— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) March 2, 2024
Lawyers Guild Condemns Detention & Citation of Staff, Legal Observers, Protesters by DPD
March 3, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hundreds of protesters marched through downtown Detroit March 2 to honor Global Palestine Day. They took over Woodward Ave. in a militant, peacefulprotest. Evidently the mainstream media refused to cover it.
From the National Lawyers Guild Detroit/Michigan Chapter
DETROIT — On the afternoon of March 2, 2024, two dedicated volunteers and a staff member from the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Detroit & Michigan Chapter were unjustly detained and issued citations by officers of the Detroit Police Department while diligently performing their duties as Legal Observers (LOs) Concurrently, several protesters also experienced unwarranted detention and citation. These citations were given following a demonstration that was part of a Global Day of Action demanding an end to the genocide in Palestine.
Detroit March for Palestine March 3 2 2024
Said Lisa Carlson, the LO Coordinator for the chapter, who was one of the people detained:
“LOs were clearly targeted for citations at this action, which feels very much intended to have a chilling effect on our program and the movement for Palestine at large. Throughout the march, there was heavy police surveillance, yet no dispersal orders were issued. Police picked people off and gave blocking traffic citations when people were out of the street and trying to safely leave.”
Protesters targeted Israel and US Pres. Joe Biden for crime of genocide.
The NLG, Detroit & Michigan chapter, vehemently condemns the egregious targeting of peaceful demonstrators and the interference with and intimidation of our Legal Observers. We strongly denounce the use of the law as a tool against peaceful protesters and those tasked with safeguarding their rights. We stand in solidarity with all of those cited today, and demand that all charges against both our volunteers and staff and protesters attending the march be dropped.
They marched to support Aaron Bushnell,, the active-duty USAF member who immolated himself to protest the Gaza genocide.
Legal Observers, identified by their distinctive neon green hats prominently displaying “National Lawyers Guild” and “Legal Observer,” are well-known to the Detroit Police Department. Their primary role is to monitor police conduct during protests and offer a connection to legal assistance for any arrested protesters. These neutral observers, unaffiliated with the event organizers, attend hundreds of actions across the state each year without incident.
The right to peacefully protest the government, as well as to observe and document law enforcement activities, is well-established and fundamental for all individuals in this country. The actions of the Detroit Police Department in this instance serve not only to provoke peaceful protesters and discourage the exercise of free speech, but to intimidate our staff and volunteers who are protecting protester’s rights. We adamantly demand the immediate dismissal of these baseless charges against all involved.
Over 20 percent of Democratic voters in Michigan voted “Uncommitted” in the Dem. Primary Feb. 22
For media inquiries, please contact:
Sara Habbo, President
National Lawyers Guild, Detroit & Michigan Chapter habbo.sara@gmail.com
About NLG, Detroit & Michigan Chapter:
The National Lawyers Guild, Detroit & Michigan Chapter, serves as the legal arm of social justice movements. Founded in 1937 as the first integrated bar association in the United States, NLG chapters nationwide fight against fascism, imperialism, and oppression by advocating for the legal rights of those most marginalized in our society and around the world.
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to the U.S. PRISON NATION/POLICE STATE, and the GENOCIDE taking place in Gaza, known as the world’s largest outdoor prison. Funds are needed regularly to pay our quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
$10 M FALSE CONVICTION PAY-OUT THE HIGHEST TO DATE INVOLVING CITY OF DETROIT; AT LEAST 17 OTHER CIVIL LAWSUITS PENDING
CO-DEFENDANT MOISES JIMENEZ, A FORMER DPD COP, ALSO KEY TO WRONGFUL CONVICTION OF KENNETH NIXON
JIMENEZ NOT CRIMINALLY CHARGED IN EITHER CASE; NO CHARGES V. DPD COPS, PROSECUTORS INVOLVED IN DOZENS OF OTHER CASES
By Diane Bukowski
February 25, 2024
DETROIT — Alexandre Ansari won a $10 million jury verdict Feb. 9 for damages from his wrongful conviction, the highest amount paid out to an individual involving the City of Detroit to date.
He told ABC News he was so distressed at his life-without-parole sentence that he tried to kill himself shortly after he was incarcerated.
“I believe the jury came away with two things in this trial,” Ansari’s attorney Wolfgang Mueller told VOD. “That Alex Ansari was innocent . . .and that the defendant, Det. Moises Jimenez, was lying and was protecting a major Mexican drug cartel leader from going to prison by focusing on my client, whom he called ‘a nobody,’ to protect Jimenez’s own family from harm if he tried to charge the cartel leader.”
Atty. Wolfgang Mueller also won $9.95M on behalf of exoneree Mubarez Ahmed.
“We are happy that the jury saw through Jimenez’s defenses and realized that he was not telling the truth about his misconduct. The verdict reflects the harm he caused Mr. Ansari, not only in the past but for the long term as well.”
Jimenez also helped engineer the wrongful conviction of Kenneth Nixon in 2005.
He interviewed jail-house informant Stanley January after Wayne Co. Asst. Prosecutor Patrick Muscat asked police in the jail to interview the “cell-mates” of Nixon and his co-defendant to get information bolstering a weak case. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy overturned Nixon’s conviction in 2021, citing January’s false testimony.
Muscat
Ansari was falsely charged with the 2013 murder of Ileana Cuevas and the shooting of Cuevas’ sister Rosalind Barley and Miguel Figueroa. He was exonerated in 2019, after investigations by the federal Appellate Defenders Office and the Wayne Co. Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU). He was also charged in the murder of Figueroa’s brother in a separate incident later, also involving DPD’s Jimenez, but was acquitted by a jury.
The investigators found that Jimenez concealed evidence favorable to Ansari, including a witness statement describing a heavy-set 300-lb. man as the shooter, not Ansari, in keeping with testimony from other witnesses. Working closely with the U.S. Department of Justice, investigators obtained FBI reports that Jose Sandoval, an alleged drug dealer living in southwest Detroit, committed the shooting in retaliation for the theft of his drugs by Barley and Figueroa, along with Figueroa’s ex-girlfriend.
