VOICE OF DETROIT: The city's independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Kensu’s defense attorney Imran Syed of the Michigan Innocence Clinic appears in several sections of the video above, as “Kensu’s attorney.”

Michigan AG Dana Nessel’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) denied lifer Temujin Kensu’s application for exoneration May 17

Valerie Newman, head of the Wayne County CIU,  acting as Nessel’s “Special Asst. AG,” wrote the denial letter

What does Newman’s role in denying relief to Kensu mean for 1,700 applicants waiting in the Wayne County CIU?

Kensu was 400 miles away from Port Huron, the site of the 1986 murder of Scott Macklen with which he is charged, according to multiple witnesses

“. . .Kensu could not have committed and did not in fact commit the crime for which the state is taking away the entire rest of his life, now 35 years on.” U.S. Reps. Andy Levin and Rashida Tlaib, Michigan Sen. Stephanie Chang

David Shelton, whose DNA as a Black man ruled out the crime of rape and murder for which he has served 28 years, is among 1000+ AG/CIU applicants–what is planned in their cases?

TEMUJIN AND PAULA KENSU CELEBRATED XMAS 2021 WITH THIS CARD.

By Diane Bukowski

May 30, 2022

Temujin Kensu with fiancée Paula Kensu

DETROIT–The denial of relief for Michigan lifer Temujin Kensu, now 59, by state Attorney General (AG) Dana Nessel’s Conviction Integrity Unit on May 17 has brought about a firestorm of support for Kensu and scathing criticism of the CIU’s action.

It was not based on an evaluation of his ACTUAL INNOCENCE, but instead on AG guidelines derived from state court rules, despite the Attorney General’s broad discretionary powers. Those rules are superseded by state law MCL 770.1, which says a judge can grant a new trial “when it appears to the court that justice has not been done.”

Paula Kensu, Temujin’s fiancée, called the denial “a duplicitous action intended to deny Temujin Kensu freedom from his wrongful conviction/life sentence for a murder that absolutely everybody knows he did not commit.”

Multiple witnesses have testified that Kensu was in Escanaba, 400 miles away from Port Huron, the site of the murder for which he is charged, when it happened.

Kensu has been in prison since 1986, convicted of the murder of Scott Macklem in the parking lot of St. Clair Community College in Port Huron. Macklem’s fiancée was Kensu’s former girlfriend. The prosecution claimed the motive was jealousy. To refute the testimony of numerous witnesses at trial that Kensu was 400 miles away when the murder happened, Asst. Prosecutor Robert Cleland, now a U.S. District Court Judge, claimed Kensu, who was penniless, “could have” chartered a plane and flown to Port Huron to kill Macklem.

(l to r) US Reps. Andy Levin, Rashida Tlaib; MI Sen. Stephanie Chang

U.S. District Court Judge Denise Page Hood (now Chief Judge) cited prosecutorial misconduct as one reason for granting Kensu’s “habeas” appeal. It was later overturned by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on a minor technicality.

In 2020, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer denied clemency to Kensu, based on a recommendation of the Michigan Parole Board, which generally focuses only on the original charge brought against a prisoner.

On May 23, U.S. Reps. Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township, and Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, and Michigan Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit told Whitmer in a letter:

“We were deeply disappointed to learn that the Michigan Attorney General’s Conviction Integrity Unit, known as the CIU, has declined to pursue the release of Temujin Kensu, an innocent Michigander who has been in prison for more than three decades. . . despite no physical evidence connecting him to the murder and several vetted eyewitnesses who place him more than 400 miles away from the scene of the crime, Kensu remains imprisoned.”

They continued, “As longtime advocates for social justice, we believe that we must do more for Temujin Kensu and all wrongfully imprisoned individuals across the globe. In Kensu’s case, all available options for relief must be pursued. The court allows for relief based on actual innocence and, Article V, Section 14 of the Michigan Constitution confers upon our Governor the power to ‘grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after convictions for all offenses, except cases of impeachment.’ We pray that those with the power to grant relief conduct a full review and grant relief to Mr. Kensu.”

Atty. Valerie Newman 

Valerie Newman’s May 17 letter to Kensu’s defense attorney, Imran Syed of the Michigan Innocence Project, said she had been appointed as special assistant to the AG to review Kensu’s case due to a “conflict” within the CIU involving its Director Robyn Frankel.  She declared Kensu’s case had been closed without action.

VOD contacted the AG’s office for further information on the conflict, but received no response.

Newman wrote: “The AG guidelines mandate there must be new evidence supporting factual innocence. New evidence means evidence not at all considered at trial or during post-conviction appeals.”

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Valerie-Newman-AG-letter.pdf

Valerie Newman also heads the Wayne County  Conviction Integrity Unit, which is reviewing the cases of 1,700 applicants, many of whom have been waiting for years. Her action on Tensu’s case throws into question what will happen to other Wayne Co. CIU applicants.

That unit is already under attack from the City of Detroit Police Department and its Corporation Counsel. Complaining of the impact of the millions in settlements on the City’s budget, they claim some of the unit’s 31 “exonerations” to date are not valid. The unit’s own statements that many of those releases do not involve exonerations, but are due to unfair trials and other issues, has complicated the issue.

Newman’s stance on Kensu’s case runs counter to what Robyn Frankel  told “Proving Innocence,” an organization originally set up by former TV news reporter Bill Proctor.

“We are aghast and disgusted with the CIU and your decision not to grant justice to a wholly innocent man, Temujin Kensu (aka., Fredrick Freeman),” said William T. Branham, Jr. President, and B. David Sanders Vice-President, of Proving Innocence in a letter to AG Nessel.

“This is unconscionable and unacceptable and a betrayal of your claim the CIU would fight for true justice for the wrongfully convicted. That is hardly the case and the CIU is being  revealed as an empty vessel that will continue to do very little on behalf of those wrongfully convicted by our justice system.”

They continued, “Most disturbing, is that we and so many others were misled by the CIU in its mission and intentions. Now, and only after your CIU’s review of Mr. Kensu’s case has concluded, we learn you have completely changed the definition of “new evidence”.

The two officials said Robyn Frankel had told them in a text, “Evidence which was not presented to the jury (though it might have been known at the time of trial) may be considered ‘new evidence’ for CIU purposes. . .Also, any evidence which illustrates that a person is innocent of the offense will be considered by the unit. This would include police or prosecutor misconduct where that misconduct implicates a person’s factual innocence.”

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Proving-Innocence-Letter-to-Nessel-re-Temujin-Kensu.pdf

But in her letter to Syed, Newman wrote: “The AG guidelines mandate there must be new evidence supporting factual innocence. New evidence means evidence not at all considered at trial or during post-conviction appeals.”

AMICUS BRIEF IN PEOPLE V. SWAIN  CAN RESOLVE ISSUES IN KENSU’S CASE, THOUSANDS MORE WITH ACTUAL INNOCENCE CLAIMS

Lorinda Swain after her final exoneration. 

In 2015, nine esteemed prosecutors filed an amicus brief as requested by the Michigan Supreme Court in the case of People v. Lorinda Swain SC: 150994 (Mich. May. 18, 2016). It points out that, despite complex Michigan Court Rules regarding “new evidence,” Michigan has an alternative and superseding standard for granting justice in actual innocence cases.

The current and former prosecutors were John Smietanka, Thomas Cranmer, James Samuels, Thomas Rombach, Gerald Gleeson II, Saul Green, Fred Mester, Anthony Badovinac, and Brandon Hultink.

After beginning the brief with the statement in red above, they write in part,  “. . .MCL 770.1 stands as a substantive ground for relief independent of any provided by the Michigan Court Rules. The State of Michigan passed MCL 770.1 into law to correct wrongful convictions within the State of Michigan, by providing substantive relief from judgment from trial courts ‘when it appears to the court that justice has not been done.’ Statutes passed into law in the State of Michigan may not be overridden by court rules. . . MCL 770.1 stands as a substantive law independent of the Michigan Court Rules.”

They add. . .”MCL 770.2(4) states that a court of record may always “grant a motion for a new trial for good cause shown.” The brief eventually recommends that the state Supreme Court grant Swain’s motion, which it did, resulting in her exoneration.

See brief at http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Amicus-Brief-for-Michigan-Supreme-Court-re-Lorinda-Swain-Smietanka-et-al.pdf.

Isn’t it interesting, that John Smietanka, former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, and Saul Green, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, and seven other prosecutors, hired a law firm to present their opinion on behalf of DEFENDANTS, not just Swain, but ALL Michigan defendants in this matter of ACTUAL INNOCENCE?

Related stories:

ADVOCATES DENOUNCE GOV. WHITMER’S DENIAL OF CLEMENCY TO INNOCENT MICH. LIFER TEMUJIN KENSU | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Nessel draws criticism from supporters over review of ’86 murder conviction (detroitnews.com)

Finley: ‘I’m sentenced to die in this place.’ Temujin Kensu needs help (detroitnews.com)

https://voiceofdetroit.net/2020/05/31/exposed-racist-frame-up-of-david-shelton-by-oakland-county-in-1993-rape-case/

 VOD’s staff lives either on limited fixed incomes or is incarcerated. We are not paid; we publish the newspaper pro bono. Help keep us afloat by chipping in so stories on this Prison Nation and Police State, and related matters, coming! Any amount is appreciated.

