People in Berrien County who could facilitate the search for Timothy Allen but refuse

Chief county prosecutor Art Cotter
Sheriff Paul Bailey
St. Joseph Township Police Chief Ross Bates
County Commissioners:
Dave Pagel
Mac Elliott
John LaMore
Debra Panozzo
Marletta Seats
Jon Hinkelman
Zach Perkins
Bob Wooley
Mamie L. Yarbrough
Bryan Bixby
Jeanette Leahey
Cathy Thieneman
Andy Vavra
Rep. Fred Upton
Benton Harbor Police Chief Roger Lange
State Rep. Al Pscholka
State Sen. John Proos

Rev. Pinkney has received new information indicating that St. Joe Twnshp. police spoke to Mr. Allen in a rude manner. The video is in the possession of BH police who refuse to allow citizens to view it, except for Allen's family.

Timothy Allen, African-American, Benton Harbor resident, Missing for Three Weeks

Here's what would have happened if this was a white St. Joseph resident (or most likely any white person in Berrien County, Michigan) --

News media would have been on top of the story on a daily basis

All law enforcement in the county would be involved, including the FBI

There would be door-to-door questioning

Rewards would be offered

Dragging of the river would take place

The county commissioners would be involved

Elected officials would make statements

And more..

What happens when a black human being is missing --

Nothing

If you need proof that racism exists in Berrien County, here it is. Think what this says to a community that the proper actions are not taken by the county they live in to make them safe.

Berrien County Court Report

People from all over the world engage in court watching with Rev. Edward Pinkney to see the extreme corruption and racism for themselves. The reputation is spreading.

And, it says a lot about the government of the state of Michigan that it allows this unspeakably inhumane court to operate unfettered and uncontrolled.

On Tuesday October 25 Chae Hwa Roo from South Korea and J. Gilberto from Mexico joined Rev. Pinkney and were shocked at what they saw. Judge Dennis Wiley belittled a parade of black people who went before him. His treatment was extremely harsh.

On Wednesday October 26 attorney Tat Parish, one of the greatest defense attorneys in the country, was attacked by judge Dennis Wiley. He held his own again the madman.

Attorney Parish's client had taken a drug test which came back positive for marijuana. Parish told Wiley his client had not smoked any drugs in the last ten days. Judge Wiley called Parish a liar and stated marijuana only stays in the system
for seven days. He had his facts wrong again.

Marijuana is stored in the fat cells of the body, in the brain, liver and kidney. THC can stay in a person's body for 90 days and in the hair for between 3 months to 3 years.

The reality is that America, which proclaims itself the land of the free, has the most dishonest and dangerous legal system of any developed nation.

Legal corruption is covering America like a blanket. If there is no struggle, there is no progress. We must Occupy courtooms in every county in the US.

Berrien County Court Report from Rev. Pinkney

Pinkney, a daily court observer, was joined by two people this week, one from S. Korea and one from Mexico. Both are working with the Institute for International Cooperation and Development (IICD) Michigan located in Dowagiac, Mich. The Mexican man had a strong reaction to the proceedings, remarking that:

"In this court, all they do is extract money and imprison people. In Mexico, the defense attorneys fight for the defendant. In this court they give up on them. And, in Mexico, many judges are corrupt because they are terrified of the drug criminals. What they do is assist them, out of fear." (In Berrien County, the criminals come in the form of a land-hungry corporation...)

The South Korean woman said she couldn't have imagined that a court could be so corrupt in the United States.

The two visitors witnessed many miscarriages of justice including Judge Wiley giving Antonio Smith 90 days in jail for contempt of court (scroll down to Sept. 9 for info), and sentencing a man about to die to jail. He was on a breathing tank and using a walker.

California Teachers Protest Cuts, Gov. Snyder Heckled at Parade Allison Kilkenny, May 9, 2011

--Good article from The Nation, except for the fact that one important word is missing: Whirlpool


...In Michigan, protesters greeted Gov. Rick Snyder during Benton Harbor’s annual parade. The governor has become the center of much controversy lately due to his statewide budget that includes deep cuts in education, while providing billions in tax breaks for businesses, and his proto-fascist use of appointed “emergency manages” to reject, modify, or terminate the terms of any existing contracts or collective bargaining agreements and dissolve local governing bodies of schools and cities.