Jimenez still has a lawsuit pending against CIU Attorney Carole Stanyar, the WCPO, and Detroit, alleging discrimination because he is Mexican. It is set for trial in 2025.
MI AG Dana Nessel, WCPO Kym Worthy
John Roach, chief of City of Detroit media relations, for comments regarding the role of the Detroit Law and Police Departments in the case, and whether DPD Officer Jimenez deliberately concealed the role of the alleged drug dealer in Ansari’s case. VOD also requested to know if criminal charges or disciplinary actions have been brought against Jimenez in the Ansari and Nixon cases.
In the Ansari case, charges against Jimenez were allegedly requested either by the CIU or the Detroit Police Department, with the Michigan Attorney General’s office refusing to file them for unknown reasons.
VOD also requested to know whether any other lawsuits are pending against him or other DPD officers involved in wrongful conviction cases. They include Ernest Wilson, Monica Childs, Ronald Sanders, David Pauch, Donald Stawiasz, Donald Hughes, Michael Russell, James Tolbert, Dale Collins, and Michael Parish, among others.
Roach has not responded to date.
THESE DPD COPS HAVE COST DETROIT $45M+/MORE $$ PENDING
VOD has also filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the City for information on all City expenses in the cases of 61 Detroit residents exonerated since 1989, including lawsuit pay-outs and legal expenses for private attorneys.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy provided the following statement on the verdict:
The WCPO and the City of Detroit disagree on whether trial prosecutor Ericka Tusar knew about Moises Jimenez’ role in the Ansari convictions. Ansari was tried in two connected cases, the murder of Ileana Cuevas and that of Miguel Figueroa’s brother, which took place later in a separate incident. He was exonerated in 2019 in the Ileana Cuevas case, and previously was acquitted of the murder of Figueroa’s brother by a jury.
The City argued that Jimenez disclosed his role in the two cases to the WCPO’s trial counsel Tusar, at least in between the two cases, implying Jimenez’ failure to disclose key evidence would have placed culpability for damages on the WCPO as well. However, case law holds the prosecutor responsible for a police agency’s failure to disclose exculpatory evidence, even if the prosecutor was not aware of the failure.
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE. Funds are needed regularly to pay quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
“IT’S ME VS. KIEFER COX, NOT ME VS. THE PEOPLE.” — Darrell Ewing on motion to disqualify Cox for “the appearance of impropriety, due process infringements, and actual bias/prejudice,” including 4 yrs. with WCPO
“I had little if any interaction with Kym Worthy and Jon Wojtala . . . Kam Towns was not my supervisor.” —WCCC Judge Kiefer Cox
APPEAL HEARING FRI. DEC. 23, 9 AM–PRESIDING JUDGE DON KNAPP
2ND TRIAL FOR DARRELL EWING/DERRICO SEARCY SET FOR MARCH 25
By Diane Bukowski
Feb. 20, 2024
WCCC Presiding Judge Donald Knapp, elected to bench in 2021, previously Livonia’s city atty.
DETROIT — “It’s me vs. Kiefer Cox, not me vs. the people,” Darrell Ewing told Wayne 3rd Circuit Court Judge Kiefer Cox after the judge denied Ewing’s motion to disqualify him Feb. 9. “They [assistant prosecutors] haven’t said a peep in any hearing—it’s been you defending them and certain of their positions.”
In denying the motion. Cox said his four years with the prosecutor’s office before taking the bench did not create an “appearance of impropriety” or “actual bias,” citing case law. He announced that Ewing’s appeal of the motion to disqualify will take place in front of Presiding Criminal Court Judge Donald Knapp Friday, Feb. 23.
Knapp was elected to the bench in 2021, after serving as Livonia City Attorney while working for Fausone Bohn, LLP. Previously, he was a Livonia City Council member. He is a member of the Livonia Chamber of Commerce and Livonia Kiwanis. Judge Cox and family members are from Livonia, where his election campaign was headquartered.
Darrell Ewing (l) Derrico Searcy (r)
Ewing told VOD that regardless of the appeal’s outcome, he is ready to take on a second trial, He is representing himself.
Atty. Blase Kearney, who represents Searcy, joined many of Ewing’s pre-trial motions. Among other issues, he cited due process violations by Cox conducting separate pre-trial hearings for Searcy and Ewing. The trial is to proceed jointly.
Ewing and Searcy are being retried for the Dec. 2009 murder of J.B. Watson on Detroit’s east side, after multiple federal and state courts overturned their 2010 convictions due to jury misconduct. Another man, Tyree Washington, confessed to the murder to Michigan State Police in a Mirandized interview, multiple affidavits, and a videotaped interview with private investigator Scott Lewis.
Before Ewing’s Feb. 9 hearing, a Wayne Co. Deputy Sheriff warned observers for the first time, “There will not be any outbursts, there will not be any clapping, there will not be any noise in general. We’re going to have consequences if that happens, please be respectful to everyone in the courtroom.”
His motion cites “the appearance of impropriety, due process infringements, and actual bias/prejudice.”
Ewing contends Cox’s four-year employment in the prosecutor’s office directly before he took the bench in 2023 violates MCR 2.003(e), which says a judge can be disqualified, if “[he/she waspartner of a party, atty. for a party, or member of a law firm representing the party within the preceding two years.” He contends Cox’s rulings on his motion have almost exclusively favored the prosecution’s written positions.
Darrell Ewing’s family: mother LaSonya Dodson (ctr) and father Ricky Ewing (2nd from r) Feb. 9, 2024.
Cox denied the motion to disqualify, citing various U.S. Supreme Court and state court rulings on disqualification motions.
“Actual bias is based on an objective, reasonable perception,” Cox said. “It is not established by repeated rulings against the defendant.” He said he himself had not been involved in any prior adjudication involving Ewing.
