[Ppnews] Benton Harbor & the jailed Rev. Pinkney
Political Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Sun Dec 23 15:43:18 EST 2007
BLACK AUTONOMY NETWORK COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
<http://bhbanco.blogspot.com/>http://bhbanco.blogspot.com/
(for additional information and web links about this case)
REV. PINKNEY'S attorney, Hugh M. Davis, tells
<http://www.blackcommentaor.com/>http://www.BlackCommentaor.com
an attempt at a hearing on Thursday, 20
December 2007 to get Pinkney out of jail failed.
Davis says Judge Alfred Butzbaugh accepted their
argument that the following statement was
protected by the first amendment right of free speech:
"The corruption and the deceitfulness continues
in Berrien County Courthouse. Judge Butzbaugh has
violated his oath. I support the constitution of
the United States and the State of Michigan; we
are still waiting on this racist corrupt judge to
do the same. Judge Butzbaugh has failed the
people, the community, his duties and his office."
However, Davis says the Judge ruled that the
following statement by Pinkney calling on God to
curse the judge and his family was not protected
by the first amendment and it was a violation of
the probation terms prohibiting inflammatory remarks:
"Judge Butzbaugh, it shall come to pass; if thou
continue not to hearken unto the voice of the
Lord thy God to observe to do all that is right;
which I command thee this day, that all these
Curses shall come upon you and your family,
curses shalt be in the City of St. Joseph and
Cursed shalt thou be in the field, cursed shall
come upon you and your family and over take thee;
cursed shall be the fruit of thy body. The Lord
shall smite thee with consumption and with a
fever and with an inflammation and with extreme
burning. They the demons shall Pursue thee until thou persist."
Both of the above quotes are part of an article
that originated in the People's Tribune; PO Box
3524, Chicago, IL 60654, 773-486-3551,
info at peoplestribune.org written by Rev. Pinkney.
<http://www.blackcommentator.com/257/257_pinkney_article.html>http://www.blackcommentator.com/257/257_pinkney_article.html
Attorney Davis also tells BC he is puzzled by the
ruling and has never heard of anything like it
before. Another hearing on the matter will take place in about two weeks.
Note: This story will be updated if there are new
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Larry Pinkney and David Love appeared on Make It
Plain with Mark Thompson on Sirius Radio - Left
Channel 146 on (December 20, 2007) at 7pm Eastern
Time. They discussed the Rev. Pinkney case.
Note: Larry Pinkney and Rev. Pinkney are not related.
In a series of commentaries in recent months,
<http://www.blackcommentaor.com/>http://www.BlackCommentaor.com
has reported on the story of Reverend Edward
Pinkney. Rev. Pinkney, a Black community leader
and activist, has led the fight against official
corruption and corporate greed in his
impoverished and predominantly Black community of Benton Harbor, Michigan.
In an effort to stop the giveaway of Benton
Harbor's prime waterfront property to the
Whirlpool Corporation ”which plans to build the
$750 million to $1 billion Harbor Shores, a
resort complete with a marina, golf course,
hotels and luxury housing units, none of which
will provide any benefit to Benton Harbor's
residents—Pinkney led a successful election
effort to unseat the city's most influential
powerbroker. A local judge threw out the
election, and was subsequently rewarded by
President Bush with a seat on the federal bench.
In retaliation for the recall effort, Pinkney was
charged with voter fraud under an unjust, overly
broad state law and found guilty by an all-White
jury. He was placed on probation and placed
under house arrest. His appeal for a new trial was denied.
For a detailed analysis, see Larry Pinkney's May
10, 2007 commentary entitled, Benton Harbor 2007:
A Case Study of State Sanctioned Suppression of
Voting Rights, and David A. Love's December 13,
2007 commentary entitled, Reverend Pinkney's
Fight Against Racism, Gangsterism and Land Stealing.
On December 13, 2007, former Representative
Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia), a Green Party
presidential candidate, visited Benton Harbor to
show support for Rev. Pinkney.
The next day, Judge Alfred Butzbaugh issued an
arrest warrant for Pinkney on the grounds that
Pinkney violated his probation by engaging in
"assaultive, abusive, defamatory, demeaning,
harassing, violent, threatening, or intimidating behavior."
At issue was an article in the November/December
issue of The People's Tribune, in which Rev. Pinkney stated:
"We must fight for justice for all anytime you
have a Judge like Alfred Butzbaugh, who is a
racist. It took over 53 days to render a
fifth-grade decision denying me a new trial."
Pinkney also said:
"In my motion for a new trial, I argued that I
was charged but never arraigned, nor did I
receive due process by the dumb Judge and
prosecutor." He added: "I support the
constitution of the United States and the State
of Michigan; we are still waiting on this racist
corrupt judge to do the same. Judge Butzbaugh has
failed the people, the community, his duties and his office."
Neither Pinkney nor his counsel were aware of such terms to his probation.
Rev. Pinkney was arrested by sheriff's deputies
and locked up in the Berrien County Jail in
neighboring St. Joseph. And his computer was confiscated.
