Sign the Petition

My name is Caroline Grant. I am an American, born and raised. My parents met during the WWII. My father was in the US Army and my mother in the British Air Force. When I was 13, my mother moved us to England, where I eventually married and had my wonderful son, Adam.

My name is Caroline Grant. I am an American, born and raised. My parents met during the WWII. My father was in the US Army and my mother in the British Air Force. When I was 13, my mother moved us to England, where I eventually married and had my wonderful son, Adam. The marriage was abusive, and I returned to the U.S. with Adam when he was 3. I immediately inquired with Immigration to be sure Adam had U.S. citizenship. Immigration officials assured me that since I was a U.S. citizen, Adam was already a U.S. citizen. It was such a relief to know we could start a new life back in the U.S., protecting him from his troubled father.

Decades later, Adam learned that his father was sick and wanted to see him. Adam applied for a passport, and was told he is not a U.S. citizen.

Anyone who has navigated the U.S. immigration system knows it is a maze of confusion and dead ends. It’s even worse when you can’t afford a lawyer. We were directed to different departments and asked to fill out form after form, each costing more than the last. Our financial resources were drained on stacks of paper, and we were unable to sort out the situation in time. Adam had to fly on a UK Passport to see his father, and in May 2015, when he tried to return home afterwards, Adam was informed that his return visa had been revoked. My son, who has been an American his whole life, was not being allowed to return to the U.S.

We have been told it could be 10 years before he can come home, due to a backlog of visas awaiting approval. Please urge the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to help grant Adam a quick return to the U.S., to his home.

I am a breast cancer survivor. I live on a small disability, and Adam has helped me with bills since my diagnosis. I truly believe I am still alive because of his care.

Adam has lived in the U.S. as a citizen since age 3. He has a Social Security card, driver’s license and is e-verified to work here. This is unfair, and Immigration is unresponsive to all my attempts to sort it out.  I only wish I could afford a lawyer to bring him back home. He has a brother and sister here who miss him terribly. He has me. He has a whole life that is slowly fading as he sits over there in limbo.

I have contacted all my state and federal representatives. I have filed every possible form with Immigration. We need help to get our son and brother back. Please join us in urging the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service to help bring Adam back to his home, back to the U.S.

http://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/slain-chicago-girl-detailed-abuse-in-diary-grandmother-convicted/

Slain 8-Year-Old Alleged Horrific Abuse in Her Diary Before She Was Found Dead: ‘I Hate This Life’  Click here to read

Private Prisons Yet Another Trump Giveaway to Corporate America

Private prisons are a failed experiment. That’s why AFSCME applauded last year’s decision by the U.S. Justice Department to reduce and ultimately end its use of privately-operated, for-profit facilities. The decision was based on evidence that private prisons are a bad deal for taxpayers, failing to deliver on services while jeopardizing public safety.

DOJ walks back guidance discouraging use of private prisons | CNN Politics

The Department of Justice has rescinded guidance from August that discouraged the use of private prisons.

Private prison stocks up 100% since Trump’s win

The stocks of the two biggest private prison operators — CoreCivic (formerly know as Corrections Corp. of America) and Geo Group — have doubled since election day. CoreCivic is up 140% since Trump won in November; Geo Group has risen 98%.

On Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Department of Justice officially rescinded its policy barring the use of private prisons—an order that had been put in place by the Obama administration last year.

A memo sent by current Attorney General Jeff Sessions explained that the August 2016 order to end the DOJ’s use of private prisons, “impaired the Bureau’s ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system.”

Privately run prisons have become cash-cow enterprises in which there are financial incentives to incarcerate as many people as possible.   There have been cases in which judges got kick-backs for incarcerating teenagers (more examples).   Privately run prisons is an example of Capitalism and our Justice System gone amuck.

This just one of the latest horrible consequences to occur as a result of TRUMP being elected president.

David has never been to prison, no history of violence, and has no substantial criminal record to support a LIFE sentence plus 20 years. His conviction was based primarily on “hear-say” of witnesses who testified against him in exchange for reduced sentences of their own. David accepts full responsibility for his actions and is truly remorseful for any harm he has caused to his community, family, and those affected by his unwise choices.

During his 8 plus years of incarceration, he continues to have a positive outlook on life and works very hard to rehabilitate himself. He has obtained a Paralegal Certificate from Adams State University in Colorado with a 4.0 GPA via correspondence courses, read numerous books to enhance his thirst for knowledge, and mentors younger inmates on his own.