He cited a state case involving Attorney Geoffrey Fieger, where disqualification was not allowed due to “offensive statements” Fieger had made against the court. He said, “All a party would have to do is call the judge a name; that’s judge shopping.”
He denied his previous WCPO employment created “actual bias” or “an appearance of impropriety.”
Under former Pres. Donald Trump, the USDOJ’s Operation Legend sent federal troops to major U.S. cities including Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee in 2020 to stem protests against the police murder of George Floyd.
“I had little if any interaction with Kym Worthy and Jon Wojtala,” he said. “Regarding [Ewing’s trial prosecutor] Kam Towns, I recall her being in homicide and the non-fatal shootings and community prosecutions units. When I was there Kam Towns had already left the office. When she was there, she was not my supervisor.”
He said he “could not recall” if Towns was there during his involvement with Operation Legend. The WCPO says its Operation Legend unit “assists in the investigation and vertical prosecution of gangs/groups, drug trafficking, gun crimes and high impact offenders driving crime within the city of Detroit . . .collaboratively with the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners.”
Tyree Washington (l) former AP Kam Towns (r). Towns is now with the Michigan AG’s office.
Under Towns in 2010 and during appeals in front of Wojtala, the prosecution contended the murder of J.B. Watson resulted from a feud between two rival gangs. Tyree Washington confessed to the murder in a Mirandized confession to a Michigan State Trooper in 2017, and in multiple affidavits and a video interview by private investigator Scott Lewis. He denied it had anything to do with a gang feud, saying he and Watson had a personal dispute over a woman.
Federal and state courts overturned the convictions of Ewing and Searcy due to the jury’s review of internet and Facebook information about gangs, prompted by the prosecution’s theory of the case.
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE. Funds are needed regularly to pay quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE. Funds are needed regularly to pay quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
Today, I’m joining 30+ of my elected colleagues from across SE Michigan in pledging to cast an “Uncommitted” vote in the upcoming presidential primary election. pic.twitter.com/ltmhihOF2A
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to the U.S. PRISON NATION/POLICE STATE, and the GENOCIDE taking place in Gaza, known as the world’s largest outdoor prison. Funds are needed regularly to pay our quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
Derrico Searcy, Darrell Ewing were co-defendants in case involving 2009 murder of J.B. Watson; convictions vacated by Fed, State Courts in 2019
Wayne Co. Pros. Kym Worthy is retrying them despite Mirandized confession by Tyree Washington, violations of Brady v. Maryland, alibi witnesses
Ewing representing himself; Searcy, Attorney Blase Kearney have joined multiple Ewing pro-se motions, one to dismiss due to 7 Brady violations
Next hearing on Ewing’s motion to disqualify WCCC Judge Kiefer Cox from case set for Friday, February 9 at 9 AM, Cox Courtroom
“Daubert” hearing on Searcy’s identification motion Feb. 21, 22, 23; trial set for March 25
Ewing wins ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox Jan. 17, granting in part motion for preliminary injunction v. Wayne Co. Jail conditions
By Diane Bukowski
January 31, 2024
Judge Kiefer Cox at Derrico Searcy hearing Jan. 5, 2024
As Darrell Ewing’s motion to disqualify Wayne 3rd Circuit Court Judge Kiefer Cox was pending a Feb. 9 hearing, his co-defendant Derrico Searcy appeared at a pre-trial hearing Jan. 5 on motions filed by his attorney Blase Kearney.
They included an “Omnibus Pleading Joining Motions of Darrell Ewing.” The pleadings include Ewing’s motion to dismiss the charges due to Brady violations. In addition to joining the motions, Kearney expanded on several with additional legal arguments.
Ewing and Searcy are being re-tried for the murder of J.B. Watson in 2009, after multiple courts overturned their convictions, despite repeated confessions by Tyree Washington to the murder and other issues.
Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sean Cox
Meanwhile, motions filed by Ewing and other Wayne County Jail detainees in front of U.S. District Court Chief Judge Sean Cox, challenging conditions at the Wayne County Jail, where Ewing and Searcy have been held over two years pending their re-trial, have resulted in a partial victory.
On Jan. 21, Judge Cox (an uncle of Judge Kiefer Cox) entered an injunction requiring jail administrators to “allow Ewing to engage in outdoor recreation for a two-hour session at least once per month, and if resources allow . . . . Ewing to attend two two-hour sessions per month,” partially granting motions filed by Ewing and six others in the sweeping federal lawsuit. Cox upheld the following finding by Magistrate Judge Patricia Morris at: http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Darrell-Ewing_et_al_v_Wayne_County_Sheriff__miedce-22-11453__0146.0-1-17-18-Grant-of-WCJ-motion-2.pdf
The 41-page finding in Judge Sean Cox’s court investigates the jail detainees’ claims seriously and in depth.
Attorneys who have knowledge in this area of law, after reviewing Searcy’s omnibus motion and the federal injunction issued in Ewing v. Wayne Co. Jail, have noted that Ewing’s pleadings are on all fours with case law, court rules, statutes and constitution.
During Searcy’s Jan. 5 hearing, Judge Kiefer Cox denied his “Omnibus Pleading Joining Motions of Darrell Ewing” as untimely, saying it should have been filed by Aug. 14, 2023, the general filing deadline for motions from both sides.
Kearney objected.
“It would be prejudice to Mr. Searcy’s constitutional rights to deny those constitutional motions as being untimely,” he said.
“In this case, there have been substantial complications by holding [Ewing and Searcy’s] hearings separately. The court is severing the pre-trial proceedings but will join this case for trial. I did not receive service of Mr. Ewing’s motions. When I was made aware of them, I filed the omnibus joinder.”
With regard to the two defendants’ motion to sever their trials, Judge Cox said he would rule on them in limine as the trial began. He said if “outbursts” at the trial occurred that were prejudicial to Searcy, he would deal with them himself, and referred to some of Ewing’s filings as “self-serving.”
