Friday, June 27, 2014

I saved my own life from Whirlpool's stooges

Berrien County Sheriff department, Sheriff Bailey, and prosecutor Mike Sepic were out 
trying to get people to say they did not sign recall petitions on the date which they had 
signed.  Prosecutor Sepic and Sheriff Bailey were working against the people of Benton
Harbor by intimidating and harassing.

My case is one which they concocted in order to silence me. There is no evidence at all 
that the acts constituting a crime were in fact committed by me, Rev. Edward Pinkney, or that a crime was even committed.

Prosecutor Mike Sepic and Sheriff Bailey sent an army to my home to arrest me. The army
surrounded my home.  I believe they came to murder me.  The prosecutor and sheriff had a warrant for my arrest.  If they had called, I would have turned myself in.  An army of law Enforcers was not necessary.   I really believe these devils were out to kill me. I could have saved my own life by simply not being at home when the Swat Team arrived.

We the people must stand together and stop the corruption that exists in Berrien County and this country.

What the prosecutor Mike Sepic is doing to the residents of Benton Harbor is criminal. He is working with Whirlpool Corporation to destroy as many lives as possible in Benton Harbor.

Remember, Mayor James Hightower warned the people he was going to use all of his resources, Whirlpool Corporation, Lakeland Hospital, prosecutor Mike Sepic, Sheriff Bailey, and the County Clerk Sharon Tyler.  We need the country to stand with us against this corrupt group.  

Rev. Edward Pinkney
269-925-0001

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Bomb threat from Tulsa Whirlpool Employee


22-year-old Whirlpool employee arrested after bomb threat sent through email promises carnage

Employees of Whirlpool Corporation are safe after a bomb threat was called in late Sunday night.
Police say the human resource director for Whirlpool stated that she received and email from Elite Workforce, a temporary staffing agency used by the company. The email was in regards to an employee, 22-year-old Arielle Yvonne Jackson, who was making threats toward her family members and planning to bring a bomb to work the following day.
According to the booking report, when the director opened the email from Elite Workforce around Sunday night there was a picture of Jackson holding what appeared to be a shotgun with the caption “a shower of bullets and blood splatter are a drop in the bucket compared to the carnage of the bomb" Jackson was allegedly bringing to work the next day.
The email contained a second picture, that of Jackson with her family and a caption: "This was my family – I killed all of them.”
After seeing the email, the director drove to work and set up a conference call to discuss the next steps, one of which included a call to the sheriff's office.
All 12 employees were evacuated from the building due to the threat. After a walk-through the building was declared “bomb free.”
TPD spoke with Jackson hours later and she said she did not send the email, according to the report. Jackson also stated the email address that sent the threat is not her account.
Deputies searched Jackson’s residence near 91st and Peoria and found no explosive devices. However, a large amount of firearms and ammunition were found. Several items were confiscated and booked into the sheriff’s office property room.
A second possible suspect mentioned in the email with the bomb threat was contacted by police, who say the woman stated she didn’t know why Jackson would say she was involved. She also stated that she works with Jackson on a regular basis but rarely speaks with Jackson outside of work.
Jackson was booked into the Tulsa County Jail early Monday morning on $50,000 bond.
http://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/22-year-old-whirlpool-employee-arrested-after-bomb-threat-sent-through-email-promises-carnage

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Benton Harbor Voter Suppression, Mississippi Style

Mississippi 1964  

Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney had only just begun 
working on the Freedom Summer campaign to register black Mississippi to vote
when they suddenly disappeared.

Schwerner and Goodman were two Jewish men from New York who had been 
there less than a week and Chaney was a local black activist. They had just 
finished investigating the bombing of a nearby church when they were taken into custody under false pretenses and never again seen by their fellow 
volunteers.

The disappearance of these three men sparked national outrage, and the FBI
converged on Mississippi to investigate. They discovered that on June 21, 1964,
immediately upon being released from custody, the young activists had been 
brutally beaten and murdered by a Ku Klux Klan lynch mob.  The FBI's 
investigation led to the first successful prosecution of a civil rights case in 
Mississippi.

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the day we lost these brave defenders of
civil rights.

Today in the city of Benton Harbor, Michigan, 50 years later, we still fight for voter rights.  We are under voter suppression today in Benton Harbor.
   

