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

Mertilla Jones, Aiyana’s Grandmother, Speaks About Shooting: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Aiyana Stanley-Jones will never have another birthday/Photo Brandy Baker

Hearing on “protective order” set for Thurs. Sept. 1 @ 2 p.m. in front of Judge Daphne Means Curtis 

By Diane Bukowski

August 18, 2011 

VOD: Hearing on “protective order” likely rescheduled to await results of Chauncey Owens sentencing Aug. 30

DETROIT – The City of Detroit, its Police Department and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office are apparently conspiring to stonewall a civil lawsuit against Detroit police officer Joseph Weekley. The officer shot seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones to death in her home May 16, 2010, as other members of a “Special Response Team” in an armored vehicle threw an incendiary grenade inside. The home, on Lillibridge, is in a desperately poor area on Detroit’s far east side.

Meanwhile, Weekley’s attorneys have filed documents blaming the child’s family and even her neighbors for her death, and maintaining their client’s innocence. 

Killer cop Joseph Weekley

“The First 48” TV series and its producer Kirkstall Rd. Enterprises of New York additionally have refused to provide their videotapes of the assault on the Jones home, which they were filming as it occurred. 

“Plaintiff has been attempting to take Officer Weekley’s deposition since last year,” attorney Geoffrey Fieger, representing Aiyana’s parents, wrote Weekley’s attorney Kenneth Lewis on July 22. 

Aiyana's father Charles Jones, Atty. Geoffrey Fieger, mother Dominika Stanley, and grandmother Mertilla Jones at press conference May 27, 2010

“Defense counsel has stonewalled the discovery process at every turn, forcing the Plaintiff to file several motions with this court in an attempt to obtain the most basic information pertinent to Aiyana’s death. This Court has instructed the Defendant and the City to cooperate with the Plaintiff in the discovery process, yet there has been no substantive discovery to date.” 

Fieger also said, “The prosecutor has not released investigative materials.” 

In response, Lewis filed a motion for a “protective order,” which will be heard by Third  Circuit Court Judge Daphne Means Curtis on Thurs. Sept. 1 at 2 p.m. .in Room 1007  at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, 2 Woodward Avenue. 

Atty. Kenneth Lewis of Plunkett & Cooney

The motion asks that depositions of Weekley and other police, as well as documentation from the prosecutor’s office, be kept secret, or “sealed.” It claims that Weekley faces possible criminal charges and sets strict limits on the contents of the deposition, which is to take only one hour. “No protective order, no deposition,” Lewis wrote. 

“The Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee (JAJC) vehemently objects to this request on the grounds that the Detroit Police Department needs to provide transparency into what actually happened when Aiyana was killed by its officers,” said JAJC Chief, Roland Lawrence.   

“The family of Aiyana Jones and the citizens of Detroit have been tortured enough, and need some answers.  Any reasonable person will conclude that the Detroit Police, and Mayor Dave Bing and others are hiding something; and that ‘something’ does not smell good.  Both the criminal and civil cases must move quickly to the center stage without further delay.”  

Weekley’s attorneys, from the wealthy law firm of Plunkett and Cooney, are being paid unknown sums by city taxpayers. According to court documents, they have refused to present their client for depositions five times in the last year. 

Arnetta Grable, mother of Lamar Grable, three-time killer cop Eugene Brown's second victim, is forced out of ceremony where he was promoted to sergeant, despite Judge Daphne Means Curtis ruling blocking the promotion

On March 1, Judge Curtis ordered that “depositions take place as soon as possible after completion of the Michigan State Police (MSP) investigation, or as soon as reasonably practical after May 6 regardless of whether the Michigan State Police investigation is concluded.” 

In 2006, Judge Curtis  ruled in support of the Detroit Police Commission when it blocked the promotion of three-time killer cop Eugene Brown to sergeant, but her ruling was overturned on appeal and Brown was promoted.

On March 5,, the MSP announced that it had completed its investigation and turned over the results, along with a request for a warrant for an unidentified “male suspect,” to Worthy. Worthy has since said that she is conducting her own investigation, and given no indication as to when it will conclude. In the past, her office has declared it is still investigating police killings cases long after they had closed the files. 

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy with her own daughter Anastasia during her swearing-in

Weekley’s attorneys claim a federal investigation is also open, based on media reports published in August, 2010. But U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in May of this year, “We are currently awaiting the conclusion of the state process before we consider federal action.” 

After their motion for a protective order, Plunkett & Cooney scheduled depositions for Aiyana’s family members, a move which Fieger’s firm blocked by requesting that they not be deposed until after Weekley’s deposition takes place. 

Plunkett & Cooney previously filed a “Notice of Non-Party Fault,” according to documents in the court files. 

“This was an attempt to spread the blame for his [Weekley’s] reckless shooting to eight individuals he claims are partially or entirely responsible for Aiyana’s death, including anyone present in the home and even any next door neighbors,” says a filing from Fieger’s firm. 

Children at memorial for Aiyana outside her home on Lillibridge

On Dec. 10, 2010, Plunkett & Cooney alleged without proof that members of Aiyana’s family were engaged in “drug dealing, vehicle theft and illegal utility hook-ups.” They also accused Aiyana’s father Charles Jones of participating in the previous shooting death of 17-year-old Je’Rean Blake, and said it is likely that he is the “male suspect” named by State Police in their investigative report. 

They cited media reports that Chauncey Owens, who lived upstairs from Aiyana’s family and who was the individual police were seeking when they killed Aiyana, was to testify that her father gave him the gun used to kill Blake in exchange for a lighter sentence. In fact, Owens’ court files show he named another individual. His sentencing, originally set for this past May, has been postponed until Tues. Aug. 30 at 9 a.m. in Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Richard Skutt’s courtroom at the Frank Murphy Hall.

 (Click on VOD article at http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/05/23/owens-never-said-aiyana-jones%e2%80%99-dad-gave-him-gun-used-in-teen%e2%80%99s-killing/ to read full story.)  

Mertilla Jones after MSP completed investigation; grieving, she lost 50 lbs.

Plunkett & Cooney additionally claimed Aiyana’s grandmother Mertilla Jones “interfered in the execution of the search by unlawfully touching the defendant and causing his weapon to accidentally discharge.” 

Jones was arrested and held for several days after she watched her beloved granddaughter die in front of her eyes. Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee, at the time an Assistant Chief, publicly withdrew the contention that she interfered with Weekley and released her without charges at the time.

The family’s actions “created unsafe living conditions for Aiyana Stanley-Jones and placed her in extreme danger,” Plunkett & Cooney wrote. “If Plaintiff Aiyana Stanley-Jones sustained any injuries or damages as alleged in the amended complaint, same were caused in whole or in part by the aforementioned Non-Parties.” 

In a letter to Fieger’s firm, Davis, Wright & Tremaine, LLP, on behalf of Kirkstall Rd. Enterprises, the producer of “The First 48,” refused to comply with a court-ordered subpoena for the film of the incident from Fieger’s office. 

They claimed that the subpoena could only be issued through New York courts, and even then, they would not produce it because they claim to be covered by “New York Civil Rights Law 79-h(c),” known as the “Shield Law,” which allegedly protects a reporter’s privilege. 

The Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee is asking that individuals phone Judge Daphne Means Curtis at 313-224-2240 to express their opposition to the protective order. The hearing, to be held Thurs. Sept. 1 at 2 p.m. in Rm. 1007 of the CAYMC, is also open to the public.

Fieger Press Conference: Aiyana Jones: MyFoxDETROIT.com

 Detroit Meeting to “Stop the U.S.-NATO War on Libya!”

For over four months the African nation of Libya has been mercilessly bombed by United States, French, British, Italian, Norwegian, Dutch and Canadian warplanes. A naval blockade has placed warships in the Mediterranean off the coast of the resource-rich country.

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney has led opposition to the war on Libya

Inside the North African state of Libya large numbers of civilians have been killed. The goal of the imperialist powers is to seize control of the largest oil reserves in Africa as they did during the colonial era.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and military advisers from European governments are on the ground directing their puppet rebel forces in the war against the Libyan people. The imperialists are funding the rebel group through the stolen tax dollars of the working populations of the U.S. and Europe who do not support this war against Libya and Africa as a whole.

Since March 11 the 54-member African Union has opposed foreign intervention in Libya and calls for a ceasefire followed by a negotiated settlement to the war in Libya. These overtures by the AU were accepted by the Libyan government in Tripoli but rejected by the U.S.-NATO forces and their surrogates inside the country.

Come out on August 27 to hear an eyewitness account of the brutal and criminal U.S.-led war against Libya and join the movement to stop this carnage and blatant attempted theft of this African state.

The featured speaker for this event will be the former U.S. Congressperson Cynthia McKinney of Georgia who recently visited Libya to obtain a firsthand account of the U.S.-NATO war in North Africa. McKinney visited sites within the country that had been bombed by the U.S. and NATO warplanes.

Sponsors for this event include MECAWI, the National Conference of Black Lawyers Michigan Chapter, the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut-offs, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Green Party of Michigan,  Workers World Party and the Pan-African News Wire.

For more information on this event please contact MECAWI at 313-671-3715.

Join the MECAWI contingent at the Parade of Nations, part of the African World Festival, this weekend, on August 20, beginning at 11 AM.  We will march under anti-US/NATO war banners and signs. Gather at 10 AM at the Fisher Freeway service drive at Woodward Ave.  March to Hart Plaza where parade participants will perform and speak on stage.  MECAWI has been invited to speak.

MECAWI will also be out in force at the African World Festival at Hart Plaza. We will be distributing thousands of leaflets calling for an end to the US/NATO war against Libya and building the Aug. 27 meeting in Detroit featuring Cynthia McKinney (recently returned from Libya).  Meet us at our table at the Spirit of Detroit statue (Coleman A. Young Municipal Center – Woodward at E. Jefferson) at the following times:

Friday – Aug 19 from  6 – 9 PM
Saturday – Aug. 20 from 5 – 8 PM
Sunday – Aug. 21 from 4 – 8 PM.

For more info, call: 313-680-5508

Govabuse protesters against government kidnapping in Chicago, Aug. 12, part of national day of action

Hearing on motion for summary judgment by defendants set for Tues. Sept. 20, U.S. District Court Judge Julian Abele Cook

By Diane Bukowski

Aug. 16, 2011 

DETROIT — A federal civil rights lawsuit against Michigan Child Protective Services (CPS) worker Mia Wenk, her supervisor Monica Sampson, numerous other Department of Human Services personnel, the Detroit Police Department, private foster care agencies and shelters, and Family Court judges and referees is currently proceeding in federal court.

The lawsuit asks for injunctive and declaratory relief and compensatory damages on behalf of Nathaniel Brent, a Detroit father of five children with Native American heritage, who were removed from their home for four months.

Wenk, Sampson and other defendants in the case were also the chief protagonists in the removal of Ariana Godboldo-Hakim from her home in March, and her forced psychiatric hospitalization and medication afterwards.

Events described in the suit bear a striking similarity to events in the Godboldo case, down to the fact that the children were being home-schooled, as Michigan law allows. 

Wayne County Family Court Chief Judge Leslie Kim Smith (l), Circuit Court Chief Judge Virgil Smith and DHS Director Maura Corrigan

Wayne County Family Court Chief Judge Leslie Kim Smith, whose rubber-stamped signature was affixed to the order to remove Ariana, the Detroit Police Department, and the Children’s Center, also involved in Ariana’s case, are included in a lengthy list of defendants.  (Click on Mia Wenk federal lawsuit Nathaniel Brent to read entire lawsuit.)

Brent filed the suit in pro per on Feb. 22, 2011, prior to the Godboldo incident in March, 2011. It has been proceeding before U.S. District Court Judge Julian Abele Cook. It challenges Michigan’s state child protective laws as unconstitutional, both on their face and as they were applied in Brent’s case. 

Brent says his 15-year-old son ran away from home. When police returned him, they at first contacted CPS but later withdrew the complaint. Brent says DHS policies specifically prohibit considering a simple runaway as cause for a CPS investigation. 

CPS worker Mia Wenk

However, Wenk gained entry to Brent’s home on Jan. 20, 2010 through “deceit and coercion” by claiming she was there to see that the child was ‘alright’ so she could close her case file, according to the suit. She did not inform Brent that the police had withdrawn their complaint. 

“Upon entry to Plaintiff’s home . . . .Ms. Wenk began questioning R.A.B. [the child] . . . When Plaintiff objected to the suggestive and leading nature of the questioning Ms. Wenk then demanded to speak with R.A.B. alone and told Plaintiff father that he could not refuse or he would be in violation of law,” reads the suit.

“Ms. Wenk then had R.A.B. take her to his bedroom. Without parental knowledge or consent, Ms. Wenk ordered R.A.B. to show her the whole house. This constitutes an illegal search under U.S. Const.4^th Amendment and Mich. Const. Art. I Sec. 11.” 

Heather DeCormier-McFarland

The suit alleges that Wenk, her supervisor Monica Sampson, and intern Heather Decormier[McFarland] again entered the home on false pretenses the next day to take pictures of the premises, while Wenk kept the parents “distracted.” They claimed the visit was for the purposes of an audit. Brent again charges they conducted an illegal seizure and also committed a felony by taking the unauthorized photos. 

Brent says that on Feb. 9, he informed Wenk that his children had Native American heritage and were therefore subject to provisions of the National Indian Child Welfare Act. 

Native American child shown on ICWA website

According to the NICWA website, “ICWA is a federal law that seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families. Congress passed ICWA in 1978 in response to the alarmingly high number of Indian children being removed from their homes by both public and private agencies. The intent of Congress under ICWA was to “protect the best interests of Indian children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families” (25 U.S.C. § 1902). ICWA sets federal requirements that apply to state child custody proceedings involving an Indian child who is a member of or eligible for membership in a federally recognized tribe.” 

The NICWA website can be accessed at http://www.nicwa.org/Indian_Child_Welfare_Act/. 

Judson Center Wayne County Office, in Pinnacle Building in Redford, MI (Photo from Judson Center website)

Brent says that CPS personnel completely ignored this federal mandate and proceeded to refer his family to the Judson Center, one of a network of private agencies across the state that receive federal foster care funds for every child they remove from their homes.

