The following was sent to this website regarding Scott Sanford and Berrien County public defenders:
Scott Sanford is a piece of shit. People should stop agreeing to be represented by Scott "representing the court" Sanford. If no one pays him, then he has no one other than is private clients to represent. Unfortunately this is a break in our educational system. We have to teach people in our communities that you cannot get good criminal defense
(even when you think you're innocent) by a "court appointed" attorney. They represent the hand that feeds them. I told mr. sanford before that he didn't earn his fees, and he said I need to take it up with the court, but I'm quite sure I paid for his representation. I told him I don't care how they split the pie, the fact is that I paid for representation and all I got was thrown under the bus. And it wasn't the first time I had a public defender who attempted to feed me to the wolves. I would never do it again. For those people who haven't had the experience or are currently going through some type of legal issue, they have to be warned that public defenders are only there to make sure the court gets as much money out of you as possible. You can't come out any worse by choosing to represent yourself, or spending a few days in jail or paying the same amount of money to retain private counsel.
Showing posts with label Prison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prison. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Daily Crimes Against Humanity
The Sick and Twisted Values of St. Joseph, Michigan and the Rogue Berrien county court
1. Shannon McKinney, a Benton Harbor man in his 30's, was a victim of former officer Andrew Collins. Today McKinney must go to court for a charge of which he is innocent. Collins planted drugs on him, he did time, and was one of the few to be released from prison by Prosecutor Art Cotter after Collins was convicted. Now, law enforcement is going after those who were released.
McKinney was recently stopped by deputy Haskin who told McKinney he'll "make life hell for him." Haskin took McKinney's truck, impounded it, took all of McKinney's money, and issued a warrant for his arrest. He charged him with Delivery of Drugs. Now McKinney doesn't know what to do. In a different vehicle, McKinney was stopped a second time by Haskin who put a gun to his head - payback for McKinney filing a complaint with the county. Haskin found it in the car, took it, and tore it up.
2. Rishar Goss, a BH man in his 30's, has been in county jail for armed robbery. Yesterday was his preliminary examination in Berrien county court. Always on the lookout for new ways to ruin black peoples' lives, Wes Smigielski brought a 15 year old boy to court to lie and say Rishar Goss was part of a group who committed a robbery. Unexpectedly, the boy's father showed up before the examination and told his son not to lie. Bolstered with confidence, he answered prosecutor Mike Sepic's repeated 'question:'
"You said Goss was part of the robbery" by stating,
"No, Smigielski said that."
The case was dismissed.
BRAVO to the teenager!
The Sick and Twisted Values of St. Joseph, Michigan and the Rogue Berrien county court
1. Shannon McKinney, a Benton Harbor man in his 30's, was a victim of former officer Andrew Collins. Today McKinney must go to court for a charge of which he is innocent. Collins planted drugs on him, he did time, and was one of the few to be released from prison by Prosecutor Art Cotter after Collins was convicted. Now, law enforcement is going after those who were released.
McKinney was recently stopped by deputy Haskin who told McKinney he'll "make life hell for him." Haskin took McKinney's truck, impounded it, took all of McKinney's money, and issued a warrant for his arrest. He charged him with Delivery of Drugs. Now McKinney doesn't know what to do. In a different vehicle, McKinney was stopped a second time by Haskin who put a gun to his head - payback for McKinney filing a complaint with the county. Haskin found it in the car, took it, and tore it up.
2. Rishar Goss, a BH man in his 30's, has been in county jail for armed robbery. Yesterday was his preliminary examination in Berrien county court. Always on the lookout for new ways to ruin black peoples' lives, Wes Smigielski brought a 15 year old boy to court to lie and say Rishar Goss was part of a group who committed a robbery. Unexpectedly, the boy's father showed up before the examination and told his son not to lie. Bolstered with confidence, he answered prosecutor Mike Sepic's repeated 'question:'
"You said Goss was part of the robbery" by stating,
"No, Smigielski said that."
The case was dismissed.
BRAVO to the teenager!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Documentary spotlights Berrien inmates, kids
DePaul University film team hopes to capture how severely children are affected when a parent is serving time
By Scott Aiken - H-P Thursday, September 9, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - When a mother is convicted of a crime and goes to jail, the punishment may not fall on her alone.
Children, unable to understand why their parent is gone, often suffer lasting harm.
"The effect of a woman leaving for a few months is devastating, it's heart-wrenching," said Kim Clark, part of a documentary film team that has been working in the Berrien County jail since July....
Policy matters wrote on Sep 9, 2010 4:46 PM:
"...There is nothing at all contradictory about the notion that very bad social outcomes - in this case, the prospect of children growing up with one or both parents incarcerated and the myriad associated problems - can be a result of both irresponsible personal behavior and bad policy. Certainly, parents ought to consider the well-being of their children when they engage in risky, illegal,and unethical behavior. Acknowledging this fact, however, it is still the case that incarceration policies in this country are badly out of whack. The rate at which we imprison people is the highest in the world, there is little evidence of any safety benefits accruing to this rate, and there is a great deal of harm that comes from placing almost two and a half million people behind bars at any given time. One of the harms being the incidence of broken families. "
outsideinthecold wrote on Sep 9, 2010 5:16 PM:
" America, land of the free, has the largest prison population in the world. Since 1980, the US prison population has risen 400% and the trend continues upward.
The cost to our society is simply unsustainable. One-third of all black males are either in jail, or on parole/probation. Half of all black males have criminal records...We continue to enforce a 'War on Drugs' that costs over $100,000,000,000 a year and has only made the black market more lucrative for both the suppliers and dealers as well as members of the arrest and punishment industry while creating an unemployable underclass that is a cause, in large measure, of the results reported in the HP story. "
Gotta Wonder wrote on Sep 9, 2010 5:18 PM:
" I understand that we should have zero tolerance for crime. But this documentary is addressing a particular aspect of crime and its effect on children.
I think the point is, who will teach these children? Their parents may not be the best role models, but who really gets punished when they are incarcerated and not even able to care for their children in the most basic sense? So, who gets the job? Grandparents, the State, and perhaps a little attention from a social worker at school.
Particularly with women, I think there is a lot of incentive to go straight and sober up, so to speak, if it means rebuilding the family. I think the Fresh Start program has had some success.
It isn't necessarily in the best interest of children of offenders or society to issue lengthy sentences to mothers. Once the bond of mother and child is removed, mothers lose incentive to improve their lives and the kids start to drift toward crime. We are talking about people who have been raised in a cycle, a culture, a heritage of crime. "
Policy matters wrote on Sep 10, 2010 10:21 AM:
" To Logician: There is nothing in my first post to suggest that I think incarceration is never appropriate for parents. What I am claiming is that our country locks up far more people than is optimal, with no appreciable safety benefit, an enormous burden on state budgets, and a host of very serious social harms. One of these social harms, as depicted by the documentary in question, is borne by the children of the incarcerated.
Prison time is no doubt warranted for parents who pose a genuine threat to society. Likewise, all parents ought to be compelled by the state to abide by the law. There is quite a lot of careful thought, however, to suggest that this compulsion as currently applied is grossly inefficient in many ways. What we need, and what is clearly possible, is a criminal justice system that better provides the desirable outcomes of a safe and orderly society without the massive externalities of the current system. Such a system will almost certainly entail locking up many fewer people, parents included. "
rukahs wrote on Sep 10, 2010 1:37 PM:
" These jails are owned by private corporations they rely on incarcerations....more people in jail=$ "
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/09/09/local_news/1848670.txt
DePaul University film team hopes to capture how severely children are affected when a parent is serving time
By Scott Aiken - H-P Thursday, September 9, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - When a mother is convicted of a crime and goes to jail, the punishment may not fall on her alone.
Children, unable to understand why their parent is gone, often suffer lasting harm.
"The effect of a woman leaving for a few months is devastating, it's heart-wrenching," said Kim Clark, part of a documentary film team that has been working in the Berrien County jail since July....
Policy matters wrote on Sep 9, 2010 4:46 PM:
"...There is nothing at all contradictory about the notion that very bad social outcomes - in this case, the prospect of children growing up with one or both parents incarcerated and the myriad associated problems - can be a result of both irresponsible personal behavior and bad policy. Certainly, parents ought to consider the well-being of their children when they engage in risky, illegal,and unethical behavior. Acknowledging this fact, however, it is still the case that incarceration policies in this country are badly out of whack. The rate at which we imprison people is the highest in the world, there is little evidence of any safety benefits accruing to this rate, and there is a great deal of harm that comes from placing almost two and a half million people behind bars at any given time. One of the harms being the incidence of broken families. "
outsideinthecold wrote on Sep 9, 2010 5:16 PM:
" America, land of the free, has the largest prison population in the world. Since 1980, the US prison population has risen 400% and the trend continues upward.
The cost to our society is simply unsustainable. One-third of all black males are either in jail, or on parole/probation. Half of all black males have criminal records...We continue to enforce a 'War on Drugs' that costs over $100,000,000,000 a year and has only made the black market more lucrative for both the suppliers and dealers as well as members of the arrest and punishment industry while creating an unemployable underclass that is a cause, in large measure, of the results reported in the HP story. "
Gotta Wonder wrote on Sep 9, 2010 5:18 PM:
" I understand that we should have zero tolerance for crime. But this documentary is addressing a particular aspect of crime and its effect on children.
I think the point is, who will teach these children? Their parents may not be the best role models, but who really gets punished when they are incarcerated and not even able to care for their children in the most basic sense? So, who gets the job? Grandparents, the State, and perhaps a little attention from a social worker at school.
Particularly with women, I think there is a lot of incentive to go straight and sober up, so to speak, if it means rebuilding the family. I think the Fresh Start program has had some success.
It isn't necessarily in the best interest of children of offenders or society to issue lengthy sentences to mothers. Once the bond of mother and child is removed, mothers lose incentive to improve their lives and the kids start to drift toward crime. We are talking about people who have been raised in a cycle, a culture, a heritage of crime. "
Policy matters wrote on Sep 10, 2010 10:21 AM:
" To Logician: There is nothing in my first post to suggest that I think incarceration is never appropriate for parents. What I am claiming is that our country locks up far more people than is optimal, with no appreciable safety benefit, an enormous burden on state budgets, and a host of very serious social harms. One of these social harms, as depicted by the documentary in question, is borne by the children of the incarcerated.
Prison time is no doubt warranted for parents who pose a genuine threat to society. Likewise, all parents ought to be compelled by the state to abide by the law. There is quite a lot of careful thought, however, to suggest that this compulsion as currently applied is grossly inefficient in many ways. What we need, and what is clearly possible, is a criminal justice system that better provides the desirable outcomes of a safe and orderly society without the massive externalities of the current system. Such a system will almost certainly entail locking up many fewer people, parents included. "
rukahs wrote on Sep 10, 2010 1:37 PM:
" These jails are owned by private corporations they rely on incarcerations....more people in jail=$ "
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/09/09/local_news/1848670.txt
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Cotter blasts state again
Parole board's decisions 'abysmal,' prosecutor says
By Scott Aiken, H-P
Published: Friday, September 10, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - Berrien County Prosecutor Arthur Cotter is not backing down from his contention that violent criminals are being released too soon from state prisons.
Speaking to county commissioners Thursday, Cotter repeated his earlier criticism that "money driven" decisions by the Michigan Parole and Commutation Board create risks for the public...
