Sunday, January 31, 2016

Marquette Branch Prison: They Act like Gestapo!

The American concentration camp, commonly known as a plantation, inside Marquette Branch Prison. It took America 150 years to incarcerate its first million, but just twelve years to incarcerate its second million.
The Michigan Department of Corrections is a perfect example of a prison that locks people up for profit. Warden Robert Napel had an extra three million dollars of tax payers’ money, so he decided to help his friends by installing two million dollars worth of camera equipment and then remodel the gun tower, another million dollars, instead of improving the conditions of the prisoners.
The problem is the tax payers who refuse to develop a checks-and-balances system to protect tax dollars that belong to the tax payers of the State of Michigan. There are many ways the Michigan Department of Corrections steal money from the tax payers: (One) by hiring family and friends. (Two) by the misuse of state property and using such property for personal purposes. (Three) they remove items from State premises without proper authorization. The food is terrible, but the correctional officers eat every day they are at work at the Chow-Hall, without paying a single cent. This is once again stealing from the tax-payers. As a prisoner, you cannot take an apple from the Chow-Hall, but a correctional officer can, without any penalty. The correctional officers are stealing money from the tax-payers, without any remorse or concerns. Stop sleeping!
The correctional officers fail to report other correctional officers’ rule violations. An employee shall immediately report behavior of any employee who is in violation of departmental rules, policies, or procedures, to supervisory staff. But that will never ever happen; the good ol’ boys club at Marquette Branch Prison all work together to broke and steal tax payers’ money.
The other day, Warden Robert Napel’s cell phone went off inside the Chow-Hall. It is posted that you are not to have a cell-phone at the entrance, but the warden’s cell-phone went off inside the Chow-Hall. Then the very next day, the assistant warden Erica Huss’s cell phone went off. 
But this gets better! There are correctional officers who bring their cell phones into (N Dorm) and download different things off the Michigan Department of Corrections computer, on State time, and browse the internet, including bhbanco.org and other websites almost every day. Let’s face the facts: the Marquette Branch Prison are stealing from the public tax dollars every day and committing crimes everyday by bringing in drugs and chewing tobacco. It is against the law to fail to report; a complete written report must be made no later than the end of the employee’s work day. Only the tax payers can stop them!

Rev. Pinkney

Correctional Officer Schretter steals money from tax payers

We are living at a time when State workers are allowed to do whatever they want to do. Anytime you have a correctional officer threatening, intimidating and harassing prisoners at will, and the warden keeps silent about it, you have a major problem. 
Correctional Officer Schretter, for the last two months, has been using the Michigan Department of Corrections computer for his own personal use. He has been going to bhbanco.org and inviting other correctional officers, on the department’s time, to review the bhbanco.org website, which is a good thing for me. I want everybody to know what is going on inside Marquette Branch Prison. But it is a violation of the Department of Corrections policy. I have been an eyewitness ten times or more of Correctional Officer Schretter watching my website and other non-MDOC activities; more than ten other prisoners reported seeing him doing that as well.
Further, Correctional Officer Schretter has been the executor of a retaliation by the Department of Corrections for lawful First Amendment activity: Schretter has continuously threatened, intimidating and harassing me. With speech, action and gesture, which have caused me mental intimidation inside the Marquette Branch Prison. He even attempted to assault me. The Warden has ordered him to torture me.
Marquette Branch Prison is a concentration camp with nineteen head-counts every day and sixteen of these times, you must be on the bunk.
There is no other prison which operates like this in the whole country. This is the lowest level of prison that a person can be in, but they are now allowing the prison to be out of control.
The warden will be installing over forty cameras, which is stupidity, when you can just improve the conditions. The sad part is that the Department of Corrections is deceiving the public, the tax-payers. You have correctional officers doing nothing but talking with other correctional officers and playing on the internet on the department’s and public’s time and money. They are actually stealing from the public.
There is a lot of tension here at Marquette Branch Prison and the reason is simple: the correctional officers are untrained, unskilled, unprofessional, uneducated, and out of control. I spoke to the ARUS about Schretter’s behavior, and she stated: this is just the way he is. 
The public, the taxpayers, must start holding the Michigan Department of Corrections accountable for their actions and inactions. The Department of Corrections waste millions and millions of tax payers’ dollars on correctional officers who are stealing from the public every single day. 
The misuse of State property and threatening and harassing prisoners is conduct unbecoming a department of the State of Michigan.
The public must stop the stealing of the tax-payers’ money by the Department of Corrections and their officers. Let’s hold them accountable for their actions!
I want you to contact the State Police here in Marquette, Michigan. I want to file a criminal complaint against Correctional Officer Schretter for threatening me. I will need everybody’s help. I have no intent of allowing him to continue with his conduct unbecoming a department employee. He believes he has the warden’s blessing. Let’s continue this fight! It is not just one thing, it is everything!

Rev. Pinkney

Pinkney Convicted With No Evidence

Rev. Pinkney files this reply brief in relation to three matters stated in the prosecution’s brief on Appeal. These include whether evidence Pinkney presented during his defense may be considered when Pinkney made a motion for a direct verdict at the end of the prosecution’s case in chief, and when there was no basis for this evidence to allow for an affirmative finding of guilt, even if the jury disbelieved Pinkney’s evidence.
The standard of review in relation to some of the “Other Acts” evidence, when the prosecution did not provide the required notice under MRE 404 (b)(2) and when defense counsel made an objection after some of the evidence had been admitted and made similar objections throughout the trial and prior to trial in relation to the evidence that was subject to proper notice under MRE 404 (b)(2). The prosecutor’s remarkable statement in its brief that Pinkney’s First Amendment activities were “not evidence of other crimes and could not be prejudicial in nature, because they involved things like the fight for freedom and justice and equality for all and to provide food, clothes, and shelter for the needy.” When the prosecution argued to the jury that this was not true and argued that jury should come to conclusion about Pinkney’s activities that clearly indicate the prosecution had an improper and prejudicial purpose in admitting the “Other acts” evidence.
The prosecution indicates that the defense presentation of testimony regarding Veniter? Campbell supports the prosecution’s claim that the prosecution prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Pinkney is guilty, that is the most ridiculous statement. This testimony obviously came after the prosecution rested. In Pinkney brief he made a motion for a directed verdict at the close of the prosecution’s case in chief. The issue was whether the prosecution met burden of proof must be evaluated on in reference to evidence admitted at this point. 
The main problem is that the evidence doesn’t lie, but prosecutors do.