At issue were needed repairs to the home and speech therapy for one of the children, which the suit contends should have been provided by state agencies as part of “reasonable efforts” to keep the children in the home. 

During a “Team Decision Meeting” held over the phone with Brent and his wife, Feb. 18, the suit contends, DHS personnel hung up on them, and never notified them that they were filing a petition to take their children the same day. 

Police siege similar to what happened to Brent family and five children

At 6 p.m. that evening, the suit says, at least eight Detroit police officers arrived at the Brent home “with guns drawn.” Brent says when he answered the door, one of the officers said he had a writ to remove the children, but would not show it to him and forced his way past Brent into the home. 

“After officers ‘secured’ the Plaintiff’s home and began removing the children,” says the suit, “Officer Jane Doe showed the plaintiff the writ. Plaintiff immediately challenged the writ as incomplete (writ did not have judge’s name in the proper place), contradictory, inaccurate description of the children, improper signature, and exceeding the jurisdictional authority of the court.” 

Wolverine Shelter, which handles adjudicated youth

The suit also contends that the request for the order was faxed to the court’s “web unit,” and says it is unknown if Judge Smith ever personally viewed the order authorizing the children’s removal or any other document “bearing her stamped signature.” It says the petition for the order did not contain any specific allegations of abuse or neglect. 

Four of the children were placed in emergency shelters including the Wolverine Shelter, while a fifth child was taken to Children’s Hospital “for reacting poorly to this isolation.” The suit contends none of the follow-up care for this child was given to him when he was placed at Wolverine. 

“During the time Plaintiff’s children were placed at Wolverine, Wolverine was operating under a provisional license due to environmental concerns,” says the suit. 

Dana Hathaway (any relation to the Hathaway judge clan?) with Referee Nicholas Bobak

It goes on to say that on Feb. 19, Wenk told the Wayne County Juvenile Court that Brent and his wife “have rifles and guns.” Preliminary hearings were held Feb. 19 and 24, presided over by Referee Nicholas Bobak. 

“Neither Referee Bobak nor DHS would even consider placing Plaintiff’s minor children with their maternal grandparents, who were present in the court on Feb. 19, 2010,” says the suit. “DHS and their agents prevented the children from attending both of these court dates, thereby denying the Plaintiff his due process right of calling witnesses.”

The suit claims Bobak defamed Brent by stating in his order that he “had mental health issues,” with nothing to base the claim on. 

“The defamation of father’s mental health tainted all further proceedings and was the basis for further judicial decisions,” says the suit. 

Methodist Children's Home in Redford, MI

Brent says his children were then placed with various “guardians,” but that on March 10,  worker Shevonne Trice inspected his home and found it to be suitable for return of the children. However, Referee Anthony Crutchfield would not authorize their return. Meanwhile, the guardians were authorizing medication and immunizations for the children without legal authority, says the suit. 

On March 26, the children were returned to shelters, including Methodist Children’s Home where they did not receive required medical care. Brent says one of the children, who was coughing up blood, ran away to obtain needed care at Beaumont Hospital. 

On its website, the Methodist Children’s Home says, “Methodist Children’s Home Society is a volunteer driven, private, non-profit, non-sectarian child-care agency, which has a long history of caring for children from throughout Michigan. Our residential treatment program, Children’s Village, offers care for 70 boys, ages 10-17 who are in need of a highly structured intensive environment. Foster care, adoption and literacy programs are also available.”

Among other allegations in the suit, Brent says he recorded Wenk refusing to provide him with full copies of his children’s files. 

The female children were then placed in Children’s Center. The suit alleges that a Children’s Center supervisor told Brent and his wife in the presence of the children, “If you loved your children you would accept the plea deal.”

That deal, offered by State Assistant Attorney General Linda Hendren, involved the parents pleading guilty to neglect allegations in return for regaining custody of their children. The supervisor also cut the father’s phone contact with his daughter’s off at the same time. 

Wayne County Family Court Judge Judy Hartsfield

The parents were allowed no visitation time with their children pending trial, which began on May 10, 2010 in front of Judge Judy Hartsfield. Hartsfield recently received the ‘Friend of Children’ Award From Lutheran Child & Family Service of Michigan, another DHS beneficiary.

Finally, on June 6, 2010, after numerous irregularities at trial claimed by Brent in the lawsuit, all five children were returned to their parents.  

The numerous defendants in Brent’s lawsuit filed various motions for summary judgment and/or dismissal in July, after repeated requests for extensions on time to reply were granted by Judge Cook. 

One brief explains the results of the jury trial and subsequent return of the children to their family home.

“On May 11, 12, and 13 of 2010, a jury trial was held, and the jury determined that there were one or more statutory grounds for the Court to take jurisdiction over the Brent children based upon environmental neglect. The conditions of the Brent home were unsuitable, and it was also found that there was medical neglect of at least one of the children who was found to be suffering from lead poisoning and a severe speech impediment. Dispositional hearings regarding the placement of the Brent children were held on June 2, 2010, and the children were released to their parents, but remained under the supervision of DHS. On September 10, 2010, the jurisdiction of the Court was terminated.  Plaintiff had improved the conditions of their home, had cooperated in receiving services provided, and the children’s needs were being met.” 

U.S. District Court Judge Julian Abele Cook will hear defedants' motion for summary disposition Sept. 20

The brief calls Brent’s lawsuit “an impermissible collateral attack on state court proceedings” and “nothing more than a vexatious action by a disgruntled litigant.” 

It goes on to say, “First, the present situation is an example of why judges, referees, and social workers are afforded immunity from suit to protect them from becoming defendants in suits filed by disgruntled persons who are unhappy with the judicial process. The referees and judges who adjudicated the state court case are shielded by absolute immunity. Furthermore, the social workers who investigated the abuse and neglect complaints against Plaintiff and participated in the state court proceedings against the Plaintiff also enjoy immunity from suit for their alleged actions or inactions.” 

Despite the last claim, U.S. District Court Judge John Corbett O’Meara recently held that claims of immunity for the CPS worker involved in the Thal and Julian Wendrow were not valid, and has allowed the case to proceed against her, although he granted immunity to prosecutors Deborah Carley and Richard Gorcyca.

A hearing on the motion for summary judgment by the defendants has been set for Tues. Sept. 20, 2011  at 9:30 AM before District Judge Julian Abele Cook, whose courtroom is in the Federal Building at 321 W. Lafayette in downtown Detroit.

Some of those who participated in national rallies against state child abduction, including supporters of Maryanne Godboldo, outside the Lincoln Hall of Justice in Detroit Aug. 12; Neema Yacef is second from right front

 Parents, attorneys, supporters vow to continue fight for child

CPS abductor Wenk testifies, “I didn’t want the mother to end up shooting her daughter,” and claims she was “scared” of Ariana

Wenk faces federal lawsuit in another case (see next story)

Cops who took child also being sued in other cases

Police invade Godboldo home second time (see coming story)

Numerous families stopped outside the Lincoln Hall to sign Govabuse petitions against state child abduction

By Diane Bukowski

August 12, 2011 

DETROIT – Despite testimony that Mia Wenk, a “social services specialist” with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, authorized the  psychiatric hospitalization of Ariana Godboldo-Hakim, 13, and the administration of four dangerous psychotropic drugs, without reviewing the child’s  medical records, a jury found Aug. 9 that it was Ariana’s mother Maryanne Godboldo who had neglected her. 