His supporters have endorsed a petition
protesting the stolen Benton Harbor election and
Pinkney's false prosecution. They are calling
for clemency from Governor Granholm, and a boycott of Whirlpool products.
In the meantime, Rev. Pinkney is on a hunger
strike. He is taking only liquids.
In a statement, former Rep. McKinney said the following:
"We received a tremendous reception in Benton
Harbor, Michigan--a majority black community that
is fighting for its survival against powerful
corporate interests that want to own its pristine
beachfront land. Reverend Edward Pinkney has
been a stalwart fighter for justice in the
community and is leading its resistance to these
powerful corporate interests. I went to Benton
Harbor to support Reverend Pinkney and the people
of Benton Harbor in their struggle for
self-determination. At this meeting, it was
clear that Reverend Pinkney had succeeded in
bringing whites and blacks together in this fight
for justice. And we know that powerful interests
view that as a no-no. Unfortunately, today, the
day after our wonderful rally with the residents,
Reverend Pinkney was picked up by the police for
allegedly violating the terms of his parole to
not make ‘inflammatory statements."
Rev. Pinkney has been punished twice, once for
fighting against powerful corporate interests—
and using the democratic process to unseat their
primary water boy— and a second time for using
his First Amendment right to free speech by
criticizing those who have committed a grave injustice against him.
The team of attorneys representing Rev. Pinkney
believes they have a good first amendment
case. The National Lawyers Guild team will
challenge the arrest, challenge the terms of the
probation and ask the court to modify the
conditions of probation at a hearing set for 4pm
ET today (Thursday, December 20).
Hugh M. Davis, one member the three-lawyer
Pinkney legal team told BC they would argue in
court that the seizing of Pinkney's computer and
prohibition of the use of a cell phone was illegal.
Additionally they will argue that the terms of
condition 15 of the probation document are
overbroad and vague. The National Lawyers Guild
team is hoping to get Pinkney released on bail
while awaiting an appeal of the case.
The case of Rev. Pinkney is part of a lengthy
ongoing struggle in Benton Harbor. Rev. Pinkney
and the Black community of Benton Harbor are not
receiving justice, and "justice delayed is
justice denied" to Pinkney and the entire Black community of Benton Harbor.
Further, it should be noted that what is
occurring in Benton Harbor with Rev. Pinkney and
the Black community there is precisely what is
taking place on assorted levels throughout the
U.S., e.g. the Jena 6, the San Francisco 8, the
officially admitted Black torture victims of the Chicago police, etc.
And there are Benton Harbors across the nation,
as Black, Brown and poor communities are
displaced and decimated by gentrification and
corporate greed, and in the case of New Orleans,
eliminated through official neglect.
For those who believe it cannot, will not happen
to them, the suppression of Rev. Pinkney's free
speech rights jeopardizes the free speech rights
of all Americans, particularly those of Black
political activists and other people of
color. At a time when what you say can land you
in jail, this suppression of Rev. Pinkney and the
Black community has a chilling effect upon the
exercising of one's constitutional rights.
BC readers should contact Rep. John Conyers to
let him know that they want justice for Rev. Pinkney:
Rep. John Conyers
669 Federal Building
231 W. Lafayette
Detroit, MI 48226
(313) 961-5670
(313) 226-2085 Fax
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-5126
(202) 225-0072 Fax
2615 W. Jefferson
Trenton, MI 48183
(734) 675-4084
(734) 675-4218 Fax
Email Mr. Conyers: John.Conyers at mail.house.gov
<http://www.blackcommentator.com/>http://www.BlackCommentator.com
Editorial Board member David A. Love, JD is a
lawyer and prisoners' rights advocate based in
Philadelphia, and a contributor to the
Progressive Media Project, McClatchy-Tribune News
Service and In These Times. He contributed to
the book, States of Confinement: Policing,
Detention, and Prisons. (St. Martin's Press,
2000). Love is a former Amnesty International UK
spokesperson, organized the first national police
brutality conference as a staff member with the
Center for Constitutional Rights, and served as a
law clerk to two Black federal judges.
His BLOG is
<http://www.davidalove.blogspot.com/>http://www.davidalove.blogspot.com/.
Click here
<http://www.blackcommentator.com/contact_forms/david_love/gbcf_form.php>http://www.blackcommentator.com/contact_forms/david_love/gbcf_form.php
to contact Mr. Love.
BC Editorial Board member, Larry Pinkney is a
veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former
Minister of Interior of the Republic of New
Africa, a former political prisoner and the only
American to have successfully self-authored his
civil/political rights case to the United Nations
under the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. For more about Larry Pinkney
see the book, Saying No to Power: Autobiography
of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker, by
William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn].
(Click here
<http://www.struggle-and-win.net/13201/43480.html>http://www.struggle-and-win.net/13201/43480.html
to read excerpts from the book) Click here
<http://www.blackcommentator.com/contact_forms/larry_pinkney/gbcf_form.php>http://www.blackcommentator.com/contact_forms/larry_pinkney/gbcf_form.php
to contact Mr. Pinkney.
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863-9977
www.Freedomarchives.org
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