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

Espinoza family with supporters outside Family Court July 27: (l to r) Luis III, 13, father Luis with Leonardo, 3, Cornell Squires, Gavino, 9, mother Cecilia, Pedro, 12, and Mabel Love

Grandmother seized daughter illegally, CPS upheld action weeks later, targeting a poor family in favor of the well-to-do grandmother 

By Diane Bukowski 

Aug. 2, 2011

DETROIT – In yet another extra-legal seizure of a child, the family of Luis and Cecilia Espinoza of southwest Detroit is fighting to have their only daughter Genoveva, 6, returned home, and to prevent her four young brothers from being taken by the state. 

Arnetta Grable, co-founder of the Detroit Coalition against Police Brutality, lost her son Lamar to a Detroit police officer's bullets; she came to court to support keep the Espinozas from losing their children

They protested outside the Lincoln Hall of Justice July 27 prior to a pre-trial hearing on their case, with their young sons and supporters from community organizations including Cornell Squires, Mabel Love, and Arnetta Grable. 

Cecilia Espinoza explained what happened. 

“It was Father’s Day, June 19, and me and my mom went to the cemetery to visit my father,” Ms. Espinoza said. “My husband was home with the children cooking dinner, and Genoveva was playing. When we got back, we found she had hit herself in the eye while hiding under her bed. My son had already pulled her out but she went back in. She does that a lot and gets stuck.” 

Ms. Espinoza said Genoveva claimed that she, her mother, gave her the black eye. 

“My mother said ‘no, we just got home,’” Espinoza recounted. “But she asked to take her home with her for a few days and we said OK. After that, she would come and visit us but wouldn’t bring Genoveva. She said Genoveva didn’t want to come home. She brought her one time and we only saw her for five minutes. Then we went to a picnic on Belle Isle July 7 with the family, and Genoveva said she wanted to come home with me and started to get in our car. But my mom grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let her come. Genoveva was wrapping her fingers in my hair and hanging on to me and crying.” 

Home of grandmother Consuelo Meade in Warren, who took Genoveva from parents

Consuelo Meade, the grandmother, is 83, well-to-do, and lives in an expensive condominium in Warren, according to Ms.Espinoza. She said her mother paid an overdue $5,000 tax bill for the Espinoza’s home, and seemed to think that entitled her to take the child. The Espinozas live in a poor section of Detroit. 

Ms. Espinoza makes $214 a week at a pizza restaurant, and her husband Luis works on cars to help support the family. 

“My mom showed me pictures of Genoveva’s black eye, and said I hit her, this is where I beat her. She told me, ‘Your daughter is not going home.’” 

Warren Police HQ; Warren police force is predominantly white

She said she and two friends went to the Warren police to lodge a complaint and obtain their assistance in regaining her daughter, but the police were hostile and threatened to arrest her instead. 

She said her mother then consulted with a friend who is a DHS worker, Monica Schmit, who told her to file a CPS complaint. 

She said a CPS worker, Shanitra Bowman, came to their home on short notice July 12, spoke with her and her son, and viewed the home. She said she also visited her children’s school, Bennett Elementary, talked with the principal, and took pictures of her sons without her consent. She said Bowman tried to get her to sign consent papers after the fact, but she refused to so. 

Ms. Espinoza said she and her husband went to a “Permanency Planning Conference” at CPS on July 18 with the worker and explained what happened, but CPS filed for an order to take temporary custody of Genoveva on July 21. 

If allegations about Genoveva are upheld, CPS plans to seize the remaining Espinoza children, according to testimony at a probable cause hearing in front of Family Court referee Mona Youssef  July 27, regarding the order. 

Starletta Banks with photos of her thre children in 2005; Richard Karoub terminated her parental rights in 2000, but she has battled since then to have them returned to her loving arms.

Randy Rodner, the court-appointed attorney for Luis Espinoza, said that the four other children had earlier been dismissed from the petition. But assistant state attorney general Richard Karoub said they were not dismissed, only that a hearing was not held regarding them. He said if the petition is authorized by the court and the case goes to trial, then the other children will be included. 

Karoub is the assistant attorney general who terminated the parental rights of Starletta Banks in 2000. The young mother of three was featured in a series of articles by this reporter in the Michigan Citizen. Click on Starletta Banks stories to read about her case.  However, he also threw out a CPS case against Sylvia Young, who lost her three toddlers to a fire after DTE turned off their heat in February, 2010.

CPS had no compassion in this tragedy, but tried to try to take Young’s other four children afterwards, despite DTE’s clear culpability in the incident. Listen to Sylvia Young’s talk on what CPS put her through, among other issues, in video below.

 An earlier hearing July 21 in the Espinoza case was adjourned until an interpreter became available for Luis Espinoza, who is not as fluent in English as his wife. CPS procedures require a hearing within 24 hours of their request for a protective order. 

Bowman testified that she spoke with the parents and the grandmother, and met with Genoveva, who she said had no injuries at the time. Asst. State Attorney General Richard Karoub showed photos of Genoveva’s black eye, but they were not entered into evidence because there was no testimony available regarding when they were taken and how they were processed. 

Bowman said the child told her that it was her mother who struck her. She said that Ms. Meade told her she did not observe the incident because she was in the kitchen. She said Ms. Espinoza denied striking Genoveva in the eye, and said first that the child went under the bed out of defiance, and then that she was playing hide-and-seek. Bowman said both Mr. and Mrs. Espinoza agreed that Genoveva had a black eye. 

