Crime

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick Once Again Denied Motion to Vacate 28-Year Sentence

DEFENDER NEWS NETWORK — On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds rejected the appeal from the former mayor of Detroit, who is in his eighth year in prison. Kilpatrick’s motion argued the court made errors during his trial. Among the issues he alleged were incorrect jury instructions, impermissible hearsay and his defense lawyer having a conflict of interest.

Published

5 years ago

March 27, 2019

Oakland Post

By Defender News Service

Kwame Kilpatrick has once again hit a snag in his quest to have his 28-year prison sentence renounced.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds rejected the appeal from the former mayor of Detroit, who is in his eighth year in prison. Kilpatrick’s motion argued the court made errors during his trial. Among the issues he alleged were incorrect jury instructions, impermissible hearsay and his defense lawyer having a conflict of interest.

Edmunds said the 48-year-old disgraced political figure’s motion failed to show he was unfavored by any supposed errors and he also did not raise some of the issues in a previous appeal, according to The Detroit News.

“Nor can defendant show actual innocence,” Edmunds wrote in her decision. “As this court has previously discussed at length, the evidence at trial weighed heavily in support of the verdicts of guilt against defendant.”

The action was Kilpatrick’s latest move in an attempt to become a free man since he was sent to prison in 2013 following a federal corruption trial. After running a criminal operation from City Hall that included funneling water and sewer contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to contractor and longtime pal Bobby Ferguson, Kilpatrick was found guilty on charges of extortion, bribery, conspiracy and other crimes during his tenure as mayor of Motor City.

Kilpatrick, who was abruptly put out of office in 2008 after a sex scandal involving explicit text exchanges with his then-married chief of staff (he was also married), previously tried to get President Donald Trump to commute his sentence in June 2018. At the time, he had served seven years of his sentence.

“I accepted Christ as my Lord, my Savior, and my Redeemer that day; June 9, 2014. And everything in my life changed!” Kilpatrick wrote in a lengthy Facebook post detailing why he should be granted clemency ” … Yes, I have been punished severely. I have been chained like a wild animal, shacked around my ankles, waist and wrist, with a black box to keep my hands at my side many times. I experienced ridicule, scorn and disrespect from prison staff that you couldn’t imagine.”

Trump did not respond to his request.

This article originally appeared the Defender News Network.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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California Black Media

Anti-Theft Bill with Jail-Time Requirement Gets Wide Ranging Support

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24. Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

San Bernardino Police Chief Darren Goodman speaks as Asm. James Ramos (D-San Bernardino), left, stands beside him at a news conference in Sacramento concerning retail theft across the state.

By California Black Media

Fed up with the alarming frequency of retail theft across California, including smash and grabs, a diverse group of business leaders, law enforcement officials, policymakers and public safety advocates joined their efforts in Sacramento on Jan. 24.

Their purpose: to increase public support for Assembly Bill (AB) 1772, a bill that would make jail time mandatory for repeat theft offenders.

Co-authored by Assemblymembers James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino), Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) and Devon Mathis (R-Tulare), AB 1772 would require jail time “of one to three years for theft crimes depending upon the circumstances.

“Offenses would include grand theft, theft from an elder or dependent adult, theft or unauthorized use of a vehicle, burglary, carjacking, robbery, receiving stolen property, shoplifting or mail theft,” the bill language reads.

Ramos said the need to act is urgent.

“It’s time for us to reverse the spikes in theft crimes since the pandemic. Our law enforcement members and district attorneys need additional tools such as AB 1772. We must reverse the trend before the problem grows worse. Last year I requested a state audit of the impact of Prop 47 on Riverside and San Bernardino counties,” said Ramos.

Prop 47 is the California initiative, approved by voters in 2014, that reclassified some felonies to misdemeanors and raised the minimum amount for most misdemeanor thefts from $400 to $950.

According to a Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) report, the rate of occurrence of petty crimes like shoplifting and commercial burglaries have increased by double digits over the last four years.

In Orange County alone, commercial burglaries have spiked by 54%.

“Our communities are experiencing an increase in retail crime and deserve appropriate action from their legislators,” Valencia said.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus thanked Ramos.

“This bill, designed to impose stricter penalties on serial retail theft suspects, responds urgently to the escalating consequences of shoplifting and related crimes on our communities,” he said.

AB 1772 supporters who spoke at the gathering included Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper and San Bernardino Chief of Police Darren Goodman. Listed as supporters are the California State Sheriff’s Association, City of Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez and Redlands Chamber of Commerce.