial.  Assistant Prosecutor Jurji Fedorak argued for first-degree murder. Fedorak told the all-white jury, “He wanted to show how big of a man he is in his neighborhood.”

Wilson says prosecution wants him to accept plea deal to second-degree murder, with a minimum sentence of 25 years, by August 16

Willie Deon Clark

Wilson was 21 when he shot a lifelong friend, Willie Clark, 24 in Prince Drewry Park in Clinton Township during an argument witnessed by dozens of people. The argument involved not only Wilson and Clark, but Clark’s two brothers. Such confrontations among Black youths are becoming more common nationally as their living conditions and prospects for the future deteriorate.

“I honestly feared for my life when Willie came galloping towards me yelling angrily after first going to his car,” Wilson told VOD. “I thought he had retrieved a gun because he was known to carry one. I was outnumbered and one of his brothers was twice my size. One brothert initiated the verbal argument and that caused the arguing between Willie and myself. Plus I suffered from an eye condition which made it difficult for me to see clearly and precisely what exactly Willie and his brothers were doing. This was happening real fast causing confusion and heightened my fear. So, I reacted instinctively thinking that I was in imminent danger of harm.

Macomb Cty. Asst. Public Defender Gary F. Kennedy II

“Yes, I am responsible for Willie’s death, but there was never any intent and I didn’t commit or plan any premeditated murder. I have been held in jail for three long years awaiting a new trial. And I have a legitimate concern that somehow the same thing will occur again with a jury not being fair and impartial. I pray that a lesser charge of manslaughter be offered by the Macomb County Prosecutors Office, as the circumstances, evidence and facts surrounding this case supports such a resolution.”

But Wilson said his current defense attorney, Gary F. Kennedy II,  told him the prosecution is offering him only a plea deal involving conviction of second-degree murder with a minimum 25 year sentence. The prosecution wants his decision on whether to accept the deal by a “final pre-trial hearing” August 16. The hearing is one of a series of previous “final” pre-trial hearings on Wilson’s court docket.

VOD’s legal consultant says no prosecutor can guarantee any sentence since that function is up to the judge. Even a second-degree murder conviction can result in a sentence up to “parolable life.” There are still dozens of so-called “parolable lifers” in prison in Michigan, many for decades, due to a parole board that often refers only to the original crime, not evidence of rehabilitation, in its assessments. Michigan has the longest sentences in the country, with individuals in the Department of Correction currently serving an average of 126 percent of their minimum sentences so far.

HISTORY OF THE TRIAL AND RE-TRIAL

The racist comments by jury foreman Harvey Labadie were revealed by fellow jurors, who testified at an evidentiary hearing in 2018 that he referred to Wilson as a ‘n—–,’ and had already formed an opinion inside the jury room, as to what the punishment should be.

Harvey Labadie/photo from current Facebook page

Judge Faunce held the evidentiary hearing in June, 2018 after Wilson filed a motion for relief from judgment in her court.  She granted the motion Aug 9, 2018, vacating Wilson’s conviction, but also ordered that he continued to be held without bond pending a new trial.  OPINION & ORDER GRANTING DEFT TERRY WILSON’S MTN FOR RELIEF FROM JDGMT; DEFT’S CONVICTIONS ARE VACATED; DEFT TO BE HELD W/NO BOND -SGD

Labadie initially complained about being selected for jury duty in Wilson’s trial, then posted comments on his Facebook page during deliberations which showed he had already formed an opinion on his verdict. At least one improper Facebook post by Juror Gary Ludwig was made inside the jury room, as jurors were going over the case.

It should be noted there are municipalities within Macomb County with populations up to approximately 47 percent Black, including Warren, Roseville, Eastpointe, and others. Macomb County’s entire population of Black residents has risen from 11 percent in 2010 to 18 percent in 2020 showing the rapid growth. AP Jurji Fedorak evidently excluded Black jurors from Terry Wilson’s jury to ensure that an all-white jury would be impaneled. But there is no evidence on the record available to VOD that his defense attorney at trial challenged that selection. The EJI report says defense attorneys are frequently too fearful of prosecutors to do so.