Rev. Pinkney

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Day 410 of Rev. Edward Pinkney's Unjust Imprisonment

Today is the 410th day that Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Michigan sits in prison doing felony time (2-1/2 to 10 years) for a crime he did not commit. Rev. Pinkney and other members of the Benton Harbor community group, BANCO (Black Autonomy Network Community Organization), have lead multiple petition drives to recall local officials who are viewed as supporting corporate dictatorship and the emergency manager system as one strategy of their campaign. Their recent efforts to recall Benton Harbor mayor James Hightower, because he opposed a city income tax that would've forced local corporations like Whirlpool to pay their fair share of taxes, was the latest part of that drive.

Rev. Pinkney was railroaded to jail by a kangaroo court as part of a strategy to stop that successful recall petition drive. However, that strategy only slowed down the inevitable. While there was absolutely no evidence presented in court that Rev. Pinkney had committed a crime, evidence that the community was outraged was shown in the landslide victory of Marcus Muhammed in last November's election in which Mayor Hightower was ousted. The message from corporate dictatorship in Michigan is clear: they will crush leaders of the movement for opposing their rule.

FREE REV. PINKNEY NOW!

Please send letters to:
Marquette Branch Prison
Rev. Edward Pinkney N-E-93 #294671
1960 US Hwy 41 South
Marquette, MI 49855

Please donate at http://bhbanco.org (Donate button) or send checks to BANCO, 1940 Union St., Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Friday, January 29, 2016

No Human Rights in a Corporate Dictatorship

Today is the 409th day that Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Michigan sits in prison doing felony time for a crime he did not commit. Rev. Pinkney was railroaded to jail with absolutely no evidence against him December 15, 2014, for 2 1/2 to 10 years. And, even though the town of Benton Harbor is 90% African-American, Rev. Pinkney was found guilty by an all-white jury, none of whom were from Benton Harbor, a jury that was instructed by both the judge and the prosecutor that evidence was not required for a guilty verdict. When Rev. Pinkney's lawyer raised that there were serious violations of the United States Constitution taking place in this case, the judge ignore them.

Judge Schrock's actions are reminiscent of the 1857 Dred Scott decision in which chief Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney declared that black people "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” Today, slave dictatorship has been replaced by corporate dictatorship spearheaded by the emergency manager system in Michigan. As Rev. Pinkney has stated over and over, "it is not about black and white, it is about the haves and the have-nots." The poisoning of the population of Flint, Michigan's, water is just the latest example that the poor have no rights that the corporations are bound to respect.

FREE REV. PINKNEY NOW!

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Pinkneys Targeted by Berrien County

Today is the 407th day that Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Michigan, languishes in prison doing felony time for a crime he did not commit. Benton Harbor resident Pati Heinz described it as follows, "I observed the proceedings as a courtroom observer and there were injustices aplenty. But there was also outright planned spiteful actions by Berrien County which further proves Rev. Pinkney was and is a target of the system.”

On April 24, 2014, a SWAT team stormed his home. That was Rev. Pinkney's wife Dorothy's birthday. On October 27, 2014, the trial began. That was Rev. Pinkney's birthday. On December 15, 2014, he was sentenced. That was the Pinkney's wedding anniversary. Pati Heinz further said, "I challenge anyone to find a case where such personal dates happen to coincide with court dates.”

FREE REV. PINKNEY NOW!

Please send letters to:
Marquette Branch Prison
Rev. Edward Pinkney N-E-93 #294671
1960 US Hwy 41 South
Marquette, MI 49855

Please donate at http://bhbanco.org (Donate button) or send checks to BANCO:
c/o Dorothy Pinkney
1940 Union St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Rev. Pinkney's Case Heard at United Nations Hearing in Chicago Yesterday

Today is the 406th day that Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Michigan, languishes in prison doing felony time for a crime he did not commit. Today is also the day that Robert McKay, a spokesperson for the Free Rev. Pinkney campaign, gave testimony before United Nations representatives about the plight of Rev. Pinkney at a hearing held in Chicago.

The hearing was called in order to shed light upon the mistreatment of African-Americans in the United States and put it on an international stage. And yet as the UN representatives and audience heard of the injustices in the Pinkney case many gasped in disbelief and asked with frowns on their faces, "how is this possible?" But disbelief quickly disappeared when everyone realized these were the same feelings they had when they first heard of Flint and we all know what happened in Flint.

FREE REV. PINKNEY NOW!

Please send letters to:
Marquette Branch Prison
Rev. Edward Pinkney N-E-93 #294671
1960 US Hwy 41 South
Marquette, MI 49855

Please donate at http://bhbanco.org (Donate button) or send checks to BANCO:
c/o Dorothy Pinkney
1940 Union St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Mumia Abu-Jamal: Free Rev. Pinkney

Listen to a message from political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal at Prison Radio to Free Reverend Pinkney!