She was asked what in-home services she recommended to prevent removal of Genoveva or the other children, but did not give any. 

CPS rules regarding “reasonable efforts” to keep the child in the home say that federal and state law both require “judicial oversight” when a child is removed from the home, and a judicial determination that “reasonable efforts” have been made to keep the child in the home. In the Espinoza case, despite the family’s compliance with Bowman’s request to attend a Permanency Planning Conference, the Department filed a petition to remove Genoveva only three weeks after its inital contact with the family. State law limits the filing of such a petition only to situations involving dire circumstances as listed at keft,

According to attorney Dynah White, who represented the Espinozas in a hearing July 29 before Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Michael Sapala, the petition to remove Genoveva has a signature purporting to be that of Presiding Family Court Judge Leslie Kim Smith, but has no case number or petition number, and is not time stamped. It was allegedly filed July 20.

White represented the parents July 29 before Sapala, on a petition for a writ of habeas corpus alleging the child was being illegally held, and a complaint for compensatory damages against Meade, Schmit, Meade’s sister Amelia Gutierrez, Bowman, her supervisor Carla Parham and the Michigan Department of Human Services. The parents had filed the actions pro per, with the assistance of community supporters. 

Sapala ruled that he did not have jurisdiction over the habeas corpus motion since the case was in Family Court, but that the complaint for compensatory damages could be re-filed as an original complaint in Wayne County Circuit Court.

Meanwhile, the Family Court hearing against the Espinozas is scheduled to resume Wed. Aug. 3 at 1:45 P.M. in front of referee Mona Youssef, at the Lincoln Hall of Justice, 1025 E. Forest at the I-75 service drive.

These children from Bennett Elementary attended a City Council meeting last month; Ceciia Espinoza said her son Pedro was supposed to go, but was too upset about the loss of his sister to attend.

Parents of Ariana, Maryanne Godboldo and Roger Hakim, leave court after earlier hearing

Probation officers routinely stamp Family Court judge’s signature 

By Diane Bukowski

Aug. 1, 2011

 DETROIT – Children are routinely being removed from their homes in Wayne County on the word of a state worker with a bachelor’s degree, and a Wayne County Family Court probation officer who stamps Presiding Judge Leslie Kim Smith’s signature on a court order without her authorization. The judge never even sees the order or accompanying documentation. 

Ariana Godboldo's home on Blaine, in a neighborhood that is 98.6 percent Black, where 31% of the residents live below the poverty level.

That was the testimony of Vikki Kapanowski, Juvenile Intake interim supervisor, on Aug. 1 in the Ariana Godboldo case. Detroit police, along with a Special Response Team including tanks, helicopters and assault weapons, removed the frightened 13-year-old child from her home March 24 as a result of such an order. 

Her mother faces criminal charges for resisting what she and her attorneys say was an illegal home invasion and seizure of the child.  

Attorneys for Maryanne Godboldo and Mubarak Hakim, Ariana’s parents, were outraged. 

Atty. Wanda Evans

“It was the intent of the legislature, to ensure the protection of families, to make sure that the judge has reviewed and signed the order on their own, not to leave that responsibility to a referee or probation officer, ” argued Wanda Evans, co-counsel for Ariana’s mother. 

Under state law, she said, probation officers must be officially sworn in as referees to function in that capacity, and referees can only make recommendations. Referees must also have law licenses. 

She referenced the state Probate Code, 712 A.10, which reads as follows: 

Attorney Adam Shakoor with Rosa Parks' long-time friend Elaine Steele

“It is the fundamental right of the parent to have custody of their child and raise their child,” co-counsel and well-known Detroit attorney Adam Shakoor chimed in. “This was an improper protective custody order, and everything that flows from it is void. To get to the point where the law allows the seizure of a child, the rights of the parent have to be protected. The court is left with no other option than to quash the order.” 

Kapanowski testified that one of three probation officers on her staff designated to do so reviews petitions for removal submitted by CPS workers. 

“Once they are convinced there are sufficient grounds, they issue protective orders,” Kapanowski said. “Then they are file stamped and stamped with the presiding judge’s signature.” 

Wenk home in Flushing, a suburb of Flint which is 94.6 % white and has a 4.7 % poverty level

She said a probation officer named Marcia Hurst stamped Wayne County Family Court Presiding Judge Leslie Kim Smith’s signature on the petition to remove Ariana Godboldo March 24. Although the order provided 30 days for execution, Wenk went to Godboldo’s home on Blaine immediately and called 911 to summon police. 

Kapanowski also testified that her staff members have not been sworn in to function as referees and have no law licenses.  

In the Godboldo case, the worker, Mia Wenk, had a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, three weeks on the case and one year on the job with a brief period of on-the-job training.  State regulations provide that a probation officer “may” have a bachelor’s or master’s degree. 

Asst. state AG Deborah Carley

Assistant state attorney general Deborah Carley argued several times that unproven allegations that Maryanne Godboldo fired a shot at the police were sufficient to override any flaws in the court order, and cited an unpublished Court of Appeals decision. She said the probation officer was designated as a referee, ignoring Kapanowski’s testimony to the contrary. 

Attorney Roger Farinha, who represents Ariana’s father, angrily denounced her references to the gunshot. 