A just remedy would be to offer a ‘Nolo Contendere’ plea to Manslaughter and in a showing of good faith, grant Wilson a bond pending the completion of trial proceedings. If that does not happen, the Michigan Supreme Court may eventually find that Wilson has cause for demanding a change of venue.

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Donations for the Voice of Detroit are urgently needed to keep this paper, which is published pro bono, going. Among ongoing expenses are quarterly HostPapa web charges of $460.00 (due Sept. 4, 2022), costs for research including court documents, internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc. The editor and reporters are not paid for their dedicated work, and many live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated. Please, if you can:

                   DONATE TO VOD: 

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Ricky Rimmer’s motion for new trial/relief from judgment was filed Jan. 10, 2022 and is on the docket of 3rd CC Judge Christopher Blount

DPD Sgts. Leo Haidys and James Harris were chief architects of Rimmer’s conviction for 1975 murder of car dealer Joseph Kratz on Detroit’s east side

Haidys was tried for felonious assault during infamous Veterans Memorial Incident in 1968; white cops attacked Black youths at church event

Harris tried for murder in Rochester Street Massacre of Wayne Co. Deputy Sheriffs in 1971, later convicted, spent 20 years in prison for protecting int’l drug shipments; now on Wayne Co. Prosecutor’s Brady list

“I want Rimmer, get your stories straight” — Harris to three other Black youths at DPD HQ 1975; motion says he used them as “police agents.”

By Diane Bukowski

August 8, 2022

DETROIT — “I have done 47 years for a crime I did not commit,” Ricky Rimmer, now 68, told VOD today.

“Sgt. James Harris told me to sell drugs for him, and I refused. He used to come through our neighborhood squeezing guys, shaking guys down, pushing them up against the cars. I wasn’t going to do that for him. I was young and scared of him, everybody in the  neighborh00d was scared of him, they knew he was a dirty cop, putting guys in jail who hadn’t done anything. I knew he would set me up or kill me for refusing. He did both when he put me in here for life.”

Rimmer said he told his defense attorney Warfield Moore, Jr. that he wanted to testify at his trial about Harris’ attempt to have him sell drugs, but Moore would not let him.

He said he wishes he had known then that Harris was tried f0r murder in the notorious “Rochester Street Massacre” of Wayne County Deputy Sheriffs in 1971, and that Sgt. Leo Haidys, the Chief Investigating Officer (CIO) on his case, had been tried for felonious assault during the infamous  “Veterans Memorial Incident” in 1968, a mob attack on Black youths by white cops.

During Harris’ 1971 trial, the Sheriffs’ Office said Harris blatantly lied that the Sheriffs initiated the gunfire and continued firing at the DPD S.T.R.E.S.S. cops, a claim not backed up by any forensic evidence. Harris was acquitted, but was later convicted and sentenced to 30 years in 1991 for taking bribes to protect international drug deliveries in Detroit. He is now on Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s 2020 Giglio-Brady list.

In his pro se motions set for an initial hearing Aug. 10, Rimmer says his conviction must be vacated, citing the prosecution’s failure to disclose the two officers’ prior records under Brady v. Maryland and related cases, in addition to his innocence of the crime. See:

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/RICKY-RIMMER-MOTIONS-FOR-NEW-TRIAL-EVIDENTIARY-HEARING-BRIEF-IN-SUPPORT-ET-AL-2.pdf.