Godboldo, who obtained alternative holistic treatment for her daughter from a medical doctor, testified earlier that she was suffering from a reaction to immunizations administered in Sept. 2009. She said Ariana had been diagnosed with encephalitis, not a psychiatric disorder. Neither she nor Ariana’s father Mubarak Hakim authorized their daughter’s treatment at Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric facility after an army of police seized her from her home on Blaine near Linwood in Detroit March 24, 2011. 

Mia Wenk is being sued in federal court in Nathaniel Brent case involving very similar allegations against her

Wenk said that as she watched the stand-off with police that resulted at Ariana’s home, her only concern was, “I didn’t want her to end up shooting her daughter.”  Wenk is currently facing a federal lawsuit  filed by Nathaniel Brent (see next story) for taking his five children, who are of Native American heritage.

Wenk, who was present throughout the proceeding, heard testimony from Godboldo that “Ariana is my life,” and from Hakim, Ariana’s aunt Penny Godboldo, and her treating physician Dr. Margaret Betts that the best outcome for Ariana would be to return to her mother, who had provided her with a warm and loving life.  

Maryanne Godboldo speaks at rally July 17, 2011

It took the eight-member Wayne County jury, with two Black women on the panel, one-half hour to reach their finding of neglect after a one-and-half-week trial. The trial included testimony from Detroit police who claimed Godboldo fired a gun in the house, a charge which has not yet been adjudicated. The remainder of  the preliminary exam in the criminal case is set for Aug. 29 in front of Judge Ronald Giles in 36^th District Court. 

Attorneys for Ariana’s parents, who include Adam Shakoor, Wanda Evans, Allison Folmar, Byron Pitts, Roger Farinha, and Michael Bishai and supporters around the world have said they will continue the fight to bring Ariana home, ensure a safe medical regimen, and defeat multiple criminal charges against Godboldo.

“This is absolutely crazy,” said Neema Yacen (in photo at top) who attended every day of the one-and-a-half- week trial.  

Children's Center recruits foster parents in billboard off John C. Lodge Fwy.; they are paid $34 per day per head by DHS for each child they take

“The testimony showed that the mother took her child every day to a treatment program where all she saw was counselors. No psychiatrist saw her except to prescribe Risperdal. The mother comes and says ‘I don’t like what this drug is doing to my child.’ An ethical doctor would have taken her off the medication. Instead the counselors reported her to Child Protective Services (CPS)—no doctor reported her. Then mother took Ariana to the Children’s Center for 31 out of 35 appointments. The very day the Children’s Center called CPS was the day they were making another appointment for the mother to come in with Ariana. Then they kidnap the child and take her to [Hawthorn Psychiatric hospital] where they tried to kill her with Haldol, Risperdal, Abilify and Lithium.”

Yacen is a retired Detroit Public Schools speech and language pathologist who also worked in a mental health institution. She spoke during a rally outside the Lincoln Hall of Juvenile Justice in Detroit Aug. 12. The rally, sponsored by Govabuse.org, was part of a national protest. Thousands of other families across the U.S. marched outside local courthouses the same day to demand an end to what they say is massive abduction of children by government and private agencies for profit and medical experimentation. 

Wayne County Family Court Judge Lynne Pierce, who presided over the trial, and who normally holds court at the Lincoln Hall, is to rule on Ariana’s custody and continuing care Sept. 29. The child is currently living with her aunt Penny Godboldo and being treated by renowned Detroit Dr. Margaret Betts, an M.D and licensed allopath. 

Lynne Pierce sworn in as husband Raymond Andary, of Lebanese descent, looks on behind her, daughter Lauren Phillips, corporate attorney for Dykema Gossett, which represents Children's Center funder Ford Motor Co., is second from left

Before the verdict, Pierce ruled that a court order, authorized by a probation officer and never seen by a judge, was sufficient to seize the teen. She would not allow arguments from the defense challenging the validity of the order during the jury trial. Pierce told the jury they had to find Maryanne liable on only one out of multiple counts to rule against her. Jury members did not even have to specify which count. 

Pierce earlier overturned an order by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Richard Skutt barring Hawthorn doctors from administering the psychotropic drugs to Ariana. 

“In my opinion, it was an improper order given without this court’s knowledge or consent,” Pierce told the jury. 

Deborah Carley now has long bleached blonde hair

Pierce, a Grosse Pointe Woods resident, was obviously hostile to the defense throughout the trial, upholding the majority of objections made by Assistant State Attorney General Deborah Carley.

Carley contended the Department of Human Services had the authority to institutionalize and medicate Ariana for six weeks at Hawthorn Children’s Psychiatric Hospital in Northville. She grilled Godboldo without mercy regarding the birth of her only child, who had to have her right leg amputated below the knee shortly after birth due to medical complications.

Carley was also the subject of a lawsuit in the infamous Thal and Julian Wendrow sexual abuse and child removal case.  Although U.S. District Judge John Corbett O’Meara upheld claims of governmental immunity against Carley and Gorcyca, he has allowed the lawsuit to proceed against the CPS worker involved.  (http://www.freep.com/article/20110615/NEWS03/106150431/Sex-abuse-claims-Wendrow-case-fall-apart-court and five other Detroit Free Press articles on that case.)  

During the trial, Child Protective Services (CPS) worker Wenk, who has no state license of any kind, took the stand Aug. 8 and 9. 

She testified that she had been assigned to the case on March 10, and had never met Ariana or her parents face to face, except during a brief discussion through a closed security gate with Godboldo at her home on Mar. 16. Godboldo refused to let Wenk into the home, which Wenk admitted she had the right to do. 

Attorney Wanda Evans

But Wenk’s constant refrain was, “Maryanne would not administer prescribed medication [Rispedal] to her daughter.” 

On cross-exam by Godboldo’s attorney Wanda Evans and Hakim’s attorney Roger Farinha, she admitted Godboldo had in fact administered the medication “at one point, yes.”  

Wenk also testified that she herself signed the paperwork to admit Ariana to Hawthorne, and to medicate her “if necessary” with Risperdal, Haldol, Abilify and Lithium, powerful psychotropic drugs with numerous side effects.

 She said she also authorized a list of 14 immunizations “if needed,” including one of those that Ariana’s mother believed caused Ariana’s severe reaction in Sept. 2009. 

Wenk testified she had not received any medical records on Ariana prior to her call to 911 March 24, to summon the police to the child’s home on Blaine near Linwood. Referring to her case notes, Wenk admitted that she had already decided to seize Ariana prior to holding a “Permanency Planning Conference” Mar. 23 with her parents.

She also admitted she told Tracy Dorsey, a caseworker at Children’s Center, that she was going to take the child and have her medicated with Risperdal in an inpatient psychiatric facility. 

Lt. Michael Nied with MP in Army; in less weighty days

She said two other police cruisers passed the corner of Blaine and Lawton, where she was waiting in her car with another DHS employee and a Wayne State University intern, before a car containing Officers Thomas Trewhella [#2601] and Kevin Simpson [#3674] stopped by her car. She said she passed a court order out her car window to Simpson but never exited the car. 

