Friday, 4 February 2011
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Juvenile Life Without Parole
Juvenile Life Without Parole - Blog - Nebraska lawmakers discuss how to sentence youths convicted of
The first (LB202) would permit youths convicted of murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole to petition for a re-sentencing hearing after 15 years in prison. It would create an intense, three-part review process that would result in the possibility of a lesser sentence
http://bit.ly/h10JKR“Scared Straight” Continues to Get Serious Review by Criminal Justice Experts « Kids in the system
It’s good to see that juvenile and family court judges have spoken out about the “Scared Straight” approach to juvenile justice. They raise the same issue that so many of us have expressed: are kids really deterred from crime by the controlled, choreographed exposure to jail culture? Check out the j
Teen Convicted Of Murder Asks Hitman For Help
A 17-year-old teen serving 38 years in prison for murder is trying to retract his guilty plea and asking a convicted hitman for help.
Davontae Sanford of Detroit, Michigan confessed to police that he killed four people during a 2007 botched robbery attempt at a drug house.
Now however the special needs teen is taking back his confession and says his written statement was a lie.
An attorney for Sanford is seeking help for his client through Vincent Smothers, an admitted hit man that confessed to at least 8 murders.
In addition to the 8 murders, Smothers took responsibility for the drug house murders and told authorities that they “got the wrong guy.”
In an April 2008 interview with police, Smothers spoke on the murders and when asked if he “hit” somebody in the house he responded,
"Three guys, and I believe there was a female in the house with them. I'm sure the three guys are dead."
Vincent Smothers
He also told police that he and his friend “Nemo” stole $2,000 from the home, a .40 caliber handgun used to kill a police officer's wife three months later and a half pound of marijuana.
By contrast the teen who was 14 at the time, confessed to the slayings in 2007 saying that he tried to rob a known drug dealer named “Milk Dud” and ended up “shooting the Mini 14 through the front window” according to a confession he signed off on written for him by police.
Lawyers for Sanford didn't hear about the hitman's confession until January of 2009, nearly eight months after the teen had been jailed.
Prosecutors stand behind their case against the teen and plan to summon at least 13 witnesses when they defend the conviction on July 13.
The boy's mother Taminko Saford is urging prosecutors to use “common sense” in the case against her son who's blind in his right eye after being struck with an egg as a child.
According to the mom, the boy lied because talking to police “made him feel important.”
"Davontae couldn't even read that confession. He took a special-ed bus to school. He doesn't write us from prison because he doesn't know how to write."http://t.co/uNY4XOC
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
DAVONTAE SANFORD STORY
To Mark Maynard, thanks for the post on behalf of Davontae and his family as well as The Voice of Detroit. I'd been looking for the names of the people who were killed and I see one of your readers found the relevant article--that's very helpful to my ongoing pursuit of the case. Regarding the cell tower testimony, I specifically asked the Prosecutor's Office why they haven't charged William Rice with perjury if they think he lied--they wouldn't comment. Cell tower testimony is not always dependable and whether this "expert" has sufficient training is open to question. The prosecutor's office AND the judge seem bound and determined to defend their original charges and conviction of Davontae, when his confession should have been thrown out on the face of it, since he had neither his mother nor an attorney present. They are throwing every roadblock they can in the way of Vincent Smothers testifying in Davontae's case; he is the most important witness and has already confessed on videotape and named his accomplice. THEY could be subject to obstruction of justice and perjury charges if the whole sordid story comes out; one of Worthy's assistant prosecutors, Karen Plants, and a judge Mary Waterstone are being tried on suborning perjury charges in another case; Worthy herself faces charges before the attorney grievance commission related to that case. Her office is reckless and determined to mount up convictions whether or not the defendants are guilty. I had first-hand experience with that when they tried to jail ME for 10 years for doing my job as a reporter taking photos at a safe distance from the scene of a fatal state trooper chase. This was nothing but retaliation for the 10 years of stories I had done for The Michigan Citizen on killings by police and Worthy's failure to prosecute them, including a case where an off-duty cop shot a 16-year-old in the back. Go to my legal defense website at http://freedianebukowski.org to see details on that case. Again, thank you, Mark, for spreading coverage of Davontae's case. It should indeed be national news. (Comment also sent to Mark Maynard's site.)
http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=3858
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmKdzMGb1f8
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)