Why Justice isn't Always JUST

Corruption in MS Judicial System                                            

       Tips the Scales Beyond                   The Point of No Return

There have been plenty of times, especially recently, where the MS state Judicial System has grossly let us down, as we, the people.  As a whole, I would say that it would not be over-reaching to state that MS continues to be what could be referred to as a “Good ‘Ole Boys” state. There is, however recently, the time when it was finally discovered that the former MS corrections commissioner Chris Epps was leading a bribery scandal, and he was arrested, sentenced, and fined.  However, when only a few years ago, then Judge Reedy was found with his hand up a young girl’s skirt, his only punishment was to step back from judgeship and return to being a practicing attorney, have his name go unprinted in the phonebook, and have all records of his story expunged from the internet.  So which Attn Reedy could this be?  And why does the state of MS not treat everyone fairly?  Why do we continue to see lawsuits versus the state, with wrongful deaths occurring of inmates while in the care of the Desoto County Prison System?  Clearly, we have an underlying problem at play with our judicial system.

I’m going to tell you a story about someone that MS is persecuting unfairly.  I won’t give you his name, because you need to see the situation for what it is, no matter who it is about. To give you some history, about twenty years ago, his motto would have been that he is “Grinding to shine.”  But he has learned a lot in those twenty years.  He is a two-time convicted felon.  He would be the first one to admit to any crime that he committed, and willing to pay the price for it.  But in the past few years, his life has become drastically different.  His motto has changed.  Now he say he’s “Grinding to disappear.”  He doesn’t want to be in the spotlight anymore.  He wants to be forgotten … by almost everyone.  I’m writing this because he is the father of my godson. And all he wants to do is follow the rules, be left alone, and be there for his family and his son.

So let me tell you a little bit about how he is being persecuted by the state of MS, and every arm of its judicial system.  First, this whole thing started when he was pulled over for an improper turn.  At this point, he was made to exit the vehicle, which was then searched.  The police found a sheathed dirk knife (and a machete, which, oddly enough is NOT considered a weapon).  What the police didn’t know was that the dirk knife wasn’t considered a weapon until it was unsheathed. So he ended up winning that indictment – but not before a whole host of other instances of harassment ensued.

One particular officer has been harassing him almost to the point of stalking.  His name is Officer Danny Wilkey.  He also perjured himself on the stand in the aforementioned indictment, as he changed his statement from what he originally said.  When the defendant was serving as his own co-counsel and questioning Officer Wilkey, the defendant was so quick to ask him questions and so fast to retort with follow-ups, that Officer Wilkey (even though he had his police report in his hand), kept tripping over his responses.  Seeing as the defendant had the TRUTH on his side, and didn’t have to think about his answers, he didn’t have to stop and think about his answer, and therefore his response time was immediate, and his answers never faltered.  However, unfortunately the same cannot be said about Officer Wilkey.

Officers Wilkey and Perkins were two of the officers there on the scene the night of the turn signal debacle.  There were six police cars at the scene, even though Officer Wilkey said that the line was busy so he couldn’t phone in the call.  While the defendant was in handcuffs in the back of the police car, his girlfriend (and mother of his son) was on the curb of the sidewalk.  One of the officers asked her if she knew what the defendant’s tattoos meant.  She replied that yes, of course she did, because he is a very honest person.  They responded that he wasn’t a good person and that she was hanging out with the wrong crowd and that he was going to influence her, etc.  The police then walked away slightly and started talking amongst themselves, and the girlfriend overheard them.  While the defendant openly admits that he was once a member of a gang, he also gave himself to God in 2010, had a child in 2015, and has since made very different lifestyle choices.  His life is currently about nothing but his family and God.  His girlfriend overheard the officer’s saying that they were going to find a way to make the traffic stop gang-related (simply because of his tattoos), and the fact that he USED to be affiliated).   This ALONE is falsification of a police report.  She then overheard them saying they couldn’t do it, followed by them said “We’ll figure it out.”