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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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HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY–WE’RE SHUTTING DOWN YOUR VISITS–Sheriff

Prisoners’ constitutional right to access to the courts denied; law library already closed; Telmate tablets were being used for legal research

Shutdown follows elimination of recreation time, in overcrowded conditions, with grossly inadequate medical care, unsanitary conditions

Prisoners have been in jail for up to four years pre-trial in violation of state and federal law

Africans freed after the Civil War had their own Memorial Day ceremonies, remembering actions such as this victory by an all-Black unit during the Civil War.

By Diane Bukowski

May 28, 2022

The Memorial Day week-end is in full swing, but detainees in the Wayne County Jails will not be able to celebrate with their families and friends with on-line video visits.

Telmate kiosks and tablets which allow them to do so, and to use the law library’s research tools, were abruptly shut down a week ago, according to multiple sources. Prisoners now must line up to use the sole phone provided on each “rock” or unit containing 10 men, a situation which has engendered fights. No notice was given to them or to the public.

“The deputies just came through and snatched the tablets,” one prisoner told VOD. “They cut the wires, took down the whole station (kiosk), now we can’t have visits anymore. Video visits substitute for in-person visits [stopped at the beginning of COVID-19]. People are getting messages, ‘Sorry for the inconvenience, please try again later.'”

Message displayed on Wayne Co. Telmate visit attempt.

No notice was given to prisoners or the public.

Many said their one-hour a day recreation time, in a gym with exercise equipment, and sometimes outside in the yard was eliminated months ago, and that showers are not cleaned and black mold is growing

“They’re making the whole environment hostile—nothing for guys to do except look at local channels on TV, read a newspaper,” another man said.

The law library’s physical location was previously shut down. But prisoners have been using the tablets instead for legal research.

This is a federal constitutional right guaranteed to prisoners by the U.S. Supreme Court under Bounds v. Smith, 430 U.S. and 813 1977, and Hampton v. Hobbs 106 F. 3d 1281, 6th Circuit, 1997. The rulings “require prison authorities to assist inmates in the preparation and filing of meaningful legal papers by providing prisoners with adequate law libraries or adequate assistance from persons trained in the law.”

“Was this gonna be a death sentence for me?” Inside the pandemic at the Wayne Co. Jail (michiganradio.org)

Podknife – Jail Time Grows in Wayne Co. During Pandemic by Stateside

 VOD’s staff lives either on limited fixed incomes or is incarcerated. We are not paid; we publish the newspaper pro bono. Help keep us afloat by chipping in so stories on this Prison Nation and Police State, and related matters, coming! Any amount is appreciated.

                                       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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Early DNA results ruled out Calhoun as rape perpetrator in 2007

Court-appointed attorneys nevertheless advised him to plead guilty, waive appeal of right

Conviction dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be reinstated

Ricardo Ferrell

DPD cop David Kane broke into hearing in unprecedented event, claiming Calhoun should not be exonerated

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

May 15, 2o22

Terance Calhoun (in cap) is joyously embraced by his family on his release from prison April 27, 2022. (Photo: State Appellate Defenders Office)

Imprisoned for 15-years for crimes he didn’t commit, Terance Calhoun reacted with a smile on April 27, 2022, as Third Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kelly Ramsey announced the dismissal of his 2007 convictions for Kidnapping and Criminal Sexual Conduct with prejudice (meaning the charges can never be reinstated).

He was flanked by his attorneys Valerie Newman, head of Wayne County’s Conviction Integrity Unit, and Michael Mittlestat of the State Appellate Defender’s Office.

In a just world, this moment would have happened 15 years ago. In fact, Calhoun would never have been tried.

A lengthy Statement of Facts attached to Judge Ramsey’s order says, “On June 15, 2007, Short Tandem Repeat (STR) analysis was completed on the condom collected at the scene of the sexual assault on Victim 2. That analysis excluded Mr. Calhoun as a donor of biological material.” STR was a predecessor to current methods of DNA testing.

The Statement and Calhoun’s court documents show that court-appointed attorneys at the trial and appellate levels advised Calhoun to plead guilty on Feb. 21, 2007 prior to his sentencing March 27, 2007, and to waive his appeal of right on September 10, 2007. Prior to those events, Calhoun was determined “competent to waive his Miranda rights” after a forensic exam that also found he still had “cognitive deficits.”

The Statement said there was no evidence that Calhoun’s attorneys had copies of the STR results. The test results were discovered by the State Appellate Defender’s Office in 2019.

See: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/WCPO-_2022_april_27_-terance_calhoun_is_exonerated_-ff-1.pdf

DPD Officer David Kane is seen in screenshot at upper left, strutting out of the courtroom after talking to Judge Ramsey (r), who is looking at what he gave her.

In an unprecedented move that echoed the judicial system’s appalling rush to judgement in 2007, Detroit Police Officer David Kane intruded in Judge Ramsey’s courtroom during Calhoun’s first scheduled exoneration hearing April 22. He handed her a folder that he claimed contained evidence that she needed to look over before exonerating Calhoun. News reports indicated that the Judge and Kane knew each other.

Judge Ramsey handed the folder over to Attorney Newman. Newman had already made a determination based on DNA evidence which pointed toward another perpetrator that scientifically showed Calhoun was not responsible, but she still reviewed the file in question and reached the same conclusion that her office would still recommend that Calhoun be exonerated. She said there was nothing new in the materials Kane presented.

Judge Ramsey’s five day adjournment had many in the legal community wondering if the delay would keep Calhoun behind bars, even though DNA evidence undeniably cleared him of the sexual assault and kidnapping convictions.

Calhoun’s attorneys were very displeased by Kane’s action. In a release, the Detroit Police Department said Kane’s action violated DPD policy and procedure, which does not allow for him to blatantly interfere in a courtroom hearing. However, to date, no known disciplinary action has been taken against him.

James Calhoun MDOC photo

This goes to show the arrogance of some police investigators and the total disregard for fundamental fairness, even when undisputable scientific evidence is right before their eyes No wonder there’s a high number of wrongful convictions in Michigan, especially in Wayne County.

Fortunately for Calhoun he was exonerated, but another wrongfully convicted man named Calhoun wasn’t so fortunate.

James Calhoun, who was housed at the Woodland Correctional Facility in Whitmore Lake along with Calhoun, died September 23rd, 2021 from his battle with cancer. Unfortunately, James Calhoun didn’t get the chance to prove his innocence for the 2005 murder of which he was convicted. His daughter, Keila Chambliss, continues to fight relentlessly trying to get her father’s name cleared, even though he’s no longer alive. She’s reached out to the Conviction Integrity Unit and was told the case is being reviewed.

Last September, I helped put together a two-part interview of four exonerees on the Erica Lynn Speaks Podcast. During the interviews, James Calhoun was mentioned and remembered. In October, I wrote a follow-up story in VOD called “Wrongfully Convicted and Unlawfully Imprisoned” where again Calhoun’s case was highlighted. Also, I included the case of Paul Russ, who’s been in prison 38 years on a wrongful conviction. Recently, I received a message from his fiancé Hazel Gunter expressing her concerns about Russ still being in prison based on the shady tactics of the detective in his case.

Paul Russ, in prison since 1984. MDOC photo

“Paul and I have been told by many people to have patience,” she said. “However, information discovered by Mrs. Claudia Whitman that showed a pattern by Detroit Homicide Detective/Sgt. Elwood Gunderson of similar wrongdoings in other cases, a year apart from Paul’s clearly suggest the detective knowingly and deliberately framed him for a murder he didn’t commit.

“There has been a new witness to come forward and provide crucial information in his sworn affidavit that exonerates Paul which reveals he saw and witnessed someone other than Paul committing this crime, Now the new witness has took ill and he’s in real bad shape in the hospital, where he’s not expected to recover. They keep telling Paul and I to be patient, but what if the witness’ new information doesn’t get on the record? Will Paul Russ also die in prison like others have? As his new witness remains in the hospital apparently facing the reality of not pulling through, what else should Paul do, as he patiently awaits for the inevitable?” says Gunter.

I have been writing stories about innocent people convicted of crimes they didn’t commit, while I myself have been serving decades in prison as a result of grave police misconduct, fabricated statements, faulty evidence gathering and the use of incentive seeking witnesses used by police and prosecutors. This writer can only shake his head at the many injustices he’s seen, and wonder if the hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people will ever be exonerated. More resources are needed to effectively equip these conviction integrity units with the tools they need to review more innocence claims and move expeditiously when undisputable evidence is discovered and proves the accused isn’t responsible for the crime(s).

Additionally, there needs to be an even broader movement to bring our brothers and sisters home, to end life without parole sentencing and other monstrously inhuman  practices contributing to mass incarceration.

Related Stories:

WRONGFULLY CONVICTED AND UNLAWFULLY IMPRISONED: MICHIGAN RANKS 2ND IN U.S. WITH EXONERATIONS | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought 

‘END MICHIGAN’S SECRET DEATH ROW’–HUNDREDS DEMAND END TO LWOP, OTHER REFORMS AT STATE CAPITOL | 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. Help keep us afloat by chipping in so stories on this Prison Nation and Police State, and related matters, can keep coming! Any amount is appreciated.

