Is It Enough To Finally Get It Right?

   

Davontae Sanford

   In 2008, when Davontae Sanford was just 14 years old, he was accused, tried and convicted of a "hit man-style quadruple homicide", for which he received a sentence of 37 - 90 years in prison. He pled guilty based on the recommendation of his attorney. (An attorney who has since been suspended from practicing law)

   Two weeks after Sanford's sentencing, (TWO WEEKS!!) "professional hit man Vincent Smothers confessed to the murders, as well as eight additional killings." Smothers was a professional 'hitman', and had been hired to kill one of the people that Sanford

Vincent Smothers

had been convicted of killing. All the details he gave them were supported by the evidence at the scene, yet they refused to accept his confession. Smothers was charged with the other murders, Sanford's conviction was allowed to stand, and 14 year old Davontae Sanford was allowed to sit in prison for 8 years for a crime that the prosecutors (IMO) clearly knew he did not commit.

Fast forward to 2015.
  Vincent Smothers once again tries to clear Davontae Sanford. After having been convicted of other murders, and serving 52 years in prison, he signs an affidavit saying that he was the killer in that case, and giving details that should have made it obvious to anyone that he was telling the truth. Based on that affidavit, a new motion is made to free Sanford.

   Now, it's June of 2016, and FINALLY a judge has ordered that Sanford be freed.  They finally got it right, but is that enough? The court is freeing him on bond, and "all charges will eventually be dropped." Eventually? After 8 years for a crime he didn't commit, now his family has to post bond for him to be released, and eventually the charges will be dropped? To make things worse, the agreement signed by the prosecution does not say anything about having found the guilty person!! The reason they give for release? "the state police found major problems in the work of a Detroit police official who investigated Sanford after the four homicides"!! It sounds to me like they are not admitting their own guilt in keeping Sanford in jail so long, and they are leaving the door open to bring him back! Of course I am not a lawyer, a paralegal, or even someone with a lot of experience with the law, I'm just going by logic. Most people you hear about being wrongfully convicted are just released; why is this case any different? IMO, there is no difference. Davontae Sanford deserves the same treatment as any other person who is found to have been wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. He deserves to be released, period.

To read the story of Vincent Smothers, and his attempts to free Davontae Sanford, read The Hit Man's Tale from The New Yorker magazine, here.

Did Anyone Ever LOOK At It Before Saying He Was Faking?

     Those who work in law enforcement seem to have all developed this very negative, jaded view of those who suffer the misfortune to be incarcerated for whatever reason. There are certain "facts" that are believed to be the 'Gospel According to Law', and no matter what evidence there may be to the contrary, they are not going to go against their gospel. Here are the facts:
                  1. All convicts lie.
                  2. All convicts who ask to see the doctor are just drug-seeking.
                  3. Even if there are wounds which look bad, the convict is lying about it,                 they were probably already there before he was arrested.

     This gospel appears to have been in use when a 22 year old Florida man who had been jailed for armed robbery and resisting arrest died in the hospital following being bitten by the K-9 unit dog during the arrest. (I guess I'd resist too if I was being chased by a dog that I KNEW would take a chunk out of whatever part he could grab if I stopped!!) 

Fla. Inmate Accused of ‘Faking It’ Before Dying From Police Dog Bite

      According to the article I read (see the title link above) "Max Gracia, 22, would likely still be alive if he had been given proper medical care and not punishment after his repeated pleas for help." That's what is so sad about this, to think that if one person in authority had bothered to check, this young man would still be here. Does human life mean so little now? 

     This young man had not only been bitten, the dog had held on to his leg for three minutes! Can you imagine? Pinch yourself on the arm, and then hold it like that for three minutes. Personally, I doubt if you make it to one minute; you won't if you're doing it right! It will hurt too much for too long! Now just imagine that dog's teeth buried in your arm for that long, and of course the dog has been trained to hold on no matter what so he's not just standing there quietly;  he's snarling, and tossing his head, and squeezing his jaws together every time you draw a breath (which causes you to move slightly). Just imagine how much pain that would be!! Then you manage to pull away from the animal without losing your arm, jump over a chain link fence, and dive into a lake. Now you're in this dirty water with open animal bites for who knows how long; you're finally picked up and taken to jail and you're thinking "Well at least I'll get some treatment now." WRONG!! You're taken to the jail alright, but you are not only not given any treatment for the wounds, you are told you're faking the pain so you can't have any pain meds! Then as if to add insult to injury, they're going to move you to a new cell with a camera so that they can 'monitor' you, but because you are incapable of getting up off the floor and walking to the new cell you are cited for punishment!!

     Now by this time, Gracia's leg should have shown obvious signs of infection and inflammation; did no one ever actually LOOK at it?? And if they did, how can they justify saying that he was faking? There is just something totally off about this whole thing; it is my understanding that when a person is incarcerated they are automatically 'examined' (if you can call it that) by someone with medical training to assess the person's physical and mental state before they are thrown into 'gen pop' (general population - allowed to move freely among other inmates). If this was done, then someone should have seen his leg had a serious wound; why wasn't some kind of treatment given? 

     What has been happening with law enforcement on the street for several  years is now invading other facets of the system as well. It's not just uniformed officers on the street shooting or choking the people they've sworn to 'serve and protect', it's not just the guards in the jails looking the other way while drugs flow freely in and out their doors, now it's the so-called 'medical staff' withholding necessary treatment and those who work guarding the injured and ill sanctioning it by looking the other way! So many people are saying that we should "stop playing the race card"; I would be glad to stop playing it if someone could/would show me proof that it's happening to other races on the same scale (relatively) that it's happening to blacks. I would be grateful to anyone who could send me some links to proof that I am wrong, that it is not happening  on a much larger scale to African Americans (both male and female) than anyone else. 
     Max Gracia, 22, died in the hospital from dog bites which were allowed to fester until they became infected, resulting in E. coli infection and then septic shock. 

"The medical examiner ruled Gracia's death a homicide."  
  (The full article can be read at this link.)

Marissa Alexander "Stood Her Ground" and was sentenced to 20 Years in Prison For a Warning Shot

This was Marissa Alexander then, married, pregnant, mother.

Stand Your Ground 

Marissa Alexander has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Marissa is the victim here. Her husband beat her while she was pregnant. After yet another beating, Alexander fired a warning shot which traveled through a wall and into the ceiling. That shot saved her life. Prosecutor Angela Corey did not take into account that Marissa Alexander: Had a court injunction against her crazed husband,Had Given Birth 9 Days Earlier,Was trained to use a weapon and earned a concealed weapons permit.

This is Marissa Alexander now.
She has been charged, tried, convicted, and sentenced to 20 years in prison
for firing a shot into the ceiling of her home to warn off her husband
who was beating her, as he had done for years.

WRITE MARISSA ALEXANDER

Marissa Alexander 2012033887

500 E Adams St

Jacksonville, Fl 32202