Ewing’s standby Atty. Christopher Sinclair (r) as Ewing leaves hearing with 3 boxes of his legal files.
At Ewing’s hearing Dec. 1, his stand-by attorney Christopher Sinclair strongly objected to Judge Cox’s warning about “outbursts” in the courtroom, which referred to the audience, not Ewing. He noted he had heard NO such outbursts behind him.
“Mr. Ewing feels strongly that he is being railroaded and that he has been wrongfully convicted. . .” Atty. Kearney responded. “When the court says its not going to permit any outbursts of any kind, I could see it turning into a circus. If it’s case that Mr. Ewing is being restrained throughout the course of the trial, or something is happening, there is significant case law that specifically addresses this particular issue. I don’t’ want to be midway through a trial that we’ve been waiting a number of years for, for it to end in a mistrial. I don’t think Mr. Ewing’s statements . . . are self-serving. I don’t think there’s evidence of that.”
SEARCY JOINS EWING MOTION TO DISMISS CHARGES DUE TO BRADY
In his Omnibus motion, at no.9, Kearney said, “Regarding Mr. Ewing’s Motions to Compel and for In Camera Review; Motion to Dismiss Due to Brady, and Motion to Dismiss under MCR 6.201(J), Mr. Searcy joins these motions. . .Mr. Searcy believes the prior judge was incorrect in denying discovery of Brady information, denying an evidentiary hearing, and denying a hearing to evaluate discovery sanctions under MCR 6.201. . .The prosecution has never been required to answer any of the questions proposed by the defense in those pleadings.” See summary of Brady violations cited below in Ewing’s motion.
Summary of Darrell Ewing’s motion to dismiss charges due to Brady violations.
Joins Ewing’s Motion to Prohibit Shackling in the Courtroom.
Judge Cox granted Ewing’s motion to stop his shackling because he was representing himself and needed to access paperwork and other matters during hearings. But Searcy is still shackled. Ewing’s motion asks for an end to shackles in court for all detainees.
“People are entitled to the presumption of innocence, and treating them indistinguishably from convicted persons blurs the already fuzzy practical line between pre-trial detainee and convicted person,” Kearney wrote. “While the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the 9th Circuit en banc opinion in U.S. v Sanchez-Gomez . . .it did so on mootness and other procedural grounds. Sanchez-Gomez, cited by Mr. Ewing, is still strong persuasive authority.” See http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/United-States-v.-Sanchez-Gomez-No.-13-50561-9th-Cir.-2017-__-Justia.pdf.
DPD Theopolis Williams testifies in 2012, at pre- exam of Chauncey Owens, uncle of Aiyana Jones.
Motion to disclose records of DPD’s Theopolis Williams, Andrew Guntsviller.
Kearney also joined Ewing’s motion to disclose the previous disciplinary records of two Detroit police officers in the case, the Theopolis Williams (Officer in Charge) and Andrew Guntzviller. He said the legal authority cited by the prosecution (as well as Judge Cox when he denied the motion) referred to “privileged employment records” in civil cases.
“It is inapposite to a criminal case where the prosecution has a constitutional obligation to produce information in the police department’s possession that could impeach a police officer witness . . .U.S. v Gaskin states that it is an abuse of discretion for the court to deny discovery of a personnel file without conducting an in camera review.”
Regarding the prosecution’s review of Tyree Washington’s 2017 Mirandized confession to the murder of J.B. Watson, Kearney says in the Omnibus motion, “The versions of Tyree Washington’s confession during the 2010 trial w[ere] starkly different than the 2017 confession in ways that made it powerfully exculpatory and make PO Guntsviller’s statements claiming otherwise misleading at best, and mendacious at worst. . . The Court should reject this argument.”
Scott Lewis
Kearney and Sawyer also addressed how confessions of Tyree Washington to the murder of J.B. Watson, including a 2017 Mirandized and recorded statement given to the Michigan State Police would be addressed at trial, and whether Washington himself would be expected to testify.
AP Sawyer alleged that a detective met with Washington in the federal prison where he is housed in Aug. 2022 and has a three-minute transcript from the meeting with new findings. But a prosecutor’s reply to one of Ewing’s motions indicated such a meeting took place in Sept. 2022 and nothing new was obtained. Kearney said any such statement could not be offered for the truth of the matter against the Mirandized, recorded statement “against penal interest” from 2017. Washington also recorded an interview admitting to the crime with private investigator Scott Lewis in 2017.
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE. Funds are needed regularly to pay quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
Defense argued passionately and persuasively during Jan. 23 preliminary exam; mainstream media limited that coverage
Go to 8:16:00 on video above to hear Atty. Brian Brown’s presentation followed by 36th District Court Chief Judge Kenneth King’s ruling
Defense points:
Did the murder happen @ 1:30 am, not @4:30 am as prosecutor posits?
Evidence at P/E shows prolonged struggle with 8 stabbings, copious blood, multiple bruises from beating
Murder could not happen in time posited by AP, from 4:20 am (motion on liv. room sensors) to 4:23 am, (Jackson-Bolanos on video 1/4 mile away)
Jackson-Bolanos would have been covered with blood, not 2 microscopic dots on sleeve, not visible to naked eye
No direct video, cell phone, eyewitness evidence that Jackson-Bolanos was ever in Samantha Woll’s apartment
“I know this is the preliminary exam, but they have to show specific and articulable facts.” –Atty. Brown, responding to Judge King’s inquiry re: why he should not just bind it over for the fact-finder
Michael Jackson-Bolanos with atty. during Pre/Exam Jan. 23, 2024/Photo: DFP
VOD Editorial
On Jan. 23, VOD watched the second half of the Michael Jackson-Bolanos preliminary exam on felony murder and other charges in the death of Detroit synagogue leader Samantha Woll last October. While the mainstream media touched on various issues, it did not reflect the full extent of defense Attorney Brian Brown’s detailed and persuasive presentation. We are publishing the entire video here.