                           DONATE TO VOD 

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“Is anyone investigating how these cases went so wrong?” asks Channel 7 as Dennis Atkins becomes the 31st Wayne County Exoneree since 2018, after conviction in 2005 based solely on hearsay testimony

Exonerees Ramon Ward, Larry Smith file federal lawsuits targeting Wayne County, multiple Asst. County Prosecutors, Detroit police officers by name

Ramon Ward (l), Larry Smith (r)

Cite “unlawful arrest, detention, sexual assault, use of fabricated evidence, concealment of exculpatory evidence, malicious prosecution” et alia.

“Defendant County’s policy and/or custom of the WCPO obtaining false statements and false testimony for use against criminal defendants                                                                                            may continue to this day.”

The day after this story was posted, the Detroit News published: “DETROIT FACES ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS” which covers 17 exonerees’ wrongful conviction lawsuits vs. the City of Detroit. Read it on VOD’s download of the article at: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Detroit-faces-onslaught-of-lawsuits-for-wrongful-convictions.pdf

DONATE TO VOD   https://www.gofundme.com/donate-to-vod

By Diane Bukowski

April 12, 2022

Dennis Atkins (MDOC photo)

DETROIT —“Is anyone investigating how these cases went so wrong?” Channel 7 anchor Dave Lewallen asked Feb. 4, leading into a story on the 31^st exoneration reported by Wayne County’s Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), that of Dennis Atkins. (See video at head of story.)

Atkins was convicted at age 22 of the murder of Billie Rutledge, on June 4, 2005 on Omira Street on Detroit’s east-side.  EMS techs were loading him on a stretcher into their vehicle, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a release.

“His convictions were based upon the [hearsay] testimony of his ex-girlfriend, her brother, and her brother’s girlfriend,” Worthy explained   ” . . .The Conviction Integrity Unit review of the case has revealed that Billie Rutledge was likely killed because he was a potential witness in a homicide case. No eyewitness or physical evidence linked Mr. Atkins to Mr. Rutledge’s death.” She reported Atkins passed a polygraph test arranged by the CIU in July, 2021.

Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy

See: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Wayne-County-Prosecutors-Office-CIU-Dismisses-Charges-Against-Dennis-Atkins.pdf

But Worthy did not explain why her office took Atkins to trial in 2005 based solely on hearsay testimony, or why it failed to investigate other suspects in the case at the time before sending him to prison for the next 17 years.

Contemporaneous media coverage shows that the WCPO and the DPD were likely aware of the evidence on the other related homicide case before charging Atkins.

The National Registry of Exonerations just reported, “Rutledge’s 15-year-old brother Lemuel told the news media that he believed Rutledge was killed because he knew information about the March 11, 2005 murder of Shadad “Tommy” Yousif, who was killed in his auto repair business located two blocks away at the corner of Seven Mile and Omira. Rutledge worked in Yousif’s business and rumors had circulated that he was the driver for the gunman who killed Yousif.”

The NRE further detailed a complex maze of killings surrounding Yousif’s death, related to an insurance fraud scheme in which Yousif and his employees were allegedly involved. It identified likely suspects in those killings, some of whom were later killed themselves.

See:   http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp- content/uploads/Dennis-Atkins-National-Registry-of-Exonerations

The media report the NRE referred to, an article in the Detroit Free Press, was published June 7, 2005, three days after the murder. 

“Police are investigating whether Rutledge was killed because he knew too much or was connected to a March 12 slaying in Detroit,” the Free Press reported. It quoted DPD spokesman James Tate’s comment, “We’ve heard that [Rutledge] was involved in a previous crime with another individual that is known to us.”

Christine Kowal was the Assistant Prosecutor in the Atkins case. A Court of Appeals opinion affirming Atkins’ conviction identified DPD’s Sgt. Ernest Wilson as the Officer who tried to find a key defense witness in the case, and claimed he was not able to do so. Based on his testimony, the COA denied the defendant’s claim that the Prosecutor had not exercised due diligence in finding the witness. See: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Dennis-Atkins-COA- 20070510_C268461_46_268461.OPN_.pdf

(L to r) Exoneree Marvin Cotton, DPD Sgt. Ernest Wilson, Exoneree Mubarez Ahmed

Before Atkins’ conviction, Wilson played major roles in the wrongful convictions of exonerees Mubarez Ahmed and Marvin Cotton in separate cases in 2001.

As Officer in Charge (OIC) in the Ahmed case, he blatantly coerced a witness during a line-up, showing her Ahmed’s photo before the event and directing her to pick him out, along with other transgressions. In the Marvin Cotton case, he responded to the scene of the crime and participated in Cotton’s interrogation. Jail-house snitch Ellis Frazier, Jr. was recruited to say he heard Cotton confess to the killing involved, but recanted that statement years after Cotton’s conviction.

A federal lawsuit citing police misconduct was filed against Wilson by Nathaneal Taylor resulted in an undisclosed settlement amount in 2014. In 2019, Wilson was sued over the illegal eviction of a mother and daughter in Detroit.

Exonerees Sue Wayne County, Prosecutors, Cops

Two eye-opening federal lawsuits filed against Wayne County, its assistant prosecutors, and Detroit police officers might help answer the question raised by Channel 7 reporters above: “How did these cases go so wrong?”

The lawsuits, filed in Sept.  and Nov. 2021, by Wayne County exonerees Ramon Ward and Larry Smith, name multiple assistant prosecutors and police officers the plaintiffs allege stole decades of their lives from them and their families.

Ward spent 27 years, and Smith spent 26 years in prison. The convictions of both men were based primarily on the testimony of so-called “jail-house snitches.”

RAMON WARD:

The Smietanka Law Group of Grandville, Michigan, and the Law Office of Jarrett Adams PLLC of Milwaukee, Chicago, and New York City filed Ward’s lawsuit on Nov. 24, 2021. Significantly, neither are based in Wayne County or southeast Michigan.

Mainstream media coverage of Wayne Co. exonerations generally steers clear of naming prosecutors.

Detroit’s two major newspapers and all of its main TV outlets endorsed Kym Worthy for re-election in 202o, as did all Democratic politicians locally and state-wide. She has been in office since 2004.

USDC Judge Paul Borman

Worthy was re-elected in 2020 after vigorous opposition from Attorney Victoria Burton-Harris, who garnered nearly 40 percent of the vote. Support for Burton-Harris came from progressive forces locally and nationally, who alleged Worthy’s office supports policies of mass incarceration and does not charge police who are guilty of murdering civilians without cause, among other allegations.

Ward’s lawsuit is proceeding in front of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Judge Paul Borman, and currently is in the discovery process until Dec. 20, 2022, with final dispositive motions due by Feb. 28, 2023. No potential jury trial date has yet been set.

PROSECUTORS NAMED IN WARD’S LAWSUIT

The complaint in Ward’s lawsuit includes allegations against Wayne County prosecutors/defendants Robert Agacinski, Nancy Westveld, and Janet Napp, and non-defendant AP’s Thomas Beadle, Rosemary Gordon, William Peterson, and James Heaphy.

Attys. Jarrett Adams(l), John Smietanka(r) filed lawsuit for Ramon Ward; Adams is himself an exoneree; Smietanka has 46 years of experience including as U.S. Atty.  for the U.S. District Court of Western Michigan.

The four defendant AP’s argued the case against Ward at trial and during multiple pre-trial and post-conviction hearings including four times at the Michigan Court of Appeals, twice at the Michigan Supreme Court, and three times during motions for relief from judgment (MFRJ) hearings.

At trial and at the MFRJ’s, they introduced prosecution witnesses, including the infamous jail-house snitches Joe Twilley and Oliver Cowan, took their falsified testimony, and defended them during cross-examination.

Because of the “policy and/or custom of the WCPO obtaining false statements and false testimony for use against criminal defendants,” the lawsuit alleges that the AP’s were likely aware that these witnesses were indeed giving false statements and testimony.

The lawsuit alleges that as the chief prosecutor, Agacinski even read Oliver Cowan’s perjured testimony from the pre-examination into the record, because Cowan had died in the interim and could not testify himself.

EXCERPT FROM ROBERT AGACINSKI MEMO

Agacinski exposed the “ring of snitches” in a Feb. 8, 1995 memorandum to Richard Padzieski, WCPO Chief of Operations,  a memo which later got wide media coverage. He noted in the memo that snitches had been involved in a case he had just tried, likely Ward’s. http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Agacinski-snitches-memo.pdf

However, the lawsuit alleges that on Feb. 16, 1995, Agacinski appeared for the Prosecutor’s Office at Ramon Ward’s sentencing hearing, where he stood silent as Ward, only 18 years old, was sentenced to death in prison, despite Agacinski’s knowledge that the key evidence in the case was fabricated.

The lawsuit also describes complicit behavior by other AP’s not cited as defendants. They include Thomas Beadle, Rosemary Gordon, William Peterson, and James Heaphy.

VOD asked the WCPO whether the named assistant prosecutors are still employed there, but was told to file a Freedom of Information Act request. The WCPO earlier declined to comment on the merits of the two lawsuits saying they are subject to pending litigation.