“If the attorney general can argue such an issue, than I can argue that nothing shows that they can medically treat a child,” Farinha said. “There is no doctor’s letter in the file. They can’t take a child and warehouse her to experiment on her.” 

Atty. Roger Farinha

The chief reason Wenk cited for Ariana Godboldo’s removal was her mother’s decision to take her off the psychotropic drug Risperdal, which many medical professionals have said is dangerous. The consent form Maryanne Godboldo signed when she agreed to have her child take the drug specified that she had the right to take her off it at any time. 

Family Court Judge Lynne A. Pierce struck Carly’s statements related to the alleged gunshot, but upheld her other arguments. 

In ruling that the order was valid, and disallowing testimony on its legality in the upcoming jury trial, set for Aug. 2, Pierce also ignored Kapanowski’s testimony that her staff was not authorized to function as referees.

Family Court Judge Lynne A. Pierce

She said state law authorizes a referee to review and approve petitions for removal of children. 

“Based on CPS/DHS’s provision of a petition with allegations under MCR 3.963, and that the allegations were made to a referee and the fact that the statute allows non-judicial action, the court finds the written order stamped with the judge’s signature by the referee/probation officer authorized DHS to enter the premises.”

 That rule , MCR 3.963 (B) Court-Ordered Custody, reads in part:

(1) The court may issue a written order authorizing a child protective services worker, an officer, or other person deemed suitable by the court to immediately take a child into protective custody when, upon presentment of proofs as required by the court, the judge or referee has reasonable grounds to believe that conditions or surroundings under which the child is found are such as would endanger the health, safety, or welfare of the child and that remaining in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child.” 

Part A of the section allows a child to be taken without a court order under extraordinary circumstances, but in this case, a court order was used as the pretext for Ariana’s removal. 

Pierce also ruled that an amended order to remove Ariana Godboldo would be the only one allowed into testimony at the trial, not the original order that led to her removal. 

Pierce home in Grosse Pointe Woods, which is 99.1 % white and has a poverty rate of 3.1%

Pierce would have had to reverse her own after-the-fact ruling in a subsequent show cause hearing if she had granted the defense motion to quash the original order. 

Pierce also refused to allow the hiring of Attorney Michael Bishai to represent Ariana Godboldo, in addition to current court-appointed Guardian Ad Litem Daniel McGuire. Bishai said he wanted to represent the child to safeguard her legal rights to remain with her family and not to be medicated against her will or their will. 

After Ariana was taken, she was placed in Hawthorne Psychiatric Hospital in Northville and medicated with Risperdal along with three other drugs until attorneys for her mother obtained a court order from Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Richard Skutt barring the forced medication. 

Pierce denied Bishai’s request to represent Ariana, but said he could act as co-counsel for her mother.

Davontae Sanford's family and supporters (mother Taminko Sanford at pastor's right) pray for his freedom outside Prosecutor Kym Worthy's courthouse last year. She has refused to withdraw charges against him although an investigator has now testified that another man, Vincent Smothers, confessed to the four homicides he was convicted of at the age of 14, in the case of a "classic false confession."

By The Associated Press

Published: Monday, July 25, 2011, 1:14 PM     Updated: Tuesday, July 26, 2011, 7:37 AM

A lawyer trying to overturn a teenager’s four murder convictions closed her case Monday with testimony from an investigator who said a Detroit hit man already in prison for killing eight people took responsibility for the same four slayings and “absolutely” wasn’t aided by a young accomplice.

Davontae Sanford at 14, four years ago.

Linda Borus, an investigator with the Michigan appellate defender office, was the last witness for Davontae Sanford in a long series of hearings. Sanford was just 14 in 2007 when he told police that he fatally shot four people in his Detroit neighborhood. He subsequently pleaded guilty to murder and won’t be eligible for parole until 2046.

For more than two years, attorney Kim McGinnis has been trying to get those guilty pleas thrown out. She says Sanford, a troubled kid who could barely read or write, simply was trying to please police. Her strongest piece of evidence may be the confession of self-described hit man Vincent Smothers.

Smothers, sent to prison last year for eight mostly drug-related murders, told police after his arrest that he committed the so-called Runyon Street killings. But by that time, spring 2008, Sanford had already pleaded guilty and was locked up.

Vincent Smothers said Davontae was not involving in Runyon Street killings

Borus testified Monday that she visited Smothers in prison last November. She said he explained how he was hired to kill certain people at a Runyon Street house to settle a feud between drug organizations. She said Smothers indicated he had help that day — but not from a teen.

“He said there was absolutely no connection between him and Mr. Sanford. He said (Sanford) had nothing to do with it. I don’t know what more I can say,” Borus testified.

But when she was finished, Wayne County Circuit Judge Brian Sullivan said he would disregard Borus’ testimony, partly because it was similar to what Smothers had already told police.

“I don’t view it as critical,” said the judge, who must decide whether to grant Sanford, now 18, a new trial.

Black children in peril across U.S.

McGinnis has been trying to persuade Smothers to appear in court and testify for Sanford. But he has declined, fearing he would be a marked man in prison if forced to name an accomplice in the Runyon Street slayings.

Smothers has given permission to allow his former attorney, Gabi Silver, to testify about their private conversations about Runyon Street. But the judge has blocked it, saying it would be unfair to prosecutors who wouldn’t be able to cross-examine Smothers.