Below, VOD has summarized the most salient points in the defense presentation, which was interrupted several times by 36th District Court Judge Kenneth King.
Samantha Woll, Pres. Isaac Agree Synagogue
In the earlier parts of the hearing, AP Elsey presented multiple videos from building and street cameras showing an individual alleged to be Jackson-Bolanos leaving his place of residence at 494 W. Alexandrine at 12:25 a.m, walking downtown on Woodward and then over to general area of the victim’s home (not inside the complex or home), then onward down E. Jefferson by the Robinson Furniture Store and Pizza Papalis, then traveling back to the parking lot of the Chrysler Elementary School parking lot at 1445 E. Lafayette (4:20 a.m) then to the I-375 service drive walkover (4:23 a.m.).
Note: Judge Kenneth King interrupted Brown repeatedly and impatiently.
BRIAN BROWN: The Officer in Charge stated she used records to indicate that Woll came home and there was motion around 12:32 a.m. at the front door. But the prosecutor failed to illustrate that at 12:35 am and 12:38 am the back door was opened. Also there was motion . . .
(Judge Kenneth King interrupts—”why is that significant?”)
Atty. Brian Brown/DN photo
She came through the front door, then opened the back door later, maybe she let somebody in.
(Judge King again: Maybe she was putting something out the back door who knows?)
DID THE MURDER OCCUR AT 1:30 AM, NOT 4:20 AM as prosecution says?
BRIAN BROWN: There was living room motion detected at 1:24 a.m. The last time Woll used her phone was at 1:30 a.m. We also know from the OIC that at 1:38 am a neighbor heard a scream. We also have photos from inside the house that would seem to indicate that she may have been stationary in the same place by closet door for a long time. There is a high concentration of blood there and streaks on the wall. A detective testified that there were footprints in the blood leading to the back of the apt. The OIC said that movement likely triggered the threshold of alarm system. So it’s very possible this murder could have happened much sooner than the prosecutor contends [at 4:20 pm.]
A PROLONGED STRUGGLE DURING BEATING, STABBING OF SAMANTHA WOLL, PRODUCING COPIOUS BLOOD SPILLS, NOT POSSIBLE IN 3 MINS.
Samantha Woll’s Lafayette Park apt.
BRIAN BROWN: Based on their opinion, it shows a struggle. There was fruit that was knocked down inside the kitchen, also blood in the living room and in the hallway. The prosecution’s timeline is that all of this happened in a matter of one minute. They claim my client entered the home at 4:20 am, beat her up—because there were bruises. The prosecutor omitted the bruises shown in the medical examiner’s report. They didn’t want the court to know that Samantha Woll had bruises on an eye, bruises on her head, bruises on her elbow, bruises on her knees.
Whoever did this crime had sufficient time, more than a 60-second window, in order to fight and tussle with her. There was blood in the living room, over by the laptop, and material that hadn’t been tampered with—such as her credit cards. There was no sign of a home invasion or a burglary. Whoever did this was not concerned with stealing any items. Her phone was on the floor. The FBI Special Agent testified that . . .
(Judge King interrupts again–how do you explain Ms. Woll’s DNA on the defendant’s jacket.)
It could be the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s possible he could have come across body, maybe touched the body, had blood just on two spots on the sleeve. (Brown noted neighbor who found the body may have touched it, but was never screened for blood traces.)
36th District Court Chief Judge Kenneth King binds Michael Jackson-Bolanos over to Third Circuit Court Jan. 23, 2024; next hearing there January 30, 2024.
(Judge King: Tell me why that wouldn’t be a question for trier of fact?)
BRIAN BROWN: I don’t even believe they have enough evidence to fit into thejr time frame. They saw my client walking in front of the casino at 4:23 am a quarter mile away from the home, where there was motion at 4:20 a.m. They want you to think my client went inside this apartment, struggled with her, beat her up, and stabbed her 7 to 8 times, and went from room to room to room and then was able to make it a quarter mile away by 4:23 a.m. They can’t show us where my client actually entered this location.
Based upon all the blood and the nature of this crime, had my client stabbed her 8 different times on at numerous points in her body—she got stabbed in the back, in the bottom of her neck, he would have a lot more blood on his jacket.
Why don’t they have the longitude and latitude [on my client’s I-phone, for where my client was at that particular time. On Woll’s phone, they got longitude and latitude. Nothing pinpoints my client walking into that particular location. He was in that area but there was no evidence that my client was ever inside the location.
Brian Brown: “I know this is the preliminary exam, but they have to show specific and articulable facts here. They want the fact-finder to fill in the blanks. They left out specific things because it does not fit their narrative. It looks like she was there for an amount of time—she got up, got her bearings, tried to walk to the neighbor’s house. There is no evidence whatsoever that my client was involved. People purposely left out particular information. Would ask that you not bind this case over.”
Samantha Woll with Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel.
VOD notes that stringent scrutiny of this case by the public is necessary in light of it’s high-profile nature. We extend our sincere condolences to the family of Samantha Woll in the wake of her horrific murder, which “should never have taken place” as Judge King noted.
But it comes at a time when there is massive bias in U.S. mainstream media and the stance of the ruling Democratic Party here, regarding the slaughter of over 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza after the Hamas incursion into Israel Oct. 7.
THIS SHOULD NOT TRANSMOGRIFY INTO THE RAILROAD OF A YOUNG AND POOR BLACK MAN IN A RUSH TO JUDGMENT ON A REPREHENSIBLE MURDER OF A PROMINENT JEWISH LEADER IN DETROIT. TO OBTAIN JUSTICE FOR SAMANTHA WOLL AND HER FAMILY, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE ACTUAL MURDERER BE FOUND, CHARGED AND TRIED. VOD IS NOT SATISFIED THAT OTHER SUSPECTS, INCLUDING ACTUAL ANTI-SEMITES, HAVE BEEN SUFFICIENTLY INVESTIGATED.