Also, Mumia Abu-Jamal on Flint: Crimes of Capital.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Rev. Pinkney Among the First to Warn Against Emergency Managers

Today is the 404th day that Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, MI, has spent in prison doing felony time for a crime he did not commit. In a recent interview, the performer Cher said, "Michigan is basically a dictatorship because the government appoints these people, they're called emergency managers, they can go into any community any county and they can usurp the authority of all the people that are government elected officials. So they can come in and do anything.”

This corporate/government dictatorship has poisoned the children of Flint and has the audacity to continue to charge people for the poisoned water. It is this same dictatorship that has railroaded Rev. Pinkney to jail with a kangaroo court in order to silence him because he was among the first trying to warn the American people.

FREE REV. PINKNEY NOW!

Please send letters to:
Marquette Branch Prison
Rev. Edward Pinkney N-E-93 #294671
1960 US Hwy 41 South
Marquette, MI 49855

Please donate at http://bhbanco.org (Donate button) or send checks to BANCO:
c/o Dorothy Pinkney
1940 Union St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Mrs. Dorothy Pinkney's Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Address

We continue to honor the work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1963, Dr. King shared a prophetic speech to millions of people: "I Have A Dream." In his statement, he quoted the Old Testament Prophet Amos: "But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream."

Dr. King's dream was to see justice prevail as a mighty flood that washes away injustice, hatred and racism. But now 53 years later we find ourselves still in a state of emergency of prejudice and racism. Our lives are still in jeopardy. We're fighting a war against Fascism. It is a toxic relationship of a corporation and government. It's a relationship formed from the pit of hell; an organized criminal enterprise who have caused injury to justice and human rights everywhere. They use any means necessary to destroy humanity with contamination of water - generation - false imprisonment - police brutality - homelessness and poverty.

The corrupt government and their house slaves are all guilty of committing fraudulent acts against those who oppose them. Such as my husband, Rev Pinkney, an ordained minister of the gospel, an activist for justice and equality. A political prisoner who exercised his political rights as a citizen of Berrien County to initiate a recall petition against James Hightower, who was mayor at that time of Benton Harbor. Because Rev. Pinkney was successful, he became a selected target of Whirlpool and Berrien County Government. He was accused of changing five dates on the recall petition. He was convicted in Berrien County kangaroo court with no evidence, no witnesses. He was found guilty by an all-white tainted jury for a crime that Whirlpool, Judge Schrock, Prosecutor Mike Sepic and the sheriff's department created to silence my husband's voice. He was sentenced in Dec. 2014 to two-and-a-half to ten years. Since then he has been transferred from prison to prison. Today he has served 399 days, and he currently remains in Marquette Branch Prison, 500 miles from home. He has been subjected to inhumane conditions of black mold, constantly harassed, threatened and intimidated by racist guards, phone privileges taken away by the warden, accused of smuggling information to me, incoming and outgoing mail tampered with and written several bogus tickets. Each day is a struggle for survival for him.

Many supporters have made the phone call to MDOC regarding his safety, PLEASE continue to make the phone calls. Governor Snyder refuses to meet with supporters concerning these issues. His trial case is in the Court of Appeals, and there's nothing listed on their court docket yet.

Let me leave this with you in closing: Proverbs 29:18 says "Where there is no vision the people perish."

And our vision today is to cause this corrupt criminal enterprise system to be exposed, and we demand that the real criminals go to jail. Then and only then will we see justice prevail. Thanks.

-Dorothy Pinkney

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Marquette Branch Prison: Rev. Pinkney Receives Misconduct Ticket for Having Book on Bed


Rev. Pinkney received a misconduct ticket for having a book on the bunk. Who would believe that a person could receive a misconduct for having a simple little book on the bed. At Concentration Camp Marquette, or better known as Marquette Branch Prison there have been many years of torture, retaliation, beatings, and terrorist attacks on prisoners. The public can also not say that Heidi Washington and Warden Robert Napel was not qualified for the violence and depredations that have emerged at Marquette Branch Prison or Abu Ghraib. Who is better to run this prison outpost of barbarity than one who ran internal gulags, both for the state and for the dollar?
On Saturday December 19th 2015, I received a misconduct ticket for having my book on the bed. This is just another form of retaliation from the correctional officer Luokkala, who is a sight for sore eyes to look at. The officers are untrained, unskilled, unprofessional, uneducated, and out of control. There are more crimes committed by Correctional Officers inside the prison than by the prisoners. The problem is that the correctional officers believe they are above the law, that is how they continue to operate without fear of punishment. You have in most cases criminals watching out for criminals. Prison life is a living hell, I would not wish this on a dog. The food, the conditions, threats, harassment, and intimidations every single day. The guards or correctional officers sit on their butts and play on the Internet all day. The correctional officers bring in chewing tobacco (which is against the law), cell phones, and other drugs. There is an attack on me. I will not get any help from the Warden or Director Washington to help me fight off the correctional officers. I have been fortunate to win four of the seven misconduct tickets that have been written against me. I want people to call the state police and ask them to come and see me. I want to file criminal charges against correctional officer Schretter. I also plan to file a civil lawsuit against both correctional officers Schretter and Luokkala.
An employee shall remain alert. While on duty, any item that detracts from alertness of an employee is not allowed. Using the Internet every single day is inattention to their duty. The correctional officers are stealing tax payer's dollars by using the Internet instead of working as they are required. The public must watch the Michigan Department of Corrections and the tax payer's dollars.

As The Corruption Continues, The Hypocrisy of Berrien County Has No Limit!