Maybe ...not wrote on Sep 10, 2010 4:42 PM:
" To Maybe, the judges do not need any more power! As corrupt, unfair and immoral as the local ones have proven to be, it would be horrible for them to have any more power. They abuse what they have already. The parole board should be given more information about each person and there should be more time spent on each case/person before the consideration for granting parole is given. "
get real wrote on Sep 10, 2010 7:37 PM:
" Violent offenders should be in prison, too bad that drug offenders are taking up so much space. Does Art have a solution, does he want more taxes, does he want to let drug offenders out? Besides self serving blame what does Art offer? "
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/09/10/local_news/1897157.txt
Parole board's decisions 'abysmal,' prosecutor says
By Scott Aiken, H-P
Published: Friday, September 10, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - Berrien County Prosecutor Arthur Cotter is not backing down from his contention that violent criminals are being released too soon from state prisons.
Speaking to county commissioners Thursday, Cotter repeated his earlier criticism that "money driven" decisions by the Michigan Parole and Commutation Board create risks for the public...
Maybe ...not wrote on Sep 10, 2010 4:42 PM:
" To Maybe, the judges do not need any more power! As corrupt, unfair and immoral as the local ones have proven to be, it would be horrible for them to have any more power. They abuse what they have already. The parole board should be given more information about each person and there should be more time spent on each case/person before the consideration for granting parole is given. "
get real wrote on Sep 10, 2010 7:37 PM:
" Violent offenders should be in prison, too bad that drug offenders are taking up so much space. Does Art have a solution, does he want more taxes, does he want to let drug offenders out? Besides self serving blame what does Art offer? "
http://www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/09/10/local_news/1897157.txt
Monday, August 16, 2010
Saturday, June 05, 2010
Essentially the same article was published in the HP two weeks ago. Beginning with an obviously inaccurate headline, this is nothing more than another propaganda piece. Whirlpool and Herald Palladium efforts at glorifiying intense and harassing police presence fall on deaf ears in Benton Harbor.
In 6th year, BH citizens are becoming fans of extra patrols
By Scott Aiken, Friday, May 28, 2010 (commentary begins with capital letters)
Berrien Springs - A program that has put extra police patrols on Benton Harbor streets each summer since 2005 is helping keep the city safer, officials said Thursday night. The joint effort of the Benton Harbor Police Department, Berrien County Sheriff's Department and state police is gaining public support.
---WHAT public ANYWHERE supports a police state?
Benton Harbor police Chief Roger Lange said city residents in the past questioned the presence of officers from other departments. "That's not being asked anymore," Lange told Berrien County commissioners... he believes people now see the benefit of the joint effort. Lange and Sheriff Paul Bailey presented data...
---NO RESIDENTS from Benton Harbor, nor from anywhere, welcome continued police stops, profiling, harassment, and false arrests. What human being WANTS to be in fear of the out-of-doors? Big Brother/Police State techniques keep poor people indoors, unable to communicate with friends and neighbors, living in a state of siege.
For the years 2005-09, officers working in the joint enforcement effort made 340 felony arrests, 1,417 misdemeanor arrests, 3,082 traffic stops and issued 1,505 tickets. They gave 1,810 warnings and made 4,361 checks of people using the Law Enforcement Information Network, a computerized data system.
---CHIEF LANGE, you could put a stop to these unconstitutional "checks" which you inflicted on pedestrians and drivers. Why waste money on misdemeanor arrests when they're supposed to be dismissed? These statistics are OUTRAGEOUS. Can anyone imagine St. Joe residents being made this afraid? Misery, racism, war on the poor, poverty, genocide, and a police state to make it all possible - Whirlpool is an evil enforcer. That's an understatement.
Money for the program in the warm weather is provided by an annual $50,000 contribution from the county and $50,000 from Whirlpool Corp. The money enables the sheriff's department to put two patrol cars, each manned by two deputies, on the street in Benton Harbor on weekends.
---WOULD that Whirlpool created jobs for residents. Instead, jobs go offshore, and BH residents are imprisoned.
State police add patrols during the week. The deputies and state troopers work with city police. "We're also working together in community programs," Bailey said. "It's not all about enforcement.
---BAILEY, enforcement is all you've ever understood. People have spoken out regarding your racist tendencies. You've never had a clue about "To serve and protect." Whirlpool wants you just the way you are.
"The city police are doing an excellent job, and it's been a great effort with the sheriff's deputies and state police."
---PROPAGANDA, pure and simple.
Lange said the extra manpower enables the city police department to better deal with so-called quality-of-life crimes such as gambling and public urination, and citizens appreciate the effort.
---CITIZENS are in need of jobs. Whirlpool and other corporations outsourced instead of making sure human beings in their midst were able to lead stable lives.
"The citizens' attitudes are changing," Lange said. "The citizens are coming to us and helping us solve crimes." The city police department has brought back a long-dormant reserve officer program, and 18 people who are completing training are to graduate on June 5. Lange said the reserves volunteer their time and will generally work with a certified officer. The reserves will sometimes work alone, he said, but have close radio contact with full-time police. Some of the reserve officers aspire to become certified officers, and their work as reserves allows the department to get to know them and their capabilities, Lange said. That could give a reserve officer an advantage when the city considers applicants to send to the police academy.
---TEACHING the residents how to become members of the occupying force of oppression.
saiken@TheH-P.com
In 6th year, BH citizens are becoming fans of extra patrols
By Scott Aiken, Friday, May 28, 2010 (commentary begins with capital letters)
Berrien Springs - A program that has put extra police patrols on Benton Harbor streets each summer since 2005 is helping keep the city safer, officials said Thursday night. The joint effort of the Benton Harbor Police Department, Berrien County Sheriff's Department and state police is gaining public support.
---WHAT public ANYWHERE supports a police state?
Benton Harbor police Chief Roger Lange said city residents in the past questioned the presence of officers from other departments. "That's not being asked anymore," Lange told Berrien County commissioners... he believes people now see the benefit of the joint effort. Lange and Sheriff Paul Bailey presented data...
---NO RESIDENTS from Benton Harbor, nor from anywhere, welcome continued police stops, profiling, harassment, and false arrests. What human being WANTS to be in fear of the out-of-doors? Big Brother/Police State techniques keep poor people indoors, unable to communicate with friends and neighbors, living in a state of siege.
For the years 2005-09, officers working in the joint enforcement effort made 340 felony arrests, 1,417 misdemeanor arrests, 3,082 traffic stops and issued 1,505 tickets. They gave 1,810 warnings and made 4,361 checks of people using the Law Enforcement Information Network, a computerized data system.
---CHIEF LANGE, you could put a stop to these unconstitutional "checks" which you inflicted on pedestrians and drivers. Why waste money on misdemeanor arrests when they're supposed to be dismissed? These statistics are OUTRAGEOUS. Can anyone imagine St. Joe residents being made this afraid? Misery, racism, war on the poor, poverty, genocide, and a police state to make it all possible - Whirlpool is an evil enforcer. That's an understatement.
Money for the program in the warm weather is provided by an annual $50,000 contribution from the county and $50,000 from Whirlpool Corp. The money enables the sheriff's department to put two patrol cars, each manned by two deputies, on the street in Benton Harbor on weekends.
---WOULD that Whirlpool created jobs for residents. Instead, jobs go offshore, and BH residents are imprisoned.
State police add patrols during the week. The deputies and state troopers work with city police. "We're also working together in community programs," Bailey said. "It's not all about enforcement.
---BAILEY, enforcement is all you've ever understood. People have spoken out regarding your racist tendencies. You've never had a clue about "To serve and protect." Whirlpool wants you just the way you are.
"The city police are doing an excellent job, and it's been a great effort with the sheriff's deputies and state police."
---PROPAGANDA, pure and simple.
Lange said the extra manpower enables the city police department to better deal with so-called quality-of-life crimes such as gambling and public urination, and citizens appreciate the effort.
---CITIZENS are in need of jobs. Whirlpool and other corporations outsourced instead of making sure human beings in their midst were able to lead stable lives.
"The citizens' attitudes are changing," Lange said. "The citizens are coming to us and helping us solve crimes." The city police department has brought back a long-dormant reserve officer program, and 18 people who are completing training are to graduate on June 5. Lange said the reserves volunteer their time and will generally work with a certified officer. The reserves will sometimes work alone, he said, but have close radio contact with full-time police. Some of the reserve officers aspire to become certified officers, and their work as reserves allows the department to get to know them and their capabilities, Lange said. That could give a reserve officer an advantage when the city considers applicants to send to the police academy.
---TEACHING the residents how to become members of the occupying force of oppression.
saiken@TheH-P.com
Sunday, April 04, 2010
Prosecutor authorizes charges in BH brawls
[The Herald Palladium has all the "right" language to describe BH activities; in this headline it's
"brawls." The more inflammatory, the better, to foster racist bigotry towards BH.]
By Julie Swidwa - H-P (excerpts & commentary)
April 2, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter has authorized charges against several people in connection with a disturbance Tuesday in Benton Harbor.
Cotter said seven people were charged in connection with a large fight that happened between 6:30 and 7 p.m., and two more people were arrested in connection with a second, smaller disturbance...
COMMENT: BH history tells us that police instigate fights, and it could be true in this case.
State police and the Berrien County Sheriff's Department were called to help Benton Harbor police break up a large crowd in the neighborhood bounded by Lavette and May streets and Broadway and Empire Avenue. The later incident happened in the McAllister Street area, Cotter said.
COMMENT: Cotter has waited for months for something to happen since there has been a recent drop in BH residents being arrested. Crime in BH is down.
Initial reports from Benton Harbor Police Chief Roger Lange said all the people arrested were ages 14-19. But the arrest list provided by Cotter Thursday indicated some of the people were much older.
_______, 36, and ________, 38, are among those charged with resisting and obstructing police, Cotter said. __________, 19, and _________, 18, face that same charge, a two-year-felony.
COMMENT: Does the punishment fit the crime? Is a courthouse goal to give all BH residents a record (a life-ruining stigma)?
Also arrested in connection with the early incident were: ____________, 17, charged with assault and battery; and ______________, 18, charged with disturbing the peace. Those are misdemeanors carrying a maximum penalty of 93 and 30 days in jail, respectively.
COMMENT: This is a waste of taxpayers' money. The hidden hand of Whirlpool is evident to those who have paid attention. How can Harbor Shores development be completed with all these BH residents in the way?
Cotter said police were called again later Tuesday night to a disturbance on McAllister Street in Benton Harbor. Arrested there were ______________, 22, and ___________, 44. They both are charged with disturbing the peace, Cotter said.
COMMENT: Police were called by who? other police?
Lange said that, to his knowledge, there were no serious injuries related to Tuesday night's events.
The chief said state police and the Berrien County Sheriff's Department will continue to assist Benton Harbor police in patrolling the neighborhoods. He said the first warm days typically bring large crowds into the streets.
COMMENT: Warm weather brings people outside all over the world. The state police and the sheriff have lazer beams pointed at Benton Harbor. As residents know too well, there are cops in other nearby jurisdictions who have also used BH as a racist's "playground." People in BH have been arrested after being told they couldn't walk down a certain street at a certain time. And, of course there's the infamous drug planting...Hopefully the new BH police chief can put a stop to gratuitous and juvenile arrests.
jswidwa@TheH-P.com
[The Herald Palladium has all the "right" language to describe BH activities; in this headline it's
"brawls." The more inflammatory, the better, to foster racist bigotry towards BH.]