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 1968 Veterans Memorial Incident involving, among others, DPD Sgt. LEO HAIDYS, OIC at RICKY RIMMER trial in 1976

“How is it possible that the DPD only fired one police officer after a violent and racist mob-style mass attack on [Black] teenagers, and that only one of the dozens of white [officers] involved was prosecuted at trial? It is important to emphasize that what activists labeled ‘police brutality’ and ‘police misconduct’ also represented police illegality, criminality, and often felony wrongdoing. By creating a system in which criminality by police officers went unpunished, or at most received mild discipline as a violation of DPD ‘rules and regulations,’ the police department had become one of the largest and most well-organized, and certainly the most legally untouchable, criminal organizations in Detroit.”  Veterans Memorial Incident · Detroit Under Fire: Police Violence, Crime Politics, and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Civil Rights Era · Omeka Beta Service (umich.edu)

James Harris in
“Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.” documentary

1971 Rochester Street Massacre of  Wayne Co. Sheriffs  involving among others:                                                                      Sgt. JAMES HARRIS, witness at RICKY RIMMER trial 

“Why did a STRESS unit invade a private apartment with guns blazing, killing and wounding other law enforcement officers? To the growing anti-STRESS movement, the Rochester Street Massacre was either the latest example of the unit’s murderous shoot-first mentality, or an even more sinister illustration of the massive corruption at the heart of the Detroit Police Department, perhaps even tied to an internal law enforcement battle for control of the profits from the city’s illegal narcotics markets.” Rochester Street Massacre · Detroit Under Fire: Police Violence, Crime Politics, and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Civil Rights Era · Omeka Beta Service (umich.edu)

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AP account of murder of Joseph Kratz in 1975.

Two parties in the case, Rimmer’s co-defendant  and a witness who police involved in the trial at 16 years old, came forward last year.

They swore out affidavits stating that Sgt. Harris conspired to have them falsely testify that Rimmer shot Joseph Kratz during a robbery at Delta Motor Sales, which he owned.

(On the morning of the trial, Sgt. Haidys took the stand and testified outside the presence of the jury, before Judge Henry Heading. He said that a third witness called him the morning of the trial and said he could not testify because he did not want to be labeled as a “rat.”

This witness did in fact appear that morning and testified outside the presence of the jury that he did not tell Sgt. Haidys that he did not want to testify. He said he called Sgt. Haidys and informed him that he lacked transportation to get to court. He further testified that he lied at Rimmer’s preliminary exam, because Sgt. Harris told him falsely that Rimmer and his co-defendant had killed his little brother, and he wanted revenge. But instead, Heading ordered his exam testimony to be read to the jury afterwards.)

In their affidavits, Rimmer’s co-defendant and the second witness swore that Harris placed them all in a room at DPD headquarters and told them to get their stories together, because he wanted them to say that Rimmer was the one who shot Kratz.

The 16-year-old witness had testified at trial. The prosecution declared him a hostile witness after he denied much of the statement he signed for Harris earlier. In his affidavit, he says, “most of the contents of that statement were Sgt. Harris’ thoughts and ideas. I agreed to it because I had been told that Ricky Rimmer killed my best friend. . .”

In his affidavit, Rimmer’s co-defendant says, “. . . . At no time during my interview with Sgt. James Harris did I tell him that I saw Ricky Rimmer chasing the car salesman while shooting at him. Ricky Rimmer was not present during the robbery of the car salesman.”

The co-defendant’s conviction was later overturned by the Michigan Supreme Court, which ruled that Judge Heading should not have told the jury that he deemed his  “confession” to be voluntarily given.

When that ruling was remanded to Heading’s court, Heading dismissed not only the co-defendant’s conviction, but also Rimmer’s. An appeals court overturned the dismissal of Rimmer’s conviction, with one judge dissenting.

Judge Stewart Newblatt of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan later granted Rimmer’s  writ of habeas corpus on the basis of Judge Heading’s refusal to have the third witness testify before the jury, a Sixth Amendment confrontation violation. But Judge Newblatt rescinded the grant after an objection from the prosecution.