The story of a corrupt Berrien county judge Dennis Wiley has a long history of racism and corruption. Here is a list of activity that has earned him infamy:
Wiley recently sentenced 19-year-old Zack Anderson to 90 days in jail and 25 years on the Sex Offender Registry. Anderson, a computer science student, was also banned from the Internet and smart phone. Wiley imposed this punishment even after Anderson's victim (a 14-year-old who claimed to be 17 during a sexual encounter) and her mother asked the prosecutor's office to drop the charges entirely. This illustrates the viciousness with which the Berrian County justice system operates. During Anderson's sentencing hearing, Wiley told him, "You went online...trolling for women to meet and have sex with. That seems to be part of our culture now-meet, hook up, have sex, sayonara...totally inappropriate behavior. There is no excuse for this whatsoever."
The Anderson case was not Wiley's first foray into scolding on-line daters; Wiley recently put another Indiana 19-year-old, Darian Yoder, on the sex offender registry for having consensual sex with a 13-year-old who also claimed to be of age. They met via the same "Hot or Not" app that Anderson used.
Yes: these teenagers went online to meet women. People do that in 2015. Wiley chose to make an example out of Anderson and Yoder because of his own moral qualms with modernity. Unfortunately, these are just the most recent examples in a long list of cases where Wiley exercised his discretion in a manner that was especially harsh toward low-level offenders.
In April 2014, Wiley was censored for misconduct after he had LaRue Ford charged with contempt. Ford spent 10 nights in jail including Christmas after not paying $5,000 in bond. Her crime? Muttering, "fuck this shit" while in the courthouse dealing with a traffic ticket. The courthouse staff that overheard Ford mentioned it to Wiley who then took matters into his own hands.
Judge Dennis Wiley has had several problems of his own. He is intoxicated with power. He has transmitted an obsessive fear of Blacks to the community. The same fear Judge Dennis Wiley harbors toward Blacks extends to the entire community and probably to the American-Mexicans as well.
We must stand together. Let's make this struggle a victory for all who are victims of injustice in every city and town in America. Let's confront the criminal justice system that is destroying this country.

Rev. Pinkney Did Not Receive Constitutionally Required Fair Warning

Rev. Pinkney was charged and convicted by an all white jury, with deeply rooted and unrevealed prejudices, that was motivated by something other than the truth. He was convicted of violating MCL 168.937. Since it is not reasonable to assume that statute gave him notice that his alleged acts were crimes, his due process rights were violated and his conviction must be reversed.
MCL 168.937 provides: Any person found guilty of forgery under the provision of this act shall, unless herein otherwise provided, be punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000.00 or by imprisonment in the state prison for a term not exceeding 5 years or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the Court.
On its face, the language suggests that the statute's only purpose is to specify a penalty for forgery crimes created and defined by the election law. However, in People v. Hall 2014 WL5409079 an unpublished opinion per curium of the Court of Appeals (issued October 23, 2014 Docket No. 321045) appended the court for purposes of that case by holding that case MCL 168.937 is a statute that creates a substantive forgery crime.
In this case, the critical question is whether Rev. Pinkney could reasonably have been expected to discern that the statute in question was something other than a penalty statute. Notwithstanding its conclusion in Hall, the Court of Appeals recognized that its own conclusion was not obvious and it was necessary to resolve the issue.
The language of the challenged statutes in the cited case is vague and therefore distinguishable from the statue in the instant case which contains language that is clear and precise. Nevertheless the evil of lack of fair warning is no less great when the uncertainty arise from judicial construction rather than from the vagaries of the statutory language itself.
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the decision, holding that an individual who lacks fair warning because of a judicial construction subsequent to the purported criminal conduct is deprived of due process. In fact, the court explained that depriving an individual of notice in this manner is even more troubling than charging a person under a statue that is void for vagueness. In case at bar Rev. Pinkney found himself in the same situation as the civil right activist in Bouie. He could not have known that the acts he is accused of committing were proscribed by MCL 168.937 and he could not have known that until the trial court allowed the prosecutor to proceed against him using that statute. Therefore, a denial of his due process rights and his conviction must be reversed.

Marquette Branch Prison Corrections Officers Schretter and Luokkala: The Worst of the Worst

We will never know the full historical extent of Marquette Branch Prison mayhem and the attack on the prisoners. Since the state of Michigan has never compelled the Department of Corrections to keep records of who they attack and why, withholding information is part of Marquette Branch Prison's impunity from punishment or even criticism in the state of Michigan. But the Michigan Department of Corrections are keen to keep track of their own attack in the line of duty. Which it turns out are at historically low levels.
Michigan Department of Corrections employees are prohibited from retaliation against anyone who raises a complaint. At Marquette Branch Prison the threatening, harassing and intimidating behavior by correctional officer Schretter and correctional officer Luokkala has caused me mental turmoil. The officers use intimidation with abusive, profane language to degrade and belittle my race.
Now correctional officer Schretter is using his girlfriend, correctional officer Luokkala, to threaten, harass, and intimidate me. The Department of Corrections condones correctional officers attacking prisoners. They use the 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' routine. My life has been threatened more times in the last 2 months than all the 67 years of my life before by people who work for the Michigan Department of Corrections. These are the real criminals.
The public would not believe what really goes on inside the prison walls. The lying, cheating, and stealing of prisoner's and taxpayer's dollars are everyday things.
The combination of correctional officer Schetter and correctional officer Luokkala are the worst of the worst for over 20 years. They have threatened, harassed, and intimidated prisoners and no one has disciplined them for over 20 years. The Marquette Branch Prison refused to keep record of all the incidents that have been reported against the couple. When you are in an authority position to write false tickets of misconduct it allows you to dictate to the prisoners, "I can destroy you." The administration accepts whatever they do.
Correctional officer Schretter and Luokkala are shocking examples within the Department of Corrections. The Department of Corrections truly is a fraud on all tax payers. The correctional officers play on the Internet watching sex movies. Hope for change lies in only two areas for us: generating outside exposure and supporting and building unity amongst ourselves. Both of these serves and helps advance the other

Rev. Pinkney Jailed for Fighting the Racist Power Structure!

