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Former judge makes shocking confession after helping send black man to death row based on state-paid witness testimony

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A girl who served on the jury that sentenced an Alabama man to death 25 years ago is now calling for a brand new trial due to evidence of potential wrongdoing, saying her role within the 1998 murder conviction “doesn’t allow me to sleep at night.”

Monique Hicks of Prattsville, Alabama, served on the jury that found Toforest Johnson guilty of the murder of Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy William G. “Bill” Hardy, who was shot to death in a Birmingham hotel parking zone in the summertime of 1995 while working off-duty as a security guard. .

Johnson, who’s black, was put on trial three years later, found guilty and sentenced to death based on the questionable testimony of a witness who was paid hundreds of dollars to testify on behalf of the prosecution.

Toforest Johnson (Photo: toforestjohnson.com)

Due to the newly discovered evidence, Hicks claims to regret his role in convicting Johnson, proclaiming his innocence and even asking for forgiveness from his family.

“I asked the Lord to forgive me for causing so much suffering.” She wrote in a guest opinion column published on April 22 on AI.com. “I pray that Mr. Johnson and his family will forgive me as well. In the meantime, I will continue to use my voice to ask for justice.”

In the column, Hicks expresses deep regret, asking: “What responsibility do I even have? “My role in wrongfully convicting an innocent man keeps me up at night.”

The effort to free Johnson has received significant support from celebrity activist Kim Kardashian, in addition to several distinguished legal figures, including the National Innocence Project, which recently filed two amicus briefs in support of a brand new trial for Johnson – one before the U.S. Supreme Court, and the opposite within the Jefferson County Circuit Court in Alabama.

As of May 2024, no execution date has been set for Johnson, who has maintained his innocence since becoming a suspect within the officer’s murder nearly three many years ago when he was 25 and in his prime.

At the time of the murder on July 19, 1995, five suspects as well as to Johnson were ultimately arrested in reference to the fatal shooting, but only Johnson was convicted despite an absence of physical evidence or eyewitnesses to place him on the scene of the crime.

Last yr, Jefferson County District Attorney Danny Carr conducted a nine-month review of the evidence and concluded that the “interests of justice” required a brand new trial for Johnson, now 50.

“Leadership is not about being right, it is about making things right,” he said at a faith rally in support of Johnson in December 2023.

But state Attorney General Steve Marshall dismissed that investigation, calling it Carr’s “subjective opinion.”

But an appeal filed by Johnson’s lawyers in Jefferson County Circuit Court proves the investigation cannot simply be ignored.

Despite the brand new evidence, Marshall continues to ask the court to prevent the convict from getting a brand new trial and insists that Johnson be sentenced to death sooner moderately than later.

The fundamental obstacle within the state’s case is witness Violet Ellison, who testified within the 1998 trial that she overheard Johnson confess to the officer’s murder during a telephone conversation she overheard as Johnson spoke from prison.

Ellison’s testimony was a key a part of the case that ultimately resulted in Johnson’s conviction, but in 2015 – 17 years after the trial – the state revealed that it had secretly paid Ellison $5,000 for her testimony.

Additionally, Ellison has a questionable record as a witness, as her testimony as a state witness in five other criminal cases resulted in acquittals and dismissals.

Her involvement within the Johnson case led three jurors – including Hicks – to request a brand new trial, stating that they might not have convicted him in the event that they had known concerning the payment to Ellison and her credibility issues.

Other recent evidence also emerged pointing to Johnson’s innocence.

A brand new podcast, “Earwitness,” has brought renewed attention to the case and revealed recent information that would potentially free Johnson after many years behind bars.

In 2023, the podcast found Ellison’s grandchildren, who revealed they didn’t trust her, describing her as willing to do “anything for a dollar.”

According to nearly a dozen witnesses, Johnson and his disabled friend Ardragus Ford were hanging out together at Tee’s Place, a nightclub in downtown Birmingham, on the time Deputy Hardy was killed 4 miles away.