Activists chanted “Recall Rick” as the governor passed.

Some of the protesters, who were led by the AFL-CIA, came from as far away as Kentucky.

"People are waking up," said Betsy Coffia, who traveled from Traverse City, Mich. to protest the parade. "Michigan didn't have a Wisconsin, things just sneaked in behind us. We're starting to realize that unless we the people start getting engaged, and make our voices heard, we're going to lose what we thought we had."

Michigan Rep. Al Pscholka was also scheduled to appear in the parade, but declined to participate after he heard about the scheduled protest.

Pscholka said he was “deeply disappointed and angered” about the news of the protests, and while the protesters have a right to exercise their First Amendment liberties at the parade, “that doesn’t make it appropriate.”

There may be some sore feelings on the part of Pscholka due to the fact that his own constituents are trying to force him out of office via recall for a variety of offenses, including his role as the author of the Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) legislation.

Conveniently, the new EFM rules could abet Pscholka’s finances.

In addition to being the state Representative from the area that includes Benton Harbor, Pscholka is a former aide to Congressman Fred Upton, a man who has deep ties into shoreline development efforts all along Lake Michigan including in Benton Harbor…

Pscholka himself was the president of the Board of Directors of the Cornerstone Alliance in 2008, the group that developed the Harbor Shores golf course and luxury residential development that snagged some of Benton Harbor's public park for its own use. This is a fact he conveniently left off his campaign site's About page when he ran for Congressman.

The first use of the new EFM law to take over a city's government was right in Benton Harbor, the area that Rep. Pscholka represents and where he has deep financial interests. And the first thing EFM Joseph Harris did after dismissing the City Council was to rejigger the Planning Commission and Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, the two groups who make crucial decisions regarding shoreline development in Benton Harbor. Harris replaced some of their members with new members selected by him.

With that blatant conflict of interest in mind, it’s no surprise residents of Benton Harbor want to recall Pscholka. Here is a representative using, and in some cases changing, the laws to benefit his financial self-interest.
http://www.thenation.com/node/160516

State Rep. Al Pscholka introduced EFM bill -
let's just come out with it: FOR WHIRLPOOL

The following is a very astute reader comment from the Michigan Messenger article.
http://michiganmessenger.com/48278/benton-harbor-emergency-manager-strips-power-from-all-elected-officials

No one seems to have noticed who introduced this bill. It was Rep Al Pscholka [517- 373-1403; represents St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, of course]

Please keep these dates in mind: April of 2010. Governor Granholm assigns an EFM to Benton Harbor. The EFM draws up a plan that if followed would have eliminated the City Manager and elected officials.

January 4, 2011. The City Commission of Benton Harbor votes to "take back the power given to them by the voters" and passes a resolution stripping the EFM of his authority.

January 5, 2011. Rep Al Pscholka sends a letter to now Governor Snyder requesting that the EFM be restored to Benton Harbor, saying the elected officials had no authority to do what they did. Apparently, it was realized that the regulations governing how and what an EFM can do were not sufficient, because on

February 8, 2011, Rep Al Pscholka introduced the new EFM legislation, which was passed and now signed by the governor, and which gives the EFM the authority to dissolve elected commissions.

Rich developers in St. Joseph have been itching to get their hands on the last bits of the Michigan lakefront belonging to the poor, majority black city of Benton Harbor. First they grabbed most of what used to be Jean Klock Park to build a Jack Nicklaus golf course. Now they want the rest of the park because a very valuable water system belonging to Benton Harbor is located there. Artesian wells, and all. I just wonder if the ink is already dry on that new EFM order for Benton Harbor?

2 more comments:
Wow- so this is all basically to facilitate a taking? Catering to the wealthy that want the lands for themselves? Will they squeeze the poorer land owners out? Pull one of the eminent domain kind of maneuvers?

What this means is that voters have ZERO representation in local government. The EFM answers to no-one but Snyder. A city government at least answers to it's voters. This power grab is turning voter's rights on their head and is most likely for the benefit of corporations who will reap lucrative contracts from the EFM at the expense of the mostly black Benton Harbor residents. Recall Snyder. He is toxic for the state of Michigan.