The Wayne County prosecutor’s office won’t back away from Sanford’s convictions, although authorities acknowledge Smothers probably had a role in the fatal shootings. McGinnis believes a grant of immunity would force Smothers to testify, but prosecutors have declined to ask the judge to consider it.

That stance “only complicates matters,” Sullivan said.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, at school board meeting in 2010, is part of the school-to-prison pipeline for Black youth in Wayne County; she has testified against changing state laws that allow for juveniles to be sentenced to life without parole. The U.S. is one of only two countries in the world that has this practice, which is condemned by the UN.

Spokeswoman Maria Miller said an immunity request won’t be coming.

“Sanford confessed, pleaded guilty, gave a factual basis for the crime under oath, and the claim is that he gave a false plea. The issues raised by Sanford can be decided without giving Smothers immunity. … The fact of the matter is Smothers is free to testify at any time,” Miller said.

The judge told both sides to put final arguments in writing. A decision about Sanford’s case is not expected for weeks.

VOD ed.: The latest information is that the judge told attorneys to put their arguments in writing by the end of August. In ordering the written arguments, Sullivan said Davontae’s attorney, Kim McGinnis, should explain gunpowder residue police found on Sanford’s clothing and how he knew details of the scene inside the house. Sullivan has also said that prosecutors should address Smothers’ confession as well as the recovery of a .45-caliber pistol used in the killings. The written arguments are due at the end of August. There is no date set for Sullivan’s ruling.

The Michigan Daily reported in 2004 on Judge Sullivan’s response to a lawsuit filed by University of Michigan Law School professor Paul Reingold, on behalf of parolable lifers.

“Wayne County Circuit Judge Brian Sullivan said judges in the 1970s and 1980s believed a parolable life-sentence would offer more incentive for prisoner rehabilitation than a sentence for a set number of years. Since then, the Parole Board has changed its interpretation of a life sentence, Sullivan said.

“The Department of Corrections said if you say ‘life’ you mean ‘life,’ and that’s more serious,” he said. “The judges sentenced (prisoners before 1992) with an understanding that’s no longer correct,” he added.

Sullivan said the Parole Board should examine the specifics.

“Some people should be paroled, others should not,” he said. “If you kill someone and you don’t do well in prison, you shouldn’t be paroled. If you rehabilitate yourself, you should be reviewed for parole.”^[

Davontae Sanford’s family is hoping for a similarly just decision on their child’s case from Judge Sullivan, who appeared to have compassionate sentiments in 2004.

Worthy has brought no charges against cops who murdered 7-year-old Aiyana Jones on May 16, 2010, despite worldwide outrage.

It is hard to believe that he can ignore the testimony of the man who committed the murders for which Davontae cannot be paroled until 2046. And it is further hard to believe that Prosecutor Kym Worthy will not withdraw the charges against Davontae, since she has not filed ANY charges against Joseph Weekley and the other Detroit police officers who shot seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones to death in 2010.

The day after Davontae’s hearing in front of Judge Sullivan July 25, a 13-year-old child, Jimmell Cannon, was shot 8 times and nearly killed by Chicago police (see article below).  The people must rise to save the very lives and freedom of Black CHILDREN across the U.S.!

We can begin by monitoring Detroit police by clicking on: http://tunein.com/radio/Detroit-Police-s134289/

Greg Thrasher at mass rally in Lansing against Snyder attacks April 13

By Greg Thrasher, VOD Contributing Editor 
 
For the Black community whenever there is a discussion about prisons and inmates the media and politicians always plaster the airwaves with statistics about the rates of incarceration about Black inmates in our prison system. There is always an underlying theme that Black people are more criminally inclined than others and at any given moment will engage in some criminal or deviant behavior. Quite often the publication and release of criminal statistics are efforts by the media and those in the ruling class to alert and remind people that prison is the normal outcome and lifestyle for Black people. Media portrayals of crime in America have many underlying objective and hidden agendas. Black people in prison of course also impact local economies as well as political elections.
 
Recently a number of media accounts have disclosed a study which purports that Black males live longer and have better healthcare outcomes if they remain in prison instead of being free from incarceration. Black inmates are by the very nature of being in prison protected at higher rates against alcohol- and drug-related deaths, as well as lethal accidents and certain chronic diseases than those not in prison. These types of studies are dangerous in the hands of anti-Black political interest groups and yet they also have value and are informative for the Black community at large. It is therefore incumbent upon the Black community to examine and evaluate this data in such a manner that empowers and enhances our solutions in dealing with crime and former prisoners once they return to the community.
 
The stark truth is that for large segments of the Black community information and knowledge about the lives of inmates is unknown and many simply do not care nor want to know. We can no longer tolerate this level of thinking and posturing. For the Black community, the reality of racism, negrophhobia and the flawed administration and operation of the criminal justice system do not allow us to remain on the sidelines with regard to this subject matter. Too many of us are at risk of being injected into the penal system. There is value in knowing how some inmates improve their mental and spiritual life while being in prison. There is useful data to be learned about how healthcare options in prisons address inmates with regard to HIV, Diabetes , Alcohol, Mental Health related problems . When inmates return to the community all of us are impacted by the realities of life in prison these people have encountered. The community inherits all of the issues of former prisoners.
 