Rev Edward Pinkney

Burn Baby Burn
Burn all NAACP Membership Cards

Friday, June 20, 2014

Ernest White, Drunk & Corrupt Court-Appointed Attorney, Fined on Thursday

It was another very sad day for justice in Berrien County. The corrupt court-appointed attorney, Ernest White, was given a mere slap on the wrist for having at least two alcohol related incidents in recent months, and many more over the last ten years.

White is the only attorney in the history of "justice" who has never won a criminal case that I witnessed.  I have court-watched for over 15 years, and for 15 years Ernest White has been coming to court intoxicated.  The judges knew and did nothing.

I have watched the court-appointed attorneys, prosecutors, and judges collaborating to work against the defendant.  

White, the intoxicated attorney, is one of the worst DA's in the country and was given a friendly welcome by the judge yesterday for:  driving drunk, arriving in court drunk, and "defending" his clients drunk.  He was given a tiny slap on his wrist -- a fine of only $1145.56.

Ernest White's clients have all been found guilty.

We the people must take a stand.  Corruption rolls on, and the people remain silent.   


Rev Edward Pinkney
Burn Baby Burn
Burn all NAACP membership cards

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Open letter from a mother who loves her son

"My main concern about attorney Ernest White is that he is supposed to help or defend my son Demareo Allen, but instead he is not helping my son and not allowing him to call witnesses on his behalf.
Ernest White was intoxicated many times in the court house.  I saw him in court on the day of my son's sentencing.  He was intoxicated.  Demareo was sentenced to 45 years for being in possession of the drug, Essence.
Attorney Ernest White has had at least two alcohol related incidents in recent months, and many, many over the last ten years.
Attorney Ernest White will be arraigned on the contempt of court charge on the same day he is sentenced for the impaired drunk driving charge."
    We must stop all corrupt judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys in Berrien County and all over the US.  Courthouse corruption is severe in Berrien, but it's an increasing, life-ruining problem everywhere.

Rev. Edward Pinkney
Burn Baby Burn
Burn all NAACP Membership Cards

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Rev. Pinkney Case Moves to Jury Hearing Without Proof of Evidence

On June 5, 2014, a Benton Harbor court found it had enough evidence to call for a jury trial of Black Autonomy Network of Community Organization's President Rev. Edward Pinkney. Charged with election fraud, Rev Pinkney, a community activist and outspoken critic of Whirlpool, Governor Snyder, Mayor Hightower and Emergency Managers, strongly denies the allegation! Read the full story for yourself as reported by Voice of Detroit.

Rev. Pinkey In the 'Mouth of the Beast' In Benton Harbor

Courtesy of Voice of Detroit
Rev. Pinkney's supporters outside Berrien County Courthouse May 31, 2014. His wife Dorothy Pinkney is fourth from left.
Rev. Pinkney’s supporters outside Berrien County Courthouse May 31, 2014. His wife Dorothy Pinkney is fourth from left.
Supporters turn out for preliminary exam on 5 felony counts May 31 
“Can’t pin it on Pinkney”—Herald Palladium 
MSP documents examiner can’t say who altered recall petitions
By Diane Bukowski 
June 1, 2014 
Pinkney flier revisedBENTON HARBOR –Supporters of Rev. Edward Pinkney packed the courtroom for his day-long pre-trial exam on five felony charges of election law forgery May 31. The charges, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison, relate to a recall campaign against current Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower.
“Rev. Pinkney is in the mouth of the beast,” Pinkney told VOD. “What they don’t understand is that I’m a
beast killer. The exam today proved they have not a single drop of evidence to even take this to trial. But always remember—Berrien County needs no evidence.”
Even the normally conservative Benton Harbor newspaper the Herald-Palladium said in headline coverage of the exam, “Expert witness can’t pin it on Pinkney.” Hightower is an ally of Whirlpool, a $19 billion global corporation which Pinkney and the Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizations (BANCO), have targeted for years, saying it destroyed the city’s job base by closing its plants, grabbed its land, and now pays no city taxes. The recall petition cited Hightower’s failure to approve a city income tax which would have forced Whirlpool to pay taxes to Benton Harbor.
Sterling Schrock
Judge Sterling Schrock

The recall election, which was to have been held May 6 after Berrien County Clerk Sharon Tyler certified 402 petition signatures, was indefinitely postponed by Fifth District Judge John Dewane, citing the charges against Pinkney.
Fifth District Judge Sterling R. Shrock, who has contributed campaign funds to Pres. Barack Obama and other Democratic causes, is presiding over the criminal case. He said he will announce his decision on whether Pinkney should be bound over on Thurs. June 5, after he reviews the exhibits and examines the meaning of “probable cause.”