However, a couple of days after the murder, a troubled 15-year-old girl named Yolanda Chambers, who was later joined by the girl who was picked up by Johnson and Ford after the boys left the nightclub, turned each men over to authorities after the sheriff’s decision. the department offers an award.

Although Chambers modified her story multiple times, she initially told investigators that the boys admitted to the ladies that Johnson had “coped out” earlier that evening. Johnson and Ford became everlasting suspects after the primary of Chambers’ many interviews with investigators.

During the trial, through which Chambers emerged as an inconsistent witness, police all but admitted that they were unsure who actually killed Deputy Hardy because they lacked any physical evidence or eyewitness testimony that directly implicated Johnson.

During the trial, prosecutors also presented five conflicting theories concerning the fatal shooting in an attempt to explain the circumstances of Hardy’s death, but stopped in need of drawing any conclusions, suggesting there was no smoking gun.

The lead detective on the case initially testified that Ardragus Ford and one other man, Omar Berry, were chargeable for Hardy’s killing. However, prosecutors modified their theory multiple times over a three-year period, leading to Johnson being the just one found guilty and sentenced to death.

Toforest Johnson’s cousin, Antonio Green, and his daughter Shanaye Poole have kept photos of him for years. (Photo: ToforestJohnson.com)

Hicks said she modified her mind about Johnson’s guilt greater than 20 years after she helped send him to death row for the crime.

“After the trial, I returned home and returned to everyday life,” she explained. “I haven’t heard anything else from Toforest Johnson for over two decades. But then I started seeing his case on the news.”

Around this time, in 2023, public officials in Alabama began calling for a retrial of Johnson, which was met with broad support from the likes of Kardashian, who in January shared several infographics about Johnson’s criminal case on Instagram along with her 364 million followers . .

In one post, Kardashian wrote that Johnson was “26. He spent Christmas in prison for against the law he didn’t commit” and posted a link to a petition for help for the man.

Support for Johnson also got here from numerous unlikely places, namely from former state Attorney General Bill Baxley and Birmingham District Attorney Jeff Wallace, who in 1998 prosecuted Johnson for Hardy’s murder.

Earlier in 2014, Wallace testified under oath that he “does not believe the state’s case is very strong because it depends on the testimony of Violet Ellison.”

Baxley, who fought to restore the death penalty as Alabama’s attorney general within the Nineteen Seventies, also said he firmly believed Johnson was innocent, describing him as “trapped” within the legal system.

“Johnson’s murder trial was so riddled with errors and the evidence presented against him so scant that no Alabamian should tolerate his imprisonment, let alone his execution,” he added. Baxley wrote for the Washington Post.

The call to throw out the ruling also drew support from two former Alabama governors and a former Republican state judge.

AND website named in Johnson’s honor also found, which highlighted the variety of advocates and lawmakers who were behind the hassle to free him.

As the momentum built for Johnson, Hicks said she began to grapple with the impact of the jury’s decision on his fate, which led to deep personal reflection and she or he found she could now not ignore what many others were now claiming about Johnson’s innocence. .

Based on her Christian faith, Hicks said she felt moved to express her recent perspective on the case in a column she wrote, calling for a brand new trial for Johnson while emphasizing the necessity for a good and thorough examination of all of the evidence.

“Twenty-five years ago I sat on the jury in a Birmingham courtroom and voted for a man’s death. Prosecutor Jeff Wallace asked me and the opposite jurors to convict defendant Toforest Johnson of murder. He then asked us to sentence Mr. Johnson to death. We did each.

After Wallace, of all people, called for a brand new trial, Hicks said she struggled to come to terms along with her own decision to convict Johnson, which forced her to speak out.

“I remember how young Mr. Johnson looked. And I remember perfectly well that when the verdict was read, I heard loud lamentations in the audience. Now that I am a mother myself, I can only imagine the immense sadness that Mr. Johnson’s mother must have felt. At the time, I took comfort in the belief that my vote to convict Mr. Johnson and sentence him to death was the right one. Now my tears are flowing too.”