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE. Funds are needed regularly to pay quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
U.S. District Ct. Senior Judge David Lawson says multiple counts against DPD officer Monica Childs likely valid, Larry Smith civil suit can proceed
Lifer Gary Brayboy, who has spent 30 years in prison, still fights conviction, citing Childs’ coercion of chief prosecution witness against him, her record in cases of exonerees Larry Smith, Bernard Howard, Ramon Ward
DETROIT — Detroit Police Detective Monica Childs (now retired) has been cited in multiple wrongful convictions in Wayne County, and to date has not faced criminal or civil penalties.
But on Dec. 19, U.S. District Court for the Eastern Michigan Senior Judge David Lawson allowed multiple counts against her in a civil lawsuit brought by exoneree Larry Smith., Jr. to survive a motion for summary judgement brought by the defendants.
U.S, District Court Senior Judge David Lawson
Lawson dismissed claims against Wayne County and various other police officers and prosecutors, but said the claims against Childs can proceed to trial. Smith told VOD that he is still pursuing action on the other claims in higher courts.
“There is abundant evidence in the record, which, if believed, easily shows that Childs fabricated critical incriminating evidence offered at trial against Smith and conspired with [AP Robert]Donaldson to do so,” Lawson wrote.
“Moreover, Edward Allen testified that Childs visited him while he was ‘in residence’ as an informant for the Detroit Police Department, and that defendants Childs and Donaldson solicited Allen to testify falsely that Smith had confessed his involvement in the Hayes murder.
“. . . .Allen further testified that Childs supplied the discovery package from Smith’s case so that he would be able to testify accurately about details of the case, despite the fact that he never had met Smith and did not know anything about the Hayes murder.”
Judge Lawson includes further testimony from Edward Allen which says the “Ring of Snitches,” at the behest of police officers and prosecutors, victimized multiple defendants, from the 1980’s through the 1990’s.
Childs was also cited as a key player in the convictions of exonerees Bernard Howard (shown in photo at top) and Ramon Ward.
Meanwhile, Gary Brayboy, a Michigan lifer who has spent 30 years in prison, and says Childs coerced the chief witness to testify against him in 1992, is waiting for a hearing in the Michigan Court of Appeals. Wayne Co. 3rd Circuit Judge Nicholas Hathaway denied his Motion for Relief from Judgment May 12.
“The Court finds that the articles and evidence of other exonerees do not relate directly to Mr. Brayboy’s case,” Hathaway said. “There is nothing to show that any wrongdoing by Ms. [Monica] Childs actually occurred here beyond mere speculation.”
Judge Nicholas Hathaway changed his legal last name from Brobak to Hathaway when he married Judge Dana Hathaway. Judge Thomas Hathaway retired shortly after his groundbreaking rulings in the case of exoneree Thelonious Searcy, including the dismissal of all charges against Searcy with prejudice. He cited the prosecution’s repeated and blatant violations of Brady v. Maryland, in withholding exculpatory evidence.
Judge Nicholas [Brobak] Hathaway with wife Judge Dana Hathaway.
In his pleadings, Brayboy has cited the Smith, Howard and Ward cases as well as those of exonerees Justly Johnson and Kendrick Scott, and of Mark Craighead. In those cases, other DPD officers including Barbara Simon were key players.
In the Craighead case, the Court of Appeals agreed with the defendant that Simon’s role in other cases was legally germane to his case, and that it would have resulted in a different verdict.
“The trial court did not abuse its discretion when it held that the newly discovered evidence proffered by defendant was admissible as evidence of a scheme, plan, or system under MRE 404(b), a panel of Judges Cynthia Diane Stephens, David H. Sawyer, and
Deborah A. Servitto.
Mark Craighead/Photo Detroit Metro Times
“MRE 404(b)(1) provides as follows: Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, scheme, plan, or system in doing an act, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident when the same is material, whether such other crimes, wrongs, or acts are contemporaneous with, or prior or subsequent to the conduct at issue in the case.”
The Craighead court also found, The new evidence would make a different result probable on retrial. “[T]he evidence that must be taken into consideration when assessing a claim of newly discovered evidence is not simply the evidence presented at the original trial, but also the evidence that would be presented at a new trial.” People v Johnson, 502 Mich 541, 571; 918 NW2d 676 (2018) (citation omitted).”
Below is an excerpt of Edward Allen’s deposition in the case of Larry Smith.
WC Pros. Kym Worthy endorsed Judge Nicholas Hathaway (NH website).
In the deposition of Jonathan Hewitt-El, he repeatedly cites the role of Wayne 3rd Judicial Circuit Court Judge Kym Worthy (now Wayne Co. Prosecutor), as he tried to back out of testifying falsely as the only prosecution witness in a murder case.
He was supposed to falsely testify at trial, known to both the Prosecutor and his attorney, but changed his mind. He swears Judge Worthy tried to force him to reverse his decision not to.
From 1994 until January 2004, Worthy was a judge on the Wayne County Circuit Court. In 2004, Worthy was appointed Wayne County Prosecutor by the judges of the Wayne Count County Circuit Court bench to replace now Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who resigned to become the head of the Detroit Medical Center.
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE. Funds are needed regularly to pay quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.
DPD Cops Michael Parish and Michael Osman, known as the “Booty Boys,” allegedly subjected Black men to dozens of public anal cavity searches on the southwest side
Multiple victims documented their claims in testimony before Detroit City Council, civil lawsuits, media interviews; City of Detroit paid out over $700,000.00.
“These allegations are completely and utterly false, as supported by every member of the investigative process.” — DPD Dec. 22, 2023
“Because such acts flagrantly violate not only the Constitution, but also accepted law enforcement practices, these acts must figure prominently in personnel decisions about the careers of the officers who commit them.” (excerpt, full quote below) — ACLU Racial Justice Project Atty. Mark Fancher; the ACLU filed suit vs. ‘Booty Boys.’