Another racist injustice has been committed on December 15, 2014. One year ago today. Berrian County Judge Sterling Schrock sentenced the Rev. Edward Pinkney, leader of the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization, to 30 - 120 months after a trial by an all white jury that was motivated by something other than the truth. Five felony charges stemmed from a recall petition drive against Benton Harbor Mayor James Hightower, who was the puppet for bloodsucking Whirlpool corporation.
The prosecutor presented absolutely no evidence. Evidence does not lie, but prosecutors do. No handwriting experts could say that Pinkney had changed 5 dates on the petitions. The prosecutor, with the judge's approval, told the jury, "you don't need any evidence to convict Pinkney." A series of witnesses stated that they circulated the recall petitions based upon their desire to replace Mayer HighTower, who had opposed a tax measure that would use corporate resources for the rehabilitation of Benton Harbor in the interest of the poorest residents.
The area has an extensive history of racism and police repression. Benton Harbor's African American community faces conditions of poverty, unemployment, and police brutality. Rev. Pinkney's organizing efforts have exposed the mad drive of corporate entities like Whirlpool in the country to maximize profits at the expense of the most oppressed and exploited. The ominous atmosphere of racism and criminal justice bias permeated the preliminary hearing, the trial, and the sentencing phase.
Activists and defenders of Rev. Pinkney place the sentencing in the broader context of the racist attacks against African Americans from Ferguson, Mo and New York City all the way to California. Since the killing of Michael Brown on August 9th, 2014, the U.S. has been hit by a continuous wave of anti-racist demonstration and rebellions.
The racist capitalist system can no longer hide from the penetrating analysis that is coming from the growing mass movement against racism and capitalist exploitation. We the people must stand together: black, white, brown, red, and yellow. It is me today and you tomorrow.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Marquette Branch Prison: If the Tax-Payers Only Knew!

There is a deep understanding among politically conscious activists of the origins of racism in this country, and the role of police in enforcing a racially-biased system of repression, which continued after the Civil War, Reconstruction and down to today. 
In Marquette Branch Prison, better known as the concentration camp of Nazi Germany, prisoners are tortured for any reason at all. I had been tortured. The MDOC director Heidi Washington and Warden Robert Napel have turned the dogs loose on me. The attacks are continuous. This could not happen without the director’s and the warden’s blessing.
Two of the main characters in these vicious cowardly attacks are Correctional Officer Schetter and Correctional Officer Luokkala. The two have partnered up to attack me on several different fronts. This is an egregious abuse of authority. 
Correctional Officer Luokkala is just evil and wicked. She comes to work visibly miserable, very sad. She loves to cause the prisoners discomfort. Corrections Officer Schetter is even worse. He is wicked, evil, worthless. He has been causing extreme pain to prisoners for over twenty-five years. He is a misfit. These are just untrained, unskilled, unprofessional, uneducated and out-of-control Correctional Officers who are unfit for duty.
It is against the law to bring cigarettes or chewing tobacco of any form to the prison, but every single day, the Correctional Officers allow chewing cigarette tobacco on State property. The Correctional Officers bring in cell phones and drugs. There are no checks and balances. So what you have is criminals watching other criminals. The hypocrisy of the MDOC has no limits.
The Department of Corrections has placed me in an extremely hostile environment, which may be life-threatening. This hostile environment could not have been created without Director Heidi Washington’s and the warden’s blessing. Washington knew what would happen when I was placed in this environment. These are rogue Correctional officers, dishonest persons who the administration protects.
Every single day, the Correctional Officers are on the MDOC computer, looking up personal things or using the computer for themselves. I see millions and millions of tax payers’ dollars being misused every single day by the MDOC. The MDOC put the public in fear, which is how they steal money from the tax payers. The hypocrisy of Michigan Department of Corrections has not limits.

Get Rid of Policing for Profit in Michigan!

Without so much as charging someone with a crime, Michigan law enforcement agencies can use civil forfeiture to seize property and then fund themselves with the proceeds. A reform bill package signed in October 2015 by Gov. Rick Snyder is a step in the right direction, but Michigan civil forfeiture laws will still need serious improvement. Even after reform, its laws only scored a “D-“ in “Policing for Profit,” a new report from the Institute for Justice.
The new laws do strengthen property rights protections for Michiganders by raising the legal bar. Law enforcement must prove that the property is connected to a crime to forfeit it. They also improve forfeitures transparency. Starting in 2016, agencies will have to publicly report forfeitures that they haven’t reported in the past and note whether any person was charged and ultimately convicted for the violation asserted during the seizure.
Unfortunately, the reforms didn’t touch on the main driver of forfeiture abuse: a potent financial incentive to seize property. Every penny that Michigan sheriffs, state troopers and drug task forces forfeit goes right into their coffers to be spent on salaries, equipment and personal items. State and local law enforcement have collected more than 244 million dollars in forfeitures proceeds under State law. One investigation details numerous victims of questionable raids and seizures, including patients with medical marijuana cards, an American Red Cross worker, and 130 patrons of the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit’s “Funk Night.”
Michigan law enforcement have received 127 million dollars in forfeiture proceeds by participating in a controversial federal program called “Equitable Sharing,” where State and local agencies can forfeit property under Federal law, even if doing so would circumvent stronger protections provided by State law.
Congress was expected to advance Federal reform in 2015 to abolish Equitable Sharing, but it has so far failed to do so. In the meantime, Michigan can and should strictly curtail participation in this abusive program and address the remaining flaws in State law. 
Over 70% of the forfeitures are from people of color. This brutal attack against people of color continues. I am hopeful that this article, which outlines just one of the many ordeals of people of color, will serve the public to educate and reinforce the belief that all lives matter without regard to color of one’s skin.
The forfeiture laws have destroyed entire communities of people of color. We must stand together and fight back.