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Politics and Current

Trump says he cannot guarantee that tariffs will not raise prices in the US and does not rule out retaliation

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Donald Trump, Donald Trump Meet The Press, Trump tariffs, Will tariffs raise prices, Trump immigration policy, Trump abortion, Trump health care, Trump revenge prosecutions, theGrio.com

WASHINGTON (AP) – Donald Trump he said he couldn’t guarantee that his promised rates regarding key US foreign trade partners there will be no raise prices for American consumers and again suggested that some political rivals and federal officials who handled court cases against him must be imprisoned.

The president-elect also touched on monetary policy, immigration, abortion and health care, and U.S. involvement in Ukraine, Israel and elsewhere in a wide-ranging interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday.

Trump often mixed declarations with reservations, at one point warning that “everything is changing.”

Take a have a look at a few of the issues covered:

Trump wonders whether trade penalties could raise prices

Trump threatened widespread trade penalties but said he didn’t imagine it economists’ predictions that the additional costs of imported goods for U.S. businesses would result in higher domestic prices for consumers. He broke his promise that American households would not pay more for purchases.

“I can not guarantee anything. “I can’t guarantee tomorrow,” Trump said, apparently opening the door to accepting the reality that import fees typically operate once goods reach the retail market.

That’s a special approach from Trump’s typical speeches during the 2024 campaign, when he presented his decisions as a surefire approach to curb inflation.

In the interview, Trump defended the tariffs in general, saying the tariffs “make us rich.”

He announced that on the first day of his term in January he would impose a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada unless those countries satisfactorily stop illegal immigration and the flow of illegal drugs equivalent to fentanyl into the United States. He also threatened to impose tariffs on China to force the country to limit fentanyl production.

“I just want to have a level, fast but fair playing field,” Trump said.

Trump suggests revenge against his opponents without claiming to have an interest in revenge

He has made conflicting statements about how he would approach justice after winning the election, although he was convicted of 34 felonies in a New York state court and charged in other cases with handling national security secrets and efforts to overturn his loss to a Democrat in 2020 Joe Biden.

“Frankly, they should go to jail,” Trump said of members of Congress who investigated the Capitol riot by his supporters who wanted him to remain in power.

The president-elect has emphasized his case that he could use the justice system against others, including special counsel Jack Smith, who prosecuted the case involving Trump’s role in the siege on January 6, 2021. Trump confirmed his plan to pardon convicted supporters for the role they played in the riot, saying that he will take these actions on his first day in office.

As for the idea of ​​revenge triggering potential criminal prosecutions, Trump said: “I actually have every right to accomplish that. I’m a top law enforcement officer, you recognize that. I’m the president. But that doesn’t interest me.”

At the same time, Trump named lawmakers on the House special committee that investigated the rebel, citing Rep. Bennie Thompson, R-Mississippi, and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.

“Cheney was behind this… as was Bennie Thompson and everyone on this committee,” Trump said.

Asked specifically whether he would direct his administration to pursue the cases, he replied “No” and suggested he did not expect the FBI to quickly investigate his political enemies.

But at one other point, Trump said he would go away the issue to Pam Bondi, his pick for attorney general. “I want her to do whatever she wants,” he said.

Many leading Democrats have taken such threats, no matter Trump’s inconsistencies, seriously enough that Biden is considering issuing a blanket, preventive pardon to guard key members of his outgoing administration.

Trump appeared to backtrack on his campaign rhetoric calling for an investigation into Biden, saying, “I have no intention of going back to the past.”

Swift motion is coming on immigration

Trump has repeatedly mentioned his guarantees to seal the U.S.-Mexico border and deport tens of millions of people who find themselves in the U.S. illegally as a part of a mass deportation program.

“I think you have to do this,” he said.

He has suggested that he would try to make use of executive motion to finish “birthright” citizenship, under which individuals born in the U.S. are considered residents – although such protections are provided for in the Constitution.

Asked specifically about the future of people that were delivered to the country illegally as children and have been protected against deportation in recent years, Trump said: “I want to work something out,” indicating he may look to Congress for an answer.

But Trump also said he “don’t want to break up families” with mixed legal status, “so the only way not to break up the family is to keep them together and send them all away.”

