Day 24: Rev. Pinkney is still under house arrest, paying $105.00 per week for the electronic tether, despite the ruling of the State of Michigan Appeals Court 24 days ago. This is the reality of rogue Berrien County.


Berrien County probation officer, Jim Pjesky, tipped off Judge Alfred Butzbaugh about the Peoples Tribune article Rev. Edward Pinkney wrote. In it, Pinkney called the judge racist, corrupt, and dumb; he also paraphrased the bible. Judge Dennis Wiley ruled this a violation of Pinkney's 15th condition of his probation. Both Pjesky and Wiley knew this was not true, but since they operate in the Berrien County power structure, it is with great ease that they wheel and deal and lie without compunction. Corruption is permitted by the state and governor's office. (Strong Whirlpool Corporation ties.) Corruption is also permitted by the residents of the county.

Judge Wiley sentenced Pinkney to a 3-10 year prison term for paraphrasing the bible in
the Tribune article. He conspired with Butzbaugh, prosecutor Gerald Vigansky, probation officer Pjesky, and sheriff Paul Bailey to remove and silence Pinkney. Pinkney served a year in 8 different Michigan prisons.

This was a vicious prosecution which the State Court of Appeals reversed. The opinion stated that Judge Wiley impinged on Pinkney's 1st amendment rights, violated the constitution, broke the law, and that the trial court abused it's discretion. The prohibition was not proper as it was not directly related to anything.

The traditional integrity of the law, it's moral roots having transcendent qualities,
is disappearing not only from the minds of law professors and law students, but also from the consciousness of the vast majority of citizens. The law itself is becoming more fragmented and subjective, geared to expediency rather than morality. In Berrien County we can go further to say that it's geared towards the desires of the white and wealthy, severely oppressing the poor and Benton Harbor African-Americans. (Don't forget: with Butzbaugh at the helm, the Berrien County Court convicts the highest number of innocents and juveniles in Michigan.)