By Julie Swidwa - H-P (excerpts & commentary)
April 2, 2010
ST. JOSEPH - Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter has authorized charges against several people in connection with a disturbance Tuesday in Benton Harbor.
Cotter said seven people were charged in connection with a large fight that happened between 6:30 and 7 p.m., and two more people were arrested in connection with a second, smaller disturbance...
COMMENT: BH history tells us that police instigate fights, and it could be true in this case.
State police and the Berrien County Sheriff's Department were called to help Benton Harbor police break up a large crowd in the neighborhood bounded by Lavette and May streets and Broadway and Empire Avenue. The later incident happened in the McAllister Street area, Cotter said.
COMMENT: Cotter has waited for months for something to happen since there has been a recent drop in BH residents being arrested. Crime in BH is down.
Initial reports from Benton Harbor Police Chief Roger Lange said all the people arrested were ages 14-19. But the arrest list provided by Cotter Thursday indicated some of the people were much older.
_______, 36, and ________, 38, are among those charged with resisting and obstructing police, Cotter said. __________, 19, and _________, 18, face that same charge, a two-year-felony.
COMMENT: Does the punishment fit the crime? Is a courthouse goal to give all BH residents a record (a life-ruining stigma)?
Also arrested in connection with the early incident were: ____________, 17, charged with assault and battery; and ______________, 18, charged with disturbing the peace. Those are misdemeanors carrying a maximum penalty of 93 and 30 days in jail, respectively.
COMMENT: This is a waste of taxpayers' money. The hidden hand of Whirlpool is evident to those who have paid attention. How can Harbor Shores development be completed with all these BH residents in the way?
Cotter said police were called again later Tuesday night to a disturbance on McAllister Street in Benton Harbor. Arrested there were ______________, 22, and ___________, 44. They both are charged with disturbing the peace, Cotter said.
COMMENT: Police were called by who? other police?
Lange said that, to his knowledge, there were no serious injuries related to Tuesday night's events.
The chief said state police and the Berrien County Sheriff's Department will continue to assist Benton Harbor police in patrolling the neighborhoods. He said the first warm days typically bring large crowds into the streets.
COMMENT: Warm weather brings people outside all over the world. The state police and the sheriff have lazer beams pointed at Benton Harbor. As residents know too well, there are cops in other nearby jurisdictions who have also used BH as a racist's "playground." People in BH have been arrested after being told they couldn't walk down a certain street at a certain time. And, of course there's the infamous drug planting...Hopefully the new BH police chief can put a stop to gratuitous and juvenile arrests.
jswidwa@TheH-P.com
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
When will the people of this area wake up?
Editor, (letter to ed., HPalladium, 2/6/10)
Someone should tell Ron Carter, Benton Harbor's new city manager, that you can't clean a house with the roof caving in. The city's budget problems pale in comparison to the private commercial takeover of the lakefront, its only major asset.
Someone should tell Gov. Jennifer Granholm that if she really wants to fix Benton Harbor she is going to have to risk irritating the mighty Whirlpool Corp., which has been exploiting the city for decades. What would she have to lose, now that she doesn't have to worry about reelection?
Someone should tell Harbor Shores and Cornerstone, Whirlpool's offspring, that they should be careful what they wish for. The more scrutiny Benton Harbor undergoes, the riskier it may be for them. Can they account for all the state and federal money that has been entrusted to them over the years?
Someone should tell the leaders of St. Joe to stop trashing up their streets with Bojangle-eyed gorillas, tearing down their finest buildings and jam-packing their beach with everything but sand and water. The "Twin Cities" are becoming a sideshow in more ways than one.
Someone should tell Art Cotter, the Berrien County prosecutor, to stick to the job he was hired to do and leave the governor, the parole board and corrections professionals to do theirs. Prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely convictions. We pay the price for their mistakes, and the consequences of shoddy law enforcement are far greater than most people realize or can even imagine. Cotter should be held accountable for spending taxpayers' money on things that are not in his job description. The entire county should not have to be held hostage to his inability to grasp the concept or possibility of rehabilitation.
Someone should tell the mad Tea Partiers that they are wasting their energies working against their own interests and for those of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. After all, what do we have Fred Upton for?
And finally, someone should tell the people of Southwest Michigan to wake up before it's too late and stop letting the corporate elite run our lives. In the words of the late, great Howard Zinn, "If there is going to be change, real change, it will have to work its way from the bottom up, from the people themselves. That's how change happens."
Scott Elliott, Benton Harbor
Editor, (letter to ed., HPalladium, 2/6/10)
Someone should tell Ron Carter, Benton Harbor's new city manager, that you can't clean a house with the roof caving in. The city's budget problems pale in comparison to the private commercial takeover of the lakefront, its only major asset.
Someone should tell Gov. Jennifer Granholm that if she really wants to fix Benton Harbor she is going to have to risk irritating the mighty Whirlpool Corp., which has been exploiting the city for decades. What would she have to lose, now that she doesn't have to worry about reelection?
Someone should tell Harbor Shores and Cornerstone, Whirlpool's offspring, that they should be careful what they wish for. The more scrutiny Benton Harbor undergoes, the riskier it may be for them. Can they account for all the state and federal money that has been entrusted to them over the years?
Someone should tell the leaders of St. Joe to stop trashing up their streets with Bojangle-eyed gorillas, tearing down their finest buildings and jam-packing their beach with everything but sand and water. The "Twin Cities" are becoming a sideshow in more ways than one.
Someone should tell Art Cotter, the Berrien County prosecutor, to stick to the job he was hired to do and leave the governor, the parole board and corrections professionals to do theirs. Prosecutors are supposed to seek justice, not merely convictions. We pay the price for their mistakes, and the consequences of shoddy law enforcement are far greater than most people realize or can even imagine. Cotter should be held accountable for spending taxpayers' money on things that are not in his job description. The entire county should not have to be held hostage to his inability to grasp the concept or possibility of rehabilitation.
Someone should tell the mad Tea Partiers that they are wasting their energies working against their own interests and for those of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. After all, what do we have Fred Upton for?
And finally, someone should tell the people of Southwest Michigan to wake up before it's too late and stop letting the corporate elite run our lives. In the words of the late, great Howard Zinn, "If there is going to be change, real change, it will have to work its way from the bottom up, from the people themselves. That's how change happens."
Scott Elliott, Benton Harbor
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
MESSAGE FOR 'ANONYMOUS'
by John L. Mann
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about your critical commentary was that it remained unsigned. If you're so certain of your conclusions, why not stand behind them publicly with a signature? (comment referred to can be found after 2/6 post)
The tenor of your written opinion and the failure to self-identify struck me as being uncomfortably close to the past acts of Americans equally convinced of their own righteousness, yet finding it necessary to remain hidden beneath hood and cowl during the commission of hate crimes.
Instead of mass rallies, lynching and cross burnings, the internet now provides a forum where people harboring opinions and a sense of personal righteousness similar to your own can weigh in with verbal piety, yet keep their faces hidden. Ignorance and bigotry can hold forth in anonymity. In this case I fail to find much distinction between cross burnings past and truth burning present.
There's nothing "wild-eyed" about publicly citing the social and economic destruction that's been visited upon Benton Harbor. Nor are there any "factual inaccuracies" involved with the method by which Harbor Shores was granted title to 800+ acres of prime Benton Harbor beach and river frontage, for about a million dollars.
Worse is the way the Berrien County judicial system punished Rev. Edward Pinkney for exercising free speech, in exposing corruption surrounding how such a stinking deal was made. Corruption brought home by the conflict of interest and abuse of privilege exercised by at least one of the judges presiding in his various criminal cases -- for which Pinkney was convicted by an all-white "jury of his peers," then sentenced by a judge poised to profit personally from the Harbor Shores development, via Counselors Ship St. Realty.
Even worse, in my opinion, was the way democratic principle was abused by a single judge's setting aside of the clear results of the Glenn Yarbrough recall election. A recall STOPPING the Harbor Shores development by way of the PEOPLE'S WILL.
There was never any question that the recall succeeded, either. But this judge unilaterally set aside the PEOPLE'S WILL based on very few, very questionably "tainted" ballots. It was clearly stipulated the "questionable" ballots weren't physically altered either. They were "tainted" because Rev. Pinkney briefly had them in his personal possession for transport to the City Clerk's office, simply to insure they were counted.
That the "honorable" judge setting aside the results of basic democratic practice was also a member of the Board of Canvassers, merely adds to the real crime here. A crime for which his high office alone precluded any accountability to law. That judge is the one who tainted the election and basic democracy. He now presides over a FEDERAL bench, in my opinion an appointment granted for services rendered to Harbor Shores via the Yarbrough recall case.
You sanctimoniously call for "seminars" and "skills workshops" financed by Banco, a service organization that in truth is wholly BANK-RUPT, an organization that boasts NO tangible assets, ONLY the efforts of a very few and the leadership of a positively indefatigable lion, Rev. Edward Pinkney.
Preparing those who "wish to enter the workforce?!?" THERE ARE NO JOBS AVAILABLE, especially in Benton Harbor! Using 1980 federal criteria for measuring unemployment, the number of US unemployed nationally would be 22% today. FIXING numbers this way made it possible for January, 2010 to LOSE 20,000 non-farm payroll jobs, while the "official" unemployment rate DECLINED .3%. This, in the face of the fact that the economy needs to ADD over a million jobs every month simply in order to keep up with population increases.
That Whirlpool Corporation has sent its manufacturing and now the bulk of its engineering and R & D, first to Mexico, then to China, indicates a whole lot about the above unemployment statistics, past and present. That their hand in the Harbor Shores giveaway via Cornerstone Alliance and Fred Upton equally prevails in the destruction of Benton Harbor, seems utterly lost on you.
To you I clearly say: "Remove the hood of your anonymity and publicly, fearlessly defend your points instead of hiding behind what appear to be baseless charges and a public cowl. Do it in the manner of Edward Pinkney, a man whose fight against injustice and official lawlessness I find to be in the highest traditions of righteous struggle."
There's no "conspiracy" theory here. John Klock gave that land "IN PERPETUITY" to the people of Benton Harbor who were, specifically, NOT endowed with the wealth of property. He didn't consign it to the Harbor Shores development gang for use as a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course intended only for the elite.
Edward Pinkney possesses the bulk of the truth here, and very little else -- certainly no money or ability to employ powerful attorneys on his own or Benton Harbor's behalf.
What do you have on your side, faceless one, other than self-righteous prejudice, overweening fear and an eager willingness to subsume the crimes of St. Joseph's rich and powerful?
by John L. Mann
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Perhaps the most disturbing thing about your critical commentary was that it remained unsigned. If you're so certain of your conclusions, why not stand behind them publicly with a signature? (comment referred to can be found after 2/6 post)
The tenor of your written opinion and the failure to self-identify struck me as being uncomfortably close to the past acts of Americans equally convinced of their own righteousness, yet finding it necessary to remain hidden beneath hood and cowl during the commission of hate crimes.