Wenk said the officers’ supervisor Lt. Michael Nied came running up to her after the three forced entry into Godboldo’s side door, to show her what he said was plaster dust on the shoulder and arm of his jacket, allegedly resulting from a bullet fired into a house wall. He then ordered them to leave the scene.  

Cop Kevin Simpson is being sued in other case where police used "N" wrod

Trewhella, Simpson, and officer Benjamin Wagner, who also testified at the Godboldo hearing, are currently facing federal lawsuits over a case in which they allegedly participated in a traffic stop of Michael Dickinson and Taryn Markoe in Sept. 2009. The lawsuit says the stop was originally carried out by three plainclothes officers in long white T-shirts and an unmarked car, wearing no badges and brandishing guns.  Later uniformed cops arrived on the scene. Click on Trewhella Simpson Markoe case and Simpson Trewhella Wagner federal lawsuit to read ongoing lawsuits.

Markoe’s lawsuit alleges that the cops derided Dickinson of Commerce Township for dating Markoe, who they called a “N—–.”  and for not being able to protect her. 

Trewhellen also faces a Wayne County Circuit Court lawsuit, “Nancy A. Coon, Personal Representative of the Estate of Geofrey William Coon, WCCC Case No. 10-004981 NI,” along with officers John Lohmeir and James Demps.

Nied testified during the custody hearing. His Facebook page shows he is a shift lieutenant, and served as a major in the Military Police of the U.S. Army from 1984 to 2008. It says he was deployed four times. He attended high school in Harper Woods, Michigan. He is a very large, heavyset man who appears to have gained quite a bit of weight  since the accompanying photo was taken.

Wenk said she returned the next morning to Children’s Hospital, where police had taken Ariana. She testified she told Ariana’s aunt Penny Godboldo and her father Mubarak Hakim to leave the room where Ariana was being seen because it was “DHS policy.” 

She said, “I was scared” as she sat with Ariana alone. She claimed Ariana kicked off her prosthetic leg and was yelling and screaming. Hakim testified earlier that his daughter was calm at the hospital during his and her aunt’s presence.

Wenk testified at Godboldo’s preliminary exam that the child needed to be put in the back seat of the police car because “it has a cage,” and repeatedly testified that she was diagnosed with “psychosis NOS” (not otherwise specified), which is actually not a diagnosis but an admission that doctors really didn’t know what was wrong with her.

Maryanne Godboldo with Pastor Charles Ellis outside Hawthorn during prayer vigil for Arian

Farinha had her review CHM’s final report on Ariana before they released her, which indicated “no protective concern for the child” and that she had been examined without her clothes and no evidence of trauma, bruising or abrasions was present. 

He also had her refer to her case notes which indicated psychiatric hospitals including Hawthorn and Kingswood refused to admit Ariana repeatedly because there was no order for treatment. Wenk admitted that when the order to admit was finally authorized, it indicated “NOT FOR MEDICATION.” 

Farinha asked her if she herself had accompanied Ariana to Hawthorne. Farinha said the child had bruises on her arm and the end of her prosthetic leg as well as what appeared to be a cigarette burn in her hand. Wenk denied she was present during transport.

It took a lengthy court battle in front of Judge Pierce, with the Northville facility’s chief psychiatrist testifying that Ariana should not be there, and reaching a mutual treatment plan with Dr. Betts, before Pierce finally ordered the child released. Ariana had begged to go home numerous times.

The Justice 4 Maryanne Committee says they are in need of funds, particularly to hire expert witnesses in the case, as well as to help finance the attorneys’ dedicated work.

The Committee’s website is at http://www.justice4maryanne .  The site includes a donation link: Donate securely through our online donation page.

*Thank you to everyone who supported our rally on April 2nd! We raised just over $3,000. However, our work is NOT over!” says the site. There is also a link to a petition to free Ariana Godboldo-Hakim on the website. 

Revelations called ‘disgusting,’ but not surprising

By Todd A. Heywood | 08.15.11 | 10:05 am

Michigan leaders in the fight against the foreclosure crisis reacted strongly Sunday to revelations that mortgage giant Fannie Mae appears to have been pushing banks to foreclose on homeowners rather than continue negotiating loan modifications.

March on Lansing against foreclosures in 2009

The story broke in the Detroit Free Press, which reported it had been given some 2,300 internal records and memos from Fannie Mae. Those documents included indications that lenders should proceed to foreclosure sales rather than allow any time for modifications, and memos which indicate the company was threatening to charge a penalty to lenders who allowed foreclosures to wait too long before they were executed.

Particularly troubling was the fact that these memos came at the same time that Fannie Mae officials were testifying before Congress that they were doing everything in their power to prevent foreclosures.

Fannie Mae offices

“I am thoroughly disgusted by the actions of Fannie Mae,” said Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel, who is currently suing Fannie Mae and other lenders arguing that they failed to pay Ingham county millions of dollars in title transfer taxes. “What these internal documents show is that while Fannie Mae was being bailed out by taxpayers they were systematically pushing for citizens to be foreclosed. The reason for this is even worse. Right now we as taxpayers pick up the cost of every foreclosure, because we pay Fannie Mae’s loss in the foreclosure process. In other words they actually get paid more for a foreclosure than for a reasonable modification.”

Neeta Delaney, co-director of the Michigan Foreclosure Task Force, had a slightly more muted response.

“We see this on a daily basis. It is what we have been characterizing as the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing,” she said. Her coalition represents nearly 200 groups with a stake in ending the foreclosure crisis and is working to push new foreclosure related legislation through the legislature. “It’s not new news (foreclosures during modification negotiations). But the documents are new news. These documents are implying a policy behind this. It’s not just the banks being overwhelmed.”

Steve Dibert, a mortgage fraud investigator who owns the company MFI-Miami, said there was little surprise in the new revelations.

March on Chase Bank during U.S. Social Forum in Detroit June, 2010

“Like everything else that has come out of Washington since the crash, this double talk is nothing new from Fannie Mae,” Dibert said. “They’ve been doing it for years. Mortgage servicers and banks have also been doing this for years. Contrary to what was pitched to Congress and the American people, HAMP was not designed to help homeowners. It was done to essentially take the 5 million plus mortgages that were slated to default in April of 2009 and spread them over a two to three year period. The banks feared that had this number of mortgages gone into default all at once it would have collapsed the US banking system.”

The documents also may impact all foreclosures. Dibert notes that those documents appear to indicate an ownership of the mortgages.

“If Fannie Mae is claiming ownership of these mortgage at the time of the foreclosure then why is ownership being assigned to the the servicer (usually through MERS) prior to the sheriff’s sale?” Dibert said. “Under Michigan law, if the servicer forecloses they must disclose who the owner of the note is.”
The result of this, Dibert has noted in the past, could be the elimination of thousands of foreclosures because the law was not followed properly.

While Hertel would not discuss particulars in how these new documents and revelations might impact his ongoing lawsuit against the mortgage giant.
“It shows a direct willingness of Fannie Mae to lie to Congress and the American people,” Hertel said.

