In a tremendous victory for the people in the fight against naked corporate power, Rev Pinkney was exonerated. In November 2017, the Michigan Supreme Court heard Rev Pinkney's appeal and on May 1, 2018, the court overturned his conviction. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled 6 to 0 that Rev Pinkney was improperly charged with five felony counts of election forgery in 2014 by the Berrien County prosecutor, that he was improperly tried and sentenced by the Berrien County Circuit Court and improperly served 30 months in prison as a result.
In overturning Rev Pinkney's conviction, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the statute he was sentenced for supposedly violating did not create any substantive criminal offense at all, but was merely a sentencing provision for other election forgery offense , which Rev Pinkney was charged with. The state Supreme Court ruling marked a rebuke of the Michigan Court of Appeals, which had ruled against Rev Pinkney.
We congratulate Rev. Pinkney, the people of Benton Harbor and his supporters across the country on this victory. A major battle against corporate dictatorship and for democracy has been won! This victory could not have happened without people all over the country rallying in defense of Rev Pinkney, the people of Benton Harbor and the fight for democracy.
The war is not over Benton Harbor is still poverty -stricken and under the thumb of the giant corporation Whirlpool, as is much of America. We must stand on this victory to carry the fight forward for a democratic America. Until the people not corporations rule society, we can't have true democracy.We can not rule, if we are living in the streets or working two three jobs , just to survive. Benton Harbor shows that the corporations, their government and police force control everything whether we eat , live or die, whether we are housed or whether we get justice in the courts. The only way we're going to achieve true democracy is if we build a huge movement to take power away from the corporations. We must confront this fascist government.