Notably, David has been supported by numerous respected members of his community, including Congressman Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania State Representative Edward Gainey who’ve both reviewed David’s case and suggest David’s sentence is overly harsh and because of his harsh drug sentence, he is a worthy candidate for executive clemency.

David comes from a loving family who continues to support him vigorously. His parents (79) and (81) respectively visit David every weekend unless weather permits otherwise. His four siblings, six children, and extended family also continues to be a strong support system via phone calls, cards, letters, and visits to maintain a viable communication line within the family. Because of David’s family support and rehabilitative efforts, he is well prepared for release as a productive citizen to society.

There is a consensus among human rights organizations and sentencing advocates that individuals serving lengthy non-violent prison sentences such as David, will no doubt die in prison if President Barack Obama doesn’t commute his sentence. Many believe that the next President will not be as compassionate and understanding.

Please help urge President Barack Obama to grant David Morris Barren’s clemency petition. David will no doubt die in federal prison with a LIFE sentence plus 20 years for a non-violent drug offense.

A former U.S. sailor who has spent 33 years in prison was released today after new DNA evidence showed he was wrongfully convicted of murder and rape and says that he regrets that his parents aren’t alive “to enjoy the day” he walked free.

Keith Allen Harward, 60, was found guilty for both the 1982 murder of a Newport News, Virginia, man and the rape of his wife. Key to his conviction was testimony by two experts who implicated Harward due to similarities between his teeth and bite marks that were found on the woman’s legs.

For nearly 8 years, the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office has fought DNA testing which could prove Jamie Snow was wrongfully convicted.

Jamie Snow was wrongfully convicted in 2000 of a 1991 “cold case” murder and armed robbery of a gas station attendant in Bloomington, Illinois. Since his conviction, witnesses have recanted their testimony, his original lawyer went to jail for fraud, the first cop on the scene has discredited the “star witness” testimony, and an investigating detective has said Jamie’s Snow’s indictment was a mistake.

While an innocent man remains in prison, there is DNA evidence from the case that has gone untested. For nearly 8 years, the McLean County State’s Attorney’s Office has fought DNA testing in this case. The University of Chicago’s Exoneration Project has agreed to pay for all the DNA testing at no cost to McLean County taxpayers, but the State Attorney still refuses.

Allow the Exoneration Project to pay for it, save the tax payer dollars, and let’s put an end to the cloud of doubt surrounding this case. If this crime had occurred today, there is no doubt the state would test every single piece of physical evidence collected from the crime scene.

To date, there have been 337 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States – and Illinois has one of the highest DNA exoneration rates in the nation. Yet McLean County continues to show a pattern of opposing DNA testing. Many of these are cases were prosecuted under the same State Attorneys Office as Jamie Snow’s case and resulted in questionable convictions.

At the time of the crime, fingerprints, blood evidence, and bullets were collected at the scene. To this day, these items have never been tested for DNA. We are asking Jason Chambers to allow testing for the following items:

Fingerprints: Fingerprints were collected from the crime scene, none matched Jamie Snow. Today, the fingerprints can not only be run through the FBI fingerprint database, they can be tested for DNA.

Bullets: Two bullets were retrieved from the victim. They should be tested not only for DNA, but can also be run through the FBI ballistics database in an effort to determine if they were linked to another crime.

Clothing: There was a clear sign of struggle. We are asking that touch DNA testing be performed on the victim’s clothing to determine who struggled with him.

Blood: In line with the signs of a struggle, there was blood evidence found underneath the counter that was identified as human blood. We would like to know the source of that “human blood.”

Additional Discovery: We are also asking for additional discovery so that an expert can give further insight to the crime scene and the meaning of the physical evidence.

Snow’s conviction was solely on the testimony of witnesses who have since been discredited, and jailhouse informants – who we now know were either under extreme pressure by police, or were seeking deals to testify.

Snow’s original trial attorney would later go to prison for bilking an elderly woman of her life savings. Appellate Court Judge Knecht even admitted during oral arguments that Snow’s trial attorney was impaired: “this guy is a, is a alcoholic who has basically lost his life, lost his practice, and was mentally impaired. Not only is he an alcoholic, he has mental illness issues, and that these go back to dates preceding the trial.”

We are asking you to please support Jamie Snow’s petition to test the DNA, and to join us in asking Mr. Chambers to discontinue using McLean County tax dollars to fight DNA testing.

Get the FACTS about Jamie Snow’s case at: http://www.FreeJamieSnow.com

Broken Justices’s note: McLean County State’s Attorney  fighting to prevent DNA testing make it seem he is more interested in protecting his reputation and maintaining the status-quot than justice.  Seems he’s doing everything possible to make sure no one finds out that his office is responsible for putting an innocent man behind bars.