Five More Lakeland Hospital Monumental Travesties

From Joyce Carter: My sister had a baby and during the birth, the doctor broke the baby's neck and arm. Lakeland released the dead baby to Pathology after keeping her in OB for a week. My sister has the medical and autopsy reports stating the placenta couldn't be found. Lakeland is covering up the death. My sister has made several complaints to no avail.

One husband, overwhelmed by the pressuring of the staff to move his wife into a Lakeland facility, asked for help. I was not shocked by what I heard since I had heard it many times in the past. When he was not persuaded by all the medical phrases such as your wife needs this medically, the doctor has ordered this, or we are only trying to do what is best for your wife medically, the discharger planner turned to another pressure tactic: financial reasons. She began to tell him Medicare would not pay for the medical services needed without being an inpatient at Berrien Center. As she started to list all the services that Medicare would pay for, I would simply say that is not true. It is time the patients have a choice, not just Lakeland's choice.

From anonymous: My baby died at Lakeland. The hospital claims he had a bad heart, yet no doctor ever stated this. The service was generally always bad. We do not have the resources to fight Lakeland. My baby is gone and if I had known what I know now, I would have taken him to Kalamazoo. I will never go to Lakeland again.

From Kea: I took my 7 month old baby to the emergency room in 2010 where he was misdiagnosed. Both the nurse and doctor were horribly rude. They forced fluid down his throat so he would vomit. The nurse made us keep giving him fluids. He was diagnosed with an ear infection which he didn't have. The pharmecist told us the prescribed medication was too strong for a baby. I had to rush him to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo where he stayed for 10 days and almost died.

From Dee: I am still dealing with the mistreatment I received while in the emergency room. I made formal complaints on three different occasions, talked with a Ms. Dew about the "service," but it's only gotten worse.

The Koch Brothers and St. Joe's Rep. Fred Upton

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-koch-brothers-20110206,0,7986328,print.story

Killer Hospital in St. Joseph, Michigan

In Benton Harbor, the everyday vernacular for Lakeland Hospital has been "Killer Hospital" for eight or so years.

Sensationalism is not what we're after here, only truth. It is in this spirit we post another group of BH residents' experiences at Lakeland.

The BH community is well aware of what people go through at Lakeland; these unfortunate events should not remain concealed.

We are awaiting word from Lakeland that the hospital is using part of their enormous profits to hire an outside investigation of these allegations. It is well beyond the point at which an inside investigation would be appropriate.

1. Mr. Sawyer, age 20, was given incorrect diagnosis and medication. He died in the hospital. His family stated that white nurses were very disrespectful and forced the family out of the hospital after the death.

2. L. Anderson accompanied her mother to Lakeland to have a toe removed. The doctor mistakenly took off half of another toe as well. The patient was extremely upset. Smiling and laughing, the nurses joked about this patient having only three and a half toes.

3. Derrick Atkins had a kidney transplant in Chicago. Back home he wasn't feeling well so his wife Debra took him to Lakeland. His previous surgery was obvious to medical staff, but Debra reminded them anyways that her husband now required special medication. Incorrect medication was given to him. His wife took him to Chicago where doctors stated that Lakeland should have known better. He died in the Chicago hospital. Debra stated that Lakeland nurses and the doctor were unprofessional and rude.

4. Ora G. had a blood clot and was in a serious and dangerous health situation when she was taken to the Lakeland Intensive Care Unit. She was in pain and calling for help when a nurse arrived and said, "Don't you know we have other patients? I'll get to you when I can."

Information for Lakeland Hospital:

All patients have the right to freedom of choice of providers. Discharged planners/case managers have legal and ethical obligations to honor this right.

All patients have a common law right based upon court decisions to control the care provided to them, including who renders it. Thus, when patients, regardless of payer source or type of care, voluntarily express preferences for providers, their choices must be honored.

Federal statutes of the Medicare and Medicaid programs guarantee Medicare beneficaries and Medicaid recipients the right to freedom of choice of providers. When Medicare and Medicaid patients voluntarily express a preference for a home health agency, these choice must be honored. [Lakeland does not honor these choices.]