Rimmer’s motions and brief rest on key legal grounds not often cited by mainstream attorneys and other professionals, among them:

MCL 770.1  Statutory RELIEF WHEN JUSTICE HAS NOT BEEN DONE

“MCL 770.1 stands as a substantive ground for relief independent of any provided by the Michigan Court Rules. As stated, the State of Michigan enacted MCL 770.1 to correct wrongful convictions within the State of Michigan by providing for substantive relief from the trial court when it appears to the court that “justice has not been done.” In other words, the law makers have given the trial court the exclusive authority to correct a miscarriage of justice in a criminal conviction at any time when good cause is shown. See MCL 770.2(4).”

MCR 6.502 (G)(2) amended: SIGNIFICANT POSSIBILITY OF INNOCENCE

“The Michigan Supreme Court has amended MCR. 6.502(G)(2), adding  “The court may waive the provisions of this rule if it concludes that there is a significant possibility that the defendant is innocent of the crime. For motions filed under both (G)(1) and (G)(2), the court shall enter an appropriate order disposing of the motion.” MCR 6.502(G)(2) as amended September 20, 2018.”

CREDIBLE RECANTATION EVIDENCE can prove ACTUAL INNOCENCE

“Credible recantation evidence can be sufficient to prove actual innocence. To determine whether the recantation is reliable, a court should consider the context of the original statement as well as the context of the recantation. Known causes of wrongful conviction, like unreliable and coercive interrogation tactics, can explain why a witness offered false testimony at trial and why a reasonable juror applying the Schlup (Schlup Delo, 513 US 298 (1995)) standard would find a subsequent recantation more reliable.”

ACTUAL INNOCENCE is ABSENCE OF GUILT beyond reasonable doubt 

“A Schlup claim is not based on affirmative proof that the defendant did not commit the crime; it is based on the absence of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Schlup, at 328. A defendant is “actually innocent” under Schlup if the court finds it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in light of the newly presented evidence. Under Schlup, Mr. Rimmer is not required to eliminate all inference of guilt. House v. Bell, 547 US 518, 553-54 (2006). Mr. Rimmer is required, instead, to show the likely effect of the new evidence on a juror applying the reasonable doubt standard. House at 539.”

The video above recounts the 1991 arrests of DPD’s James Harris and Willie Volsan after they agreed to protect international drug shipments to Detroit.

RELATED:

MICHIGAN LIFER RICKY RIMMER-BEY: CONVICTED DRUG DEALER COP JAMES HARRIS FRAMED ME FOR MURDER | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Wayne-County-Prosecutor-GIGLIO-BRADY-LIST-12-7-2020-2.pdf

I AM NOT BITTER, BUT I DO HOPE AND PRAY THAT RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PHILOSOPHIES AND PRACTICE PROVE TRUE IN MY HAVING A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE.   Ricky Rimmer-Bey

Write Ricky Rimmer at: 

Ricky Rimmer #133464 

Carson City Correctional Facility  

10274 Boyer Road
Carson City, MI 48811-9746

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Donations for the Voice of Detroit are urgently needed to keep this paper, which is published pro bono, going. Among ongoing expenses are quarterly HostPapa web charges of $460.00, costs for research including court documents, internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc. The editor and reporters are not paid for their dedicated work, and many live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated. Please, if you can:

 DONATE TO VOD: 

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Detroit cop DeWayne B. Jones slugged Sheldy Smith, naked and in distress,  9 times in the ER at Detroit Receiving Hospital Aug. 1,  2018

Jury found Jones guilty of misdemeanor assault in 2019, but he won new trial set  for Sept. 8 on appeal; final pre-trial rescheduled to Aug. 10

“It’s Not Over — Justice for Sheldy Smith!”–Marilyn Jordan, President, Detroit People’s Task Force

“It’s not only Jones, it’s the entire system,” — Scotty Boman, Pres. DRACO: Police union, dozens of cops supported Jones’ assault on woman

Activists say Jones must be removed from the DPD and have felony charges reinstated

By Diane Bukowski

August 2, 2022

DPD officer DeWayne Jones at court hearing in 2018.