DETROIT POLICE OFFICERS NAMED IN WARD LAWSUIT

Allegations include beatings, sexual assault by jail-house snitch Cowan

Informant Joe Twilley, Jr. testified for prosecution in “at least 20 cases.”

DPD Officers Dale Collins (l) and Monica Childs (r).

Ward’s lawsuit names as Detroit Police Department defendants Officers Monica Childs, Dale Collins, Fred Jorgensen, and Tony Sanders.

The names of Dale Collins and Monica Childs appear in multiple cases of wrongful convictions. In Ward’s case, Collins was the Officer-in-Charge.

The lawsuit says that, prior to charging Ward, Collins and P.O. Danny Maynard took statements from witnesses who identified two other suspects, one of whom later turned out to be the actual killer of victims, Denise Sharon Cornell and J0an Gilliam. Then Monica Childs interrogated him a first time, denying him a lawyer. He refused to talk t0 her and provided a signed statement saying he had not killed the women.

Former Detroit police homicide chief William Rice, now on Giglio-Brady list.

Shockingly, the lawsuit alleges that during that first interrogation, Collins and DPD Lieutenant William Rice beat Ward bel0w the neck with a phone book.

Afterwards, DPD officers placed Ward in a cell on the 9th floor of headquarters at 1300 Beaubien. Informants Joe Twilley, Jr. and Oliver Cowan were there as well. Allegedly, Cowan assaulted him physically and sexually while holding a blade to his neck, after he refused to talk to informant Joe Twilley, Jr.

Childs then interrogated him a second time, and claimed he first confessed to the murders, but then denied them. Ward said he never confessed to the murders. The other DPD officers were involved in supporting roles.

Judge John Shamo

According to court records, Collins also testified on behalf of informant Joe Twilley, Jr. during a secret motion for relief from judgment re-sentencing hearing July 27, 1994 in front of Recorders Court Judge John Shamo.

The hearing resulted in a reduction of Twilley’s sentence of 12-25 years to “a few years,” and resulted in Twilley’s immediate release.

AP Rosemary Gordon represented the WCPO.  Collins told the court that Twilley had helped obtain convictions in 20 homicide cases. Judge Shamo noted that DPD Sgt. William Rice testified earlier in another secret hearing for an informant, and effusively praised Collins as an honest police officer. Gordon told the court that AP Thomas Beadle also supported relief for Twilley.

See full transcript at:  http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Dale-Collins-Snitch-Twiley.Resentencing.pdf 

Full lawsuit at http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Ramon-Ward2-COM-Federal-Complaint-112421.pdf

LARRY SMITH LAWSUIT    

Atty. Jarrett Adams

Attorney Jarrett Adams filed exoneree Larry Smith’s first federal complaint on September 3, 2021, and later filed an amended complaint on January 27, 2022, against the defendants, Wayne County, Asst. Prosecutor Robert J. Donaldson, and DPD officers Monica Childs, Gene Karvonen, Roger Mueller, Walter Love, and John Dembinski.

It is proceeding in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in front of U.S. District Court Judge David Lawson, with Dispositive Motion Cut-off set for Jan. 20, 2023, Final Pretrial Conference set for August 30, 2023, and Jury Trial for Sept. 12, 2023.

Adams is himself an exoneree who was wrongfully convicted at the age of 17, and sentenced to 28 years. He studied law during the 10 years he served, filed multiple appeals, and was finally exonerated with the assistance of the Wisconsin Innocence Project. He now runs law offices in Milwaukee, Chicago and New York.

US District Court Judge David Lawson

The lawsuit notes that Smith turned himself in at DPD Headquarters on 1300 Beaubien, after learning police were looking for him as they investigated the murder of Kenneth Hayes, 20, on March 24, 1994. Defendant Monica Childs interviewed him, and claimed in her progress notes that he told her witnesses could not identify him because “he was wearing a hood.” Smith denied he said that or any admission in the case.

It says that prior to trial, Defendant AP Robert J. Donaldson asked Childs numerous times for her notes, which she finally produced three months prior to trial in Nov. 1994, saying they were in another case file. It then alleges that Edward Chico Allen, housed in the DPD lock-up, was recruited to falsely testify that Smith had confessed to him.

“Defendant Donaldson and/or Defendant Childs promised Allen leniency in his [capital] criminal case if he falsely testified that Smith bragged about shooting Hayes,” the complaint says. It says the Prosecutor and police continued to house Allen at the lock-up rather than the Wayne County Jail, and plied him with food, alcohol, drugs, and the ability to go out to have sex. It alleges that Childs took Allen, still housed in the lock-up, to a hotel to have a “sexual relationship” after Smith’s conviction in November.

Larry Smith with his mother Debra Smith. Both spoke at a mass Wrongful Conviction rally outside the Frank Murphy Hall June 4, 2021.

In 2003, Allen signed a notarized affidavit recanting all his testimony against Smith and provided it to Smith and his attorneys, which Atty. Mary Owens attached to his habeas corpus appeal.

Nonetheless, the WCPO continued to fight Smith’s appeals in federal court as they did in state court, all the while knowing he was convicted based on false testimony and evidence. So his appeals there were denied as well.

The lawsuit also alleges that faulty and negligent testing and preservation of evidence by the Detroit Crime Lab, which was shut down in 2008 because of those issues, resulted in false ballistics results in Smith’s case, which were highlighted by AP Donaldson as key to his guilt during trial testimony.

In a May, 2017 Detroit Metro Times article, journalist Ryan Felton exposed the rampant use of jailhouse informants (snitches) by DPD/WCPO. He reported that Edward Allen told a private investigator that Detroit police filed over 100 murder cases as a result of such testimony.

The investigator also reported that Allen said, “The police would also supply police witnesses with the discovery packets and allow them to read up on the case so that eventually testimony would match the government’s allegations.”

See full lawsuit at http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Larry-Smith-COM-Amended-Federal-Complaint-012722.pdf.

BOTH LAWSUITS FILED FOR RAMON WARD AND LARRY SMITH ASK FOR:

“Compensatory damages, costs, and attorneys’ fees against each Defendant, along with punitive damages against each of the individual Defendants, injunctive and equitable relief against Defendant, County of Wayne, as well as any other relief the Court deems appropriate.”

FIRE/CHARGE WCPO, DPD CRIMINALS!

As exoneree Lacino Hamilton infers in the comment at the beginning of this story, true justice for Ward and Smith, along with likely thousands of people from Wayne County who are wasting their lives away in MDOC prisons, will not come until the corrupt systems in the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and the Detroit Police Department are torn down and re-created for the benefit of the people.

Still shot from NBC’s interview with Kym Worthy Aug. 8, 2021.

Not one Assistant Prosecutor or Police Officer named as defendants in the Ward and Smith lawsuits has been disciplined, fired, or charged by Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and her office for the offenses cited in the Ward and Smith lawsuits, or in the cases of the rest of the 31 exonerees Wayne County boasts.

Exposed in the glare of the searchlight these lawsuits have provided, the official actions may include perjury, suborning perjury, obstruction of justice, and numerous other crimes.

PROSECUTORIAL IMMUNITY NOT ABSOLUTE

Many believe that prosecutors have absolute immunity, but the U.S. Supreme Court have substantially restricted that privilege through the years, most recently in Thompson v. Clark 596 U.S. (2022). There, the current U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3, uniting conservatives with the liberal minority, that: “To demonstrate a favorable termination of criminal prosecution for purposes of a section 1983 Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim, a plaintiff need not show that the criminal prosecution ended with some affirmative indication of innocence but need only show that his prosecution ended without a conviction.” Thompson v. Clark :: 596 U.S. ___ (2022) :: Justia US Supreme Court Center.

The issue is addressed more broadly by the USDOJ Office of Justice Programs:   PROSECUTORIAL IMMUNITY NO LONGER ABSOLUTE | Office of Justice Programs (ojp.gov)

U.S. Supreme Court

“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Buckley v. Fitzsimmons, 113 S.Ct. 2606 (1993), points to a growing recognition of the difficulty of maintaining absolute prosecutorial immunity when the system imprisons the wrong person for the wrong reason, i.e., when exculpatory evidence has been concealed or incriminating evidence has been fabricated. When prosecutors abandon traditional advocacy roles to participate pretrial or precharge in police investigative work in collateral law enforcement administration on a day-to-day, case-by-case basis, they may enjoy only qualified immunity for that conduct. This article discusses in some detail the Court’s opinions in Buckley and Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409 (1976) and briefly covers the Court’s opinions in other related cases.”

In the Channel 7 story at the head of this article, Reporter Kimberley Craig says she called the U.S. Attorney’s office, but was told they do not comment on whether investigations at their level have been opened.

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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. Help keep us afloat by chipping in so stories on this Prison Nation and Police State, and related matters, coming! Any amount is appreciated.

                                       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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Related stories:

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

DETROIT: FAMILIES OF WRONGFULLY CONVICTED TELL PROS. KYM WORTHY, POLICE, JUDGES–‘FREE THEM ALL’ | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought Continue reading →

UPDATE! APRIL 4, 2022

ALL COURTROOMS NOW OPEN FOR TRIALS

A report from the County Clerk criminal division indicates that all courtrooms in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice are now open to handle trials and other events, starting Monday, April 4, 2022. Building open at 8 a.m., courtrooms open at 9 a.m.