Instead of mass rallies, lynching and cross burnings, the internet now provides a forum where people harboring opinions and a sense of personal righteousness similar to your own can weigh in with verbal piety, yet keep their faces hidden. Ignorance and bigotry can hold forth in anonymity. In this case I fail to find much distinction between cross burnings past and truth burning present.
There's nothing "wild-eyed" about publicly citing the social and economic destruction that's been visited upon Benton Harbor. Nor are there any "factual inaccuracies" involved with the method by which Harbor Shores was granted title to 800+ acres of prime Benton Harbor beach and river frontage, for about a million dollars.
Worse is the way the Berrien County judicial system punished Rev. Edward Pinkney for exercising free speech, in exposing corruption surrounding how such a stinking deal was made. Corruption brought home by the conflict of interest and abuse of privilege exercised by at least one of the judges presiding in his various criminal cases -- for which Pinkney was convicted by an all-white "jury of his peers," then sentenced by a judge poised to profit personally from the Harbor Shores development, via Counselors Ship St. Realty.
Even worse, in my opinion, was the way democratic principle was abused by a single judge's setting aside of the clear results of the Glenn Yarbrough recall election. A recall STOPPING the Harbor Shores development by way of the PEOPLE'S WILL.
There was never any question that the recall succeeded, either. But this judge unilaterally set aside the PEOPLE'S WILL based on very few, very questionably "tainted" ballots. It was clearly stipulated the "questionable" ballots weren't physically altered either. They were "tainted" because Rev. Pinkney briefly had them in his personal possession for transport to the City Clerk's office, simply to insure they were counted.
That the "honorable" judge setting aside the results of basic democratic practice was also a member of the Board of Canvassers, merely adds to the real crime here. A crime for which his high office alone precluded any accountability to law. That judge is the one who tainted the election and basic democracy. He now presides over a FEDERAL bench, in my opinion an appointment granted for services rendered to Harbor Shores via the Yarbrough recall case.
You sanctimoniously call for "seminars" and "skills workshops" financed by Banco, a service organization that in truth is wholly BANK-RUPT, an organization that boasts NO tangible assets, ONLY the efforts of a very few and the leadership of a positively indefatigable lion, Rev. Edward Pinkney.
Preparing those who "wish to enter the workforce?!?" THERE ARE NO JOBS AVAILABLE, especially in Benton Harbor! Using 1980 federal criteria for measuring unemployment, the number of US unemployed nationally would be 22% today. FIXING numbers this way made it possible for January, 2010 to LOSE 20,000 non-farm payroll jobs, while the "official" unemployment rate DECLINED .3%. This, in the face of the fact that the economy needs to ADD over a million jobs every month simply in order to keep up with population increases.
That Whirlpool Corporation has sent its manufacturing and now the bulk of its engineering and R & D, first to Mexico, then to China, indicates a whole lot about the above unemployment statistics, past and present. That their hand in the Harbor Shores giveaway via Cornerstone Alliance and Fred Upton equally prevails in the destruction of Benton Harbor, seems utterly lost on you.
To you I clearly say: "Remove the hood of your anonymity and publicly, fearlessly defend your points instead of hiding behind what appear to be baseless charges and a public cowl. Do it in the manner of Edward Pinkney, a man whose fight against injustice and official lawlessness I find to be in the highest traditions of righteous struggle."
There's no "conspiracy" theory here. John Klock gave that land "IN PERPETUITY" to the people of Benton Harbor who were, specifically, NOT endowed with the wealth of property. He didn't consign it to the Harbor Shores development gang for use as a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course intended only for the elite.
Edward Pinkney possesses the bulk of the truth here, and very little else -- certainly no money or ability to employ powerful attorneys on his own or Benton Harbor's behalf.
What do you have on your side, faceless one, other than self-righteous prejudice, overweening fear and an eager willingness to subsume the crimes of St. Joseph's rich and powerful?
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
The sad fact of the matter is that too many killer cops are still walking around free
I call it murder by Cynthia McKinney, Jan. 31, 2010
They shot this Black man in his genitals and in his back. It sounds like a hate crime to me. How else could one describe it?
Well, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was self-defense. But how many times have we heard self-defense by cops used as a cop out?
Well, what about Amadou Diallo? Amadou Diallo was murdered on February 4, 1999 by New York Police Department (NYPD) cops who mistook a wallet for a gun. They claim that they thought he was going to shoot them and so they shot him in self-defense. One officer fell as if he had been shot. 41 bullets later, Amadou Diallo had been shot 19 times. Young Amadou was only 24 years old. He could survive the itinerant life of an African trading family, moving from Africa to Asia, but he couldn't survive the mean, racist streets of America. And the killer cops went free. Diallo's mother and step-father settled with the City of New York for $3 million in a lawsuit alleging wrongful death, racial profiling, and violation of Amadou's civil rights.
Kathryn Johnston was 92 years old when she was murdered by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers who claim that they shot her in self-defense after narcotics officers broke into her home on November 21, 2006 using a "no-knock" warrant. Police forced their way into Johnston's home and claimed to have found a stash of marijuana there. The APD officers claimed that she had injured them with her rusty revolver. Sadly, it was all lies. Later, it was learned that the Atlanta Police officers were actually injured by friendly fire after discharging their firearms 39 times; that they planted marijuana in the Johnston basement; lied on the drug warrant authorizing the raid; invented an informant justifying the raid; and pressured an actual drug informant to lie for them. Atlanta's lying, killer cops did serve time--either for manslaughter, conspiracy to violate Johnston's civil rights resulting in death, or perjury. The three officers were also required to reimburse the Johnston estate the $8,000 cost of her burial.
In the wee hours of November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was murdered in a hail of 50 bullets fired by officers in the New York Police Department. Bell was celebrating his upcoming wedding and was leaving the club where he had just held his bachelor party. Police opened fire after they suspected the victim had a gun. Bell was struck 4 times in the neck and torso and died from his wounds. When no gun was to be found, they concocted a mystery witness who could possibly have had a gun. New York's killer cops were acquitted on all charges.
Although Diallo, Johnston, and Bell were Black, Blacks in the United States are not the only ones who can be victimized by murderous U.S. law enforcement. While on a visit to Cuba, I had the opportunity to meet and apologize to the widow of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, a leading Puerto Rican Independentista. Wanted by U.S. authorities for actions stemming from his belief that Puerto Rico was a U.S. colony that should be independent, Ojeda Rios was murdered on September 23, 2005, shot by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at his home. An FBI press release stated that Ojeda Rios opened fire on the FBI and that the FBI retaliated, but that claim was not substantiated by an Inspector General's report that noted that the FBI opened the attack on Ojeda Rios with a "flash bang" device. Ojeda Rios shot 10 times and the FBI fired one hundred times. Ojeda Rios was struck in the lung by a single sniper's bullet, fell to the floor, and bled to death over 12 to 15 hours with no medical help allowed to save his life.
Continue reading at http://www.gp.org/cynthia/display.php?ID=30
I call it murder by Cynthia McKinney, Jan. 31, 2010
They shot this Black man in his genitals and in his back. It sounds like a hate crime to me. How else could one describe it?
Well, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it was self-defense. But how many times have we heard self-defense by cops used as a cop out?
Well, what about Amadou Diallo? Amadou Diallo was murdered on February 4, 1999 by New York Police Department (NYPD) cops who mistook a wallet for a gun. They claim that they thought he was going to shoot them and so they shot him in self-defense. One officer fell as if he had been shot. 41 bullets later, Amadou Diallo had been shot 19 times. Young Amadou was only 24 years old. He could survive the itinerant life of an African trading family, moving from Africa to Asia, but he couldn't survive the mean, racist streets of America. And the killer cops went free. Diallo's mother and step-father settled with the City of New York for $3 million in a lawsuit alleging wrongful death, racial profiling, and violation of Amadou's civil rights.
Kathryn Johnston was 92 years old when she was murdered by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officers who claim that they shot her in self-defense after narcotics officers broke into her home on November 21, 2006 using a "no-knock" warrant. Police forced their way into Johnston's home and claimed to have found a stash of marijuana there. The APD officers claimed that she had injured them with her rusty revolver. Sadly, it was all lies. Later, it was learned that the Atlanta Police officers were actually injured by friendly fire after discharging their firearms 39 times; that they planted marijuana in the Johnston basement; lied on the drug warrant authorizing the raid; invented an informant justifying the raid; and pressured an actual drug informant to lie for them. Atlanta's lying, killer cops did serve time--either for manslaughter, conspiracy to violate Johnston's civil rights resulting in death, or perjury. The three officers were also required to reimburse the Johnston estate the $8,000 cost of her burial.
In the wee hours of November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was murdered in a hail of 50 bullets fired by officers in the New York Police Department. Bell was celebrating his upcoming wedding and was leaving the club where he had just held his bachelor party. Police opened fire after they suspected the victim had a gun. Bell was struck 4 times in the neck and torso and died from his wounds. When no gun was to be found, they concocted a mystery witness who could possibly have had a gun. New York's killer cops were acquitted on all charges.
Although Diallo, Johnston, and Bell were Black, Blacks in the United States are not the only ones who can be victimized by murderous U.S. law enforcement. While on a visit to Cuba, I had the opportunity to meet and apologize to the widow of Filiberto Ojeda Rios, a leading Puerto Rican Independentista. Wanted by U.S. authorities for actions stemming from his belief that Puerto Rico was a U.S. colony that should be independent, Ojeda Rios was murdered on September 23, 2005, shot by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at his home. An FBI press release stated that Ojeda Rios opened fire on the FBI and that the FBI retaliated, but that claim was not substantiated by an Inspector General's report that noted that the FBI opened the attack on Ojeda Rios with a "flash bang" device. Ojeda Rios shot 10 times and the FBI fired one hundred times. Ojeda Rios was struck in the lung by a single sniper's bullet, fell to the floor, and bled to death over 12 to 15 hours with no medical help allowed to save his life.
Continue reading at http://www.gp.org/cynthia/display.php?ID=30
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, HBO program from Botswana
If you are lucky enough to see this wonderful detective show, you will delight in the methods used with those who commit crimes. Framing? Arrest? Conviction? Jail? Prison? Quite the opposite: forgiveness and restitution, among others. And, one can understand how these methods are effective.
We know that Resorative Justice programs exist in the US, certainly not in Berrien County, one of the harshest and most punitive areas of the country where lives are permanently destroyed on a daily basis. Maybe someday citizens will come forward to establish a RJ program in Berrien, and through some miracle, will succeed.
(After doing a search, we found that some libraries carry DVD's of the first season (08-09) of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.)
If you are lucky enough to see this wonderful detective show, you will delight in the methods used with those who commit crimes. Framing? Arrest? Conviction? Jail? Prison? Quite the opposite: forgiveness and restitution, among others. And, one can understand how these methods are effective.
We know that Resorative Justice programs exist in the US, certainly not in Berrien County, one of the harshest and most punitive areas of the country where lives are permanently destroyed on a daily basis. Maybe someday citizens will come forward to establish a RJ program in Berrien, and through some miracle, will succeed.