DETROIT — Four years to the day after Detroit Police officer DeWayne B. Jones viciously beat Sheldy Smith, a young Black woman in mental distress, in the Detroit Receiving Hospital ER while she was naked,  Detroit activists swore that they will never let Jones or the criminal justice system off the hook. They demanded that he be fired and have felony charges reinstated against him.

Members of Detroit Residents Advancing Civilian Oversight (DRACO), the Detroit People’s Task Force, the National Action Network, schools and church activists gathered outside 36th District Court Aug. 1, where a court hearing on charges against Jones was scheduled, pending a second jury trial set for Sept. 8. Jones had appealed a 2019 guilty verdict on misdemeanor assault charges, and won a new trial.

“It’s not over,” Marilyn Jordan, president of the Detroit Peoples’ Task Force said. “Our system is not broken. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. We’re not just gathering here because we want justice. We know justice is not given, it has to be taken. Justice for Sheldy Smith!”

36th DC Judge Kenneth King

On August 1, 2018, Jones took Smith to the Detroit Receiving Hospital ER after picking her up on a  “lewd and lascivious” call at Brainard and Trumbull. She was unclothed and non-resisting, evidently having a breakdown. But after she was in the ER and again naked, he assumed a boxer’s stance and slugged her nine times in the face and chest, severely injuring her, in view of other officers, hospital staff and patients. One observer secretly videotaped the attack. Jones and police union President Mark Diaz claimed Smith was out of control and attacked him.

“A person can definitely be maimed by someone biting onto them so the officer did what he felt at that time was appropriate,” Diaz told Channel 4 News in 2018.

In 2018, the Detroit chapter of the NAACP issued a lengthy statement condemning that assault on Smith, but has not commented since. (See box below for excerpts.)

Scotty Boman, head of Detroit Residents Advancing Civilian Oversight (DRACO), said dozens of police officers turned out at a 2018 Police Commission meeting to support Jones against a disciplinary suspension, testified that he acted appropriately, and that they would have done the same thing.

“It is not just about Jones,” Boman observed, “it’s about the entire system.”

“Dewayne Jones was able to get a promotion in spite of being a convicted violent criminal,” he explained. In spite of the conviction he wasn’t held accountable.  Now he is trying to be exonerated while Sheldy Smith remains captive and isolated from her family.  This isn’t justice.”

Pastor Eric Blount, of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, said he attended a private meeting with former DPD Chief James Craig where police bodycam videos were shown.

“Please do not believe the false narrative that she was trying to bite someone,” Blount said.” Channel 4 News reported that Smith was “passive” and non-resisting when Jones first picked her up.

Boman said Smith has never been able to speak for herself because she has been kept out of public view under a guardianship set up by Wayne County Probate Court. Notoriously abusive guardian Mary Rowan, who was profiled in an earlier series of VOD stories. has been assigned to her case. Smith’s sister has continued appealing the guardianship in ongoing court proceedings.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy originally charged Jones with a felony count of “misconduct in office,” and misdemeanor assault. A legal observer told VOD that Jones should have also faced a felony weapons charge since he was armed with his DPD-issued gun during the assault.

Judge E. Lynise Bryant

Thirty-Sixth District Court Judge Kenneth King dismissed the felony “misconduct in office” charge without prejudice, meaning it can be re-instated, before a jury trial in 2019.

The jury found Jones guilty of the misdemeanor charge. King sentenced him only to one-year probation and various corrective measures like anger management classes.  Jones appealed the verdict and sentence citing improper jury instructions.

Judge E. Lynise Bryant heard the appeal and granted him a new trial. She continues to preside over his hearings.

In the interim, DPD promoted him to sergeant, overriding a vote by the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners. The BOPC did not appeal the DPD’s action. Instead, they voted to reinstate him to the force as Sergeant Jones after his suspension was over.

ASHLEY SMITH

Sheldy Smith’s sister Ashley Smith told Detroit News reporter Oralandar Brand-Williams last year that she was outraged by Bryant’s decision to grant Jones a new trial.