However, the building itself is not yet open to the public. The Ninth Floor Clerk’s Office is still not open to the public, meaning lack of full public and media access to review public court documents. The public will not be allowed in to view trials, etc. but can access them on Zoom/YouTube. This is likely a violation of defendants’ rights to a public trial under the Sixth Amendment.

Donald Davis, Jr. MDOC photo

IS THIS GROUNDS FOR THOSE WHOSE TRIALS ARE HELD WHILE COURTROOMS ARE CLOSED TO APPEAL THEIR SENTENCES?

The Michigan Supreme Court just ordered a new trial for Donald Davis, Jr. of Flint because Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Geoffrey L. Neithercut ordered the courtroom closed for the duration of the trial.

“The trial court’s closure of the courtroom for nearly the entirety of defendant’s trial after a single, benign interaction between an observer and a juror constituted plain error. Because the deprivation of a defendant’s public-trial right is a structural error, the error necessarily affected defendant’s substantial rights. This structural error presumptively satisfied the plain-error standard’s requirements for reversal, and neither the prosecution’s arguments nor the record evidence rebutted that presumption. The Court of Appeals judgment was reversed, and the case was remanded to the trial court for a new trial.”

http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/People-v-Davis-MSC-3-14-22.pdf

Michigan Supreme Court throws out conviction in 2016 Flint murder case | Crime | abc12.com

Prisoners’ families want:  

• Dismissal of charges vs. prisoners held past Speedy Trial limits.
• Open the Courts to handle trials; open the jails for public visitation.
• Post all c0urt filings on the Wayne County Courts website at Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan (3rdcc.org).

Darrell Ewing/Derrico Searcy hearing March 18 again adjourned to May 5 to hear judge’s pre-trial rulings on Brady motions to dismiss 

VOD is waiting for Court Administrator’s Office to reply to request for information on plans to dismiss charges, re-open courts and jails at: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/VOD-request-to-Office-of-Corporate-Counsel-for-info-re-WCJ-prisoners.pdf

DONATE TO VOICE OF DETROIT https://www.gofundme.com/donate-to-vod

Contact Operation Liberation, organizers of rally:  586-943-8780 

By Diane Bukowski

March 31, 2022

“Prison was hell. It was a new kind of plantation. I felt like an escaped slave. What I saw in the United States in those prisons was slavery, it was Black people with chains, in cells, it was just poor people stepped on and smashed. I’ll never forget what I saw. I’ll never forget what I’ve lived  through . . . what my people have lived through.”  –Assata Shakur in new documentary, Black and Cuba

In Detroit’s Wayne County Jail, hundreds of people, held without a trial far beyond Michigan’s statutory pre-trial maximum of 180 days (six months), and the federal 70-day trial limit, live essentially as captured slaves, as revolutionary exile Assata Shakur described above.

These men and women watch from the jail’s narrow windows every day as thousands of party-going visitors flood downtown Detroit’s streets around the prison, and others make their way to work, oblivious to the plight of those inside the jail.

Their continuing incarceration violates not only state law, but provisions of the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment and the Federal Speedy Trial Act of 1974.

Families of many people in the jail turned out March 17 for a spirited rally demanding:

• Dismissal of charges vs. prisoners held past Speedy Trial limits.
• Open the Courts to handle trials; open the jails for public visitation.
• Post all c0urt filings on the Wayne County Courts website at Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan (3rdcc.org).

Some of dozens of family members on the court steps at the Unlawful, Unjust rally March 17, 2022.

Michigan Public Radio reported in February that at least 120 inmates at the Wayne County Jail have been held without a trial past 18 months, which includes the time allowed for evaluation of their cases before their cases are dismissed with prejudice (meaning the charges cannot be brought back again).

From Michigan Public Radio/NPR

But many others are being held beyond six months.  Meanwhile, a Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration recommended in 2020 that the statutory time limit be firmly set at 18 months.

They also recommended the rescission of various factors such as the defendant’s obligation to challenge his/her incarceration directly, which have delayed compliance with the 180-day rule.

MPR noted that one prisoner has been held for 47 months, the longest of any man in the jail. VOD interviewed him,  Javonte Wiley, along with seven other men in the jail who have been held past Speedy Trial limits on March 17.

Wiley has been held since Oct. 3, 2017 on capital (life) charges which were dismissed twice in 2017 and 2019 after lengthy trial proceedings including jury trials. He was not released after those trials because judges dismissed the cases WITHOUT prejudice.

The same charges in the same case were brought back in 2020 by Wayne Co. 3rd Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Kenny, acting as a one-man grand jury.  A “review date” is set for May 17, 2022 in front of 3rd Circuit Court Judge Shannon Walker, after a year of constant adjournments.

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

Hear full Mich. Public Radio podcast below after box on Michigan’s right to speedy trial.

On March 18, the day after the March 17 rally at the Frank Murphy Hall, Darrell Ewing and his co-defendant Derrico Searcy appeared again before Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne in a seemingly endless series of Final Conference pre-trial hearings. A Michigan Court of Appeals upheld Wayne Third Circuit Judge Michael Hathaway’s order for a new trial in their case, rendered in October, 2019, which vacated their convictions for the 2009 murder of J.B. Watson.

Child at rally asks Judge to intervene against a lengthy pre-trial delay in the case of Darrell Ewing and Derrico Searcy.

Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy has consistently failed in her appeals of multiple state and federal court rulings on the defendants’ side.

Worthy has held Ewing and Searcy hostage in the Wayne County Jail since early last year, awaiting the new trial.

On March 18, Asst. Prosecutor Kam Towns further delayed a hearing before Judge Williams-Claybourne on motions to dismiss the case due to alleged Brady v. Maryland violations, including the existence of Tyree Washington’s Mirandized confession to the Watson murder, given under oath to the Michigan State Police in Feb. 2017.

At March 18 rally: Darrell Ewing is known as “Apple.”

Towns insisted that Ewing’s handwritten motion to dismiss, filed with his request to act as his own attorney, be E-filed through the state system, although that is not a requirement for prisoners filing pro se.  Atty. Lillian Diallo said she would do that immediately,  and withdraw her own motion.

Judge Williams-Claybourne  ordered the state’s response by April 18, with the parties to appear again May 5, to discuss the state’s response to that and other motions, and hear the Judge’s rulings.

“The trial will hopefully take place in June or July,” Judge WIlliams-Claybourne estimated. Ewing reacted with optimism, since he will be able to argue his motion, and tentative trial dates have finally been set.

(Screenshot) Darrell Ewing (seated at center and Derrico Searcy (behind him) appeared in person at their hearing March 18, 2022. Also shown are attorneys Lillian Diallo and Blase Kearney behind them, and AP Kam Towns at far right.

Family members and friends of prisoners conclude rally with prayers for their loved ones on courthouse steps March 18, 2022.

 VOD’s staff lives either on limited fixed incomes or is incarcerated. We are not paid; we publish the newspaper pro bono. Help keep us afloat by chipping in so stories on this Prison Nation and Police State, and related matters, coming! Any amount is appreciated.

                                       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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Related stories:       Continue reading →

SERBIAN FOOTBALL FANS DISPLAY BANNERS DEPICTING U.S./NATO HISTORY OF BLOODY INVASIONS ACROSS THE GLOBE.

https://english.news.cn/20220321/9e02130d39da4f60b4153b4c1a6f3fea/c.html

PUBLISHED IN ZINHUA, NEWSPAPER OF THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA — WHAT MORE IS THERE TO SAY ABOUT RUSSIA-UKRAINE??? WELL, OLIVER STONE HAD A LOT MORE TO SAY:

_______________________
Related Stories:

Putin’s Bombers Could Devastate Ukraine But He’s Holding Back. Here’s Why (msn.com)

Click on the above link to read this entire story from Newsweek.

Excerpt: “If we merely convince ourselves that Russia is bombing indiscriminately, or [that] it is failing to inflict more harm because its personnel are not up to the task or because it is technically inept, then we are not seeing the real conflict.”

But, the analyst says, the damage associated with a contested ground war involving peer opponents shouldn’t blind people to what is really happening. (The analyst requested anonymity in order to speak about classified matters.) “The heart of Kyiv has barely been touched. And almost all of the long-range strikes have been aimed at military targets.”

In the capital, most observable to the west, Kyiv city authorities say that some 55 buildings have been damaged and that 222 people have died since February 24. It is a city of 2.8 million people.

“We need to understand Russia’s actual conduct,” says a retired Air Force officer, a lawyer by training who has been involved in approving targets for U.S. fights in Iraq and Afghanistan. The officer currently works as an analyst with a large military contractor advising the Pentagon and was granted anonymity in order to speak candidly.

“If we merely convince ourselves that Russia is bombing indiscriminately, or [that] it is failing to inflict more harm because its personnel are not up to the task or because it is technically inept, then we are not seeing the real conflict.”

In the analyst’s view, though the war has led to unprecedented destruction in the south and east, the Russian military has actually been showing restraint in its long-range attacks.

As of the past weekend, in 24 days of conflict, Russia has flown some 1,400 strike sorties and delivered almost 1,000 missiles (by contrast, the United States flew more sorties and delivered more weapons in the first day of the 2003 Iraq war).