 “It also shows the incestuous relationship that Fannie Mae has with the major national banks. Finally, Fannie Mae claims tax exemptions saying they are part of the federal government. I am pretty sure this shows that Fannie Mae’s interest is in profits and not the public good or the goals of the federal government. This is further proven by their CEO’s almost $5 million dollar salary.”

Ultimately, however the disclosures shake out, Delaney says she knows who will lose.

“The upshot,” she said, “is that, no matter what, the homeowners lose.”

VOD ED: Attorney Vanessa Fluker, and the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shut-offs, were the first to expose the role played by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the devastation wrought on U.S. cities by the mortgage companies and the banks. Fluker was also first to challenge and win a case finding that MERS has no authority to foreclose on homeowners. For more on the Coalition, located here in Michigan, go to http:// www.moratorium-mi.org/  and http://www.mecawi.org/.

Banner flown over Detroit by Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee May 16, 2011, one-year anniversary of her death

Re http://www.detnews.com/article/20110815/METRO01/108150321/1409/Detroit-seeks-gag-order-in-suit-over-Aiyana’s-death   

Protest against Detroit police murder of Aiyana Stanley Jones, held in downtown Detroit June 26, 2010

Detroit, August 15, 2011  –

“The Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee (JAJC) in response to the City of Detroit’s request for a gag order in the civil lawsuit against the City of Detroit vehemently objects to this request on the grounds that the Detroit Police Department needs to provide transparency into what actually happened when Aiyana was killed by one of its officers, and so that Detroit citizens can get some relief in this case as it deals with the other horrific and mounting crimes around the city,” says JAJC Chief, Roland Lawrence.  

“Something is a foul with the Detroit Police Department.  As such, the family of Aiyana Jones, and the citizens of Detroit have been tortured enough, and need some answers.  Any reasonable person will conclude that the Detroit Police and the Mayor Bing and others are hiding something; and that “something” does not smell good.  Both the criminal and civil cases must move quickly to the center stage without further delay.” 

The Justice for Aiyana Jones Committee (JAJC) was formed to exact justice for Aiyana Jones and her family as a result of the Detroit Police Department and other entities botched raid of her home which resulted in her death. 

Contact:  

Roland Lawrence (313) 989-8850 justice4aiyana@hotmail.com

VOD EDITOR: The court hearing on the requested gag order in Aiyana’s case will be held Friday Aug. 26 in front of Judge Daphne Means Curtis in the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. Now is the time for the people of Detroit to PACK THE COURT to demand an end to this travesty. Not only is the City stonewalling, the producers of “48 Hours” have refused to provide their videotapes of the police assault on Aiyana’s home, including the SRT team throwing a stun grenade through her living room window, and officer James Weekley shooting her in the head on entry into the home. This is a conspiracy of government and corporatocracy. Aiyana today, YOUR child next! Full story coming this week in Voice of Detroit.

Comment on above videotape, posted one month ago:

FUCK THE DETROIT POLICE THEY SHOOT AT ANY ONE I CANT TELL YALL HOW MANY TIMES THEY HAVE PUT A GUN TO HEAD AND CALLED ME WORTHLESS SHIT FUCK THE POLICE STRAIGHT UP RIP AIYANA JONES HOPE YOU WITH THE ANGELS NOW
187rougestatius

Mark Duggan, father of four, murdered by London police in Tottenham, leading to ongoing rebellions across England

Oppose state repression of British youth

Statement of the Socialist Equality Party (UK)
11 August 2011

The elemental eruption of social anger that has swept London and other British cities in recent days has exposed the entrenched poverty, discrimination and police brutality faced daily by many working class youth.

The response of the entire political establishment and the media is to exclude any discussion of these conditions. In unison they insist that the riots and the instances of looting that have taken place are solely the consequence of a large “criminal underclass” of young people that “infests” the inner-cities and must be dealt with ruthlessly.

Carpetright shop in flames, Tottenham London

This is a slander against the youth. Those self-appointed custodians of morality who promote it–hypocrites of the first order!–fail to consider the implications of their own lies. What judgement is to be made of a social system that produces an entire generation of criminals?

The fact is that for 35 years the ruling elite and their political representatives have carried out a war against society. Ever y aspect of life has been subordinated to the interests of a parasitic financial elite that has looted public assets without restraint, leaving record levels of inequality and deprivation in their wake.

Uprising in Liverpool

The immense social distress that presently prevails is set to worsen dramatically. It is no coincidence that the backdrop to the youth revolts is a new meltdown of the world’s stock markets. An orgy of speculation and greed on the part of a small, super-rich elite has produced an economic catastrophe.

In Britain, as elsewhere, the response of the ruling elite to the breakdown of capitalism is the imposition of austerity measures that will further impoverish tens of millions of people. This class war policy underlies the vicious response of the political establishment and the media to the disturbances. Their aim is to whip up the most reactionary elements so as to justify mass state repression and even more draconian attacks on social conditions.

London police bring armoured trucks out

That is why Prime Minister David Cameron is invoking the “rule of law” to sanction the use of water cannons and plastic bullets. It is the same reason that Labour leader Ed Miliband, whose party while in government helped create the appalling social conditions against which young people are rebelling, demands the “strongest possible police response.”

Their denunciations of the “criminality” and “immorality” of the young are staggering in their cynicism and hypocrisy.

Revolt in Croydon neighborhood of London

They are made by the representatives of a bourgeoisie that is waging criminal wars of aggression in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya in which innocent civilians are killed daily. The very politicians–beginning with Cameron–who wax eloquent about morality have been exposed as the political bagmen of the multi-billionaire arch-reactionary Rupert Murdoch, whose News of the World was involved in criminality on an industrial scale, including the systematic bribery of the Metropolitan Police, the very force that is now being let loose on the streets of London to attack working class youth with impunity.

Rupert Murdoch

No action has been taken against Murdoch or any of his executives and bribed police officers–nor is any demanded. Murdoch and his son James are treated with grovelling deference by the politicians of all official parties as well as the media.

In all the condemnation of “lawlessness,” virtually no mention is made of Mark Duggan, the 29-year-old father of four whose fatal shooting by police last Thursday triggered the riots. There are no calls to bring to justice the police officer who murdered him.

Conservative Party leader David Cameron on billbaord in Liverpoor

Nor has a word of criticism been made of the mass arrests taking place across the country. Almost 2,000 people have been rounded up so far in the course of mass police sweeps in which young protesters have been indiscriminately attacked and seized. Courts are presently sitting through the night to process people charged with petty crimes, many of whom have bee n refused bail.

There is more than a whiff of fascism in the repeated appeals to “property owners” and “respectable citizens” to “take back the streets” from those described as “feral rats.” Writing in the Daily Mail, Max Hastings described the youth involved in the disturbances as “wild beasts” who “respond only to instinctive animal impulses.” In the early 19th century, Hastings continued, with undisguised approval, “spasmodic outbreaks of violence” by the “underclass” were dealt with “by force and draconian legal sanctions, foremost among them capital punishment and transportation to the colonies.”

In contrast, he complained bitterly, “Today, those at the bottom of society behave no better than their forebears, but the welfare state has relieved them from hunger and real want.”