Read the full story.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Crazy judges in Berrien County have made life hell for Benton Harbor residents


Ernest White, one of the worst defense attorney's in the country, was cited for alcohol again.  The Berrien County trial court has suspended this longtime St. Joseph, Mich. attorney who worked with prosecutors and judges to send more people to prison than anywhere in the nation, proportionately.

This courthouse is in the same town inhabited by US Rep. Fred Upton, LA Times pick for The Worst Congress Person for the environment.  We pick him for The Worst Congress Person for human life.

This citation comes after at least two alcohol incidents by atty. White in the last month. 

Berrien County prosecutor Mike Sepic reported in an email that White was arrested for driving while intoxicated May 9. 

White pleaded guilty to impaired driving on June 3 and will be sentenced June 18.

Berrien County Trial Court administrator Brian Ray said in a separate email that also on May 9 White appeared in court to represent clients after drinking alcohol all day.   Ray said White was placed on a corrective action plan, but on Monday appeared in court showing signs of having ingested alcohol.

Because of the incident on Monday, Ray said White will no longer be representing clients (thank you Jesus).  Sepic said that because of the bond violation Monday, White will be arraigned on contempt of court charges on the same day he is sentenced for the impaired driving charge. 

This just in regarding Dennis Wiley, Berrien County judicial scum of the year:

After review of the Judicial Tenure Commission’s decision and recommendation, the settlement agreement, the standards set forth in Brown, and the above findings and conclusions, we ORDER that the Honorable Dennis M. Wiley be publicly censured. This order stands as our public censure.

Somebody has to stand up to the Whirlpool created corruption that exists in Berrien County Courthouse.  


Rev Edward Pinkney
Pinkney to Pinkney show
blogtalkradio.com
Every Sunday at 5 pm eastern time
Burn Baby Burn
Burn all NAACP MEMBERSHIPS CARDS

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Pinkney Framed Again


My case is one where there is no evidence whatsoever that prove the acts constituting a crime were in fact committed by me.

--There is no physical evidence that I was the person who changed any petitions. 

--There is no expert testimony that I was the one who changed any petitions. 

--There are no statements to the police or anyone else that I committed acts constituting a crime. 

--There are no confessions or witnesses to show that I  committed a crime, or if there was a crime. 

In short, the alleged crime consisted of the alteration of documents, and there is no evidence that I committed those acts or that I was the only person in a position to commit the acts.

Based on the evidence presented at the preliminary examination, it appears the prosecution will not be able to present sufficient evidence at trial unless they do what the Berrien County Court normally does:  fabricate evidence.

Judge Sterling Schrock and Prosecutor Mike Sepic have been working together.  They are a tag team. Corruption rolls on in Berrien County.                          
Rev. Edward Pinkney 

Tuesday, June 03, 2014

REV. PINKNEY ‘IN THE MOUTH OF THE BEAST’ IN BENTON HARBOR

Poster below incorrect:  Tomorrow's hearing is 1:30pm - not 8:30am.