The balanced budget act of 1997 requires hospitals to develop a list of home health agencies and meet the following criteria: 1-Are Medicare certified,
2- Provide service in geographic areas where patients reside, and ask to be on the list.

Courageous Benton Harbor residents make names public

If you know the history of Berrien County, you know why it takes courage

---The nurses in the ER (not in the entire hospital - our mistake) were all white in the stories told by those who attended the NAACP meeting called by Rev. Pinkney---



Lakeland Hospital in St. Joseph, Michigan has been commonly referred to as "Killer Hospital" by the residents of Benton Harbor. This nickname has prevailed for about eight years.

Here are four more experiences shared at the NAACP meeting last Saturday. Names have been added to stories in the post below this.

1. Mr. Sims, who at this moment is fighting for his life, was a patient at Lakeland, and was misdiagnosed and given the wrong medication. He's now in the hospital in Ann Arbor.

2. Mr. Abdullah: After a simple, non-life threatening operation, he was given a blood thinner by a nurse which caused a blood clot. Abdullah is now unable to walk.

3. Mr. Swife (pronounced Swif) had pain in his arm. A spinal treatment was administered which included a long session of poking up and down his spine. Swife was unable to walk for 4 weeks. A white nurse was everything but friendly towards him.

4. Sally Smith reported for her husband Bradley: Mr. Smith was in ICU - his infection resolved, dyspnea (difficult breathing) unexplained, and surgical procedure to repair his heart valve pending - when he stopped breathing in early morning. He was put on a ventilator and his wife was called. She was treated rudely by a nurse who asked, "What do you want the hospital to do? Pull the plug?"

Prosecutor, judge, public defender used story invented by young white man to remove Loren Robinson from Benton Harbor forever

Berrien County "Trial" this week turns out as expected:
Benton Harbor man Loren Robinson, 26, convicted on four charges - Likely to get life in prison

Josh Karamalegos, white, partied and did drugs with several BH young African-American men and concocted a story so his father would pay for the drugs. Prosecutor Jennifer Smith, judge Dennis Wiley, and public defender Jim Miller used this made-up story, along with an all-white jury, to convict Loren Robinson. Josh K., who was found in possession of a large quantity of crack-cocaine, is free.

Adding to the kangaroo nature of the court, prosecutor Smith called a 5 minute sidebar to discuss her accusation that court watcher, Rev. Edward Pinkney, snorted.

ANOTHER LIFE DESTROYED BY BERRIEN COUNTY DEATH COURT

The report on this blog, Oct. 29, 2010:

...Loren Robinson...about to get a life sentence along with three friends. Det. Smigielski wants to save a young white man (name unknown at present) who's father is wealthy. The story starts with this white man coming to BH from Niles, Michigan for the pupose of doing drugs. He smoked over two thousand dollars worth, but didn't have money to pay the four BH men he was partying with.

He had a plan to fake a kidnapping with the threat of murder so his father would pay off his drug debt. After his father brought the money, father and son fought and police were called. They searched the man and found a large amount of crack cocaine.

Smigielski liked the story concocted by the young man from Niles and told him to tell it in court. So, four more Black men will be removed from Benton Harbor (for the purpose of redevelopment of the land) to the brutal confines of Michigan prisons.

WHEN are we going to FIRE this born-on-third-base-thinks-he-hit-a-homer, privileged rich-kid, this servant of money and plutocrats...?

Our congressman, Fred Upton, has enjoyed the reputation of a "moderate" his entire career. This reputation largely stems from his repeatedly stated positions on the environment. His true colors are flying below for all to see - if only we LOOK at them.

Now in his 12th term (believe in term limits? or does that only apply for the 'other' guy?) Upton is now Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Laid out below are Fred's personal plans for handing crowns to Big Money/Big Oil - and defecating all over America.

When, just WHEN are we going to FIRE this born-on-third-base-thinks-he-hit-a-homer, privileged rich-kid, this servant of money and plutocrats, this DESTROYER (via repeated 'aye' votes on the Patriot Act and Military Commissions Act) of the Bill of Rights and PURVEYOR of invasion, occupation and industrial scale murder? Ask yourself: if Fred Upton REALLY represents MY District, then WHERE are the federal earmarks for SW Michigan, earmarks befitting the District of a 12-term congressman?