“It is ridiculous that the city of Detroit stood behind police brutality again,” Smith said. “Everywhere else, cities are trying to improve relations with their communities, especially in light of the George Floyd case . . . not promote (officers accused of wrongdoing) . . . not be behind them. Yet the city continues to protect him. This is gross negligence. It’s disrespectful. We saw him beating my sister on video.”

RELATED:

JUSTICE FOR SHELDY PRESS RELEASE, D.R.A.C.O.

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/8-1-2022Justice4SheldyRelease.pdf

DETROIT COP DEWAYNE JONES BEAT MENTALLY ILL WOMAN AT HOSPITAL, GOT PROBATION, THEN GOT PROMOTED | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

WAYNE CO. PROBATE JUDGE TERRANCE KEITH, GUARDIAN MARY ROWAN FORCE VET GAYLE ROBINSON, 84, TO FLEE | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Only known photo of Mary Rowan (seated in blue as she berates reporter for covering her kidnapping of Mailauni Williams (right) in 2015.

SERIAL KIDNAPPER? ATTY. MARY ROWAN TAKES SECOND ADULT WARD FROM HOME WITHOUT COURT ORDER | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

ROSA PARKS’ GODCHILD MAILAUNI WILLIAMS FOUND; JUDGE GEORGE, GUARDIAN ROWAN REMOVED FROM CASE | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

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 VOD’s staff lives either on limited fixed incomes or is incarcerated. We are not paid; we publish the newspaper pro bono. Our web publisher, charges $460.00 every 3 months to keep VOD on-line. That quarterly bill is coming due shortly . PLEASE HELP US KEEP THESE STORIES ON THE POLICE STATE AND PRISON NATION COMING BY CHIPPING IN WHATEVER YOU CAN AT OUR GO FUND ME PAGE:

                            DONATE TO VOD 

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(Contact editor for details on other ways to send funds, at 313-825-6126 or diane_bukowski@hotmail.com.)

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PEOPLE v PEELER, v BAIRD, v LYON, 2022 Mich Lexis 1267. Download at peeler-op.pdf (michigan.gov)

 Judges CANNOT issue charges, MUST hold preliminary examinations

“The Flint water crisis stands as one of this country’s greatest betrayals of citizens by their government,” but prosecution cannot cut c0rners – Justice Richard Bernstein

Darrell Ewing

“If it’s unconstitutional for one, it’s unconstitutional for all” — Lillian Diallo, chair of the Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association

By Darrell Rashard Ewing

with VOD editor Diane Bukowski

July 18, 2022

DETROIT–Ruling unanimously, the Michigan Supreme Court blew the use of “one-man grand juries” in Michigan courts out of the water June 28. The high court handed down a game-changing decision, holding that state statutes in effect since 1912 “only authorize a judge to investigate, subpoena witnesses and issue arrest warrants. But they do not authorize the judge to issue indictments” which authorize criminal charges against defendants.  (See state statutes at MCL 767.3 and 767.4.)

The Court said that even after a judge takes such initial actions, defendants still have the right to “preliminary examinations.”

The high court targeted Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s use of the one-man grand jury in the criminal prosecutions of former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and other state officials at the root of the ‘Flint Water Crisis’ that rocked the nation in 2014.

But the ruling affects hundreds and perhaps thousands of other grass-roots defendants in Michigan as well.

“The Flint water crisis stands as one of this country’s greatest betrayals of citizens by their government,” Justice Bernstein noted, stressing that the high court still wants justice for the people of Flint. He cites dozens of studies covering the breadth and life-long impact of the harm done to Flint residents by the corporate-sponsored contamination of their water with toxic levels of lead, E. coli, and Legionella bacteria.

“Yet the prosecution of these defendants must adhere to proper procedural requirements because of the magnitude of the harm that was done to Flint residents,” he says. “The prosecution cannot simply cut corners in order to prosecute defendants more efficiently.”