(After doing a search, we found that some libraries carry DVD's of the first season (08-09) of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
JAIL CENTRAL: BERRIEN COUNTY, MICHIGAN
Interview with Dorothy Pinkney By Joseph Peery
Joseph Peery: Dorothy, what happens when young people are arrested in Benton Harbor?:
Dorothy Pinkney: They tell them to plead guilty and you’ll just be fined. By hearing this they get excited and think “I can do this, I can say I’m guilty and I’ll go home.” But it doesn’t happen like that. It’s not set up that way. The powers that be know that the poverty level in the city is so high and there are not many jobs. So when they give these young African American guys their jail sentences, they know they cannot afford to pay their sentence. So what do they do? Go to jail. Then the jail becomes overcrowded. I’ve seen so many mothers, wives, girlfriends, packed into the Berrien County Jail just to visit their boyfriends, their husbands, their fathers. It was too much to handle. I didn’t know it was this extreme.
JP: Many families don’t have a bread winner at home. And during winter, there’s a lot of homes that don’t have water or gas. Can you speak to this.
Dorothy: You’re just adding misery to people’s lives. It’s like you take a nail and hammer and you hit that nail. It’s going to pierce the wood, but you keep nailing and hitting and it goes deeper and deeper. There’s so much poverty. The city is being drained.The government doesn’t care. Why do you keep beating someone down when people are saying “we can’t take any more.” Instead of helping, you’re steady nailing deeper and deeper.
JP: What do you feel people in other cities need to do?
Dorothy: I think we can all come together and unite as one, fight for one particular thing, get that accomplished, and then go to the next thing. It’s a slow process but we can do it. It’s never too late.
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.01/PT.2010.01.12.html#two
Interview with Dorothy Pinkney By Joseph Peery
Joseph Peery: Dorothy, what happens when young people are arrested in Benton Harbor?:
Dorothy Pinkney: They tell them to plead guilty and you’ll just be fined. By hearing this they get excited and think “I can do this, I can say I’m guilty and I’ll go home.” But it doesn’t happen like that. It’s not set up that way. The powers that be know that the poverty level in the city is so high and there are not many jobs. So when they give these young African American guys their jail sentences, they know they cannot afford to pay their sentence. So what do they do? Go to jail. Then the jail becomes overcrowded. I’ve seen so many mothers, wives, girlfriends, packed into the Berrien County Jail just to visit their boyfriends, their husbands, their fathers. It was too much to handle. I didn’t know it was this extreme.
JP: Many families don’t have a bread winner at home. And during winter, there’s a lot of homes that don’t have water or gas. Can you speak to this.
Dorothy: You’re just adding misery to people’s lives. It’s like you take a nail and hammer and you hit that nail. It’s going to pierce the wood, but you keep nailing and hitting and it goes deeper and deeper. There’s so much poverty. The city is being drained.The government doesn’t care. Why do you keep beating someone down when people are saying “we can’t take any more.” Instead of helping, you’re steady nailing deeper and deeper.
JP: What do you feel people in other cities need to do?
Dorothy: I think we can all come together and unite as one, fight for one particular thing, get that accomplished, and then go to the next thing. It’s a slow process but we can do it. It’s never too late.
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.01/PT.2010.01.12.html#two
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Another layer exposed, but we're not at the top yet
Drug cases dismissed following pleas by corrupt narcotics cops
S.W. Mich. city's police chief leaves his post; city may face civil suits over officer misconduct
By Eartha Jane Melzer 9/28/09
BENTON HARBOR — Berrien County Prosecutor Arthur Cotter has dismissed 40 drug convictions since members of Benton Harbor’s police narcotics unit pleaded guilty to federal charges that they made up evidence, conducted illegal searches and wrongfully arrested people.
Officer Andrew Collins pleaded guilty to participation in a pervasive pattern of police corruption last year and is serving 37 months in federal prison. This month Officer Bernard Hall, Collins’ supervisor, admitted that he allowed, and benefited from, corruption that included stealing seized property from the police department. Hall is expected to be sentenced in December.
Cotter said that he is continuing to review the many cases that involved the two officers who comprised the city’s entire narcotics unit.
“They didn’t engage in misconduct in every single case they did,” Cotter said. “The problem is that everybody who had a case now wants review.”
Although the majority of those who were charged following improper searches and arrests pleaded guilty and formally waived their right to appeal, Cotter said that he is committed to reviewing the cases.
In some instances where those convicted in flawed cases have gone on to be charged with subsequent crimes, and because sentencing guidelines take into account previous convictions, Cotter has found that in some cases sentences need to be adjusted in matters that are not directly related to misbehavior by Benton Harbor police.
“It’s been a journey getting through all these cases,” Cotter said, “but we are getting through them.”
However, the fallout from actions by Collins and Hall is far from over.
Collins and Hall may face civil suits for their role in violating people’s rights, Cotter said. “In terms of civil liability, from the perspective of the county, no one knew the information provided by the police was false so there is governmental immunity.”
As to the liability up the chain of command in the police department and within city government he said he’s “not sure of the depth of the liability.”
David Robinson, a former Detroit police officer turned Southfield attorney, told Michigan Messenger that he is researching cases on behalf of six people who were wrongly arrested by Collins and whose cases have been dismissed as a result of Collins conviction.
“Our intention is to file a federal civil rights cause of action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the city and supervisors, the chief of police, and any responsible party,” Robinson said.
“Andrew Collins wrongfully arrested them and caused their detention. Not only is he responsible but arguably his employer, the city, was responsible.”
Robinson said that he believes that Collins’ misbehavior had gone on over a significant period of time and that the Benton Harbor Police Department failed to maintain necessary procedures for supervision and failed to adequately respond to complaints by citizens who warned of police abuse.
“Someone was asleep at the switch in terms of administrative responsibility to operate the police department.” Robinson said.
Benton Harbor City Commissioner Juanita Henry said she believes the city is responsible for the misdeeds of its officers and that changes are underway as a result of the recent pleas by Collins and Hall.
One major step, she said, is the departure of Police Chief Al Mingo, who is leaving his job at the end of this month.
Mingo’s departure, Henry said “eliminates 55 percent of the problem.”
“He is the chief. He has authority over the whole police department. It happened on his watch.”
“We are paying for his mistakes because our citizens have been imprisoned.”
Henry said that she anticipates the city will face financial penalties as a result of the corruption in the police department.
“There is some liability that the city is going to have to be responsible for,” she said, “there is going to have to be some accountability.”
“The only thing I can do as a commissioner is to apologize to the citizens who have been impacted by this.”
*
jeremy1 1 day ago
he Berrien County chain of command, as many know, goes all the way to the Whirlpool Corporation and the Uptons. It's their plan to rid Benton Harbor's African-American, poverty-stricken population BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Golfers playing on land stolen from Benton Harbor shouldn't have to wade through any rif-raff, for heavens sakes. Hence, the highest incarceration rates in the state come from the Berrien courthouse.. The highest conviction rates of innocents and juveniles. And, Whirlpool and Upton have Gov. Jennifer Granholm as one of their biggest supporters...
*
461OceanBlvd 1 day ago
boy, you're right. benton harbor is great just as it is. greater than 50 percent drop out rate and school district with a $7 million deficit budget THIS YEAR. a city council that fires every city manager who questions city finances and asks why they pay twice as much for garbage collection as cities twice as big. shame on the uptons and whirlpool for trying to bring a tax base and jobs to the once proud city they knew 50 years ago. stealing a park that no one went to and making the beach facilities even nicer than those in st. joe. let's take that convicted vote fraud felon and make him the mayor.
*
jeremy1 1 day ago
article states: Cotter said. “In terms of civil liability, from the perspective of the county, no one knew the information provided by the police was false so there is governmental immunity.”
This is completely false. But, Cotter is part of the corruption, as are all who make a living in the courthouse - heck, maybe all who make a living in the county! Let's just say that complicity with the corruption is rampant within Berrien County. Cotter and many, many others knew exactly what cops were doing. It's apartheid bordering on genocide right here in the state of Michigan.
*
DougDante 1 day ago
Thank you Cotter for your pledge to help the many innocent people that these criminals have stuck in prison.
http://michiganmessenger.com/26968/drug-cases-dismissed-following-pleas-by-corrupt-narcotics-cops
S.W. Mich. city's police chief leaves his post; city may face civil suits over officer misconduct
By Eartha Jane Melzer 9/28/09
BENTON HARBOR — Berrien County Prosecutor Arthur Cotter has dismissed 40 drug convictions since members of Benton Harbor’s police narcotics unit pleaded guilty to federal charges that they made up evidence, conducted illegal searches and wrongfully arrested people.
Officer Andrew Collins pleaded guilty to participation in a pervasive pattern of police corruption last year and is serving 37 months in federal prison. This month Officer Bernard Hall, Collins’ supervisor, admitted that he allowed, and benefited from, corruption that included stealing seized property from the police department. Hall is expected to be sentenced in December.
Cotter said that he is continuing to review the many cases that involved the two officers who comprised the city’s entire narcotics unit.
“They didn’t engage in misconduct in every single case they did,” Cotter said. “The problem is that everybody who had a case now wants review.”
Although the majority of those who were charged following improper searches and arrests pleaded guilty and formally waived their right to appeal, Cotter said that he is committed to reviewing the cases.
In some instances where those convicted in flawed cases have gone on to be charged with subsequent crimes, and because sentencing guidelines take into account previous convictions, Cotter has found that in some cases sentences need to be adjusted in matters that are not directly related to misbehavior by Benton Harbor police.
“It’s been a journey getting through all these cases,” Cotter said, “but we are getting through them.”
However, the fallout from actions by Collins and Hall is far from over.
Collins and Hall may face civil suits for their role in violating people’s rights, Cotter said. “In terms of civil liability, from the perspective of the county, no one knew the information provided by the police was false so there is governmental immunity.”
As to the liability up the chain of command in the police department and within city government he said he’s “not sure of the depth of the liability.”
David Robinson, a former Detroit police officer turned Southfield attorney, told Michigan Messenger that he is researching cases on behalf of six people who were wrongly arrested by Collins and whose cases have been dismissed as a result of Collins conviction.
“Our intention is to file a federal civil rights cause of action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the city and supervisors, the chief of police, and any responsible party,” Robinson said.
“Andrew Collins wrongfully arrested them and caused their detention. Not only is he responsible but arguably his employer, the city, was responsible.”
Robinson said that he believes that Collins’ misbehavior had gone on over a significant period of time and that the Benton Harbor Police Department failed to maintain necessary procedures for supervision and failed to adequately respond to complaints by citizens who warned of police abuse.
“Someone was asleep at the switch in terms of administrative responsibility to operate the police department.” Robinson said.
Benton Harbor City Commissioner Juanita Henry said she believes the city is responsible for the misdeeds of its officers and that changes are underway as a result of the recent pleas by Collins and Hall.
One major step, she said, is the departure of Police Chief Al Mingo, who is leaving his job at the end of this month.
Mingo’s departure, Henry said “eliminates 55 percent of the problem.”
“He is the chief. He has authority over the whole police department. It happened on his watch.”
“We are paying for his mistakes because our citizens have been imprisoned.”
Henry said that she anticipates the city will face financial penalties as a result of the corruption in the police department.
“There is some liability that the city is going to have to be responsible for,” she said, “there is going to have to be some accountability.”
“The only thing I can do as a commissioner is to apologize to the citizens who have been impacted by this.”