I submit Fred Upton has repeatedly failed our District on the most important issues of our time. He is anathema to the entire world through his full time support of military empire. Upton has utterly failed freedom and the US Constitution via his unwavering support for police state empowerment. Now we UNMISTAKEABLY see his TRUE environmental stripes and who he is REALLY serving.

People, this nation is dying because LAW simply does not apply in Washington or multinational (read WHIRLPOOL) corporate offices. 'Law' is for you and me - NOT THEM. Our freedoms and economy have seriously eroded, possibly to the point of no return without a revolt. Fred Upton has been one of Tyranny's handmaidens in Congress, supposedly representing us, while the very worst of this destruction has transpired with his hearty approval.

He simply MUST go. I just wish we could muster enough awareness and outrage to RECALL HIM IMMEDIATELY. He's a disgrace, albeit a disgrace whose IMAGE has been perfumed, face-lifted, coiffed, buffed and polished beyond recognition of his genuine state of being. Put down the Gazette or maybe the Herald-Palladium, if that applies. Turn off the TV and simply open your eyes to what's truly transpiring around you. Use your own God given gifts of perception and reason, instead of some TV talking head who works for the LAWLESS.

Fred Upton, in his heart of hearts, may not be ashamed of himself - however much he should be. Regardless, I am ashamed of him, shamed that he remains OUR representative in OUR House, constantly disgracing OUR District, ever parsing the truth.

Thank God I don't have to live inside Fred Upton's skin. That would be unbearable - too much innocent blood on my hands to be borne.

John Mann


Check out this information on the new chair of energy and commerce committee. It is online at: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ddoniger/uptons_upside_down_agenda.html

Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), the new chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is making no secret of his plans for “an all-out push to block federal and state climate rules.” Yesterday, Upton’s released his committee agenda for the new Congress, which includes detailed plans for blocking the Environmental Protection Agency’s long-overdue steps to curb the full range of life-threatening air pollutants – from soot and smog to mercury and carbon – that come from power plants and other big industrial sources. Also yesterday, according to POLITICO, Upton’s staff met behind closed doors with lobbyists for America’s biggest polluters “seeking unwavering support” for their plans.

The well-heeled crowd at yesterday’s meeting (held jointly with staff for Sen. James Inhofe) reportedly included lobbyists for the American Petroleum Institute, the National Mining Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and others.
“The feedback we got was ‘hey, great, go for it guys,’” one Republican aide told POLITICO. “And we pretty strongly told them we do need your help to get this done. And when we walked away from the meeting the feeling was we got that.”
Nice.

In a delicate turn of phrase, the committee agenda decries the “EPA regulatory chokehold” that supposedly “will severely impede the domestic manufacturing and industrial growth necessary for this nation to create jobs and emerge strongly from a devastating recession.”

This is the same hyperventilating about economic Armageddon we’ve seen over and over during the 40-year life of the Clean Air Act. Yet over that period we’ve cut many pollutants by 60 percent or more and saved hundreds of thousands of lives, while the economy has tripled in size.

Congressmen and lobbyists can make sweeping claims in press releases and other broadsides. It’s when they have to prove those gloom-and-doom claims that things sort of crumble. The same industries that are now pledging Upton and Inhofe their “unwavering” support took their best shot at proving their claims in court – and came up empty. They failed to convince the Courts of Appeals in Washington that EPA’s carbon curbs would hurt their member companies or grind the economic recovery to a halt. As the D.C. Circuit pointedly put it: “with regard to each of the challenged rules, petitioners have not shown that the harms they allege are certain, rather than speculative, or that the alleged harms will directly result from the actions which the movants seek to enjoin.” Their stalwart ally Texas struck out twice more in the Courts of Appeals in New Orleans and Washington.

For too many of the House’s new leaders, however, facts don’t seem to matter. For example, Energy and Commerce Committee member and former chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) bloviates that the court rulings will “crush our economy” and promises legislative repeal. This is entirely false, as the history of the Clean Air Act demonstrates.

