Reverend Pinkney-How I became a political prisoner

Rev. Pinkney and his wife Dorothy. Rev. Pinkney was held as a political prisoner for 21⁄2 years because he led the community’s
challenge to a corporate backed mayor in Benton Harbor.

 

 



TBR-BENTON HARBOR, MI —  I am Reverend Edward Pinkney, a national and community activist, who tragically, became a political prisoner in the state of Michigan on December 15, 2014.  I was sent to prison with absolutely no evidence a crime was ever committed. The Berrien County trial court and Judge Sterling Schrock, along with prosecutor Mike Sepic, stole 30 months of my life.
On July 26, 2016 the Michigan Court of Appeals rejected my appeal. The three-judge panel, Kelly, O’Brien, and Hood, better known as the three blind mice, stated Rev. Edward Pinkney must have told somebody to change the dates on the recall petitions. This was ridiculous. There was absolutely no evidence to support their theory. I was convicted by an all white jury that was motivated by something other than the truth, but it is bigger than that. The powers that be will crush anybody who stands up today. It’s me today, and you tomorrow.
I have already completed the 30 months that was forced on me as the result of a Jim Crow trial that accused me of altering dates on a recall petition against the puppet Mayor James Hightower, who lost the last election by a landslide.
The prosecutor and judge formed a partnership and instructed the all white jury to convict me without any evidence. I am an innocent man tried, convicted and sentenced to die in an effort to isolate and silence me against the power of the land grabbing, job out sourcing, criminal Whirlpool Corporation, with its headquarters in Benton Harbor. This is a company who refuses to pay taxes or hire Benton Harbor Black residents. My unusually harsh sentence was imposed by Judge Schrock.
I appealed the judgment of the Michigan Court of Appeals with the Supreme Court on Sept 3, 2016. On May 17, 2017, the Court asked two questions about the case, (but refused to ask about the insufficiency of evidence.) The questions are about whether the Berrien County trial court violated the Michigan Rules of evidence, the first amendment and due process for allowing “evidence” against me to be admitted under 404b based on the prosecutor’s allegation that I was politically and socially motivated (indicated by my political and social activity, which was 100% legal). The allegation was that it was likely I committed the illegal act of forgery because it promoted my political goal of having the election recall go forward. This was nonsense.
Question number two was whether I was ever charged with a crime. The only statute that was the basis of the felony counts (168.937) set forth a penalty provision for forgery that is prohibited by other sections of the election code and does not set forth a substantive crime that can be the basis of a prosecution.
The scale of Lady Justice is imbalanced, especially against people of color. We must continue to fight against this grave imbalance to ensure a humane, just future for people of color, the homeless, the poverty stricken, for the whole weary and for the beaten populace of America. All across our country, we must continue to speak truth to power. We must demand that justice be served for all people.

In Times Like These

TBR Leighton Bradford Editor-in-Chief 

Humanity seems to be at the crossroads of understanding. The idle minds of some, purports the concerns of the many. Our judicial system should always ask, “What is just”? The law embraces wealth and familiarity, whilst bodies fall by the wayside.  Are we experiencing a social upheaval? Do presidential elections require the assimilation of the masses? Is the Electoral College a form of hegemonic destabilization? The Electoral College purports a kingdom! Bob Marley said, “Brain wash education” “Here comes the con man, coming with his con plan”. The prophet Bob Marley foretold the countering of continued European supremacy! The African Diaspora has always been under assault! This group has not countered the Eurocentric view of racial intelligence. Europeans lay no claim to the accomplishments of Nubia or Kemet. Aliens from outer space did not assist with the monuments there of. Individuals of African descent created the mathematics and science associated with the Kemet (Egyptian-[Non-Arabic]) structures. Please remember Australopithecus aferensis. 

 Blacks need to gravitate towards archaeology and anthropology. It’s about academic civil rights. The overall theme of this piece revolves around Black intellectual property. The Pan-African ideal is muted by the female headed household of Black women. You can’t wear the Black man’s pants!  The NOI, NAACP, CBC, Black Law Enforcement officials need an exorcism of faith! To Black cops, WTF?  Step up to these racist cops? Select Europeans continue to emasculate our race by instilling fear with the most recent police shootings.  Black single mothers have had too much of a burden in raising our children. The existing power centers of our culture need to form an alliance.  Relieve the pressure associated with our single headed house Nubian queens. They unknowingly help a white supremacist cause.  White supremacist, including law enforcement, judges, and uncle tom prosecutors, manipulate our race within the justice system.   

 While a few Europeans stifle the accomplishments of individuals of African descent. We need to understand the laws of physics!  The average European intellectual does not respect our capabilities. Albert Einstein’s laws of relativity were originally copyrighted by the progenitors of Kemet (Egypt). The racist has not fully integrated individuals of African descent.  Incarceration is the heir apparent symbol of the new plantation. The iceman cometh! This can be seen with the Anglo-Saxon fascination with barbaric cinematic conquest. The supposedly powerful WHITE persona! Images seen within the entertainment industry perpetuate a myth. The Isle of Man digs that.  Ultimately the struggle continues for individuals of African descent. I discovered a more universal leader while living in Austin, TX.

            Dorothy Turner, a leader of the Black Citizen Task Force, Austin, TX was the Harriet Tubman of our times.  A strong black woman; moreover, who demanded justice for her people. She stood up to the white supremacist of Texas!  I will never reveal her strategy, but I was willing to die for her cause! The traditional enclaves of African movement organizations are bankrupt of ideas and response! Individuals of African descent need to table new ideas. Baby boom generation are you tired? Allow the next generation an opportunity to bring about change. The sagging pants of our youth are why the universe scoffs at our existence.  If ever a time required justice, it must be now.   The LBGT cause undermines what Black people continue to strive for, at the expense of our offspring. With that being said God bless.  What is just? It certainly is not the accelerated salaries of the current barristers.  We need to address rogue judges! LAWYERS! So, call jurisprudence evades the poor and common man. Currency determines what is supposedly just! Does the southern European still think he rules the earth? They have not gotten over their defeat within the civil war. Racism is a sub-routine of the recent Black shootings. Black police officers either you with us or you’re not? We need to shop, buy, and support Black business! I ask my beautiful Black Sista’s go natural you’re sexy without all of the European weave!  I suggest an edict from Black Consciousness, buy from Black owned business!