U.S. launches “Shock and Awe” bombing of Iraq in 2003.

The vast majority of the airstrikes are over the battlefield, with Russian aircraft providing “close air support” to ground forces. The remainder—less than 20 percent, according to U.S. experts—has been aimed at military airfields, barracks and supporting depots.

A proportion of those strikes have damaged and destroyed civilian structures and killed and injured innocent civilians, but the level of death and destruction is low compared to Russia’s capacity.

“I know it’s hard … to swallow that the carnage and destruction could be much worse than it is,” says the DIA analyst. “But that’s what the facts show. This suggests to me, at least, that Putin is not intentionally attacking civilians, that perhaps he is mindful that he needs to limit damage in order to leave an out for negotiations.”

OPERATION LIBERATION  586-943-8780 

By Diane Bukowski

Editor, Voice of Detroit (Please note: to contact the organizers of these events, use the phone number above for Operation Liberation.)

Donate to VOD to keep our stories coming    https://www.gofundme.com/donate-to-vod

DETROIT — Operation Liberation rallied hundreds of supporters and family members of prisoners, including the wrongfully convicted, outside the Frank Murphy Hall last year, June 4, 2021. They took over the street in front for five hours and marched around the Wayne Co. Jail. Now they have issued a new call to address current urgent issues affecting prisoners in the Wayne County Jail and throughout the state.

Family members of Tamerra Washington were among hundreds who turned out to rally June 4, 2021 at Detroit’s Frank Murphy court/jail complex June 4, 2021.

Others organizing for this event include Wayne Co. exonerees Larry Smith and Davontae Sanford, and family members and supporters of prisoners in the Wayne County Jail and the MDOC.  Michigan Liberation, which will be getting petition signatures for the restoration of MDOC prisoners “good time” credits, and Silent Cry, based in New York City.

See: Good Time Makes Good Legislation Introduced by Senator Irwin – Michigan Justice Advocacy (mijustice.org)

Darrell Ewing and Derrico Searcy, who helped organize last year’s event, were in the jail then and are still there 10 months later, despite the fact that their convictions were vacated in 2020. They will be in court Friday, March 18, part of a seemingly non-ending series of “final conferences” to set up a new trial. Wayne Co. Prosecutor Kym Worthy is refusing to dismiss charges despite a Mirandized confession to the crimes given to State Police by another man in February, 2017 which had been concealed in prosecutor’s files.

There are currently 1,416 men packed inside the Wayne County Jail with them, many also locked up months and even years past legal limits. None of them have been convicted of the charges on which they are being held. The state Speedy Trial Act sets a six-month pre-trial time limit and mandates release on recognizance in the case of confirmed violations.  Operation Liberation is further demanding:

DISMISS CHARGES VS. THOSE HELD PAST 180 DAY SPEEDY TRIAL ACT LIMIT

Operation Liberation organizer Darrell Ewing is shown at bottom right of photo.

VOD interviewed a sample of men held without timely trials at the Wayne Co. Jail March 10. Screenshots of some of their faces are shown at left. VOD reviewed the Registers of Action on the Wayne Co. Court website for each to be able to report accurately on the comments.

However, as stated above, the actual PUBLIC records cited on each Register are NOT available for public review in violation of the Michigan FOIA>

Corey Holmes, 44: held since Oct. 19, 2018, bound over to Wayne Co. Circuit Court (WCCC) Jan. 18, 2019. First pre-trial hearing Dec. 2, 2019. Multiple pre-trials and adjournments since. A pre-trial set for March 3, 2022 was adjourned to June 6, 2022.  “This is causing me and my family a great deal of stress and anxiety,” he told VOD. “It’s affecting my mental health, causing hopelessness and despair with no end in sight. My attorney usually stays in touch, but since COVID-19, it’s harder to see him.”

LaTonya Holmes, Corey’s sister, told VOD, “The situation in Wayne County Jail is deplorable, a violation of my brother’s rights. He caught COVID while he was in there, which had to have been brought in by a guard. Every time he goes to court, the prosecutor says they need additional time; they’re hiding evidence from his attorney. One judge retired, and the next one adjourned a hearing for a family funeral. Meanwhile, my brother was arrested while we were making arrangements for our brother’s funeral, so he wasn’t able to go to that, our mother had a heart aneurysm and we’ve lost many family members to COVID.”

Wayne County Jail Cell/Detroit Free Press photo

Javonte Wiley, 26: Held since Oct. 3, 2017 on capital (life) charges which were dismissed twice in 2017 and 2019 after lengthy trial proceedings including jury trials. The same charges in the same case were brought back in 2020 by Wayne Co. 3rd Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Kenny, acting as a one-man grand jury.  A “review date” is set for May 17, 2022 in front of 3rd Circuit Court Judge Shannon Walker, after a year of constant adjournments.

“Javonte’s grandmother and aunt passed,” his mother Deloris Jones told VOD. “His younger brothers and sister are going through school without him, and his daughter is growing up without her dad. He gets frustrated and depressed. The pressure they put on young Black men. I help by constantly putting money on his phone and commissary accounts and his father and I are spending a lot of money on attorneys every time the charges are brought back.”

Wayne County High-Security Jail Cell area, Div. 2. Detroit Free Press photo

Immanuel Wesley: Held since Sept. 4, 2020 under a similar scenario. Court records show he was charged with assault with intent to commit murder and other crimes on that date. He was not arraigned in 36th District Court until Nov. 4, 2020, a violation of state law.

His preliminary examination was held Feb. 22, 2021, four months after his arraignment (another violation) and the case was dismissed without prejudice due to the failure of a witness to appear. His case then appears on a second docket for the same charges in 2021, with a preliminary exam held March 25,2021, resulting in a bind-over to WCCC with a bond of $150,000 which was not paid. Several final conferences, adjournments and a pre-trial hearing later, he is now awaiting another pre-trial hearing March 17, 2022 this week. “They don’t even have a victim in my case,” he told VOD, “but they’re trying to get me to take a plea deal.”

Young protesters outside the failed Wayne County Jail site across from the current one, Jan. 21, 2017.

Lartrell Iverson, 24:  Held since Dec. 19, 2020, has not yet had a preliminary examination to bind him over to WCCC. He is still under the 36th Dist. Court’s jurisdiction. “They are using the pandemic as a license not to hold hearings,” he told VOD. “The prosecutor’s office keeps stalling, trying to get guys to take plea deals. There is nothing to occupy us, recreation has been eliminated, we can’t get exercise or fresh air.”

Roderick Graham:  Held since 12/16/2020 on manslaughter charge. Bound over to WCCC Feb. 10, 2021. Multiple conferences, motion hearings, held since then, with several adjournments. Motion hearings indicate multiple orders were “signed and filed,” but VOD has no way to access what those orders were, since they are not accessible on-line or in the court clerk’s office. Witness lists filed Dec. 10, 2021. Review date set for March 30, 2022.

Christian Mitchell-Childress, 23: Held since October 20, 2020. Bound over after preliminary exam May 26, 2021. Four final conferences held in last half of 2021; next Final Conference scheduled for April 14, 2022. Once again, no public way to determine results of all previous hearings. Mitchell-Childress says most have been due to the prosecutor searching for missing discovery evidence and trying to locate prosecution witnesses.

Old Wayne County Jail houses high-security cells.

Antrell Brown, 25: Held since December 21, 2020. Bound over after preliminary exam Jan. 13, 2021. Multiple pre-trial hearings, final conferences held with next review date April 1, 2022. That review has been postponed four times since May 25, 2021. He told VOD there are still many questions regarding actual evidence. He also said he suffers from heart problems and has symptoms of chest pain when he takes deep breaths, but the only test administered so far is an EKG and he needs to go to a hospital for follow-up.

Jordan Davison, 25: Held since August 24, 2020 on multiple assault and weapons charges with bond of $500,000, four of which were dismissed March 22, 2021 after preliminary examination was held.  Review date pending April 4, 2022 after multiple pre-trial, conferences, and motion hearings.

PUBLISH PUBLIC COURT FILES ON COURT WEBSITE!

Meanwhile, the public and the media are being denied their lawful right to review court case files. The only information currently on the website at Odyssey Public Access (OPA) (3rdcc.org) lists dates of hearings and actions, but no access to referenced documents is available. The Court has a separate website set up for internal use with links to those public documents, which could easily converted for public on-line use.

The Michigan Freedom of Information Act, enacted in 1977, guarantees access, with some restrictions, to public records of government bodies at all levels in Michigan. However, Third Judicial Circuit Court Criminal Division offices are still closed to the public, so individuals cannot go in to view actual court files. The Wayne Co. Probate Court provides links to all case documents on its website, citing the COVID pandemic. Why can’t the Criminal Division do the same?

OPEN THE COURT AND JAIL VISITATION!

Although COVID restrictions have been lifted, for the most part, in Michigan and across the country, family members still cannot visit their loved ones in the Wayne County Jail, and even attorney visits are sometimes constricted. Courtrooms are not open to the public in-person.

Open jail visitation and court observation are vital to the interests of both the public and prisoners in the Wayne County Jail, who have not yet been convicted of any crime. Their families and attorneys are legally entitled to see them in-person to ensure their proper treatment and to maintain support systems, both in jail and in court.