*
jeremy1 1 day ago
he Berrien County chain of command, as many know, goes all the way to the Whirlpool Corporation and the Uptons. It's their plan to rid Benton Harbor's African-American, poverty-stricken population BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY. Golfers playing on land stolen from Benton Harbor shouldn't have to wade through any rif-raff, for heavens sakes. Hence, the highest incarceration rates in the state come from the Berrien courthouse.. The highest conviction rates of innocents and juveniles. And, Whirlpool and Upton have Gov. Jennifer Granholm as one of their biggest supporters...
*
461OceanBlvd 1 day ago
boy, you're right. benton harbor is great just as it is. greater than 50 percent drop out rate and school district with a $7 million deficit budget THIS YEAR. a city council that fires every city manager who questions city finances and asks why they pay twice as much for garbage collection as cities twice as big. shame on the uptons and whirlpool for trying to bring a tax base and jobs to the once proud city they knew 50 years ago. stealing a park that no one went to and making the beach facilities even nicer than those in st. joe. let's take that convicted vote fraud felon and make him the mayor.
*
jeremy1 1 day ago
article states: Cotter said. “In terms of civil liability, from the perspective of the county, no one knew the information provided by the police was false so there is governmental immunity.”
This is completely false. But, Cotter is part of the corruption, as are all who make a living in the courthouse - heck, maybe all who make a living in the county! Let's just say that complicity with the corruption is rampant within Berrien County. Cotter and many, many others knew exactly what cops were doing. It's apartheid bordering on genocide right here in the state of Michigan.
*
DougDante 1 day ago
Thank you Cotter for your pledge to help the many innocent people that these criminals have stuck in prison.
http://michiganmessenger.com/26968/drug-cases-dismissed-following-pleas-by-corrupt-narcotics-cops
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Will Whirlpool/Upton Corruption be Brought Down?
(Media-Newswire.com) - 9/10/09 - GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Bernard Hall, Jr., age 33, of Benton Harbor, Michigan, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the civil rights of inhabitants of the City of Benton Harbor, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. Hall was indicted back in July 2009 in connection with a corruption investigation involving the Benton Harbor Police Department. Hall faces a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000.
At the time of the offenses alleged in the Indictment, Bernard Hall, Jr. was a sworn police officer of the Benton Harbor Police Department ( BHPD ), serving as the ranking police officer and supervisor of the Narcotics Unit. As head of the Narcotics Unit, Hall was responsible for the supervision of other police officers assigned to the unit—including former BHPD police officer Andrew Thomas Collins. Collins is currently serving time in federal prison for his felony drug conviction on January 26, 2009. At the time of his conviction, Collins admitted that he abused his position of trust as a BHPD officer, in that on more than one occasion he failed to report and submit to the BHPD all narcotics he seized in the course of his duties and instead retained possession of narcotics for his own use, gain or purpose. Collins also admitted that he reported false and fictitious controlled purchases to the BHPD for the purpose of improperly securing search warrants and to embezzle funds of the BHPD.
Count one of the Indictment alleges that Hall and Collins were involved in a pervasive pattern of police corruption resulting in the violation of the civil rights of inhabitants of the City of Benton Harbor. The Indictment alleges that Hall and Collins falsified search warrant affidavits, obtained search warrants without probable cause, embezzled funds from the Benton Harbor Police Department, filed false police reports, and unlawfully seized and misappropriated individuals’ money and personal property for their own personal use.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and its law enforcement partners consider allegations of public corruption to be of the highest importance and priority. U.S. Attorney Davis explained that: “ Because the respect and confidence the citizens place in their governmental institutions is dependant upon the honest and faithful services of the governmental employee, my office will aggressively pursue and prosecute governmental employees who violate their solemn oath and duties.” U.S. Attorney Davis further vowed that his office will work diligently with its law enforcement partners to seek out and remedy any wrongful convictions resulting from Hall’s and Collins’ alleged criminal conduct.
The investigation of this matter was conducted by the St. Joseph Office of the FBI with the cooperation of the Michigan State Police, the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office and the BHPD. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney. [The only hope for Benton Harbor residents to have the state of seige lifted from their community rests with the two US Attorneys, Davis and Delaney. This last paragraph lists people and institutions who have aided and abetted criminal and unconstitutional court and law enforcement behaviors for decades. Their masters are Rep. Fred Upton and Whirlpool Corporation.]
http://media-newswire.com/release_1098521.html
At the time of the offenses alleged in the Indictment, Bernard Hall, Jr. was a sworn police officer of the Benton Harbor Police Department ( BHPD ), serving as the ranking police officer and supervisor of the Narcotics Unit. As head of the Narcotics Unit, Hall was responsible for the supervision of other police officers assigned to the unit—including former BHPD police officer Andrew Thomas Collins. Collins is currently serving time in federal prison for his felony drug conviction on January 26, 2009. At the time of his conviction, Collins admitted that he abused his position of trust as a BHPD officer, in that on more than one occasion he failed to report and submit to the BHPD all narcotics he seized in the course of his duties and instead retained possession of narcotics for his own use, gain or purpose. Collins also admitted that he reported false and fictitious controlled purchases to the BHPD for the purpose of improperly securing search warrants and to embezzle funds of the BHPD.
Count one of the Indictment alleges that Hall and Collins were involved in a pervasive pattern of police corruption resulting in the violation of the civil rights of inhabitants of the City of Benton Harbor. The Indictment alleges that Hall and Collins falsified search warrant affidavits, obtained search warrants without probable cause, embezzled funds from the Benton Harbor Police Department, filed false police reports, and unlawfully seized and misappropriated individuals’ money and personal property for their own personal use.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and its law enforcement partners consider allegations of public corruption to be of the highest importance and priority. U.S. Attorney Davis explained that: “ Because the respect and confidence the citizens place in their governmental institutions is dependant upon the honest and faithful services of the governmental employee, my office will aggressively pursue and prosecute governmental employees who violate their solemn oath and duties.” U.S. Attorney Davis further vowed that his office will work diligently with its law enforcement partners to seek out and remedy any wrongful convictions resulting from Hall’s and Collins’ alleged criminal conduct.
The investigation of this matter was conducted by the St. Joseph Office of the FBI with the cooperation of the Michigan State Police, the Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office and the BHPD. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian K. Delaney. [The only hope for Benton Harbor residents to have the state of seige lifted from their community rests with the two US Attorneys, Davis and Delaney. This last paragraph lists people and institutions who have aided and abetted criminal and unconstitutional court and law enforcement behaviors for decades. Their masters are Rep. Fred Upton and Whirlpool Corporation.]
http://media-newswire.com/release_1098521.html
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Power always holds itself harmless while committing great crimes
Rev. Edward Pinkney: The Preacher Who Dared to Invoke God
By Glen Ford, 07/21/2009 - 19:40
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
The first man in modern day America to be imprisoned for “predicting what God might do” was released, last week. However, Rev. Edward Pinkney's conviction on voter fraud charges still stands, despite the 13 errors committed during his trail. The appeals court ruled the errors were “harmless” - a bizarre excuse for depriving Benton Harbor, Michigan of its premier Black leader and minister.
In confrontations between a Black man and a racist state apparatus, the damage inflicted can never be fully, or even substantially, repaired.
When Rev. Edward Pinkney was freed from prison, last week, some hailed the Michigan appeals court decision as a great victory. Only in a society in which racial insult and oppression is general – an everyday fact of life – would Rev. Pinkney’s release after spending nearly a year in eight different Michigan prisons, be considered a triumph of justice. Rather, it is only a partial rollback of a series of horrendous wrongs.
Rev. Pinkney became what the American Civil Liberties Union described as the first man in modern times to be imprisoned for “predicting what God might do.” (Actually, I thought that much of the job description of a minister consisted of predicting and anticipating God’s point of view.) Specifically, Pinkney wrote an article for a Chicago newspaper that predicted the judge who convicted him of voter fraud would be cursed by God. On top of that, Pinkney expressed the opinion that the judge was racist, dumb and corrupt.
For this exercise of his freedom of speech and religion, Rev. Pinkney’s probation on the voter fraud conviction was revoked. He now faced three to ten years hard time. So began his Odyssey from one Michigan prison to another, as state authorities tried to bury the Baptist minister deeper and deeper in their dungeons. A national legal and political campaign ultimately culminated in Pinkney’s release, but as is usually the case in confrontations between a Black man and a racist state apparatus, the damage inflicted can never be fully, or even substantially, repaired.
Power always holds itself harmless while committing great crimes.
The first item on the loss side of the ledger, is the fact that Pinkney’s home town, predominantly Black Benton Harbor, Michigan, has been deprived of this Black leader and preacher’s services for well over a year. The white power structure against which Rev. Pinkney tirelessly organized, succeeded in getting him off of the streets for a significant period of time.
The appeals court that freed Rev. Pinkney refused to order a new trial on the original voter fraud charges. The court acknowledged that Berrien County committed 13 separate errors in the case, but declared these errors were “harmless” and would not have altered the verdict.
“Harmless” errors. Power always holds itself harmless while committing great crimes.
One of the crimes Rev. Pinkney fought so hard to resist is gentrification. Benton Harbor’s lakeside location makes it a prime real estate attraction to the wealthy. When the leader of the anti-gentrification movement is forced to spend all his energy and time avoiding doing hard prison time, the gentrifiers win.
And so the net effect of Rev. Pinkney’s release last week is a mitigation of loss, rather than a victory. As the great Amilcar Cabral advised, "Tell no lies and claim no easy victories."
For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport.com.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
Rev. Edward Pinkney: The Preacher Who Dared to Invoke God
By Glen Ford, 07/21/2009 - 19:40
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
The first man in modern day America to be imprisoned for “predicting what God might do” was released, last week. However, Rev. Edward Pinkney's conviction on voter fraud charges still stands, despite the 13 errors committed during his trail. The appeals court ruled the errors were “harmless” - a bizarre excuse for depriving Benton Harbor, Michigan of its premier Black leader and minister.
In confrontations between a Black man and a racist state apparatus, the damage inflicted can never be fully, or even substantially, repaired.
When Rev. Edward Pinkney was freed from prison, last week, some hailed the Michigan appeals court decision as a great victory. Only in a society in which racial insult and oppression is general – an everyday fact of life – would Rev. Pinkney’s release after spending nearly a year in eight different Michigan prisons, be considered a triumph of justice. Rather, it is only a partial rollback of a series of horrendous wrongs.
Rev. Pinkney became what the American Civil Liberties Union described as the first man in modern times to be imprisoned for “predicting what God might do.” (Actually, I thought that much of the job description of a minister consisted of predicting and anticipating God’s point of view.) Specifically, Pinkney wrote an article for a Chicago newspaper that predicted the judge who convicted him of voter fraud would be cursed by God. On top of that, Pinkney expressed the opinion that the judge was racist, dumb and corrupt.
For this exercise of his freedom of speech and religion, Rev. Pinkney’s probation on the voter fraud conviction was revoked. He now faced three to ten years hard time. So began his Odyssey from one Michigan prison to another, as state authorities tried to bury the Baptist minister deeper and deeper in their dungeons. A national legal and political campaign ultimately culminated in Pinkney’s release, but as is usually the case in confrontations between a Black man and a racist state apparatus, the damage inflicted can never be fully, or even substantially, repaired.
Power always holds itself harmless while committing great crimes.