Rev. Pinkney Sent to Prison for Quoting Bible!

The case of Reverend Edward Pinkney, a high profile black leader from Benton Harbor.
Benton Harbor, along with St. Joseph, are Berrien County’s Twin Cities. Benton Harbor is about 93 percent black, while St. Joseph, the County seat, is about 95 percent white. The area has experienced a lot of racial tension for a long period of time, and Pinkney has been deeply involved for years, rubbing a lot of powerful people – including Whirlpool, the blood-sucking corporation, and the judges – the wrong way.
                Alfred Butzbaugh, who received the Jackass of the Year award along with Judge Wiley, is a former Berrien County judge, who presided over an election-fraud case involving Pinkney. He was the victim of Pinkney’s fondness for bombastic language in an article written for a Chicago paper. In addition to calling Butzbaugh corrupt, dumb, and a racist, Pinkney wrote: “We must hold all elected officials accountable for their actions and inactions. Judge Butzbaugh, it shall come to pass that all these curses shall come upon you and your family, cursed shalt thou be in the city of St. Joseph, and cursted shalt thou be in the field, curses shall come upon you and your family and overtake thee. The Lord shall smite thee with consumption and with a fever and with an inflammation and with extreme burning. They, the demons, shall pursue thee until thou parish.” This threat, according to Wiley, was a violation of Rev. Pinkney’s probation, saying that Pinkney’s title of “Reverend” gave him a direct line to the Lord, and that a reasonable person would find this to be a serious thread. Wiley sentenced Rev. Edward Pinkney to 3 to 10 years in prison because of the so-called threat’s supposed severity. Pinkney went to prison in June 2008, received an appeal bond in Dec. 2008, and placed under house arrest. He remained there until his sentence was overthrown on appeal.
                All across Michigan and the County, thousands and thousands of people and institutions rallied to Pinkney’s defense, including community, labor, religious and other activists, attorneys, and the People’s Tribune, as well as other newspapers and other media. As a result of this fight, the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered Pinkney released to house arrest pending a review of his case, and the court eventually overturned Judge Wiley’s decision. Rev. Pinkney spent nearly a year in prison. 
We must stand together. Let’s make this struggle a victory for all.

MDOC has hired two hit men

Marquette Branch Prison


Rev. Edward Pinkney, a true political prisoner in the State of Michigan, is isolated in the far north Marquette Branch Prison, better known as the concentration camp of Nazi Germany, which is located in the Upper Peninsula. 

This journey started on December 15, 2014 at 8:30 a.m. By 11:30 a.m. Rev. Pinkney was sitting in Jackson State prison, with no clothes on. As Rev. Pinkney always says, “Only in America.”

Rev. Pinkney was sentenced to 30 months to 120 months in prison, because the state claimed that 5 dates on the Mayoral Recall Petition in 2014 have been allegedly changed. Every witness stated that they had changed their own date on the petition. There was absolutely no evidence presented to the all-white jury, who were motivated by something other than the truth – deeply hidden racism. In fact, the prosecutor Mike Sepic told the jury: “You don’t need evidence to convict Rev. Pinkney,” while the judge Sterling Schrock stated that the jury’s decision is the final decisionRev. Pinkney’s leadership position in the Black Community and progressive movement in Benton Harbor was all they needed to find him guilty of five felony counts of forgery. The hypocrisy of the criminal justice system has no limits. Whirlpool Corporation is the leader in this attack against Rev. Pinkney. 

Rev. Pinkney, who is innocent of all charges, sits in a Michigan concentration camp, over 500 miles from his wife and community. The threatening, harassing, intimidating behavior continues. There is evidence that Marquette Prison Warden Robert Napel is getting his instruction from Director Heidi Washington to threaten, harass, and intimidate Rev. Pinkney, who turned 67 years of age on Oct. 27, 2015, and was thrown into solitary confinement in the super maximum level 5 section of the prison, and was held there for six days. The charge was smuggling, which was so ridiculous that even the hearing judge was forced to dismiss it. Rev. Pinkney’s telephone access has been revoked for 180 days on false charges. Nobody would believe what really is going on inside the prison system. 

I was transferred to Marquette prison, shackled, mistreated and intimidated by correctional officers. I was forced to strip on five different occasions.
When I returned to Marquette prison, Director Heidi Washington and Warden Ropert Nappel had put together a plan to threaten, harass, and intimidate me until I drop dead. The inadequate medical care is just ridiculous. I am a dead man walking. That is why MDOC does not transfer me to another facility and allows Correctional Officer Schetter and Correctional Officer Luokkalis to threaten, harass, and intimidate me.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

False Accusations Against Rev. Pinkney

I was written a misconduct ticket when there was no misconduct. Both the ticket and the notice of intent had the wrong name. I received 180 days without use of the telephone. The MDOC does not follow their own rules. The policy states that the reviewing officer must make sure the name and number are correct. The name was wrong and MDOC still took away use of the telephone for 180 days.

The MDOC falsely accused me of smuggling, knowing I could not be at the front door at 8:30pm. They handcuffed me and took me to Level 5 segregation for six days before I was released. This was the most ridiculous charge anybody could have been charged with. I believe this phony charge would have kept me in level 5. The Sergeant told the Hearing Officer that I had written notes and was trying to smuggle them out. Thank God there was a video to prove that was completely false.