We need to understand all of the lessons good, bad and the ugly that impact and shapes the lives of prisoners while they are incarcerated because the majority of people in prison will return to the community. It is simply in the best interest of all of us from the prisoner to the community to become educated about the reality of life for these who have been incarcerated. Can parents of our youth become better parents upon learning about how prison officials deal with youth offenders? Could employers of former felons get more production from workers who have not been in prison because of the habits of ex-felons? There is simply much to learn from the culture of prison life that can be productive even for those of us who cannot see any value in being an ex-convict.
 
Knowledge about the life style of human beings who live in prisons is critical for all of us. We must have the vision and courage to learn from those who have experienced life behind bars. Such information and knowledge has value on many levels and layers of life both in and out of prison.

USA: WORLD'S WORST PRISON STATE

By LincolnDidn’tLie

Upper East Side of The MidWest, June 25, 2011

MDOC Mission: provide the greatest amount of public protection while making the most efficient use of the State’s Resources.

Greed, fear, deception and double standards make for a thick weapon that not even the smartest criminal can escape.

The accused in this next public display of corrections? The Department itself.

Hanged Conspirators: Photo/1865 by Alexander Gardner, 1821-1882.

The Department could possibly be hanging from their own thick homemade rope. The threads the department are bound up by are on the verge of choking out what little is left of any faith, respect, trust and sense of justice that the general public has placed in them, and their mission statement. They are slowly hanging themselves in the eyes of the public.

Their crime: operating outside of the role of justice, fairness and ethics.

Repeat, offender.

After a mass pouring of letters from citizens to the MDOC, the Governor’s office, local press, prisoner advocacy agencies, and after the publication of the last article, an official response was sent from Governor Snyder’s office stating, “…During the review process,(of a new phone service provider) many things were taken into consideration, including but not limited to: pricing, services available to prisoners/family members, special feature options, ease of use of the system, prior experience of the vendor, and ease of transition of services..”

Aerial view of Southern Prison of Michigan (Jackson)

Let’s review for a moment: Pricing. Service. Special Features. Ease of use. Prior Experience. Ease of transition.

1. Prices doubled
2. No special features are spoken of
3. The phones operate the same (they have buttons and only dial out)
4. Prior experience in the phone carrier turns out to be a shady deal for profit
5. There was no advanced explanation before the transition occurred.
6. All the above has ultimately imparted mass confusion on family members, prisoners and prison staff.

Gov. Rick Snyder is jeered by mass of protesters in Benton Harbor, the first victim of his Emergency Manager law

The Governor’s office stated this “special change” was “all for the prisoners, to make sure their needs were met.” I believe that points 1-6 listed above, trump the department’s promising words that speak of ease and meeting any needs. Except their own, of course. And the only thing easy bout this contract are the Administrators.

For the next three years, the Department plans to rope in an estimated $21 to $30 million dollars from the general public. They plan to use the three year time span while they are collecting money, “to determine what sort of system will be needed.” At the end of the three years, they will spend the money (if it is still there and not utilized to fill holes in the budget) and install an unknown system that they haven’t convinced anyone that they really need.

Prisoners at Ryan Correctional Facility in Detroit.

Every year, for the next three years, there will be collective revenue of $10 to $14 million dollars for the MDOC. Their contractual co-defendant, PCS, will be pocketing $3-$4 million dollars of that yearly revenue. It is suspected that this change in vendors is servicing no one but PCS and the MDOC. Just as worthy to note, the MDOC received price quotes from a handful of telephone vendors, each telephone vendor offered these “detection services” in their quotes.

The exact details of the other vendor’s detection services is not known, so there is no way to compare apples to apples, but all other vendor quotes offering a detection service still came in much lower than that of PCS. The competing vendors (aside from PCS) were all relatively close in comparison and varied between .5cents to .10 cents a minute, with a detection program in place.

Patdown for cellphone

While there have been occasional cell phones confiscated (less than 10 per year) the Department hasn’t admitted that major security breaches have occurred with a cell phone, other than it being considered prison contraband. Criminal charges have never been pressed against any MDOC prisoner for committing or attempting to commit a crime from within a Michigan prison with the aid of a cell phone. What could these prisoners really be doing with these cell phones? And how are the phones making it through tight security screening processes that are already in place?

If you aren’t familiar with the process to get into a facility, let’s enlighten you. One can take nothing in but silver change, a key to a facility locker, and an ID that are all carried inside a clear baggie. You must first walk through full metal detectors, hand wand metal detectors, remove shoes, socks, show the soles of your feet, shake out your shoes, submit to a full pat down, show the inside of your mouth including under your tongue, show behind your ears, and then sit in a room under the peering eyes of a guard and 3-4 cameras that are monitored from central control. Continue reading →

 by Ayvaunn Penn, Your Black World

http://yourblackworld.com/2011/07/27/13-year-old-boy-shot-8-times-by-chicago-police/

Jimmell Cannon, 13, in hospital in chains; photos taken by mother Kenyatta Cannon

CHICAGO — Jimmell Cannon, 13, was shot 8 times in the shoulders, hand, and leg by Chicago Police on Monday [July 26]  in West Humboldt Park neighborhood. While he is at Stroger Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, his family is looking for answers. The way they saw the events unfold is not the same thing Chicago Police report.