The first item on the loss side of the ledger, is the fact that Pinkney’s home town, predominantly Black Benton Harbor, Michigan, has been deprived of this Black leader and preacher’s services for well over a year. The white power structure against which Rev. Pinkney tirelessly organized, succeeded in getting him off of the streets for a significant period of time.
The appeals court that freed Rev. Pinkney refused to order a new trial on the original voter fraud charges. The court acknowledged that Berrien County committed 13 separate errors in the case, but declared these errors were “harmless” and would not have altered the verdict.
“Harmless” errors. Power always holds itself harmless while committing great crimes.
One of the crimes Rev. Pinkney fought so hard to resist is gentrification. Benton Harbor’s lakeside location makes it a prime real estate attraction to the wealthy. When the leader of the anti-gentrification movement is forced to spend all his energy and time avoiding doing hard prison time, the gentrifiers win.
And so the net effect of Rev. Pinkney’s release last week is a mitigation of loss, rather than a victory. As the great Amilcar Cabral advised, "Tell no lies and claim no easy victories."
For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport.com.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
Monday, July 20, 2009
St. Joe is a strange place when your skin has more melanin
Boycott Everything in St. Joe
Planting drugs on citizens to improve a policeman's job performance is such a surreal act. Is it possible that a white police officer in Benton Harbor could hold a variety of drugs in his locker to use as false evidence by planting them in black mens' cars or houses or on their persons? Yes. Could this heinous act be discovered through complaints from citizens and the officer get punished? Yes. Could the sentence fit the crime, as determined by Judge Robert Holmes Bell in federal court? No.
The unimaginable criminal behavior of Andrew Collins, a 26 year old white male, took place in no other than Benton Harbor, Michigan. He planted drugs. The drugs were found in his professional locker. He did this over and over and a minimum of 200 Benton Harbor residents were found guilty of drug possession. This was so easy. Everyone knows that black men of Benton Harbor are deep in drug activity. Right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. This stereotype must be challenged.
It must have been a real power trip for Andrew Collins. Sociopathology enjoys seeing others in pain and sociopathology loves to have power over others' lives. This is a difficult concept for most to understand. Andrew Collins will remain a dangerous man even after the 37 months in prison and the 4 years of supervised release. Sociopaths are really not curable. The sentence does not fit the extent of the crime. Particularly after looking at the now absolved sentencing (3-10 years) given to the Reverend Pinkney for paraphrasing the Bible or the sentencing of the victims for having drugs in their cars. St. Joe, where all this takes place, is a strange place when your skin has more melanin.
Is Benton Harbor passive to the oppression? Not any more. Demario Allen, a 25 year old African-American male was an indirect victim of Andrew Collins. He was one of the Benton Harbor residents who filed a complaint that Collins had planted drugs on his brother and himself. He was arrested for an alleged domestic issue several months ago. Once in jail, police claimed he possessed drugs, which was impossible given the thorough search a prisoner is subjected to upon entry. He received a sentence of 15 - 40 years in state prison for drug possession. The sentencing was done by Berrien County Judge Bruce. This sentence will not go unnoticed outside of St. Joseph. The comparison of the sentences is the writing on the wall.
Quacy Roberts is another Benton Harbor African-American male victimized by Andrew Collins and recently, by other cops. He is filing a lawsuit. Benton Harbor will not accept the police state as created by Rep. Upton and St. Joe as an acceptable means of boosting the community. The recent grant received by the golf course developers and Fred Upton includes $500,000.00 It will be used to continue sentencing African-American males in an attempt to make the wealthy golfers and their wives "safe" - another sign of the St. Joe mentality. Just think of the parks, playgrounds, Boys and Girls Clubs that could have been started in Benton Harbor with that money (part "Stimulus Dollars" from the federal connection of Fred Upton?) Instead, we like to lock them up, spend tax payers money on Fred Upton's personal fraternity boy agenda. He has the police behind him. --K.T.Schmidt
BOYCOTT EVERYTHING IN ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN
Boycott Everything in St. Joe
Planting drugs on citizens to improve a policeman's job performance is such a surreal act. Is it possible that a white police officer in Benton Harbor could hold a variety of drugs in his locker to use as false evidence by planting them in black mens' cars or houses or on their persons? Yes. Could this heinous act be discovered through complaints from citizens and the officer get punished? Yes. Could the sentence fit the crime, as determined by Judge Robert Holmes Bell in federal court? No.
The unimaginable criminal behavior of Andrew Collins, a 26 year old white male, took place in no other than Benton Harbor, Michigan. He planted drugs. The drugs were found in his professional locker. He did this over and over and a minimum of 200 Benton Harbor residents were found guilty of drug possession. This was so easy. Everyone knows that black men of Benton Harbor are deep in drug activity. Right? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. This stereotype must be challenged.
It must have been a real power trip for Andrew Collins. Sociopathology enjoys seeing others in pain and sociopathology loves to have power over others' lives. This is a difficult concept for most to understand. Andrew Collins will remain a dangerous man even after the 37 months in prison and the 4 years of supervised release. Sociopaths are really not curable. The sentence does not fit the extent of the crime. Particularly after looking at the now absolved sentencing (3-10 years) given to the Reverend Pinkney for paraphrasing the Bible or the sentencing of the victims for having drugs in their cars. St. Joe, where all this takes place, is a strange place when your skin has more melanin.
Is Benton Harbor passive to the oppression? Not any more. Demario Allen, a 25 year old African-American male was an indirect victim of Andrew Collins. He was one of the Benton Harbor residents who filed a complaint that Collins had planted drugs on his brother and himself. He was arrested for an alleged domestic issue several months ago. Once in jail, police claimed he possessed drugs, which was impossible given the thorough search a prisoner is subjected to upon entry. He received a sentence of 15 - 40 years in state prison for drug possession. The sentencing was done by Berrien County Judge Bruce. This sentence will not go unnoticed outside of St. Joseph. The comparison of the sentences is the writing on the wall.
Quacy Roberts is another Benton Harbor African-American male victimized by Andrew Collins and recently, by other cops. He is filing a lawsuit. Benton Harbor will not accept the police state as created by Rep. Upton and St. Joe as an acceptable means of boosting the community. The recent grant received by the golf course developers and Fred Upton includes $500,000.00 It will be used to continue sentencing African-American males in an attempt to make the wealthy golfers and their wives "safe" - another sign of the St. Joe mentality. Just think of the parks, playgrounds, Boys and Girls Clubs that could have been started in Benton Harbor with that money (part "Stimulus Dollars" from the federal connection of Fred Upton?) Instead, we like to lock them up, spend tax payers money on Fred Upton's personal fraternity boy agenda. He has the police behind him. --K.T.Schmidt
BOYCOTT EVERYTHING IN ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Other Death Penalty: LWOP The Trouble With Prison May 25,'09 By KENNETH HARTMAN, counterpunch.org
Excerpts: People are put in prison because nothing else works. This is the foundational misperception that supports the prison edifice. The truth is far less simple. There are prisoners whose lifetime of dangerous behavior leaves prison as the only choice for society. But these are a tiny minority in the sea of pathetic misfits and perennial losers walking the yards.
Most prisoners are uneducated, riddled with unresolved traumas and ill-treated mental health problems, drug and alcohol addictions, and self-esteem issues that are beyond profound, bordering on the pathological far too often. The vast majority has never received competent health care, mental health care, drug treatment, education or even an opportunity to look at themselves as human. Were any of these far less draconian interventions even tried, before the descent into this wretched cave, no doubt many of my peers would be leading productive lives. Nothing else works is not a statement of fact; it is the declaration of an ideology. This ideology holds that punishment, for the sake of the infliction of pain, is the logical response to all misbehavior. It is also a convenient cover story behind which powerful special interest groups hide.
Prison employees benefit by our failure. This startling fact contains within it a monstrous truth. These well-organized government workers created the victims’ rights movement, a sad shill for the prison-industrial complex. Using the handful of politically active victims of crime to obscure their actual agenda, propositions are passed, laws are changed, and policies that could prevent victimization in the first place are suppressed. Both of these groups, working in tandem with the corporations that supply and construct prisons, pour millions of dollars into the political process to achieve a system guaranteed to fail.
Excerpts: People are put in prison because nothing else works. This is the foundational misperception that supports the prison edifice. The truth is far less simple. There are prisoners whose lifetime of dangerous behavior leaves prison as the only choice for society. But these are a tiny minority in the sea of pathetic misfits and perennial losers walking the yards.
Most prisoners are uneducated, riddled with unresolved traumas and ill-treated mental health problems, drug and alcohol addictions, and self-esteem issues that are beyond profound, bordering on the pathological far too often. The vast majority has never received competent health care, mental health care, drug treatment, education or even an opportunity to look at themselves as human. Were any of these far less draconian interventions even tried, before the descent into this wretched cave, no doubt many of my peers would be leading productive lives. Nothing else works is not a statement of fact; it is the declaration of an ideology. This ideology holds that punishment, for the sake of the infliction of pain, is the logical response to all misbehavior. It is also a convenient cover story behind which powerful special interest groups hide.
Prison employees benefit by our failure. This startling fact contains within it a monstrous truth. These well-organized government workers created the victims’ rights movement, a sad shill for the prison-industrial complex. Using the handful of politically active victims of crime to obscure their actual agenda, propositions are passed, laws are changed, and policies that could prevent victimization in the first place are suppressed. Both of these groups, working in tandem with the corporations that supply and construct prisons, pour millions of dollars into the political process to achieve a system guaranteed to fail.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Rampant Police Violence
How Many Kicks to the Head Does it Take?
By BEN ROSENFELD; May 18, 2009
Excerpts - Countless people in this country live amid an epidemic of police violence. ...rampant police abuse is creating a widening gulf of mistrust between police and the public they putatively serve...it may help explain why someone...would run from police...
On the police side, the failure to prosecute assaultive officers only exposes responsible officers to danger by an incensed public robbed of any reasonable hope for official accountability. John F. Kennedy famously warned: “Those who make peaceful protest impossible make violent revolution inevitable.”
But who could expect responsible local government action when the federal government sets such an atrocious example?
...William Brandeis, a wiser Supreme Court Justice than most, observed: “Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself.” (Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928)).
Unless we are willing to apply consistent legal standards, we will only spin further to the edge of our moral compass, and will find ourselves putting down ever more justifiable rebellions by ever increasing excessive force.
Each extra-legal kick to the head which does not jar us to our senses becomes one more intolerable exception to democracy. We only get so many exceptions before we simply cease to be.
http://news.resist.ca/rampant_police_violence_how_many_kicks_head_does_it_take
How Many Kicks to the Head Does it Take?
By BEN ROSENFELD; May 18, 2009
Excerpts - Countless people in this country live amid an epidemic of police violence. ...rampant police abuse is creating a widening gulf of mistrust between police and the public they putatively serve...it may help explain why someone...would run from police...
On the police side, the failure to prosecute assaultive officers only exposes responsible officers to danger by an incensed public robbed of any reasonable hope for official accountability. John F. Kennedy famously warned: “Those who make peaceful protest impossible make violent revolution inevitable.”
But who could expect responsible local government action when the federal government sets such an atrocious example?
...William Brandeis, a wiser Supreme Court Justice than most, observed: “Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself.” (Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928)).
Unless we are willing to apply consistent legal standards, we will only spin further to the edge of our moral compass, and will find ourselves putting down ever more justifiable rebellions by ever increasing excessive force.