Forced cavity searches have become rampant across the U.S., including recent incidents in Allen Park, Ferndale, Warren
By Diane Bukowski
December 24, 2023
VOD’s coverage of police and prisons rises above the mainstream media, which excuses abuses like those reported in this story. KEEP US GOING! Please DONATE TO VOD at: https://www.gofundme.com/donate-to-vod Cash App at (313) 825-6126
Michael Parish, one of two cops known as “The Booty Boys” on Detroit’s southwest side, for allegedly conducting public anal cavity searches on Black men in the 2000’s, has been identified by Detroit Police Chief James White as his Chief of Staff, in addition to his role as Commander.
White and Parrish appeared together at a National Action Network forum Sept. 24, 2022 to tout the controversial ShotSpotter technology used by DPD.
White said he first met Parish about 14 years ago, and hired him to write policy for the Department.
“He’s been with me for many, many years now.” Chief White said. “Michael Parish is my chief of staff. In his spare time, he has become a lawyer. I put him over the towing unit. He says, ‘Chief, we gotta hire some returning citizens. . . .Set the tone now.’ He brings in a young man who went to jail for murder. . . as a tow truck driver. He became one of our best employees. But Mike wasn’t done. He says, ‘Now that I’m a lawyer, if you let me, I think we’ve got a lot of people that need fresh starts. I’m going to volunteer to do expungements every Wednesday.”
The complete Facebook video from the NAN forum is included below in this story.
The article excerpted in the box above was published 14 years ago in 2009 as part of a series in The Michigan Citizen, the same year White says he met and hired Parish.
Marcon Green and Melvin Aikins filed suit against Osman and Parish, among 9 others
The article recounts allegations made by dozens of Black men on the southwest side. The men first spoke with Michigan Citizen photographer Wyoman Mitchell and this reporter, then testified at the Detroit City Council. Later, they spoke to and hired multiple attorneys at a neighborhood rally, organized by Mitchell.
In the case of Elvis Ware, the Michigan ACLU settled for $20,000 and an agreement that Detroit officers would be told to obtain a warrant for cavity searches and have them performed by medical personnel at a hospital, as Michigan state law requires. Attorney Mark Fancher was among the ACLU personnel handling the case. His comments for this story are included farther down.
“If I feel something that I believe to be a weapon and/or contraband within somebody’s pants, I will reach in and recover it,” Parish, unapologetic, said in a deposition in the case of Marcon Green. Osman denied having committed such searches in a media interview.
“Police officers Michael Parish and Michael Osman are both white and engaged in inappropriate conduct against African Americans because of their personal racial animus.” attorney Lawrence Radden said in a complaint for Terence Hopkins.
City Council members Alberta Tinsley-Talabi and Kwame Kenyatta listen as Byron Ogletree testifies about Booty Boys’ assault on him May 31, 2006.
But a barrage of media coverage favoring of the police, citing out-of-court settlements through an internal procedure where the City paid over $700,000 in the cases of Byron Ogletree and Marjjo Clyburn, led to a jury vote nixing the Hopkins lawsuit.
It was Ogletree’s assault and arrest by Parish and Osman on May 31, 2006 which triggered a community uprising on S. Schaefer at Annabelle and brought the cops’ actions to public attention.
Ogletree and Marcon Green, Devon Windom, and Melvin Shields, Jr. testified in front of the Detroit City Council at Councilwoman JoAnn Watson’s request a few days later. This reporter broke the story in the Michigan Citizen after the hearing and separate interviews with the men. Watson continued to press for action against the officers at subsequent council meetings.
Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson 2013.
“Was any discipline sanctioned by the police department, internal affairs division?” she asked. “Was any report filed by Ms. [Sheryl] Robinson [federal monitor] relative to the consent decree? This is not a small issue. It has grave impact on the moral and fiscal liability of the city.”
According to court records, DPD Internal Affairs Sgt. Joseph Tiseo, FBI agent Michael Fitzgerald, and Asst. U.S. Attorney Pamela Thompson jointly investigated the cases. Thompson eventually told lawyers for the plaintiffs that the U.S. Attorney had cleared the cops in 2007.
Detroit Police Chief Ella Bully-Cummings, through her spokesperson Deputy Chief James Tate, not only cleared the officers, but promoted Osman to sergeant. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick ducked the issue, saying through his spokesman Matt Allen that the federal government had taken over the case. Tate later reported there was no basis for the allegations.
WC Pros. Kym Worthy used this photo in her re-election campaign/2022
In most of those cases, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy filed criminal charges against the victims, based on allegations in the pre-textual stops (no turn signal, odor of marijuana, etc.), including charges against Ogletree which had him facing up to 37 years in prison.
The late WCCC Judge Carole Youngblood dismissed Ogletree’s criminal case after a police technician testified that he had not been contacted to preserve the videotape of Ogletree’s arrest, despite his attorney’s request to do so a day after the event. Officers at the Southwestern District had allowed the machine to rewind and tape over the event five days afterwards.
Three other WCCC judges, Deborah Thomas, Rudy Serra, and Cynthia Hathaway threw out charges against Melvin Shields, Marjjo Clyburn, and Mario Smith after testimony about actions by Parish and Osman. Prosecutor Worthy appealed in two of the cases.
DPD, ACLU respond to VOD requests for comment
VOD emailed the Detroit Police Department for their response to its Nov. 22, 2023 article on the matter, asking “1. How has Commander Parish been promoted to this level after his “alleged” forced body cavity searches (rapes) of Black men on the southwest side in and around 2006? 2. What is the Detroit Police Department’s current policy on such practices? 3. Does DPD DENY Officers Michael Parish and Michael Osman committed such acts despite dozens of witnesses and lawsuits filed? 4. Did DPD conduct its own investigations of these matters?”