According to NBC Chicago, “Chicago Police say a 13-year-old boy was pointing a weapon at officers when they were forced to shoot him….but the teen’s family said Jimmell Cannon wasn’t holding a gun and that his hands were up in the air when shots were fired.” Cannon’s family says that they were at a birthday party for a cousin when the shooting took place. NBC Chicago reports in more detail: 

Scene at 13-year-old Jimmell Cannon's shooting by Chicago cops July 26

“Police said in a statement that officers were responding to reports of gunshots around 11 p.m. when they tried to talk to the teen in the 4200 Block of West Cortez. Jimmell Cannon apparently matched the description of the gunman. The Fraternal Order of Police said the boy had what appeared to be a pistol in his hand and ran away from the officers…The teen then refused orders to drop the gun, according to police, and pointed it in the direction of the officers. An officer fired, striking him. The Fraternal Order of Police said the officers handled the situation properly because a weapon was pointed at them.”

Police later discovered the weapon was just a BB gun [ed.: the family has denied the child had a BB gun]. Cannon’s father, Jimmy Porter, says that his son is in stable condition and is expected to recover. He did add, however, that his son was shot twice in the same hand, and that his hand might have the most serious injury. Cannon’s family says that he is a good kid and is not caught up in the wrong crowd. NBC Chicago reports that “Cannon is a 7th grader at Brian Piccolo Specialty School.”

Ayvaunn Penn is the founder of Your Black Poets and an award winning writer completing her degree in English and philosophy. To inquire about her freelance editing services, click here. To like Ayvaunn on Facebook, click here.

CBS 2′s Suzanne Le Mignot reported on child’s condition and state of mind:

“Cannon was recovering at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County on Tuesday, wearing a neckbrace, his ankles cuffed to the side of his bed.

Police said the restraints are necessary, even if a suspect has been sedated. It’s normal police procedure. They also disputed that the boy was shot eight times, saying only six shots were fired.

Jimmell, who was listed in stable condition, is expected to recover.

“He’s scared. Every time he wakes up, the police is sitting at the foot of his bed, not the same officer that shot him, but he’s getting the same visual, because it’s the last thing he remembers is being shot,” Kenyatta Canon said. “When he opens his eyes, he just cries.”

Police Shoot 13-Year-Old Boy, Parents Dispute BB Gun Possession
2 separate police-involved shootings overnight

Updated: Tuesday, 26 Jul 2011, 3:23 PM CDT

By Joanie Lum, FOX Chicago News

Chicago – Chicago police shot a 13-year-old boy on Monday night. Police said the teen pointed a weapon at them, but his parents are telling a different story.

The parents identified their son as Jimmel Cannon. The boy is talking and recovering at Stroger Hospital, according to his parents, but was shot 8 times, with wounds to his hands, shoulders and legs. 

Another report by CBS' Suzanne LeMignot last year showed this billboard, put up by Chicago cops to support cop Bill Cozzi, convicted of beating a man shackled to a wheelchair, an incident caught on videotape. Cozzi is now serving 40 months in a federal prison.

The shooting happened in the 1000 block of North Kedvale Avenue in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood. Police said they were called to the area at about 11 p.m. Monday to investigate shots fired. They saw the boy, who matched a description. Police said he had a weapon and refused to drop it when police told him to.

The boy’s parents, Kenyatta Cannon and Jimmy Porter, said the boy wasn’t holding anything and had his hands in the air when he was shot. They said their family was attending a birthday party at Kenyatta Cannon’s mother’s house Monday night and Jimmel’s little brother was with him when the shooting happened.

Jimmel’s parents said the boy was supervised at the time of the incident, as well.
Fraternal Order of Police spokesman Pat Camden told the Sun-Times Media Wire the weapon turned out to be a BB gun but that police acted appropriately, because toy guns are often indistinguishable from the real thing and the officers feared for their lives.

Joe Banks, Sr. is joined by family and clergy outside Chicago Police Headquarters to dispute police claims that his son, Joe Banks, Jr. was armed when police shot him the night before near Sawyer and Ohio streets, Tuesday, July 26, 2011. . (E. Jason Wambsgans/ Chicago Tribune)

There was another police shooting on the West Side around 8 p.m. Monday that left a man in critical condition.

Police said Joe Banks, Jr. ran away when they tried to talk to him near Sawyer and Ohio. Several officers chased him and said he pulled out a gun and refused to drop it. He was then shot.

No officers were injured.

On Monday, Joe Banks, Sr. said his son didn’t deserve to be shot.

“[Chicago police] are trigger happy,” he said. “My son is not a gang banger, he’s not selling drugs. He’s a plumber. We’re a decent family.”

CHICAGO POLICE ON RAMPAGE: 42 PEOPLE SHOT THIS YEAR  (excerpts) 

 Additional information on Joe Banks shooting 

Black aldermen have accused Mayor Rahm Emanuel of shortchanging African-American voters who put him in office after Emmanuel (Pres. Barack Obama’s former chief-of-staff) chose white men as police superintendent, fire commissioner and 911 center chief. Police chief Garry McCarthy is shown above at left with Emanuel.

Three hours earher police claim that they stopped Joe Banks, 21, and he pulled a gun, so they shot him.  . . . Witnesses tell of cops swarming into the neighborhood.  All of a sudden they took out after Joe, who didn’t seem to even realize that the cops were after him because he was just trotting along holding up his pants.  

Witnesses say a cop coasted up on his bicycle behind Joe, pulled out a gun and shot him in the back, barely missing his heart.  Cops cuffed him and jumped on his back so hard that they broke 2 of his ribs.  There was no gun.  The cops then beat and arrested 3 of Joe’s family for daring to yell that the police had “done wrong”!