Congressman Upton’s committee agenda is a little coy about what specific legislation he plans, promising oversight hearings and other process. But it rather looks like they have their minds made up. As the Red Queen said: "Sentence first- verdict afterwards."

Last month, Upton offered another coy proposal in an op-ed co-signed with the head of the Americans for Prosperity – the astroturf group behind the Tea Party funded by the billionaire Koch brothers and other big polluters – calling for legislation to automatically block EPA’s safeguards while the courts further consider the polluters’ legal arguments. (He seemed unaware that this would really hurt the auto industry, a big time Michigan constituent, by interfering with the Obama administration’s money-saving clean air and fuel economy standards that the automakers support and need for their economic recovery.)
Casting all coyness aside, Congressman John Shimkus (R-IL), one of Upton’s subcommittee chairman, told E&E News (subscription required) that he and his colleagues favor permanently stripping EPA of all Clean Air Act authority to curb greenhouse gases. “’That’s where we’re all at,’ he said.”

The POLITICO story says “Upton is looking to introduce a bill as soon as next week blocking EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, with hearings in his panel next month and a bill brought to the House floor by late February or in March.”

The Clean Air Act is a remarkably successful public health law which – up until now – has always enjoyed broad bipartisan support. It has saved hundreds of thousands of lives while our economy has continued to grow. The further safeguards for soot, smog, mercury, and carbon pollution that EPA is planning to issue will save tens of thousands more lives each year and help us move towards cleaner energy and a stronger economy.

When the polluters and their allies have attacked the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency in the past, the public has responded with even stronger support for the clean air safeguards that protect them from life-threatening pollution. Does Congressman Upton really want to replay this movie one more time?

Michael Sepic: “Poor Paige,” the drunken murderer, “has suffered enough.”

Berrien County trial court’s vicious attack on a Black family
By Tiffany Henderson

On May 15, 2010, my life changed when my father Eddie Peek (61-year old Black man) was killed by a drunken driver Paige Karsten (21-year-old white female) at 2:21am while Eddie was at work for the [Berrien County, Michigan newspaper] Herald Palladium. Since his death, my family and I have had to deal with a prosecuting attorney by the name of Michael Sepic who believes (and has said to the victim’s family) that “poor Paige,” the drunken murderer, “has suffered enough.” He has told the victim’s family that Paige Karsten’s speeding on I-94 with a blood alchol level of 2.17 was not egregious enough to be charged with second degree murder — only because she is white.

When this journey started I had faith that the judicial system would prevail, but now four months later, I pray for a higher justice. In my 37 years of being a Black woman I have been exposed to prejudices of all types but never so blatant, demoralizing and relentless as what the Berrien County Judicial system has exposed, the very system that is supposed to be for the people, all of the people.

My journey will continue and only GOD knows how it will end and my faith is still strong but my essence has changed. I pray that this tragedy will be the start of a new journey and will change the essence of many for the betterment of minorities in Benton Harbor.
http://www.peoplestribune.org/PT.2010.11/PT.2010.11.12.shtml

Wanted For Crimes Against Humanity: So-Called Public Defenders from Berrien County, Michigan -

Ernest White
Rodney Fuller
Michael Renfro
Jim Miller
And the notorious Scott Sanford (the Worst of the Worst)

All Defenders are white

Overseeing these Defenders are the County Commissioners who refuse to take action

Overseeing the Commissioners is Whirlpool and everyone knows the corporation's position regarding the courthouse role in African-American removal from Benton Harbor for land development

These Berrien County public defenders have sent more people to prison than most judges. Rev. Pinkney has not witnessed one of these men ever win a case in his ten years of court watching. They work hand-in-glove with judges and prosecutors. The Michigan ACLU has named this court the worst in the state.

In 2005 the Michigan ACLU sent a group of New York law students to study the courthouse. They were so shocked that they returned several more times to verify what they had seen and heard.

All public defenders in Berrien County are picked by the judges, undermining the independence of the public defender system from the court.

News: Right to Counsel may have a chance in Michigan

In the latest twist in the truly bizarre history of an important 2007 lawsuit, the Michigan supreme court recently reversed its reversal of a previous ruling to allow a legal challenge to the state's woefully inadequate indigent defense system to move forward.