Instead of teams of special prosecutors issuing criminal complaints and then holding preliminary examinations in open court, at which Snyder et. al. could have heard and challenged the evidence against them, Nessel et. al. shimmied their way through and secretly cut corners.

They proceeded under a hundred-year-old 1912 law, which nowhere authorizes a one man grand jury to hear evidence and criminally indict. Lillian Diallo, one of the most vigorous defense attorneys in Detroit and President of the Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association, told Fox 2 News reporter Amy Lange, “I always knew it wasn’t right.”

MICH. AG DANA NESSEL APPOINTED THIS TEAM TO PROSECUTE FLINT CASE #2 AFTER DISMISSING CASE #1, WHICH INCLUDED PRELIMINARY EXAMS

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy responded, “This is a blow to us, in terms of prosecutorial tools.” But Prosecutor Worthy has her own name in the Flint game.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel appointed Worthy and former Wayne Co. Asst. Prosecutors Fadwa Mahmoud and Molly Sattler to handle the criminal case against Snyder et. al. She fired key prosecutors on former Attorney General Bill Schuette’s team and dismissed the charges they brought against 15 former state and local officials.

Schuette’s team did use preliminary exams in those charges. It was also planning to pursue racketeering charges targeting the Wall Street bond market’s role in dismantling the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department and privatizing Flint’s water services, according to a recent article in the Guardian (see link below story).

Flint residents protested the WATER POISONING for profit of their entire city.

Worthy has been one of the only prosecutors in the State to often use the one-man grand jury (“18-20 cases a year”). She claims it is the only way of getting witnesses who fear coming forward and cooperating, to testify.

However, Legal Warrior Attorney Diallo shatters that position:  “They say oh, we can’t get the people in to testify, but you get them to come in and testify for a grand jury.” That’s a point prosecutors can’t dispute, and certainly not in the case of the ‘Flint Water Crisis’. Residents of Flint steady protest and cry for aid to this day!

It’s been uncloaked that the ruling has created another issue as Attorney Diallo made clear: “If it’s unconstitutional for one, it’s unconstitutional for all.” She advised all four hundred attorneys in the Wayne County Criminal Defense Bar Association to immediately file motions for dismissal for any clients of theirs who were indicted under this now indisputably illegal one-man grand jury procedure.

“If you ask me even those in prison should be let out” she added, ” If you want to retry them release them, then retry them. Starting with a preliminary exam. ”

Related:

VOD’s stories on the Flint water crisis, including this 2015 article, with links to other VOD Flint coverage. It begins: 

“The mass lead poisoning of the people of Flint, Michigan, a cold-blooded act of domestic terrorism, was contrived for the profit of the Wall Street bond market, corporations and politicians by both Republicans and Democrats with their own agendas.” BI-PARTISAN DEAL LED TO FLINT WATER POISONING FOR PROFIT: THE KAREGNONDI WATER AUTHORITY (KWA) | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Picking up on VOD’s depiction of water poisoning for profit,  the Guardian newspaper published this article analyzing the Flint prosecutions in Jan. 2021. It begins:

“The former criminal prosecution team investigating the Flint water crisis was building a racketeering case against state officials. Then the team was dismantled.”  Revealed: the Flint water poisoning charges that never came to light | Flint water crisis | The Guardian

 VOD’s staff lives either on limited fixed incomes or is incarcerated. We are not paid; we publish the newspaper pro bono. Our web publisher, HostPapa, charges $460.00 every 3 months to keep VOD on-line. That quarterly bill is coming due next month on Aug. 4. PLEASE HELP US KEEP THIS UNIQUE NEWSPAPER ONLINE BY CHIPPING IN WHATEVER YOU CAN AT OUR GO FUND ME PAGE:

                            DONATE TO VOD 

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(Contact editor for details on other ways to send funds, at 313-825-6126 or diane_bukowski@hotmail.com.)

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