British leaders calling for reinstatement of death penalty

Such racist and fascistic rants are legitimized and disseminated by the “respectable” bourgeois press, while right-wing forces such as “libertarian” Paul Staines circulate electronic petitions to demand the restoration of the death penalty.

The re-called parliament is set to discuss stripping all unemployed people involved in the riots of their welfare entitlements, while the riots are being used to test out domestic counterinsurgency measures in preparation for the far broader struggles of the working class that are foreshadowed by these events.

I will burn this M-F down (Killer Mike): House of Reeves Furniture on fire in London

The youth revolts have above all brought into the open the contemptible and reactionary character of those who style themselves as “liberals” and even “lefts.” For years these privileged middle-class layers have accommodated themselves to rising social inequality. Utterly indifferent to the impoverishment of broad layers of the population, their “progressive” credentials are based entirely on their championing of lifestyle politics and various forms of petty bourgeois identity politics.

Their reaction to the inner-city rebellions is one of intense fear and loathing. Labour’s Ken Livingstone–once known as “Red Ken”–was amongst the first to call for the deployment of water cannons, while the black and Asian Labour MP’s and assorted “community leaders” who have utilized racial politics to bolster their careers and bank balances are the most vociferous in insisting that poverty is “no excuse” for rioting and that the police must respond with force.

Ian Dunt, editor of politics.co.uk, articulated the outlook of such layers most explicitly. In the past, he wrote, “those of us who consider ourselves civil liberties advocates” had been wary of calls for law and order by “authoritarians.” But not anymore. “Let’s be clear, we have seen a glimpse of the breakdown of society,” he continued. We “must show we understand the need for tougher sanctions when they are genuinely needed to protect the public, or else we’re just fanatics with no grasp of reality.”

Such statements speak to the political tragedy of the youth. Their entirely ju stified indignation has been unable to find any organized, progressive expression because of the utter rottenness and bankruptcy of the Labour Party and the various “left” tendencies. There is nothing fundamentally that separates these organisations from the Conservative Party and the right wing more generally. They simply speak for different sections of the same privileged elite.

As for the trade unions, their systematic efforts to sabotage and strangle any opposition to the government and its austerity measures have played a central role in isolating the youth, leaving them feeling frustrated and helpless.

The Socialist Equality Party unequivocally condemns the police assault that has been unleashed against young people and demands the immediate withdrawal of riot police from the areas they now occupy. Those held on petty charges must be released immediately without any further repercussions.

To the youth we say: all the resources you need to lead the fulfilling and productive lives to which you are entitled–well-paid jobs, free education, access to culture, sport and leisure and other essential provisions–can be attained, but only by challenging the monopoly exercised over society by the super-rich and their three political parties–Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat.

Your allies in this struggle are the working people in Britain and internationally. The working class–your class–is the only social force capable of overthrowing the capitalist system and reorganising economic life on the basis of social need, not private profit.

To workers and those genuinely concerned with democratic rights and the fight for social equality we say: come to the defence of the youth. Show them the way out of the nightmarish future of poverty, unemployment and war which capitalism offers.

From Color of Change

(VOD ed.: These cases are highly reminiscent of young Davontae Sanford’s case in Detroit. Click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/01/15/free-davontae-sanford/ to read this paper’s story on Davontae, which was also published in The Final Call. Also put his name in VOD search engine for updates.)

Recent DNA testing has proven the innocence of 10 Black men who were only children when they were forced by Illinois police to confess to murders they didn’t commit.

Some of them have been imprisoned for nearly 20 years, but despite the overwhelming evidence, which has even linked the crimes to the real killers, the state of Illinois refuses to recognize their innocence.

If enough of us speak out, we can expose these injustices and force the state of Illinois to do right by these men. Please join us in demanding that State Attorney Anita Alvarez immediately agree to overturn their convictions. It takes just a moment:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Cook_County/

Robert Taylor, Dixmoore Five at 15

The Dixmoor Five 

In the first case, which occurred in October 1992, five Black teenagers, later called the Dixmoor Five, were arrested in Cook County, IL for the sexual assault and murder of 14-year-old Cateresa Matthews. Three of the five boys confessed to the crime in exchange for lighter sentences and testified against the others. They’ve since recanted their testimony, with one man claiming that he was tricked into signing a confession by local police.¹

Robert Taylor still in prison, age 34

A few months ago, DNA samples taken from the victim were tested using modern techniques. The DNA didn’t belong to any of the men accused of her rape and murder — instead it was linked to a convicted rapist and armed robber who was 32 years old at the time.²

In the face of this overwhelming evidence, the State’s Attorney’s office stubbornly downplayed the significance of the DNA evidence and opposed the release of the men.

Terrill Swift, Englewood Five, then

The Englewood Five

Two-and-a-half years later, five more Black Cook County teenagers, known as the Englewood Five, were taken into custody for the sexual assault and murder of a 30-year-old woman named Nina Glover. In this case, five juvenile confessions resulted in the convictions of four teenagers (aged 14-18 at the time). While one teenager wasn’t convicted, the other four received lengthy prison sentences. Recently, DNA extracted from the victim was matched to a now deceased serial rapist and murderer — a man who has a history of preying on women and strangling them.³

Terrill Swift in prison now

The State has argued that any DNA match in this case would be inconclusive due to the lifestyle of the victim, who was known to engage in prostitution. However, the semen found in the strangled body of Ms. Glover is from a man that the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office has long believed was responsible for two strangulation-murders of prostitutes and violent assaults of at least five others.⁴

The Common Thread

The thread that connects both these cases? The teenagers were incarcerated as a result of confessions we now know were forced by police. Eight of the 10 teenagers confessed to police during intense and coercive interrogations, and six of the now grown men are still in custody.

Taminko Sanford, center, mother of Davontae Sanford, with his family outside court July 29, 2010

Coerced confessions play a part in almost a quarter of all wrongful convictions nationwide.⁵ Even the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized that teenagers are particularly susceptible to falsely incriminating themselves during questioning from police and should not be subjected to harsh interrogation tactics.⁶

Coercive interrogation practices must come to an end. Ensuring the release of these men wouldn’t just help correct a gross injustice — it would send a message to law enforcement that they can’t get away with forcing teenagers to confess to crimes they didn’t commit, and that this practice compromises the entire public’s safety.

Please join us in demanding that Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez agree to vacate the convictions of these young Black men, and when you do, ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://act.colorofchange.org/sign/Cook_County/

Thanks and Peace,

— Rashad, James, Gabriel, William, Dani, Matt, Natasha and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
   August 9th, 2011

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU–your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don’t share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

http://www.colorofchange.org/donate

References:

1. “DNA evidence links man to 1991 murder, may clear 5 convicted in case,” Chicago Tibune, 04-15-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/929?akid=2097.871662.fahBAP&t=7

2. “State’s response to petition for relief from judgement,” Circuit Court of Cook County, 04-29-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/931?akid=2097.871662.fahBAP&t=9

3. “Man convicted in 1994 rape, murder pins hopes on advanced DNA test,” Chicago Tribune, 03-25-11
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/930?akid=2097.871662.fahBAP&t=11

4. “State’s motion to dismiss request for post-conviction DNA testing,” Circuit Court of Cook County, 01-19-2011
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/932?akid=2097.871662.fahBAP&t=13

5. “Understand the Causes,” Innocence Project
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/934?akid=2097.871662.fahBAP&t=15

6. “Supreme Court case J.D.B. v. North Carolina,” Supreme Court opinion, October, 2010
“http://act.colorofchange.org/go/928?akid=2097.871662.fahBAP&t=17

Also click on http://cwcy.org/ for Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth (Northwestern University) report on these cases and link to national Rutgers Law Review study.