 These are not exceptions.  Woodlawn, June 2011: JonRynn Avery bled to death in his own bathroom after the police chased him through the plate glass front door of his house. (Click on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/jonrynn-avery-killed-runn_n_895533.html.)   

Englewood, June 2011: Flint Farmer was killed in a hail of police bullets; they claimed his cell phone was a gun.  (http://www.officer.com/news/10280349/chicago-officer-fatally-shoots-man-pointing-a-cellphone-at-him.)

Police at scene of Flint Farmer fatal shooting in June; he was 29 and only had a cell phone

The Chicago police have shot 42 people this year, almost double the rate of 2010, and brutalized many more.  Chicago – home of the first Black president – is gunning down Black and minority youth in the streets.  Chicago – host in May 2012 of world leaders for the G8 and NATO – is gunning down Black youth in the streets.  The police chief justifies this by painting the victims as thugs who  “pull out guns and shoot at police officers… with wanton disregard.”   This is a bold-faced lie to cover up the extreme brutality and murder of an occupying army let loose on communities of the oppressed.  

Revolutionary Communist Party report: click on  http://bit.ly/ppluUa.

MDOC Director Daniel Heyns approved PCS contract

MDOC/PCS contract doubles rates with slush fund, kickbacks

 By Diane Bukowski 

July 30, 2011

DETROIT – Members of prisoners’ families who marched outside the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) headquarters in Lansing July 7 to protest prison phone rate hikes that have nearly doubled, are now further outraged. They say they were deceived into thinking a bill signed by Governor Rick Snyder July 8 returned rates to a minimal amount. (Click on http://voiceofdetroit.net/2011/07/17/prison-phone-rate-hike-protest-helps-bring-possible-victory/  to read original VOD story.) 

According to a report from the Gongwers News Service, Snyder said while signing the bill that language claiming that rates would not exceed local residential rates was “unenforceable.” (Click on http://www.capps-mi.org/Synder%20signs%20supplemental.htm for full Gongwers report.) 

Prisoner contact with families is vital

Catherine Johnson-Bachus, who organized the protest July 7, said she is outraged that families were misled, and that they and their loved ones will still suffer from decreased contact due to the unaffordable rates. Contact with families, friends and the outside world while incarcerated has been shown to decrease recidivism once prisoners are released. 

“As of today, any hope that was instilled in the family members and the prisoners following the signing of SB138 is quickly evaporating and turning into frustration and distrust.  In fact . . . now family members question whether or not there was ever any intention of providing any sort of financial relief.”  (Read her full letter to several prison advocacy groups by clicking on  Cathryn Johnson Bachus letter.) 

Almost solely responsible for the increase in rates is a “Special Equipment Fund” (SEF) in the five-year contract between MDOC and Public Communications Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Global Tel-Link, which began Feb. 9, 2011. The SEF is expected to rake in $11 to $18 million annually. 

The SEF solely accounts for the huge increase in rates, according to the following chart in the contract: 

According to PCS itself, it appears that the SEF is really a slush fund/kickback scheme to make sure banks get their pound of flesh out of prisoners and their families by plugging holes in the state budget deficit.  

PCS and MDOC collect

In their executive summary of the contract, PCS said, “Understanding that budgets are shrinking for all State agencies, as part of our Best and Final Offer, PCS is also willing to work with the MDOC to create a Special Equipment Fund to help bridge any potential budget shortfalls. The amount of this fund can be set at the discretion of the MDOC.” 

The Michigan Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending (Mi-CAPPS) reported earlier, “The proceeds are to be split between the MDOC and PCS, with the Department’s share increasing as the volume of calls goes up. At a minimum, 70 percent ($7.8 million) would go into a special equipment fund controlled by the MDOC and 30 percent would go to PCS.” 

The contract (click on  Phone contract PCS MDOC  to read entire contract) leaves the purpose of those funds open-ended. 

A Michigan woman denounced the contract on the blogspot, Jubilee on Earth. (Click on Michigan Department of Corrections New Phone Contract is a CRIME  for full statement.) 

“We family and friends of inmates, as a specific demographic of Michigan citizens, are being forced to shoulder this burden and fork over the money for this opaque, special secret fund — rather than Michigan going through appropriate and legal measures (budgets, taxes, etc.) to obtain the additional funds? . . . All while I stop subscribing to cable and eat cheap frozen dinners every night so that I can talk to my loved one on the phone? Excuse me, but does this sound like something completely illegal to you? It sure does to me.” 

Such schemes are common in most prison systems across the U.S., according to PrisonPhoneJustice.org. (“Nationwide research finds excessive prison phone rates exploit prisoners’ families” According to PrisonPhoneJustice.org’s research, a similar kickback scheme under MDOC’s previous contractor Embarq was ended in 2008. 

In its original analysis of the contract, Mi-CAPPS noted further that other bidders on the new contract offered substantially lower rates. 

“The $0.10/per minutes in-state debit call now costs $0.18/minute, or $2.70 for 15 minutes,” Mi-CAPPS said. “There are similar increases for collect and interstate calls. These increases are occurring despite the fact that all the bidders who passed the initial screening offered base rates that were substantially lower than the rates in the expiring contract. For an intra-state call, these bids ranged from a high of $0.085/minutes to a low of $0.30/minute.” 

