Another Victory And Another Defeat

By Attorney Hugh “Buck” Davis

The Berrien County Circuit Court finally acknowledged Reverend Edward Pinkney’s victory in the Court of Appeals on his “biblical prophecy” probation violation, but continued draconian conditions of probation amounting to house arrest, even though those conditions were not in the original probation order and no notice or due process hearing had been held on them. As the National Lawyers Guild and the ACLU prepared to appeal those conditions, Judge Butzbaugh “remembered” that they had not been a part of the original probation order and modified them on his own, while maintaining the prohibition against Pinkney coming within 1,000 feet of the courthouse, the judge or his home, as well as prohibiting him from speaking in a “demeaning” manner about the City of Benton Harbor, or its officials. Doug Mulkoff is going to appeal those conditions

When Kelly Flint, acting as Pinkney’s clemency counsel, called the Governor’s office recently, she was informed that Governor Granholm had denied Pinkney’s clemency petition on July 20, 2009. The Parole Board claimed that Pinkney had been informed. He had not. He was in prison and his wife was always at home. No letter came from the Governor or the Parole Board denying commutation.

Regardless, we are eligible to reapply in April 2010, and Pinkney plans to file again. If Pinkney fails in his pending application to the Supreme Court on the underlying violation and/or subsequent habeas corpus petition, he could renew the clemency process in the form of a request for a pardon.
-- Pinkney is now free to travel. He will speak in Detroit on January 18, at 12 noon, at the Martin Luther King Day Rally and March for Jobs, Peace and Justice at Central United Methodist Church, 23 East Adams at Woodward (contact 313-702-5558).
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.01/PT.2010.01.12.html

Berrien County - Michigan's Biggest Humiliation

Rev. Pinkney is “Banned” – Like in the Old South Africa

full article: http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=975&Itemid=1

The Whirlpool Corporation, which dominates the political and economic life of the region, decided that a golf course would be the best use for 22 acres of local parkland. Under Rev. Pinkney's leadership, Benton Harbor's impoverished Blacks sought redress of this and other grievances through the electoral process - resulting in Rev. Pinkney's conviction by an all-white jury on charges of vote tampering. He was sentenced to a year in prison and five years probation.
"A Black man's freedom of speech is not a right in Benton Harbor - it's a criminal offense."
If, for some reason, Rev. Pinkney is ordered back to prison, he has every reason to believe that his life will be in danger.
So we see that southwest Michigan is not very different than southwest Georgia. Corporate domination in Benton Harbor meshes quite nicely with your garden variety white racism that sentences Black men to prison for the simple exercise of their fundamental constitutional rights.
Rev. Pinkney is no longer imprisoned, but is instead subjected to the same kinds of restrictions that were called "banning" in white-ruled South Africa. He is banned from exercising any of his political rights.

Rev. Pinkney Transferred to Jackson Prison

On Thursday, 11/20/07, Rev. Pinkney was moved from Ojibway Correctional Facility (CF) across the Michigan Upper Peninsula to Kinross CF. The following Tuesday, 11/25/08, he was moved again to Cooper Street CF in Jackson.

Rev. Pinkney has received much attention in recent weeks--at the frustration of prison officials--due to: media attention on his Green Party candidacy (BTW he received 3500 votes!), the recent press ban by prison authorities against interviews, the ACLU motion filing with the Michigan Court of Appeals, and the on-going clemency letter drive and online petition.

We're hopeful that this latest move to a facility closer to Benton Harbor means that he is on track for a decision by the courts. In the meantime, please continue to send letters for clemency to Gov. Granholm. According to Attorney Buck Davis, Rev. Pinkney's clemency petition has been transferred from the corrections dept committee to the Governor's office. She can decide whether or not to hold public hearings for clemency. Please push the Gov. Granholm to hold a hearing for Rev. Pinkney!

Please send your letters of clemency to:
Honorable Jennifer Granholm
Michigan Department of Corrections
Office of the Parole Board
Pardons and Commutations Coordinator
P.O. Box 30003
Lansing, Michigan, 48909
Include your name and address.

Read more about the ACLU Michigan motion and brief. Listen to Atty Davis, Mrs Pinkney, and BANCO member Belinda Brown speak about Rev. Pinkney and Benton Harbor on KPFK Pacifica Radio in SoCal.

(For the KPFK interview, go to show "Sojourner Truth with Margaret Prescod," Tuesday, 11/25/08. After the introduction, Davis begins at 5:30 min, Mrs. Pinkney at 22:00 min, and Brown at 38:30 min)

Write a Letter in Support of Clemency for Rev. Pinkney

Rev. Pinkney's attorney, Hugh "Buck" Davis, asks friends and supporters to write letters in support of clemency to Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.
A note or letter can be as simple as, "I support clemency for Rev. Edward Pinkney."
Sign your name address.

Send letters to:
Honorable Jennifer Granholm
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan, 48909

Please contribute to Rev. Pinkney's Legal Defense Fund for the ACLU's appeal case.

Send donations to:
Reverend Edward Pinkney Defense Fund
1940 Union Street
Benton Harbor, Michigan, 49022
See 10 Reasons to Donate $10 to the Rev. Pinkney Defense Fund

Excerpt from the Detroit Metro Times story on clemency in Michigan (8/22/07):
"In Michigan, any prisoner may apply for a pardon or commutation of sentence to the state's Parole Board, which reviews the applications and makes recommendations to the governor. Public hearings must be held before the board makes a recommendation for executive clemency. Victims, their families or other interested persons who have told the Department of Corrections Office of Crime Victim Services they want information about prisoners — including notification of parole hearings — will receive updates.
If the governor grants a commutation, the prisoner's sentence is reduced to the number of years served and the prisoner goes on parole. If the governor pardons someone, the sentence is effectively voided and the prisoner is freed.
A pardon implies society's forgiveness. A commutation says justice is not served by keeping the prisoner locked up.
Overall, prisoners' requests for clemency from Michigan's governors have had varying success with the last three administrations even as the prison population has grown and pressures to control costs have increased. Granholm, a Democrat in the first year of her second term, has granted 12 commutations and one pardon...In nearly five years in office, Granholm has granted a dozen, all for medical reasons...."