Rev. Pinkney's supporters outside Berrien County Courthouse May 31, 2014. His wife Dorothy Pinkney is fourth from left.
Rev. Pinkney’s supporters outside Berrien County Courthouse May 31, 2014. His wife Dorothy Pinkney is fourth from left.
Supporters turn out for preliminary exam on 5 felony counts May 31 
“Can’t pin it on Pinkney”—Herald Palladium 
MSP documents examiner can’t say who altered recall petitions
By Diane Bukowski 
June 1, 2014 
Pinkney flierBENTON HARBOR –Supporters of Rev. Edward Pinkney packed the courtroom for his day-long pre-trial exam on five felony charges of election law forgery May 31. The charges, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison, relate to a recall campaign against current Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower.
“Rev. Pinkney is in the mouth of the beast,” Pinkney told VOD. “What they don’t understand is that I’m a beast killer. The exam today proved they have not a single drop of evidence to even take this to trial. But always remember—Berrien County needs no evidence.”
Even the normally conservative Benton Harbor newspaper the Herald-Palladium said in headline coverage of the exam, “Expert witness can’t pin it on Pinkney.”
Hightower is an ally of Whirlpool, a $19 billion global corporation which Pinkney and the Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizations (BANCO), have targeted for years, saying it destroyed the city’s job base by closing its plants, grabbed its land, and now pays no city taxes. The recall petition cited Hightower’s failure to approve a city income tax which would have forced Whirlpool to pay taxes to Benton Harbor.
Sterling Schrock
Judge Sterling Schrock

The recall election, which was to have been held May 6 after Berrien County Clerk Sharon Tyler certified 402 petition signatures, was indefinitely postponed by Fifth District Judge John Dewane, citing the charges against Pinkney.
Fifth District Judge Sterling R. Shrock, who has contributed campaign funds to Pres. Barack Obama and other Democratic causes, is presiding over the criminal case. He said he will announce his decision on whether Pinkney should be bound over on Thurs. June 5, after he reviews the exhibits and examines the meaning of “probable cause.”
“EXPERT WITNESS CAN’T PIN IT ON PINKNEY”
In key testimony, Sgt. James Goff of the Michigan State Police Forensics Lab in Lansing said he found evidence that dates on several petitions for the recall had been altered, using various methods. He referenced several petitions admitted into evidence. They had been enlarged, with the second side missing, then photographed with blocks indicating his findings covering parts of the petitions.
MSP Sgt. James Goff
MSP Sgt. James Goff

“I can’t say who altered them or when,” Goff told Pinkney’s attorney Tat Parish on cross-exam. “Different ink formulations were used is all I can say.”
Goff said he used infrared luminescence examination to identify different ink formulations, and “impression” techniques to find dates on the petitions had been altered. Impression techniques involve looking at the petitions directly beneath the ones in question to find impressions of the original written dates.
How Goff accomplished that is unclear, since he had only 10 of 62 petitions submitted according Berrien County Sheriff’s records, which do not indicate the 10 petitions were in sequential order.
Goff said he has been a “Forensics Document Examiner” for four years, but is not certified as such by any organization, national or otherwise, although organizations such as the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners exist to do so.
ABFDEHe works for the MSP’s “Questioned Documents” unit in Lansing, where he is its only employee. He said he trained for three years under other Forensics Document Examiners, but did not say if they were certified. Parish objected to qualifying him as an expert but was overruled.
Goff identified a photographic image of one petition, shown on a screen, which he claimed had 12 dates changed, from Nov. 8 to Nov. 18 and Nov. 28. The date, Berrien County Prosecutor Michael Sepic said, was crucial because under state election law, only petitions with signatures dated on Nov. 9 or afterward, 60 days prior to their submission, could be counted.
Parish pointed out, however, that county offices were closed on Jan. 6 and 7 due to a snowstorm, apparently inferring that there was no reason to change the Nov. 8 date since the turn-in period should have been extended due to “an act of God.”
ORIGINAL PETITIONS NOT IN EVIDENCE; WERE THEY ‘DISAPPEARED?’
Carolyn Toliver
Carolyn Toliver
None of the petitions admitted into evidence over Parish’s objections were the originals. Instead Sepic used Xeroxed and photographic images. Berrien County Elections Commissioner Carolyn Toliver said she thought the Sheriff’s Department had the originals, while Sepic said Goff had them (although he only received 10 of 62 petitions.) Sgt. Zizkovsky testified he took possession of the originals from Toliver, but they never surfaced at the exam.
“If the issue is to prove alterations, of course the original document is at the heart of the case,” Parish told Judge Schrock. “To allow introduction of copies is improper.”
Schrock, however, said, “Under evidence rules, copies are as admissible as the originals.” Schrock denied virtually every objection made by Parish during the exam.
Berrien County sheriffs.
Berrien County sheriffs.

