Monday, September 25, 2006

Great speech

When this weblog was first created a year and a half ago,
I remember telling the webmasters that this might not be a good
idea. The police and lawyers would probably end up
taking over the blog and others may get drowned out.
They said so what? They said most people would get what's
going on and it would just be more proof of the brutal
domination by the court and cops in Berrien County.

Need I say more?

On another note, there was a fundraiser for me on Sunday -
here is the speech given by one of the attorneys who spoke:


On March 29, 2006, two days before Atty. Cherry announced that he would be retrying Rev. Pinkney on three felony counts of improper possession of absentee ballots, one felony count of influencing voters while they were voting, and one misdemeanor count of influencing voters with money, I wrote his office requesting that the case not be retried:

Dear Attorney Cherry:
I have been following the trial of Rev. Edward Pinkney(sp), and write to request that your office not proceed with retrial.

As a former trial attorney, I am familiar with the process that just completed regarding Rev. Pinkney(sp). I also understand that, without reviewing the trial transcript, I have a limited view of what took place during the proceedings. However, the jury's reported inability to make a determination beyond a reasonable doubt on each of the five counts speaks volumes.

The City of Benton Harbor has some of the most dismal economic, employment and crime statistics in the nation. The uprising during summer 2003--just months after I moved to Michigan--remains fresh in my mind. After that nightmare, the good people of Benton Harbor deserve an opportunity to heal and to raise their political voices about concerns with elected officials. I urge your office not to rub salt in these wounds with a retrial.

Thank you for your time.

Kelly A. Flint, Esq.


I find the retrial of Rev. Pinkney a truly unfortunate use of taxpayer funds, and hope that the people of Berrien County respond appropriately when the Office of Prosecuting Attorney is up for election in 2008. The Prosecuting Attorney is an elected official with a four-year term of office, as provided by the Michigan Constitution. Elections occur at the time of the Presidential election, on the partisan ballot.

Instead of focusing efforts on an election fraud matter that has already been assessed by a jury, the Berrien County prosecutor’s office could attend to the matters of representation of the County in juvenile delinquency and parental neglect cases, and advising the Department of Human Services on child abuse and neglect petitions, which strike me as much more compelling than alleged absentee ballot mishandling in a recall election.

This is further discouraging when one considers that even the worst offense Reverend Pinkney is alleged to have committed does not measure up even slightly to the very least of the alleged nationwide voter fraud in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

I again urge the Berrien County prosecutor’s office to withdraw its request for retrial of Reverend Pinkney and use the resources of the office to focus its legal pursuits on matters that ensure the protection of Benton Harbor citizens, and the children of Benton Harbor in particular.

Kelly A. Flint, Esq.


--Rev. Edward Pinkney