Each extra-legal kick to the head which does not jar us to our senses becomes one more intolerable exception to democracy. We only get so many exceptions before we simply cease to be.
http://news.resist.ca/rampant_police_violence_how_many_kicks_head_does_it_take
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Appeals court to hear Pinkney defense
By Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor, Pan-African News Wire
On June 9, the State Appeals Court of Michigan will hear defense arguments in the case of Rev. Edward Pinkney. Pinkney, who is the leader of the Benton Harbor Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers (BANCO), was convicted by a Berrien County, all-white jury in March 2007 on trumped-up charges related to false allegations of voter fraud.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan has taken Pinkney’s case and was successful in winning his release on bond in December 2008, pending the outcome of the appeal.
Pinkney was convicted of four felony counts and one misdemeanor after heading a successful recall campaign against a City Commissioner.
As a result of the recall, the courts in Berrien County overturned the election results citing irregularities. The first trial against Pinkney ended in a hung jury in 2006. The charges were reinstated leading to Pinkney’s conviction and subsequent house arrest. He was initially sentenced to one year in jail and four years probation by Berrien County Judge Alfred Butzbaugh.
Pinkney was placed on a tether and not allowed to step outside of his home. His phone calls were monitored and he was prohibited from engaging in community or church activities in Berrien County.
When Pinkney published an article in the Chicago-based People’s Tribune newspaper criticizing Judge Butzbaugh’s actions in his case, Berrien County hauled Pinkney into courtroom in December of 2007. He was charged with threatening the life of the trial judge and sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison because in the article he had quoted the Book of Deuteronomy 28:14-22.
Over the next year Pinkney was transferred to over six correctional facilities throughout the state.
A nationwide campaign in his defense drew worldwide attention to the pastor’s plight as a political prisoner. Even though Pinkney was released on appeal bond on December 24, 2008, his conditions of probation are draconian.
Rev. Pinkney’s bond hearing was held in the same Berrien County court system. Under his appeal bond he is denied the right to preach, grant interviews, write articles, address crowds or engage in politics.
Support Builds for Appeals Hearing
In March three friend-of the court briefs were filed in support of overturning the conviction of Rev. Pinkney. A broad-based group of religious organizations, law professors and free speech advocates submitted the legal documents.
“We are thrilled with the overwhelming support from the religious community, constitutional scholars and free speech organizations,” said Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan Legal Director. “The groups persuasively argue for the fundamental American principle that a preacher cannot be thrown in prison for his religious speech even if some find it offensive.”
The religious freedom brief encompasses the views of numerous faith-based organizations.
Another brief was submitted by 18 law professors from various universities including Wayne State Law School, University of Detroit Law School and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The brief states that “In this country, under this Constitution, and on this Court’s watch, he must not be imprisoned for speaking his conscience.”
Also the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression argued in its brief that “In finding that Rev. Pinkney’s newspaper editorial violated his conditions of probation, the lower court punished speech at the core of First Amendment protection: public criticism of the judiciary.”
Berrien County and American Apartheid
This southwest Michigan county is a stark representation of racism and national oppression in the United States. Benton Harbor, which is over 90 percent African American, is one of the most underdeveloped cities in the state of Michigan. In neighboring St. Joseph, a nearly all-white city, the standard of living is much higher and it is the seat of the county where the court is located.
Over the last several years a so-called development project, Harbor Shores, has unveiled plans to take control of large sections of Benton Harbor to construct a golf course and residential enclave for the wealthy. These plans, along with astronomical foreclosure and unemployment rates, are forcing many residents of Benton Harbor to leave the area.
According to an article published by Dorothy Pinkney, the wife of the persecuted minister, the presiding trial Judge Butzbaugh has interests in the Harbor Shores development project. The Whirlpool Corporation, which is highly-influential in the region, is major promoter of the Harbor Shores scheme.
“My husband was denied due process and the right under state law to an impartial decision maker because the trial judge, Alfred Butzbaugh, had a financial interest in the development of Harbor Shores. This huge development project is what motivated my husband to seek the recall of the corrupt Benton Harbor City Commissioner Glen Yarbrough,” Dorothy Pinkney wrote.
She continues by pointing out that “The trial court’s financial interest in the Harbor Shores project was not known to my husband until after the trial. The Harbor Shores project which has been primarily pressed by Cornerstone Alliance on behalf of Whirlpool Corporation began in 1998 when the community economic development corporation was formed by John Dewane of the law firm Butzbaugh and Ryan.” (BANCO website, April 2009)
The Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice (MECAWI), the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO) and the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) are mobilizing people to attend the appeals hearing for Rev. Pinkney on June 9.
The hearing will take place in Grand Rapids at the Court of Appeals Building, 350 Ottawa St at 9:00 a.m.
For information on transportation please call MECAWI at 313.680.5508.
http://tinyurl.com/qb27l5
By Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor, Pan-African News Wire
On June 9, the State Appeals Court of Michigan will hear defense arguments in the case of Rev. Edward Pinkney. Pinkney, who is the leader of the Benton Harbor Black Autonomy Network of Community Organizers (BANCO), was convicted by a Berrien County, all-white jury in March 2007 on trumped-up charges related to false allegations of voter fraud.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan has taken Pinkney’s case and was successful in winning his release on bond in December 2008, pending the outcome of the appeal.
Pinkney was convicted of four felony counts and one misdemeanor after heading a successful recall campaign against a City Commissioner.
As a result of the recall, the courts in Berrien County overturned the election results citing irregularities. The first trial against Pinkney ended in a hung jury in 2006. The charges were reinstated leading to Pinkney’s conviction and subsequent house arrest. He was initially sentenced to one year in jail and four years probation by Berrien County Judge Alfred Butzbaugh.
Pinkney was placed on a tether and not allowed to step outside of his home. His phone calls were monitored and he was prohibited from engaging in community or church activities in Berrien County.
When Pinkney published an article in the Chicago-based People’s Tribune newspaper criticizing Judge Butzbaugh’s actions in his case, Berrien County hauled Pinkney into courtroom in December of 2007. He was charged with threatening the life of the trial judge and sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison because in the article he had quoted the Book of Deuteronomy 28:14-22.
Over the next year Pinkney was transferred to over six correctional facilities throughout the state.
A nationwide campaign in his defense drew worldwide attention to the pastor’s plight as a political prisoner. Even though Pinkney was released on appeal bond on December 24, 2008, his conditions of probation are draconian.
Rev. Pinkney’s bond hearing was held in the same Berrien County court system. Under his appeal bond he is denied the right to preach, grant interviews, write articles, address crowds or engage in politics.
Support Builds for Appeals Hearing
In March three friend-of the court briefs were filed in support of overturning the conviction of Rev. Pinkney. A broad-based group of religious organizations, law professors and free speech advocates submitted the legal documents.
“We are thrilled with the overwhelming support from the religious community, constitutional scholars and free speech organizations,” said Michael J. Steinberg, ACLU of Michigan Legal Director. “The groups persuasively argue for the fundamental American principle that a preacher cannot be thrown in prison for his religious speech even if some find it offensive.”
The religious freedom brief encompasses the views of numerous faith-based organizations.
Another brief was submitted by 18 law professors from various universities including Wayne State Law School, University of Detroit Law School and the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. The brief states that “In this country, under this Constitution, and on this Court’s watch, he must not be imprisoned for speaking his conscience.”
Also the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression argued in its brief that “In finding that Rev. Pinkney’s newspaper editorial violated his conditions of probation, the lower court punished speech at the core of First Amendment protection: public criticism of the judiciary.”
Berrien County and American Apartheid
This southwest Michigan county is a stark representation of racism and national oppression in the United States. Benton Harbor, which is over 90 percent African American, is one of the most underdeveloped cities in the state of Michigan. In neighboring St. Joseph, a nearly all-white city, the standard of living is much higher and it is the seat of the county where the court is located.
Over the last several years a so-called development project, Harbor Shores, has unveiled plans to take control of large sections of Benton Harbor to construct a golf course and residential enclave for the wealthy. These plans, along with astronomical foreclosure and unemployment rates, are forcing many residents of Benton Harbor to leave the area.
According to an article published by Dorothy Pinkney, the wife of the persecuted minister, the presiding trial Judge Butzbaugh has interests in the Harbor Shores development project. The Whirlpool Corporation, which is highly-influential in the region, is major promoter of the Harbor Shores scheme.
“My husband was denied due process and the right under state law to an impartial decision maker because the trial judge, Alfred Butzbaugh, had a financial interest in the development of Harbor Shores. This huge development project is what motivated my husband to seek the recall of the corrupt Benton Harbor City Commissioner Glen Yarbrough,” Dorothy Pinkney wrote.
She continues by pointing out that “The trial court’s financial interest in the Harbor Shores project was not known to my husband until after the trial. The Harbor Shores project which has been primarily pressed by Cornerstone Alliance on behalf of Whirlpool Corporation began in 1998 when the community economic development corporation was formed by John Dewane of the law firm Butzbaugh and Ryan.” (BANCO website, April 2009)
The Michigan Emergency Committee Against War and Injustice (MECAWI), the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO) and the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights (MCHR) are mobilizing people to attend the appeals hearing for Rev. Pinkney on June 9.
The hearing will take place in Grand Rapids at the Court of Appeals Building, 350 Ottawa St at 9:00 a.m.
For information on transportation please call MECAWI at 313.680.5508.
http://tinyurl.com/qb27l5
Monday, April 27, 2009
Colorblind No More March/April 2009
By Daisy Hernández
A growing number of states assess the racial impact of drug laws.
Legislation passed in Iowa and Connecticut will now require politicians in both states to consider how proposed drug laws may impact communities of color. Minnesota hasn’t passed a law, but its sentencing commission has already begun taking similar action.
The laws come after decades of research showing how the federal and state policies that made up the War on Drugs have disproportionately targeted Black people, sending them to prison at much higher rates than whites. In Iowa alone, Blacks are imprisoned at 13.6 times the rate of whites.
The Sentencing Project, an organization promoting reforms in the criminal justice system, has been calling on lawmakers across the country to create racial impact statements. The concept is similar to how environmental impact statements work: When a bill is proposed, lawmakers are required to include an analysis of how the environment would be affected if the bill were passed. Racial impact statements will do the same, considering how a proposed sentencing law might cause, for example, an increase of Latino or Black men in prisons.
http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=508
By Daisy Hernández
A growing number of states assess the racial impact of drug laws.
Legislation passed in Iowa and Connecticut will now require politicians in both states to consider how proposed drug laws may impact communities of color. Minnesota hasn’t passed a law, but its sentencing commission has already begun taking similar action.
The laws come after decades of research showing how the federal and state policies that made up the War on Drugs have disproportionately targeted Black people, sending them to prison at much higher rates than whites. In Iowa alone, Blacks are imprisoned at 13.6 times the rate of whites.
The Sentencing Project, an organization promoting reforms in the criminal justice system, has been calling on lawmakers across the country to create racial impact statements. The concept is similar to how environmental impact statements work: When a bill is proposed, lawmakers are required to include an analysis of how the environment would be affected if the bill were passed. Racial impact statements will do the same, considering how a proposed sentencing law might cause, for example, an increase of Latino or Black men in prisons.
http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=508
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)