After his dirk knife was confiscated this morning, he was arrested.  But let me give a little more detail of how, exactly, we got from A to Z …  After they initially pulled them over for the turn signal, they were immediately asked to pull over, exit the vehicle, and asked if the police could search the vehicle.  T Officer Wilkey (the stalker, if you will) was the officer that pulled them over, however five other police cars magically appeared.  After hours of searching through the vehicle, they confiscated the dirk knife, but did not give him a property receipt.  They proceeded to arrest him, because he had a warrant for his arrest for child support. His bond was $2,500 to get out of jail.  When he was released from jail, he had a ticket for the improper turn, careless driving, no insurance, and no license.  He served one hundred hours of community service for this.  Upon completion, he asked the judge what he could do to get his dirk knife back, as it was from his father, who had recently passed away.  The judge told him that if he did not have a property receipt, to go to the front desk at the police station and talk to whomever was there.  Right as he was walking out of the courtroom, NINE officers were there prepared to arrest him (the defendant).  However … they weren’t exactly completely prepared … as they didn’t have the warrant.  The defendant asked them repeatedly to see the warrant, and the only answer that he was given was that it “wasn’t ready yet.”  He was then brought to the county jail where he was processed and he finally saw the warrant for having a “felony possession of a dirk knike” in his vehicle, which came to be the aforementioned indictment, of which he was unanimously found innocent. 

To this day, the defendant still does not have his dirk knife back.  The police’s reasoning is that they have to keep it because it is “evidence in a case.”  However doesn’t it being “evidence in a case” imply that there is an actual CASE or CRIME?  Should not the defendant be able to re-obtain the property that his late father left him, seeing as no crime has been committed, and there is not case to solve?  If the only “crime” to speak of was the “felony possession” … the jury unanimously voted that that particular item was not to be considered a weapon for various reasons; so should not the police return the property to its rightful owner? 

The whole trial, it was evident that the prosecuting team, the judge, and possibly even his own attorney were all on their own team, fighting against the defendant … fighting for him to lose.  They all had their own mindset that for one, they were the good guys and he was the bad guy, and for two, that he was a stupid bad guy.  Everything that he thought of that was either an idea that might help him, or a smart idea … they would just shoot it down.  He wanted to get a hair sample for his girlfriend to prove that she had never done heroin, because one of the police officers was trying to say that she was a heroin addict.  He wanted to prove that the officer was lying and show their perjury.  He was told that it had nothing to do with the case.  He wanted to sit as co-counsel – everyone opposed him.  When the trial was over, and he had finally won, the prosecuting attorney and Attn Jack Jones came to him and said something to the effect of  “It’s ok, we’re still working on [getting you on] something [else].”

While on parole, the defendant has been meeting with his parole officer, as per schedule.  Even his parole officer, Mr. Smith, has said “You need to nip shit in the bud and file a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi” for all of the heinous crimes against [your] civil rights.  The Civil Right Act of 1983 protects the defendant against being persecuted in a manner such as this, in so many ways, to such a degree.  But the worst part about it is, that it’s the Judicial System that is the one doing the violating - the police force, the attorneys, and the judges.  The sad part is … it’s not the first time that this had happened.  What’s even worse is, the last stop, the penal system, might have the worst reputation of them all.  Have you seen how many lawsuits are out there?  How many wrongful death suits there are, while in MS correctional facilities … how many lawsuits there are for brazen assaults by correctional officers, for no reason at all, all within the state of Mississippi?

This particular man … while you all may not know him in person … I am telling you that he is more than willing to go to jail for a crime that he committed.  However, as previously stated, since he has given his life to God, and since he had his son, his life is only about his family and the righteous path. The problem is, however, that is he goes to jail in Mississippi … for ANYTHING … for any amount of time … they (the use of they, in this sense, you can refer to it is “The Good ‘Ole Boys System”) will use their powers to dispose of him, whether it is getting another inmate to beat him up or kill him, or get a correctional officer to do it himself.  While it is 100 % true that we do not foresee any reason that he should be or should WARRANT being arrested, that does not mean that the MS police force will not fabricate some excuse, such as the previous “improper turn.”  All that we are asking here is for the bare minimum … his life.  In the ideal case, we could have his parole transferred to Memphis, TN, so that he would not have to go to MS anymore.  In the next step above that, we would ask that, should be arrested for whatever reason, he be placed on inter-state compact to Shelby County.  This is all being done because this man has been unjustly and unlawfully judged on his supposed actions rather than his ACTUAL actions and his character.  His past is not the same as his present.  Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.  These strong arms of justice need to remember that no one is perfect … and there isn’t necessarily always just the “Good Guys” and the “Bad Guys.”  Sometimes we learn our lessons later in life.  But isn’t the point in life just that we learn them …?

Thank you all for your time, in reading this short blog!  It means SO much to us and our cause.  Please share with everyone you can think  of!  Let’s spread this like wildfire, for two reasons … To get the words out that MS’s justice system isn’t as pristine as they like everyone to think it is, and to get more justice in our lives!  Thanks so much everyone J