 VOD’s staff lives either on limited fixed incomes or is incarcerated. We are not paid; we publish the newspaper pro bono. Help keep us afloat by chipping in so stories on this Prison Nation and Police State, and related matters, coming! Any amount is appreciated.

                                       DONATE TO VOD 

                 https://www.gofundme.com/donate-to-vod

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

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DARRELL EWING/DERRICO SEARCY Final Conference

Continued FRIDAY MARCH 18, 2022 @ 9 a.m.

Watch Live: Hon. Darnella D. Williams-Claybourne – YouTube

Derrico Searcy (l) and Darrell Ewing (r) listened intently to testimony in their evidentiary hearing in 2017 which led Judge Michael Hathaway to grant a new trial. His ruling was in line with numerous other state and federal courts, but the two men have been held in custody for nearly 4 years since.

“The right to defend is given directly to the accused, for it is he who suffers the consequences if the defense fails.” Faretta v. California :: 422 U.S. 806 (1975) :: Justia US Supreme Court Center (cited by Darrell Ewing in his “Motion to Compel Reconsideration of Brady/Discovery Violations”) 

Darrell Ewing and Derrico Searcy are among others in the Wayne County Jail held beyond Speedy Trial Act time limits. Multiple courts ordered a new trial on their 2010 murder convictions, which were finally overturned in October, 2020. But defense attorneys have moved instead to dismiss the case, and for an evidentiary hearing, due to alleged violations of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), by the prosecutor.

A detailed Mirandized confession to the crimes by another man, given to the Michigan State Police in Feb. 2017, which surfaced in the prosecutor’s files during pre-trial discovery, is the key Brady issue.  It had not been disclosed to the defense during the years after the 2010 conviction for the murder of J.B. Watson, while Ewing and Searcy filed repeated appeals.

 A “final conference” on the case is set for Friday, March 18 in front of Wayne 3^rd Circuit Court Judge Darnella Williams-Claybourne. She denied defense motions Jan. 10, saying that Brady does not apply post-conviction. But she set time for reconsideration, ruling “Within 21 days, the parties can submit case law that shows that Brady applies on post-conviction, and any new theories.”

Working with his attorney Lillian Diallo, Ewing has submitted his own “Motion to Compel Reconsideration of Brady/Discovery Violations and Egregious Prosecutorial Misconduct.”  Ewing has used his years of incarceration to study law and says he spends most of the day in his cell surrounded by legal work.

He cites extensive case law in his motion, buttressed by two packages of supplemental authorities also submitted to the court. He lists the following topic headings in the main motion:

Brady does apply on post-conviction—“Numerous federal and state courts have extended Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 87 (1963) and its progeny into the post-conviction context.”

Due Process Clause:  “In 2017, shortly before the suppressed confession in the present case was taken, the Michigan Supreme Court adopted in the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 3.8 (B), which placed on notice and was broadcast to every prosecutor in this great state their duty and “Special Responsibility.” (See graph above left.)

As far back as 1915, the Supreme Court held that when a state grants a criminal defendant a right to direct appeal, “The proceedings in the appellate tribunal are part of the process of law under which he is held in custody by the state, and to be considered in any question of alleged deprivation of his life or liberty, contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment.” See Frank v. Mangum 237 US 309, 327 (1915); see also Evitts v Lucey, 469 U.S. 387, 393 (1995).

Ewing also cites the following case as precedential with regard to his and Searcy’s, and provides detailed analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in:

Tennison v. City and County of San Francisco, 2009:  eerily similar to the circumstances of the Ewing-Searcy conviction.  In 1989, J.J. Tennison and Antoine Goff were convicted for the murder of a young man which the prosecution claimed was related to gang wars. The only witnesses who testified at trial to identify the defendants were two children, girls 11 and 14 years old. Another man afterwards confessed to the murder.

Courts thew out the convictions in proceedings after trial, citing Brady. Tennison later won a $4 million wrongful conviction settlement and was fully exonerated after the prosecutor filed for dismissal of the case.

They said the prosecution did not report a $2500 payment to the witnesses under a “secret witness” program, and concealed the Mirandized confession of another man to the crime.

Brady extends to police officers:

Although AP Kam Towns and Jon Wojtala submit that they were never informed of the [Tyree Washington] confession, it matters not. For Brady purposes, “the DPD/MSP and the prosecutor are one.”

Even though “The state’s obligation under Brady is managed by the prosecutor’s office, that obligation applies to relevant information in the hands of the police, whether the prosecutors knew about it or not, whether they suppressed it intentionally or not, and whether the accused asked for it or not.” Harris v. Lafler, 553 F.3d 1028, 1033 (6th Cir. 2009).

Mirandized Confession Like No Other

“A confession is like no other evidence, in that it is among the most probative and damaging types of evidence because it “comes from the actor himself, the most knowledgeable and unimpeachable source of information about his past conduct.” Arizona v. Fulminante US S.Ct 1246, 1257 (1991).

LATER CONFESSION SHOULD HAVE CONSTITUTED NEW EVIDENCE

Tennison and his family reacted with joyful tears after he won his exoneration and a $4M wrongful conviction settlement.

With regard to Washington’s 2017 Mirandized confession to the State Police, Ewing, “In People v. Gumble, 1997 Mich App Lexis 1507 (1997), the Court of Appeals held, “It is the later confession suggesting [his] involvement that constitutes new evidence.”

Therefore, as found in Tennison, when MSP and DPD received Washington’s Mirandized confession by one who had been named pre-trial by a reliable witness [Christopher Richardson] known to FBI agents and multiple grand juries, and a confessor who recounted events surrounding the murder in detail, and whose accounts contradicted that of the prosecution’s witnesses, that it should have immediately been disclosed to the defense.” Tennison at 1094.

He goes on to allege multiple other discovery and Brady violations, including those he says happened during his original trial.

Ewing’s motion joins the motions filed by his attorney and well as his co-defendant Derrico Searcy’s attorney for dismissal and an evidentiary hearing, which are expected to be argued in court March 18.

Related coverage, documents and previous VOD stories:

The cases of Ewing and Searcy have been featured on various national wrongful conviction websites, including a series of six episodes in which legal criminal conviction experts have reviewed the Ewing-Searcy case and found it woefully wanting in evidence to convict.

Darrell Ewing | Actual Innocent Prisoners

Rico Searcy | Actual Innocent Prisoners

Undisclosed Podcast (undisclosed-podcast.com)

https://www.unjustandunsolved.com/post/episode-8-darrell-ewing

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From RT (Russia Today) and Izvestia, globally recognized news outlets of the Russian Federation.

Voice of Detroit Editor’s Note:  I recently announced that this paper is being devoted to issues regarding mass incarceration and police abuse in this country. But as a journalist for the past 22 years, I cannot stand by while the U.S. mainstream media shamelessly delivers coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war straight from the mouths of U.S. politicians and military leaders. 

Some of hundreds at rally for 19-year-old dad Terrance Kellom, executed by Detroit/ICE police in April, 2015.

I was appalled when I tried to access RT (Russia Today) online and found the website is blocked to prevent the U.S. public from reading the other side. VOD is also a news outlet and feels an obligation to do what it can to tell the other side of the story.

 VOD’s coverage of issues relating to prisoners and police brutality will continue. This includes objections to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s plan to spend $40 million to force incarcerated human beings in the MDOC to wear wristband tethers to track their every move, while providing inadequate funds for the replacement of lead pipes in homes in Benton Harbor.

GPS prisoner/offender tracker

While millions, mostly Black people and others of color, and poor people languish in the concentration camps that are U.S. prisons, and while police murder and abuse of the same populations increases without pause, the U.S. continues to spend over half the federal budget on the military, and para-military funding of local police forces, rather than on health care for all, jobs, social services, and infrastructure needs.

It is now sending billions of our tax dollars to prop up the fascist government in Ukraine.

Above: In 2018, Max Blumenthal reported that the US has provided military assistance to the Azov Battalion, known as a bastion of neo-Nazism within the Ukrainian armed forces. He also discusses US and Israeli ties to the far-right government in Poland, where neo-Nazism is on the rise. 

DEMOCRATIZATION OF UKRAINE

Photo: Izvestia

 Under the title “Democratization of Ukraine,” Denis Denisov wrote in Izvestia about the direction of development Russia wants for its neighbor Ukraine. Denisov, Director of the Institute for Peacekeeping and Conflict Initiatives, Associate Professor at the Russian Government’s Financial University, said:

Denis Denisov

“After the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, two of its main objectives were announced: disarmament and the cleansing of the country from Nazism.

“With regard to the goal of disarming Ukraine, the situation is well understood, as it in fact requires a series of actions aimed at destroying the military infrastructure that Ukraine and NATO can use to attack Russia; the second objective, the cleansing of Ukraine from Nazism, has not yet received a clear and comprehensive explanation.

The term “de-Nazism” itself came into use after the end of World War II and was applied to operations in Germany, Austria and other countries. It was aimed at cleansing all areas of society from Nazi ideology. With regard to Ukraine, taking into account the specifics of the state, de-Nazism acquires a slightly different tone and, in fact, means a process of democratizing the country.