Berrien County Sheriff Sgt. David Zizkovsky, who said he had served with the military in Iraq, said in his report that he turned 10 original petitions over to the lab, out of 62 submitted.
But only five COPIES of the ten, the ones circulated by Pinkney, were admitted at the exam. Summarizing Goff’s findings in his report, Zizkovsky said Goff noted evidence of date changes on the five other petitions, not circulated by Pinkney, as well.
In the same report, he also said he himself asked the lab to change the dates on five petitions from 1/13/14 to 1/3/14.
Parish pounded away at both Goff and Zizkovsky about the length of time that expired from Jan. 8 until the petitions were turned in to the crime lab. Goff said he got them on Feb. 26, allowing plenty of time for others with access to the petitions to alter them.
Pinkney ICHAT
According to the Michigan State Police ICHAT website, which records state criminal cases, charges against Pinkney were brought Jan. 8, 2014, the day the petitions were submitted, prior to their submission to the crime lab Feb. 26, and prior to mass interrogations in Benton Harbor homes by Berrien County Sheriffs. Zizkovsky admitted the Sheriff’s Department had begun investigating Pinkney prior to obtaining the petitions.
Former Benton Harbor City Commissioner Dennis Knowles
Former Benton Harbor City Commissioner Dennis Knowles

The charges, which include five misdemeanor counts of “Election Law/ False Cert Circulatory” not considered that day, followed lengthy, detailed and often multiple interrogations by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department of petition signers and circulators in their homes, on a scale not seen since the “red scare” days of U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the 1940’s and ‘50’s, according to Sheriff’s Department records.
“Their purpose is to distort and debase elections because Whirlpool wants Benton Harbor,” Dennis Knowles, a former Benton Harbor City Commissioner who attended the exam, told VOD. “They want to tar and feather Rev. Pinkney for the rest of his life so there will be no more recalls and so the people will be too terrified even to vote.”
SHERIFFS, ELECTIONS OFFICIAL ALSO COMBED, ALTERED PETITIONS 
Benton Harbor Commissioner Marcus Muhammad, who is running for mayor against Hightower (l) talks with James Cornelius, who initiated recall campaign against Hightower. Final Call photo
Benton Harbor Commissioner Marcus Muhammad, who is running for mayor against Hightower (l) talks with James Cornelius, who initiated recall campaign against Hightower. Final Call photo
Of 62 petitions with 728 signatures, 54 petitions, including 34 circulated by Pinkney, were NOT examined by the lab. Zizkovsky said in his report that sheriff’s deputies, not trained in forensic document examination, selected the 10 petitions based on their own observations of what they determined to be irregular.

Toliver testified first, then remained in the courtroom for the rest of the day-long hearing. Toliver said the petitions in evidence were actually copies of copies kept in the Clerk’s office safe.
She said Rev. Pinkney attempted to turn the 62 petitions in on Jan. 8, but that she would not accept them because James Cornelius, not Pinkney, was the sponsor of the campaign. Cornelius, who faces one misdemeanor count in the case, then turned them in himself.
According to the Sheriff’s Report, however, Toliver told Pinkney she would not accept them was because he did not live in Benton Harbor, but Benton Harbor Township.
Berrien County Clerk Sharon Tyler first certified petitions, then withdrew certification.
Berrien County Clerk Sharon Tyler first certified petitions, then withdrew certification.

Toliver said she combed through all the petitions before turning them over to County Clerk Sharon Tyler for the Elections Commission to “begin the verification process.” She said she herself eliminated certain signature lines with names, addresses and dates prior to turning them in, because she felt they were questionable, then took a red pen and crossed out all the blank signature lines.
“I scrutinize the individual’s handwriting, and check the dates for similar handwriting, and then I disqualify that line [if they don’t compare],” Toliver, who has no forensic training, said.
Despite her efforts, the Elections Commission certified 402 signatures, verifying the signers were registered voters, enough for the 393 needed, and Tyler scheduled the recall election.
TOLIVER’S CONNECTIONS
Toliver testified that she phoned Mayor Hightower about the submission of the petitions at 9:30 a.m. that day, and kept in contact with him throughout the examination process to update him. She said she blacked out Hightower’s cell phone and address on her work sheet, originally submitted as an exhibit but then withdrawn by Sepic.
Al Pscholka and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder after signing of Public Act 4, the first "emergency manager" law.
Al Pscholka and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder after signing of Public Act 4, the first “emergency manager” law.