Recent DPD graduating class.
DPD Media Relations answered only #3 of the request. “These allegations are completely and utterly false, as supported by every member of the investigative process,” an anonymous representative said. “In addition to his years of service with the Detroit Police Dept., Commander Michael Parish is a licensed attorney who works in his free time to have the criminal records of defendants expunged. Many of these defendants are African Americans in the city of Detroit, and Commander Parish’s work enables them to gain employment and improve their lives.
DPD continued, “In his time with the Detroit Police Department, Commander Parish has passed promotional examinations and successfully served in supervisory capacities, allowing him to be selected by management and approved by the Board of Police Commissioners for further advancement in the Department. Commander Parish has served this city and Department diligently.”
Attorney Mark Fancher, of the Michigan ACLU’s Racial Justice project, was among the attorneys who spoke with men raising complaints against the “Booty Boys” at a “Picnic for Justice” event July 12, 2006.
He told VOD, “We offer no specific comment about Michael Parish, but we have a continuing concern about all law enforcement officers who engage in unauthorized searches of private areas of the body and any other acts that violate the constitutional rights and dignity of members of the community. Because such acts flagrantly violate not only the Constitution, but also accepted law enforcement practices, these acts must figure prominently in personnel decisions about the careers of the officers who commit them.”
Below is the complete Facebook Live video of the National Action Network forum featuring Chief James White and his chief of staff, Cdr. Michael Parish.
DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT CONTINUING POLICY–NONE
The DPD did not respond to VOD’s question about the current practice of its officers related to cavity searches, although the ACLU says it obtained “an agreement that Detroit officers would be told to obtain a warrant for cavity searches and have them performed by medical personnel at a hospital, as Michigan state law requires.” A search of DPD’s policies and procedures published on its website found no such language. Its Search and Seizure policy is below.
POLICE BODY CAVITY SEARCHES LOCALLY AND NATION-WIDE
Since the “Booty Boys” cases, police locally and nationally have continued assaulting men and women illegally with forced body cavity searches, with little accountability. Recent media coverage of such cases in Warren, Ferndale, and Allen Park is included below, followed by several cases nationally.
Apparently, such continued violations of individuals’ constitutional rights result from the failure of entities like the Detroit Police Dept. and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office to hold officers accountable for what amounts to rape of Black men and women, in this case promoting DPD’s Michael Parish to “Chief of Staff” for Chief James White.
Warren police graduation
WARREN POLICE
Excerpt Detroit News article: “The lawsuit accuses Warren Police Officers C. Wells, R. McNeil and L. Johnson, along with a “John Doe” officer, of excessive force and of violating the Fourth Amendment rights of Kirk Knopek during the March 13, 2022 incident. The lawsuit that seeks more than $75,000 claims Wells conducted the body cavity search while the other officers failed to intervene.”
“According to the lawsuit, an officer put on blue gloves and ordered Knopek to spread his legs and “just be quiet.” Knopek was further ordered to “assume a standing position to initiate an illegal roadside body cavity search,” the suit alleges.
“Wells proceeded to pull down and reach into (Knopek’s) sweatpants, pull down and reach into (his) underwear, reached in grabbing (his) buttocks, and then forcefully inserted his finger(s) into plaintiff’s anus,” the suit alleges.”
EXCERPT OF KIRK KNOPEK LAWSUIT FILED BY FIEGER AND FIEGER
Excerpts: “The ghastly chain of events in Campbell v. Mackwere set off when Kevin Campbell, a black man, drove past Daniel Mack, a white police officer in Allen Park, Michigan.”
“Mack then pulled down Campbell’s pants and underwear, bent down, and examined Campbell’s genitals. Campbell repeatedly asked the officer to stop and told him, “Nah, you can’t do that, man,” but Mack responded, “Yes, I can, yes, I can,” and escalated the search. Mack allegedly felt underneath Campbell’s genitals, telling another officer he had drugs “tucked underneath his balls” or “tucked in his fucking ass crack.” Campbell claims that Mack also “grabbed” and “pulled” his testicles and “stuck his finger inside of my anus.” Eventually, the officer gave up and told Campbell: “You can keep it,” referring to these putative drugs. No narcotics were ever found.”
“But in an opinion by Judge Eric Clay, the 6th Circuit refused to grant Mack qualified immunity. It is clearly established, Clay wrote, that an officer “needs either probable cause or reasonable suspicion to conduct a traffic stop.” Mack had neither. It is also clearly established that an officer may not retaliate when a suspect contests “his or her allegedly unlawful treatment.” The First Amendment protects a suspect’s right to complain. Yet Mack did just that, allegedly tightening Campbell’s handcuffs and performing the body cavity search in an increasingly “aggressive, intimidating, and hostile manner” because Campbell protested. Under well-established 6th Circuit precedent, Mack’s actions, as recounted by Campbell, were obviously unlawful, so Mack must fight them at trial, and cannot hide behind qualified immunity.” See http://voiceofdetroit.net/wp-content/uploads/Campbell-v-Mack-18-2156.pdf.
NATIONALLY
GEORGIA
TENNESSEE
THE HORROR OF POLICE SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND ABUSE OF BLACK MEN–FINAL CALL
In 2021, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a District Court dismissal of Deaundra Billingsley’s complaint in the above case, and remanded it to the District Court to correct its errorsSee: 22a0365n-06.pdf (uscourts.gov)
Voice of Detroit is a pro bono newspaper, now devoting itself entirely to stories related to our PRISON NATION and POLICE STATE. Funds are needed regularly to pay quarterly web hosting fee of $460.00 and other expenses. VOD will disappear from the web if fee not paid.
VOD’s editors and reporters, most of whom live on fixed incomes or are incarcerated, are not paid for their work. Ongoing costs include quarterly web charges of $460.00, P.O. box fee of $180/yr. and other costs including utility and internet bills, costs for research including court records and internet fees, office supplies, gas, etc.