But all is not lost. The state has the right to revoke the PCS contract at any time for the following reason (among others) stated in the contract: “The state may terminate this contract for its convenience, in whole or in part, if the state determines that a termination is in the State’s best interest. Reasons for the termination must be left to the sole discretion of the State.”

“The discretion of the State” under its current administration, however, has not proven amenable to one single thing that is good for the working and poor people of Michigan. A massive grass-roots campaign to end this and other atrocities committed against Michigan residents is desperately needed. So far, word is awaited from Mi-CAPPS and other prisoner support groups on what the next step in this battle will be.

By Fige Bornu

July 27, 2011 

WCHB 1200 AM in Detroit is using its radio airwaves to protect the Detroit Police Department’s heinous and murderous participation in the killing of 7-year old Aiyana Jones, and the public must not stand for it.

WCHB 1200 AM promotes constantly the Detroit Police-sponsored group, Detroit 300, a group that hunts for suspects that the Detroit Police are looking for.

Aiyana Stanley-Jones will never have another birthday

Ironically, Detroit 300, has not and will not go after the Detroit Police Officer Joe Weekley, the officer whose gun discharged into little Aiyana’s skull. Even more, Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee praised Officer Weekley as a professional whose work for the Detroit Police Department has been superb.

PLEASE stop WCHB 1200 AM by demanding that its advertisers suspend spending and promoting their products on this rogue radio station. 

VOD ed.: VOD supports this campaign completely. It is time to stop allowing ourselves to be divided by people who advocate collaboration with the police. 

NO JUSTICE!  NO PEACE!

For more information, go to  justiceforaiyanajonescommittee@groups.facebook.com

To sign petition, go to

http://www.webpetitions.com/petition/boycott-wchb-1200-am/8396

Politicians rob workers, protect the wealthy

By Fred Goldstein  

Whether or not a deal is reached in Washington on how to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a government default, the workers and the oppressed have no independent voice in the debate. The process gives them no choice but to accept the result of venomous political warfare in the capitalist establishment.

Several factors have made the political warfare between the big business parties over raising the government debt ceiling especially turbulent. First, there is the upcoming 2012 presidential election and the struggle over control of the federal government and its $4 trillion budget.

Aggravating this warfare is the emergence of the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party, which has pushed the politics of the negotiations further and further to the right.

Finally, the struggle takes place against the background of the capitalist economic crisis.

The underlying problem of the deficit is the massive government emergency spending of trillions of dollars for bank and corporate bailouts that were meant to stave off a world capitalist crisis. In the short run, however, the debt-ceiling crisis is politically driven by the ultra-right.

Obama and Boehner

The struggle began with the Republicans refusing to agree to raise the debt ceiling unless the Obama administration agreed to cut the federal deficit by cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other social spending that benefits the broad masses. The Obama administration agreed to massive cuts in entitlements, but not enough to satisfy the right.

The Republicans also want to block any increase in tax payments by the rich. Obama wants them to pay a small part of the bill.

In this struggle over the terms of raising the debt ceiling, the workers are supposed to choose one of the different options posed by factions of the big business parties.

Debt ceiling fight is over how to protect the rich

The fury over raising the government’s debt ceiling is, at bottom, a fight over two things: 1) how to ensure continued government payments of billions of dollars to rich, coupon-clipping bondholders; and 2) how many trillions of dollars can be taken from the entitlements due the workers and the oppressed in the form of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits.

FDR signs Social Security Act in 1935, after massive uprisings by working and poor people during the Great Depression

The crisis atmosphere generated by every organ of big business propaganda — network television, cable TV, newspapers, magazines, bloggers, etc. — is a reflection of the anxiety of bankers, bondholders, insurance companies, hedge funds and other investors over the possibility of default and all its implications.

Over and over again one hears the demand for an agreement that will raise the debt ceiling, avoid default and maintain the “full faith and credit of the U.S. government.” This means, in practice, maintaining the certainty that bondholders will not miss a payment of principal or interest on their investment in U.S. government bonds.

This is the future “crisis” that the White House, the congressional leadership of the big business parties, and all the pundits of the bourgeoisie — regardless of their opinion about what to do — say must be avoided.

But there already is a crisis — a crisis of the working class. It has been going on for four years. It not only has to be avoided; it has to be reversed.

The real crisis: jobs, housing, health care, hunger 

MASSIVE JOBS PROGRAM NOW! March in Detroit, Aug. 2010

The workers and the oppressed must break free from these arguments tailored to the interests of the capitalist rich. From a working-class point of view, the debt-ceiling crisis should not be about paying the rich and cutting entitlements.

What about raising the debt ceiling to create a massive jobs program to achieve full employment? If the government is going to borrow more money, let it put the 30 million unemployed or underemployed workers back to work. Better yet, don’t raise the debt ceiling and instead create jobs with the funds that otherwise would go to the banks and bondholders.

Why should our class, the working class and the exploited, worry about a millionaire or billionaire missing an interest payment when 50 million people in this country are missing meals? Why should workers be concerned that some millionaires will not be able to pay the overhead on their mansions when millions are already homeless and millions more are threatened with foreclosure?

(VOD ed: the video below has no ties to the newspaper which published this article. It also has language that may be offensive to some, but it has a very strong political message as well.) 

In fact, justice demands that the profits of the bankers and other financiers be used to aid the 47 million people who are on food stamps. It should be used to give health care to the 50 million people who have none because medical care has been turned over to the profit-seeking insurance companies and pharmaceutical monopolies. Continue reading →