Knowles told VOD that he himself had been subjected to a recall campaign in Benton Harbor that failed. He said he never received any calls from Toliver about the campaign in his case, only a written notice that it had begun.
Toliver previously worked for State Rep. Al Pscholka, who started out as a staffer for Benton Harbor Congressman Fred Upton, one of the heirs to the Whirlpool fortune. Pscholka introduced the first “Emergency Manager” law, Public Act 4, into the state legislature in 2011. It was repealed by a majority of state voters in 2012, but immediately replaced by Public Act 436, which legislators made referendum-proof by the inclusion of a financial allotment in the bill.
Benton Harbor was the first city taken over under Public Act 4, a move vigorously opposed by Pinkney, BANCO and numerous other groups across the state.
CIRCULATORS CALLED BY PROSECUTION 
Detroiter Wanda Hill and Benton Harbor resident George Moon at first rally against PA 4 in 2011, on Benton Harbor city hall steps. PA 4 was indeed repealed, only to be replaced by PA 436.
Detroiter Wanda Hill and Benton Harbor resident George Moon at first rally against PA 4 in 2011, on Benton Harbor city hall steps. PA 4 was indeed repealed, only to be replaced by PA 436.
Sepic called several of the other petition circulators to the stand, many of whom expressed solidarity with Pinkney outside the courtroom and have been active previously in campaigns against the emergency manager law.
“I don’t believe in [Mayor Hightower’s] philosophy,” George Moon told Sepic when asked why he joined the petition campaign. He said he gave his petitions as well as those of two other circulators to Pinkney.
Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower at reception in Whirlpool HQ.
Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower at reception in Whirlpool HQ.

Asked if he changed dates on any of the petitions, Moon said, “No, that’s illegal.” On cross exam by Parish, Moon identified dates on the petitions that had been changed by the signers themselves to correct their own errors.
Mary Lynn Donald said she circulated petitions because “I am familiar with BANCO. I have circulated petitions before. You have to explain to each signer what the petition is about and read it to them each and every time.”
She said she gave her petitions to Pinkney, and also identified dates changed by the signers, including one changed from 2/2/14 t0 1/2/14 due to a mistake.
$85 million Whirlpool headquarters in Benton Harbor on prime riverfront property.
$85 million Whirlpool headquarters in Benton Harbor on prime riverfront property.

Bridget Gilmore said she got her petitions from George Moon and returned them to him without changing any dates. She said Moon showed her errors on dates she placed at the bottom by her signature, and she corrected them, placing her initials by each correction. She said some signers changed their own dates after realizing they also had made mistakes.
“It was cold back then,” Gilmore said. “Sometimes your pen would freeze up on you and you had to change to another pen.”
Witness says pen froze up.
Witness says pen froze up.

On Parish’s objection that his attorney should be present, petition sponsor James Cornelius did not testify. For once, Schrock admitted Parish had a “valid issue.”
Elza Williams said she heard from a friend about the recall campaign and went to Rev. Pinkney to get petitions, then returned them to him at his house. She said she made a mistake on one petition that she signed at the bottom with the date 1/13/14, over which she placed the date 1/3/14. She obviously could not have signed the petition on 1/13/14 since Cornelius turned all the petitions in 1/8/14.
CLOSING ARGUMENTS: ‘THIS CALLS FOR DISMISSAL OF THE CHARGES’
During closing arguments, Sepic said the copies of petitions admitted into evidence were “altered, forged,” according to Goff’s testimony, prompting the recall election.
“The probable cause that Edward Pinkney did this is circumstantial,” Sepic said. “Technically James Cornelius submitted the petitions, but Pinkney aided and abetted this unwitting unindicted co-conspirator. . . Evidence of his possession of the petitions within the time frame is also circumstantial.”
No evidenceParish said, “The Judge has a weighty responsibility to weed out cases where there is no evidence. . . .There is no probable cause to believe that any alterations were done by Rev. Pinkney. There is no confession, no testimony by a handwriting expert, no witness who saw him do it or heard him say he did it, and no evidence at all that Rev. Pinkney had exclusive access to the petitions. . . .In order to bind over, there has to be some evidence, not speculation and guesswork that he did it.”
He continued, “This is perhaps the one case I’ve seen in several decades where it is very clear that the court ought to find no probable cause, no evidence that he committed the act. This calls for dismissal of the charges.”
SHROCK TO RULE JUNE 5 ON BIND-OVER, CITING ‘PROBABLE CAUSE’
Judge Schrock said he was reviewing the definition of probable cause as indicated by the Michigan Supreme Court in a 2003 case, People v. Yost, and would rule on Thurs. June 5 whether Pinkney should be bound over.
Donna Yost appeared before Bay County Circuit Judge William J. Caprathe in a bond hearing, asking that she be released from prison while she awaits her new trial now that her conviction for the murder of her daughter, Monique, has been overturned.  Yost begs to be released so she can attend the wedding of one of her daughters. Date taken: Monday 4-21-2008 Cathy Layman/Bay City Times
Donna Yost appeared before Bay County Circuit Judge William J. Caprathe in a bond hearing, asking that she be released from prison while she awaits her new trial now that her conviction for the murder of her daughter, Monique, has been overturned. Yost begs to be released so she can attend the wedding of one of her daughters.
Date taken: Monday 4-21-2008 Cathy Layman/Bay City Times