The goal of the MDOC is to silence me completely by taking away my telephone rights and my visitors' rights. They can read my mail, coming in and going out. Let the truth be told, you have an innocent man living in hell, but he is a man of God. The hypocrisy of the MDOC has no limits. We must say enough is enough!

-Rev. Edward Pinkney

Marquette Branch Prison Torture

Warden Robert Napel and Director Heidi Washington Torture Prisoners

Let the truth be told, I, Rev. Edward Pinkney, am sitting in Siberia at the Marquette Branch Prison, better known as the Concentration Camp, which would make Adolph Hitler proud and gratified for his boys' success. The torture of the mind, body, and soul to inflict extreme agony upon any prisoner is the punishment. The threatening, harassing, intimidating behavior are out of control. Who would believe that even today in the State of Michigan an unsecure Level 1 facility like Marquette Branch Prison still exists? Prisoners are actually being tortured.

I am sitting here 500 miles from my loved ones, and a few miles from another country, in a living hell. The correctional officers are like a gang led by Officers Schetter, Luokkala, and Balsa with support from Lieutenant Hoult and the Sergeant on the 2pm to 10pm shift. A gang is a number of persons or correctional officers banded together for a particular purpose, such as a gang of thieves. The Marquette correctional officers are gangsters known as members of a lawless gang, mostly criminal, whose job is to torture the prisoners. This group has the blessing of Director Heidi Washington and Warden Robert Napel to torture prisoners without any repercussion or reprimand.

The Marquette Branch Prison officials are nothing but gangsters who take from the prisoners and there is nothing they can do about it. Their word is final.

-Rev. Edward Pinkney

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Police "Training" is the Problem



Police “Training” is the Problem: They are Trained to Oppress Blacks 





by BAR executive editor Glen Ford

Black people don’t need more “training” of the cops that patrol their communities. What’s needed is a new mission for the police – one that is radically different than the current armed occupation – and Black community control over both the project and the personnel. U.S. police are already well trained – in containing, controlling, terrorizing and incarcerating Black people. “For decades, the essential U.S. police mission has been military in nature.”

Police “Training” is the Problem: They are Trained to Oppress Blacks

by BAR executive editor Glen Ford

It is not lack of training that breeds killer cops, but the training, itself.”
There is no military gear on display in the video of a New York City cop’s take-down of James Blake as the Black former tennis pro leaned against a pole in front of a Manhattan Grand Hyatt hotel – just a white guy in a t-shirt suddenly body-slamming a totally inoffensive person into the sidewalk. But, in fact, the assault on Blake by officer James Frascatore, part of a squad of six plainclothes cops prowling the hotel lobby on East 42nd Street, is a prime example of the militarization of policing in the United States. Police behavior – the routine tactics they employ “in the line of duty” – is the best indicator of the actual police mission in the community – better, even, than the inanimate equipment they drive around in or carry.

Read more at Black Agenda Report.

I Am Still Standing

Marquette Prison guard Schretter monitors bhbanco.org daily in violation of Dept. of Corrections policy.  

Marquette Prison is a concentration camp where prisoners from all over Michigan are assembled and subjected to inhuman, cruel treatment.  

This prison's "officers have tried to silence me by taking away my telephone rights, but I am still standing.  

They have harassed, threatened and intimidated me, but I am still standing.  

They have lied, cheated and stolen from me, falsely accused me of smuggling, took me to Level 5 segregation, but I am still standing.  

They confined me in an area infested with black mold; it made me sick, but I am still standing.  
   
I went three times before a Department of Corrections judge, and I left standing.

As long as our minds are free, prisons cannot contain us.


Rev. Pinkney

The inhumane treatment of prisoners

All emloyees are prohibited from treating prisoners in an inhumane manner.  Actions which affect personal welfare of the prisoner must be taken on a rational, objective, and non-arbitrary basis.

Due process must be observed when setting penalties so that the prisoners are protected from abuse of power.  The State of Michigan manual states these things.  An employee shall not act in a discriminatory or arbitrary manner or fail to observe required due process procedures:  unfortunately the Marquette Branch Prison, better known as the Nazi Germany Concentration Camp does not go by the rules of the MDOC.

The MDOC prohibits behavior involving criminal acts, contraband, and controlled substances - both on and off the job.  Prison guards have a special responsibility to the public to uphold the law and a duty to serve as role models for offenders, but not at Marquette.  The guards here could not be role models for dogs.

The MDOC has a zero-tolerance policy regarding possession, use, or introduction of controlled substances.  Zero tolerance means if a preponderance of evidence demonstrates that a guard
has used, possessed, attempted to introduce, or otherwise involved themselves with controlled substances, he must be discharged, but unfortunately, not at Marquette.  Controlled drugs are brought into Marquette Prison every single day of the week.  The warden knows all about the controlled substances.  (If he didn’t, he should.)

The presence of contraband within the prisons, where prisoners are housed, present a safety and security risk, and is there for prohibited.  Once again the Marquette Prison is above the low.  They also bring in tobacco, alcohol, and other controlled substances.  The guards bring it on state property with no penalties.  It is in their automobiles, clothes, purses, and pockets.  Including chewing tobacoco.

Employees shall not possess, introduce, or attempt to introduce intoxicants or controlled substances in the facility.  Such actions in a facility, which house prisoners, is a crime and shall result in discharge and referral for prosecution, but unfortunately not at Marquette.  Here the guards are above the law and the rules of the State of Michigan.  We must stop the Department of Corrections from stealing tax payer money!  At all cost, join me!

Saturday, January 09, 2016

Third Formal Complaint to MDOC Director Washington

1-2-16

Dear Director Heidi Washington:

This is my third formal complaint in reference to Officer Schetter [or Schretter]. This complaint is also against Officer Sare. The rules state all employees of the Department of Corrections are prohibited from retaliating against prisoners who raise or file a complaint.