Pro-Russian protesters replace Ukrainian flag with Russian flags at Donetsk Oblast State Building    March 1, 2014

Politically, this means that parties, public organizations, movements that proclaim and disseminate ideas of national exceptionalism, incite ethnic and religious hatred, and call for artificial restrictions on the linguistic, educational and scientific rights and freedoms of Ukrainian citizens must be banned and eliminated.

In the linguistic field, all restrictions on the use of Russian, as well as the languages of other national minorities (Hungarian, Polish, etc.), should be abolished. Ukraine is a multi-denominational country, and historically a large number of religions have lived on its territory. This area will be strictly protected from political influence and confrontation: freedom of belief for all, comprehensive and complete.

As with many other problems, Ukraine’s regions have traditionally enjoyed different foreign policy orientations. For the west of the country, there is a European orientation, and for the southeast the Eurasian orientation. At this level, the territories will have the opportunity, with the assistance of the central government, to make contact with those states and the areas of interest to them, in all aspects of life.

This article only reflects the opinion of the newspaper or the writer.

SITUATION IN DONBASS

PUTIN OUTLINED TO SCHOLZ THE APPROACHES OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION IN THE MATTER OF THE OPERATION TO PROTECT THE DONBASS

Olaf Scholz/Vladimir Putin

IZVESTIA 4 march 2022, 18:50

Russian President Vladimir Putin during a conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz explained to him the Russian fundamental approaches in the context of a special operation to protect the Donbass. This was told on March 4 in the Kremlin.

“The main danger comes from neo-Nazi military formations that commit numerous war crimes using terrorist methods, deploying strike weapons in residential areas, cynically hiding behind the civilian population. At the same time, official Kiev does not fulfill its promises to stop this barbarism: in recent days, the number of such cases has been increasing, “the report says.

Putin once again stressed that the Russian military does not fight with the civilian population, but strikes only at military facilities.

Following the talks, the Russian president called on Scholz to influence the Kiev authorities for the speedy release and safe evacuation of foreigners. Putin confirmed that Russia is open to dialogue with the Ukrainian side, as well as with all those who want peace in Ukraine, but on condition that all Russian demands are met.

The German Chancellor during the conversation called on Moscow to immediately stop the special operation to protect the Donbass. He also noted the need to ensure the access of humanitarian aid to the area of hostilities, the official representative of the Cabinet of Ministers of Germany Steffen Hebestreit told reporters.

On February 17, 2022, the situation in the region escalated. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) announced a general mobilization, the evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia and asked for help.

Russian troops in Ukraine/Photo: Izvestia

On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR, as well as treaties of friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance, which, among other things, provide for the granting of the right to build military bases on the territory of the parties and the provision of military assistance to each other.

On February 24, the Russian leader announced the launch of a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. Western countries that disagree with its implementation began to introduce new anti-Russian sanctions.

For more relevant videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch on the Izvestia TV channel. 

PUTIN URGED THE UKRAINIAN MILITARY NOT TO FOLLOW CRIMINAL ORDERS

Short link

24 February 2022, 08:32

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a televised address that all Ukrainian soldiers who refuse to follow Kiev’s criminal orders and lay down their arms will be able to leave the combat zone without hindrance.

RELATED:

UKRAINE: WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH BLACK FOLKS? BLACK AGENDA REPORT | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Nazis Demand Respect – Consortium News

Neo-Nazis active in Ukraine as White House adds 3,000 troops – People’s World (peoplesworld.org)

US & Ukraine at UN Refuse to Condemn Nazism – Consortium News

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Image – Carlos Latuff 

White supremacy is at the heart of US war propaganda. The exhortation to “stand with Ukraine” is no exception to this rule.

US-NATO destroyed the nation of Libya, attempted to do the same in Syria, occupied Afghanistan

NATO wages war across African countries with US, French and British troops deployed across the continent

“Instead of standing with Ukraine, Americans should stand with humanity across the world.”

Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist

March 2, 2022

By now everyone knows that Ukraine’s flag is blue and yellow. It is impossible to miss as the Empire State Building in New York, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and the Eiffel Tower in Paris have all been bathed in those colors. Nearly every city and town across the United States has followed suit and politicians ranging from local legislators to members of congress shout “Stand with Ukraine!” at every opportunity.

Eiffel Tower

Yet it must be pointed out that those blue and yellow motifs and pleas for solidarity are all about white supremacy. Ukraine is upheld as a bastion of “civilization” which is supposed to put it off limits for war and suffering. The quiet part is now being spoken out loud. We are told that Ukrainians are more deserving of concern because they are Europeans.

Ukraine’s deputy chief prosecutor said as much in a BBC interview. “It is very emotional for me because I see European people with blue eyes and blonde hair being killed…” He wasn’t alone in his assessment.

An NBC reporter was asked why Poland was willing to admit Ukrainians even as it turned away other refugees. “Just to put it bluntly, these are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from neighboring Ukraine. That, quite frankly, is part of it. These are Christians, they are white, they’re … um… very similar to the people that live in Poland.”

“Just to put it bluntly, these are not refugees from Syria, these are refugees from neighbouring Ukraine.

That, quite frankly, it is part of it.

These are Christians, they are white, they’re … um… ‘very similar to the people that live in Poland’.”pic.twitter.com/RPksA1gHVh

— Ruchir Sharma (@ruchirsharma_1) February 26, 2022

CBS followed suit, “This isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan who has seen conflict rage for decades. This is a relatively civilized, relatively European – I have to choose those words carefully – city where you wouldn’t expect that or hope that it was going to happen.”

The narrative that only white people deserve peace and security is all the more shameful because the global south suffers from war and privation as a direct result of US/NATO actions.

U.S.-NATO bombs over Tripoli, Libya in 2011. The invasion destroyed most of Libya’s infrastructure including world-class water and energy facilities.

It is NATO that destroyed the nation of Libya, NATO which attempted to do the same in Syria, NATO that occupied Afghanistan, NATO which wages war across African countries with US, French and British troops deployed across the continent. The white world causes suffering and then says that the people of the global south are “uncivilized” with no rights that need to be respected.

A Watson Institute of Brown University study showed that more than 37 million people in North Africa, Western and Central Asia, and the Horn of Africa have been displaced by the US and its allies since 2001. The humanitarian disasters begun years ago are ongoing, as refugees use the Mediterranean and even the US border with Mexico as points of escape.

After experiencing wars of aggression these nations are then subjected to punishment as the United States steals Afghanistan’s assets and keeps Syria under the thumb of Caesar Sanctions. These thefts cause more suffering and even death as nations are robbed of the ability to care for their people. Who is civilized and who is not?

Nazi-supported 2014 coup in Ukraine included bombing of government headquarters in Kiev.

Ukraine has been pushed to the forefront of American thought in order to defend the imperialist foreign policy which led to the current conflict with Russia. If the blue-eyed nation is suffering it is because of US and NATO arrogance and aggression.

Ukraine’s current situation is a direct result of the 2014 coup engineered by the US and its EU partners. An elected president was dispatched and a civil war began that has killed some 14,000 people. Ukraine is a US colony with a puppet government now under military attack. Ukrainians are themselves refugees as they flee to neighboring Poland, Romania, Slovakia and other countries. It is the supposedly advanced, democratic, and supposedly civilized who have created their problems.

Black student in Ukraine tells NBC that Blacks are last to get out; Ukrainian, Polish governments have had anti-immigration policies for a long time.

Yet once again bare-faced racism is evident. African migrants and students in Ukraine were prohibited from boarding trains and buses that could take them to safety. A group of Jamaican students was forced to walk 20 kilometers when they were forced off of a bus enroute to Poland. Africans and Jamaicans live and study all over the world because the US and Europe under-develop their nations through a variety of means. Yet Ukrainians and Poles didn’t see people in need of help. They determined that the non-blondes were not deserving of assistance.

Ironically, it is the white supremacist underpinnings of US/NATO foreign policy which have created all of Ukraine’s suffering. The need to dominate, to “contain” Russia and its ally China is not playing out the way they had hoped but the Ukrainians be damned. The Minsk II agreement which was unanimously approved in the United Nations Security Council was a roadmap to peace. Ukraine should be a neutral nation but that is the exact opposite of what its lords and masters in Washington want. The good faith negotiations that could resolve the crisis are a non-starter because NATO is a very dishonest broker.

The corporate media have joined the state in an extraordinary effort to create war propaganda. They deliberately tug at heartstrings and demand solidarity with Ukraine because the truth is very unpalatable. Instead of standing with Ukraine, Americans should stand with humanity across the world. If they did they would be better able to understand why there are wars in Europe or anywhere else.

Margaret Kimberley’is the author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents. Her work can be found at patreon.com/margaretkimberley and on Twitter @freedomrideblog. Ms. Kimberley can be reached via email at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgendaReport.com.

RELATED:

UKRAINE: WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH BLACK FOLKS? BLACK AGENDA REPORT | VOICE OF DETROIT: The city’s independent newspaper, unbossed and unbought

Why are fleeing Ukrainians being talked about with such sympathy? They are white. (msn.com)

Ukraine issue must be settled by implementing Minsk II agreement – CGTN

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