The lawsuits were filed by the ACLU of Michigan on behalf of the indigent criminal defendants in Berrien, Genesee, and Muskegon counties alleging that the state's public defender system is so inadequate that it violates the Sixth Amendment guarantee of the right to counsel.

In April 2010 the Michigan Supreme Court unanimously rejected the state's motion to dismiss the case. Three months later, the court inexplicably reversed that unanimous ruling and dismissed the case. Three weeks ago, it reversed itself again, dismissing their July order. They sent the case to the lower court for a full trial.

News: McGinnis Murder Case May Re-Open in Berrien County

The Eric McGinnis murder case just might re-open. A witness has come forward. Berrien County Judge Dennis Wiley was one of the last people to see McGinnis alive. Rev. Pinkney suspects Wiley and believes this is why he drinks, even on the bench. Stay tuned for more information.

In 1991 McGinnis was badly beaten and murdered. He was an African-American teenager, age 16, from Benton Harbor who had been dating a white St. Joseph girl. She became an outcast in St. Joe and was eventually forced to leave town.

Reasons why this courthouse is different

Berrien County Court Information
(Berrien County, Michigan)



-- Approximately 90% of the court's litigation involves trying and usually convicting residents from only one town in the county: Benton Harbor. That's out of 60 municipalities.

-- Harsher sentences than the fact of the warrant and no alternatives to incarceration. (African-Americans from Benton Harbor receive harsher sentences whether guilty or not. Example: in Sept. 2010 DeMarco Allen was sentenced to 45 years even tho the normal sentence is 9 months in the county jail. He was in possession of some ecstasy pills.)

-- Right before sentencing, judges force defendants to say they are happy with their court appointed attorneys.

-- Defense attorneys never see clients until they have entered the courtroom and everyone present can hear their conversation, ie, "I'm your court appointed attorney. Plead guilty; there's too much evidence against you."

--The indigent defense service has the following deficiencies, among others.

No written client eligibility standards.
No merit-based attorney hiring and retention program.
No written attorney performance standards or meaningful systems of attorney supervision and monitoring.
No guideline on how to identify conflicts of interest.
No attorney work standards.
No adequate attorney training.
No independence from the judiciary. Judges, prosecutors, and indigent defense all work together against defendants.

-- There exists the inability of indigent defense counsel to put the case against their clients to the test of the law.

-- Court appointed attys. do not provide a legal defense for the defendant.

-- Wrongful denial of representation. (Defendants are denied legal representation since defense attorneys are simply there, but not defending.)

-- Wrongful conviction of crimes.

-- Unnecessary or prolonged pre-trial detention. Defendants stay until they plead guilty.

-- Guilty pleas to inappropriate charges and denial of the right to trial when meritorious defense is available.

Smigielski manipulates another citizen to lie

Benton Harbor police officer Wes Smigielski is looking for another witness to lie for him in a January court case. See if you can follow the workings of a psychopathic mind.

(Information on psychopaths: http://educate-yourself.org/cn/barrretttwilightofpsychopaths21aug08.shtml)

Ok, here goes - Pat Taylor's son, Patrick Thomas, is charged with murder and is currently in jail waiting for trial. (He's innocent and is taking the fall for Dewayne Yarbrough, member of a Whirlpool sponsored family. See story here: http://bhbanco.blogspot.com/2010/10/bizarre-stories-two-berrien-county.html)

Camilla Crumbley's children were taken from her by Child Protective Services. Officer Smigielski tells Camilla that Pat Taylor made the call to CPS which got her children removed. He wants Camilla to be a witness in the January trial of Patrick Thomas. The rationale he's using is that lying to help convict Patrick Thomas for murder will give her the chance to get even with Thomas's mother for calling CPS.

Nothing he's saying is true as he manipulates more Benton Harbor residents for Berrien county's corporate master, Whirlpool. We wouldn't be surprised if Smigielski himself called CPS. Eradication of the African-American population for development of the land is the decades old project of the state sponsored corporation.

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!

Informants and friends are permitted to rape women and children in Berrien County

As Berrien County, Michigan head prosecutor, Art Cotter refuses to prosecute Charles Washington for the violent crime of attempted rape. Washington is a paid informant for the police/court system. Washington hit his victim 5 times in the head with his fist until she was knocked out.