In People v. Yost, the MSC held that a magistrate had erred in refusing to bind over Donna Alice Yost for the murder of her seven-year-old daughter, who died from an overdose of Imapramine, a drug which was prescribed for her. Yost contended that her daughter had committed suicide.
“There were proofs in this case that would cause a cautious individual to have probable cause to believe that the prosecution had circumstantially established that defendant had committed murder,” the MSC said in part of its ruling.
“This is not to say that at trial a fact-finder could not be convinced that the child self-administered the pills, but that the prosecution has no duty at the preliminary examination to negate that theory to get defendant bound over for trial.   It is enough that a reasonable person could believe that a crime by poisoning was shown and that defendant had motive and opportunity, as well as arguably incriminating actions and explanations.”
Yost’s subsequent conviction was later overturned by the Court of Appeals.
“The decision was unanimous, with appellate justices E. Thomas Fitzgerald, Jane E. Markey and Michael R. Smolenski ruling that Bay County Judge William J. Caprathe ‘abused his discretion’ and violated Yost’s rights by allowing certain evidence and barring other evidence from trial,” reported the Bay City Times. (Click on Donna Yosts murder conviction overturned for full article, and on Donna Yost Appeals Court decision for full decision.)
However, the Michigan Supreme Court later refused to hear the case and kept Yost in prison.
Whether the MSC decision constitutes an unchallenged definition of “probable cause” is certainly at issue. Schrock’s citation of this case does not bode well.
Whether “probable cause” should be found in Rev. Edward Pinkney’s case, not involving a murder charge but instead the legitimate use of Michigan’s election laws, is another question.
SWAT team in Boston April 19, 2013.
SWAT team in Boston April 19, 2013.
Was there “probable cause” for the Sheriff’s Department to attack Rev. Pinkney’s home with a massive SWAT team April 25 in their efforts to arrest him? Was there “probable cause” for dozens of Benton Harbor citizens to be subjected to mass interrogation techniques for months through April, reminiscent of Hitler’s Gestapo? Was there “probable cause” to place Rev. Pinkney under house arrest after he had already posted bond, then forbid him from using his computer to communicate with the outside world?
Is there “probable cause” to instead indict Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and proponents of PA 4 and 436 for violations of the state and U.S. Constitutions through the imposition of emergency “dictators” on Michigan’s predominantly African-American municipalities and school districts? Is there “probable cause” to indict Whirlpool for stealing the livelihoods of Benton Harbor citizens, and then their land, while refusing to pay any taxes whatsoever to the city that made them the world’s largest appliance corporation?
That is up to the people of Michigan and the U.S. to decide, and they must decide soon, for Benton Harbor and Detroit in bankruptcy under EM’s are coming to THEIR cities next.
Previous articles:
- See more at: http://voiceofdetroit.net/2014/06/03/rev-pinkney-in-the-mouth-of-the-beast-in-benton-harbor/#sthash.eJ3gftBO.dpuf