Supporters have asked about the status of Rev. Pinkney's appeals. There had been two appeals underway, one regarding the appeal bond issue, the other regarding the appeal itself which was filed on 9/21/15.
On 10/21, the state supreme court declined to review the decision denying Rev. Pinkney bond pending appeal. The court's decision is very disappointing, but not surprising since they seldom review bond decisions. We hoped they would in this special case, since one of the three-member panel of appellate judges (Judge Shapiro) would have granted bond pending appeal and would have granted reconsideration.
On 10/23, a new panel of judges from the 3rd District appellate court denied the motion for remand. This motion requested an evidentiary hearing at the trial court level to determine whether Rev. Pinkney's defense attorney at the trial failed to provide adequate representation because he didn't object to the judge's instructions to the jury regarding the "aiding and abetting theory."
Now the appeal will move to oral arguments before a panel of appellate judges drawn from throughout the state. The ACLU and NLG plan to submit amicus briefs in support of Rev. Pinkney's appeal. The entire appeals process could still take many months.
Keep calling MDOC and your representatives to protest mistreatment of Rev. Pinkney in Marquette Branch Prison!