More on Cotter: his close friend Richard Pahl is doing forty years in a Minnesota prison for molesting children.

Cotter is known throughout Berrien County for being "tough on crime." A real tough guy who hasn't come close to bringing to justice the victims of former cop Andrew Collins, big-time drug planter. And he refused to prosecute his good friend, Pahl.

Pahl used to live in Berrien Cty. where he molested many Benton Harbor children between about 1995 and 2005. He had "easy access" as director of the Link Crisis Intervention Center. He often took children to his St. Joseph home for weekends.

In approximately 2006 Pahl moved to Minnesota where he was caught molesting more children -- in a MN court he admitted to molesting at least 20 BH children.

More on Vigansky

Another case Berrien County's Gerald Vigansky prosecuted last summer involved a 17-year-old Benton Harbor high school student who had a boyfriend, but no idea that a warrant for his arrest had been issued. She was arrested at school while rehearsing for graduation (typical technique used in these parts to instill "group fear" - in how many towns would cops wait until a teenager was in school to arrest them?) She innocently told police that she had been in a motel with her boyfriend, so they arrested her for aiding and abetting a fugitive. She had never been in court before, and was like a lamb going to slaughter with Vigansky vigorously attacking her, prosecuting her like a pit bull in a hearing where he forced her to plead guilty.

Like so many BH residents before her who's lives and liberty have been stolen from them by the Berrien County authorities, she will have a lifetime record preventing her from getting employment, entering college, and receiving grants. Or at least making these things much more difficult.

Monumental Miscarriages of Justice continue in Berrien County, Michigan. Two stories.

Former Benton Harbor policeman Andrew Collins, controlled by Whirlpool, was arrested in 2009 for possession and intent to sell drugs, and planting drugs on over two hundred people in BH. Countless families suffer because of his false arrests ending in false convictions and imprisonments. Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter reversed less than fifty cases. Collins served only 7 months of a 37 month sentence, and is back in town.

Now BH has Det. Officer Wes Smigielski who is going for the throats of residents. He pays people to lie in court. When will people take a stand against Mega Corrupt law enforcement in Berrien County?

First story

On August 3, 2008 Clarence Martin (little Clay) was killed by Dewayne Yarbrough or Ryan Reed. Yarbrough, who lives five houses away from the murder, and Reed had a fight with Martin which ended in his murder. The Yarbroughs are a "Whirlpool sponsored family" so police protect Dewayne. He was taken in for questioning only because all of BH knew he killed Martin. He was released.

To the present. Det. Smigielski framed a young man not only because he's African-American, but because the BHPD needed a fall guy for Yarbrough. He is Ronald Goodlow (Rocky). He's committed multiple armed robberies in the community, and always carries a gun. Goodlow was ordered to go to court and say that he was gambling with a Patrick Thomas and Clarence Martin when Thomas pulled out a gun and shot Martin. A total fabricated lie. Thomas was chosen because he rubs BH police the wrong way; he knows his rights and doesn't cooperate with racial profiling.

Smigielski paid Goodlow to lie under oath in exchange for getting all charges dropped for the robberies. The innocent Thomas will be found guilty because he's black.

Second story

Then there's Loren Robinson who's about to get a life sentence along with three friends. Det. Smigielski wants to save a young white man (name unknown at present) who's father is wealthy. The story starts with this white man coming to BH from Niles, Michigan for the pupose of doing drugs. He smoked over two thousand dollars worth, but didn't have money to pay the four BH men he was partying with.

He had a plan to fake a kidnapping with the threat of murder so his father would pay off his drug debt. After his father brought the money, father and son fought and police were called. They searched the man and found a large amount of crack cocaine.

Smigielski liked the story concocted by the young man from Niles and told him to tell it in court. So, four more Black men will be removed from Benton Harbor (for the purpose of redevelopment of the land) to the brutal confines of Michigan prisons.

The trial is scheduled for November.

Det. Wes Smigielski is another Andrew Collins. He must be stopped before it's too late. There are ten other cases he's worked on. We must stop him now!