My son, Edwin Walter Rubis, is serving a federal sentence of 40 years for a nonviolent marijuana offense. He was sentenced in Houston, Texas, where statistics have shown that harsh sentences are more often given to minorities. He has been in prison since 1998, and has served as a model inmate for all of those 18 years. It is time for him to get a second chance at life.

At the age of 19, Edwin began to battle drug addiction and began to get into trouble with the law. Over the course of his drug addiction we sought him help to get his life in order but to no avail. At the age of 29, he was slapped with this offense, and we discovered that when a family can’t afford to hire a competent independent attorney, their chances at justice are very slim. Edwin was appointed a lawyer for “indigent defendants,”, and he was immediately advised to give the court information on other drug offenders he knew. Edwin truly did not have the information they were looking for, so he was quickly deemed “uncooperative” and the trial judge gave him a particularly harsh sentence — 40 years. He has been in prison ever since.

He has served 18 years for a nonviolent marijuana offense. Even if he had been fairly represented and his trial hadn’t been weighed against him, 18 years is sufficient for this crime. Please sign our petition asking President Obama to grant our son clemency, Edwin Rubis, so he may have a second chance at life.

Edwin has been working hard to make his time in prison productive. He has certificates of completion from the psychology and religious departments. He completed a 2-year apprenticeship to be a dental assistant in the medical department. He is active in personal spiritual studies, and is seen as a mentor by his peers for both spiritual and personal character. In fact, a pastor at a rehabilitation program in Florida has said that he has a job opening available for him upon his release.

Sadly, we have exhausted all legal avenues in our search for justice for Edwin. I am pleading for him to receive a presidential clemency so that he can continue his rehabilitative work and efforts to help young men deal with situations similar to those he faced during his younger years on the streets. He wants to further his education and help others out of the justice penal system.

Please sign this petition urging President Obama to grant my son, Edwin Walter Rubis, clemency. He has been rehabilitated, and he deserves a second chance.

Sincerely,

Maria Alicia Roque

On November 15, 1984, 5-year-old Jerrod Hessling witnessed the beating, rape, and stabbing death of his babysitter. When asked to describe the killer, he said, without hesitation, that it was a white male. Another child present during the murder saw a white man’s tattooed arm reach inside the house to open a sliding glass door.

Yet somehow, the lawyers in the case determined that Kenneth Clair, a dark-skinned African American homeless man who had been squatting next door, was the killer. When Jerrod saw him on the witness stand and insisted they had the wrong man, the prosecution chalked it up to youth and trauma, and pursued the death penalty for Kenneth Clair. To this day, 31 years later, Mr. Clair sits on San Quentin’s death row, awaiting his execution date.

But that’s not the biggest bombshell in this case — in 2008, forensic testing revealed that DNA found on the murder victim did not match Clair’s. DNA taken from a glove found at the scene also did not match. It matches another individual, but the Orange County District Attorney insists that “confidentiality is required” concerning this evidence, and for 7 years now, the identity of the person whose DNA does match the swab has remained a secret.

In the interest of justice, we must call on the Orange County DA and California state lawmakers to demand that the DNA evidence be turned over to Kenneth Clair’s defense.

Since his conviction, Clair has struggled with ineffective counsel. He wanted his lawyers to work at investigating the crime, rather than simply trying to free him from death row, but they never did. His plea for substitute counsel even made it to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012, and he did eventually receive a switch of counsel. Finally, he is being represented by people who are dedicated to his exoneration.

But their hands are tied without this crucial DNA evidence, and more of Clair’s precious life is wasting away in prison as they fight to obtain it.

Please sign petition and call Mr. Rackauckas at 714-834-3952 if you feel that the disclosure of the identity of a possible “person of interest” is something that the prosecution should not be allowed to withhold.

More articles about the California Orange County Prosecutor’s Office:

Thousands call for release of man taken off death row for 1984 Santa Ana murder – http://abc7.com/1187404/

California Orange County District Attorney’s Investigator Beats Up Defense Attorney

According to an article in the LA Times, The D.A.’s investigator grabs defense attorney James Crawford’s head and slams it into a bench and then punches him 10 times in the face and head.  The article said that despite the horrible beating, no arrests were made to the D.A.’s investigator.  click here to read…

Experts: No Hope For Justice In Orange County Prosecutor Scandal With Current Investigations – click here to read…