FROM MOVEON.ORG 

Fed up with Washington? Frustrated by the way tea party Republicans successfully held the country hostage, to protect the rich at the expense of everyone else?

Well, you’re not alone. Dissatisfaction with Congress is at a historic peak.¹ But isolated anger isn’t going to solve anything. What we need are solutions and united action. What we need are Jobs, not Cuts.

March for Peace, Freedom and Justice in downtown Detroit Aug. 28, 2010

And while Washington was concocting a debt deal that sold the people out, 130,000 everyday Americans considered 25,000 solutions to create A Contract for the American Dream.

It’s a Contract to create jobs, invest in America, and rebuild the American Dream for all. And as a first step, if we can get at least 100,000 citizen signers right away, we’ll put the Contract in a full page ad in The New York Times, so America can see the solutions to our broken politics and struggling economy writ large.

Below are the main points of the Contract. Be among the first of many to sign it and get it in The New York Times this week. 

A CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM
Americans who are willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to find a decent job, get a good home in a strong community, retire with dignity and give their kids a better life. Every one of us…has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is our covenant, our compact and our contract with one another…

March for Jobs, Justice and Peace, Detroit Aug. 28, 2010

We’ll be putting the principles of the Contract into action almost immediately. But the first thing we need to do is get Washington’s attention with a full page ad in The New York Times backed by over 100,000 Americans. 

Then we’ll take it directly to members of Congress during the August recess, start fighting for it in our local communities, and make it part of our national vision.

Be part of this crucial beginning by signing the Contract for the American Dream today.

Clicking here will add your name.

Thanks for all that you do,

–Justin, Tim, Stephen, Elena, and the rest of the team

P.S. See below for the full text of the Contract and then click here to sign your name to it.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C. 1963: I HAVE A DREAM!  A CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM “I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.” –Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963 March on Washington We, the American people, promise to defend and advance a simple ideal: liberty and justice… for all. Americans who are willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to find a decent job, get a good home in a strong community, retire with dignity and give their kids a better life. Every one of us—rich, poor or in-between, regardless of skin color or birthplace, no matter their sexual orientation or gender—has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is our covenant, our compact, our contract with one another. It is a promise we can fulfill—but only by working together. BAIL OUT THE PEOPLE, NOT THE BANKS! Today, the American Dream is under threat. Our veterans are coming home to few jobs and little hope on the home front. Our young people are graduating off a cliff, burdened by heavy debt, into the worst job market in half a century. The big banks that American taxpayers bailed out won’t cut homeowners a break. Our firefighters, nurses, cops and teachers—America’s everyday heroes—are being thrown out onto the street. We believe: AMERICA IS NOT BROKE. America is rich—still the wealthiest nation ever. But too many at the top are grabbing the gains. No person or corporation should be allowed to take from America while giving little or nothing back. The super-rich who got tax breaks and bailouts should now pay full taxes—and help create jobs here, not overseas. Those who do well in America should do well by America. AMERICANS NEED JOBS, NOT CUTS. Many of our best workers are sitting idle, while the work of rebuilding America goes undone. Together, we must rebuild our country, reinvest in our people and jump-start the industries of the future. Millions of jobless Americans would love the opportunity to become working, tax-paying members of their communities again. We have a jobs crisis, not a deficit crisis. To produce this Contract for the American Dream, 131,203 Americans came together online and in their communities. We wrote and rated 25,904 ideas. Together, we identified the 10 most critical steps to get our economy back on track and restore the American Dream: INVEST IN AMERICA’S INFRASTRUCTURE. Rebuild our crumbling bridges, dams, levees, ports, water and sewer lines, railways, roads and public transit. We must invest in high-speed Internet and a modern, energy-saving electric grid. These investments will create good jobs and rebuild America. To help finance these projects, we need national and state infrastructure banks. CREATE 21ST-CENTURY ENERGY JOBS. We should invest in American businesses that can power our country with innovative technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal systems, hybrid and electric cars, and next-generation batteries. And we should put Americans to work making our homes and buildings energy efficient. We can create good, green jobs in America, address the climate crisis, and build the clean energy economy. MLK Day March at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, Detroit INVEST IN PUBLIC EDUCATION. We should provide universal access to early childhood education, make school funding equitable, invest in high-quality teachers, and build safe, well-equipped school buildings for our students. A high-quality education system, from universal preschool to vocational training and affordable higher education, is critical for our future and can create badly needed jobs now. OFFER MEDICARE FOR ALL. We should expand Medicare so it’s available to all Americans, and reform it to provide even more cost-effective, quality care. The Affordable Care Act is a good start and we must implement it—but it’s not enough. We can save trillions of dollars by joining every other industrialized country—paying much less for health care while getting the same or better results. MAKE WORK PAY. Americans have a right to fair minimum and living wages, to organize and collectively bargain, to enjoy equal opportunity and to earn equal pay for equal work. Corporate assaults on these rights bring down wages and benefits for all of us. They must be outlawed. SECURE SOCIAL SECURITY. Keep Social Security sound, and strengthen the retirement, disability, and survivors’ protections Americans earn through their hard work. Pay for it by removing the cap on the Social Security tax, so that upper-income people pay into Social Security on all they make, just like the rest of us. RETURN TO FAIRER TAX RATES. End, once and for all, the Bush-era tax giveaways for the rich, which the rest of us—or our kids—must pay eventually. Also, we must outlaw corporate tax havens and tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas. Lastly, with millionaires and billionaires taking a growing share of our country’s wealth, we should add new tax brackets for those making more than $1 million each year. END THE WARS AND INVEST AT HOME. Our troops have done everything that’s been asked of them, and it’s time to bring them home to good jobs here. We’re sending $3 billion each week overseas that we should be investing to rebuild America. TAX WALL STREET SPECULATION. A tiny fee of 1/20th of 1% on each Wall Street trade would raise tens of billions of dollars annually with little impact on actual investment. This would reduce speculation, “flash trading,” and outrageous bankers’ bonuses—and we’d have a lot more money to spend on Main Street job creation.  STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY. We need clean, fair elections—where no one’s right to vote can be taken away, and where money doesn’t buy you your own member of Congress. We must ban anonymous political influence, slam shut the lobbyists’ revolving door in D.C. and publicly finance elections. Immigrants who want to join in our democracy deserve a clear path to citizenship. We must stop giving corporations the rights of people when it comes to our elections. And we must ensure our judiciary’s respect for the Constitution. Together, we will reclaim our democracy to get our country back on track.

Source:

1. “Disapproval Rate for Congress at Record 82% After Debt Talks,” The New York Times, August 4, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=262766&id=29637-18985933-qn6Danx&t=6