Correctional Officer Schetter's behavior must stop. He has continuously threatened and intimidated me with his actions and gestures that has caused me great mental intimidation.

Every single day that Officer Schetter has been transferred to O dorm and all the days he is at work, four to five times a day, he would return to N dorm. He would talk with Correctional Officer Luokkala and any other officer to get them to write me a false misconduct ticket. He even was allowed to talk on the intercom several times.

On Jan. 2, 2016, I overheard Officer Schetter and Officer Sare talking in N dorm, in the barber shop room. Officer Schetter told Sare that Pinkney is LOP, we got him on LOP, find a reason to write him a ticket. I personally heard Officer Schetter say this to Officer Sare. This is conduct unbecoming of a Department of Corrections employee.

At 8:55pm before count Sgt. Hoult called me into the office and gave me a misconduct ticket (2). This was a retaliation ticket. Officer Sare was told to write a false document by Officer Schetter. Officer Schetter will continue this behavior until the Michigan Department of Corrections stops this illegal behavior.

Officer Sare came to my control area after the 9pm count and stated, “You are lucky. I just wrote you a misconduct ticket.” I stated, “What do that mean?” He would not say. I felt threatened by Officer Sare. I know that Officer Schetter has some kind of position with the union. I do not know how many of these correctional officers sympathize, who are in the union with him. This has created a hostile and dangerous environment for me. I do not know when I will be blindsided like on Jan. 2, 2016, by one of the correctional officers who may sympathize with him, violating MDOC rules and policies. It appears the officers have a plan to write as many false tickets as possible, knowing the Warden will do nothing to stop them from violating rules and policies of the MDOC.

I would like to be transferred for my own safety to a different facility. If not I would like to make a police report with the state police for my own protection. It appears you will not protect me from Officer Schetter. I am very concerned about Officer Schetter and his union members. I would like to have a meeting with you as soon as possible. Do not wait until something happens.

Rev. Edward Pinkney

Sunday, January 03, 2016

Officer Schretter continuously threatens and intimidates Pinkney in Marquette Prison

Dear Director Heidi Washington,

This is a formal complaint in reference to Marquette Branch Prison and correctional officer Schretter.  Policy states that all employees of the Department of Corrections are prohibited from retaliating against anyone who raises a complaint.

Officer Schretter continuously threatens, intimidates, and harasses me.  The MDOC has allowed me to be in a hostile environment that has caused me mental intimidation.

Officer Schretter has continuously and openly practiced racism with the threat of violence.  He has discriminated against me with words and actions.  He uses abusive, threatening, intimidating, harrassing, and profane language.  His actions are degrading, not only for me, but my race.

I have spoken with the ARUS about correctional officer Schretter. She stated that is just the way he is.  Action must be taken.  He uses profane language all day and night against other prisoners also.
Officer Schretter is prohibited from retaliating against prisoners.  He goes to bhbanco.org and reads, inviting other officers to join him.

I was an eye witness over ten times to Schretter in (N) dorm, 2pm to 10pm.  Over ten prisoners also reported they were eye witnesses to Schretter and Ms. Luokkal viewing bhbanco.org.  This is stealing taxpayer dollars, and is the misuse of state property.  You can verify my statements by pulling the hard drive of the computer in (N) dorm and review 2-10pm.  He used the MDOC computer for his own personal use and invited other officers to steal taxpayer money by reviewing non-MDOC items at bhbanco.org.  Employees have a special responsibility to support and uphold MDOC policy through their own actions and conduct.

You have placed me in a hostile environment.

Please contact the state police.  I want to file a criminal complaint against officer Schretter for the threat of violence against me.

Please contact me as soon as possible.

Rev. Edward Pinkney
#294671
E-93L

Friday, January 01, 2016

Our broken and criminal judicial system

With the rate of exoneration at a historic high, wrongful convictions can no longer by ignored.  Every Sunday people can tune in to CNN to watch “Death Row Stories” or "Bet for Vindicated" and see how the judicial system has failed many innocent men and women.  The time these wrongfully convicted individuals spend in prison can be anywhere from a year to 3 or 4 decades.

Society gets an up-close look at judicial corruption from TV shows like these.  Some viewers will never look at the judicial system the same way again;  faith in the courts is shattered.  Once society was used to accepting whatever officers of the court said we never questioned why or how a person was criminally charged or convicted. But now we have the opportunity to sit back and watch how an innocent person is framed, maliciously prosecuted, and convicted.  The same system that was believed to protect us from harm can be seen destroying innocent lives.  Society’s faith in the judicial system has been shaken by wrongful convictions.  Can it be restored?

I would be lying if I said that the whole judicial system is corrupt.  Let’s say 95% is corrupt.  Why do the good people in our judicial system stand by while such misconduct takes place?  Why not call out those reponsible?  From the crooked cop all the way up to the judge who refuses to do the right thing for innocent people who have been wronged.  Many people are responsible for securing wrongful convicions.  When criminal prosecutors have absolute immunity in presenting a state’s case, how can they ever be held accountable for falsely prosecuting and convicting innocent people?  Consider last year’s record breaking number of exonerations: 125.  How many prosecutors, judges, police officers, or lawyers were fired or went to jail for their particitaion in these 125 wrongful convictions?  Or the hundreds of thousands of innocent people in prison and jail today around the country?

It is extremely sad to say, but for these crooked prosecutors, the motto may as well be:  Get a conviction by any means necessary, and let the chips fall where they may.

Prosecutors commit crimes by imprisoning innocent people and hide behind their absolute immunity.  When a prisoner’s innocence is finally revealed, my question is, how can society’s faith in the judicial system be restored?  Simply by taking away the absolute immunity?