Sweet news: Dark chocolate may be the secret to reducing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes

Trump commits to NATO, setting conditions, but criticizes Putin and Ukraine

Trump, long a critic of NATO members for not spending more on their very own defense, said he would “absolutely” remain in the alliance “if they pay their bills.”

Pressed on whether he would withdraw if he was dissatisfied with allies’ commitments, Trump said he wanted the United States to be treated “fairly” on trade and defense issues.

He wavered on NATO’s priority of containing Russia and President Vladimir Putin.

Trump suggested that Ukraine should prepare for less U.S. help to defend against Putin’s invasion. “Probably. Yeah, probably. Sure,” Trump said about Washington cutting aid to Ukraine. Separately, Trump did called for a right away ceasefire.

Asked about Putin, Trump initially said he had not spoken to the Russian leader since last month’s election, but then insisted: “I haven’t spoken to him lately.” Trump said under pressure, adding that he didn’t need to “impede negotiations.”

Trump says Powell is protected at the Fed, but Wray is not at the FBI

The president-elect has said he has no intention, at the least for now, of asking Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to step down before the end of Powell’s term in 2028. Trump said during the campaign that presidents must have more to say on Fed policyincluding rates of interest.

Trump has not provided any job guarantees to FBI Director Christopher Wray, whose term ends in 2027.

Asked about Wray, Trump said, “Well, it seems pretty obvious” that if the Senate confirms Kash Patel as Trump’s nominee select the head of the FBI, then “he’s going to take another person’s place, right? Someone is that this person you’re talking about.

Trump is absolute on Social Security, not abortion and medical insurance

Trump promised that the government’s efficiency efforts under Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy would not threaten Social Security. “We do not affect social safety, except that we make it more effective,” he said. He added that “we’re not raising the age or anything like that.”

He didn’t speak in much detail about abortion or the long-promised amendment to the Affordable Care Act.

On abortion, Trump continued its inconsistencies and said he “probably” won’t try to limit access to abortion pills, which currently cause most abortions, in keeping with the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. But when pressed on whether he would commit to the position, Trump replied: “Well, I agree. That is, do things change. I think they are changing.”

A repetition of his line Debate on September 10 v. Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump again stated that he had “concepts” for a plan to switch the 2010 Affordable Care Act, which he called “lousy health care.”

He added that any version of Trump would supply insurance coverage for Americans with pre-existing health conditions. He did not explain how such a project would differ from the establishment or the way it could fulfill his desire for “better health care for less money.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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St. Day Louis Marks Wesley Bell in honor of the first black prosecutor

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Wesley Bell, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney


December 6 in St. Louis has officially been declared Wesley Bell Day to honor the county’s first black prosecutor.

According to Local leaders held a celebratory event at the St. County Department of Justice. Louis, after which County Executive Sam Page made a press release. Bell made history along with his appointment to this position, which he has held since 2019.

He called the recognition “a great honor” that belongs to the community he serves.

“For me, this is a testament to the men and women of the St. County Prosecutor’s Office. Louis, who wake up every day with the idea of ​​public safety, with the idea of ​​treating our victims with the dignity and respect they deserve, and keeping this region safe. In this way, it is a great honor for us,” he said.

Bell took over as St. County prosecutor. Louis after defeating longtime Democratic incumbent Bob McCulloch in the primary. After McCulloch’s controversial decision to not prosecute the officer who fatally shot Black teenager Michael Brown in 2014, Bell ran a campaign that prioritized criminal justice reform. His platform included community policing and progressive marijuana policies that were passed shortly after taking office.

During his tenure, Bell established the Diversion Commission and the Incident Review Unit. The unit enables people wrongly convicted to submit a request to the prosecutor to reconsider their case. Bell sees the measure, a first in the nation, as a step toward criminal justice reform.

But Bell will transcend local politics to assist his St. Louis on a national scale. He was recently elected to the United States House of Representatives, representing Missouri’s 1st District.

“This job, and my future job, is about work,” he added. “It’s about representing the interests of my constituents. People here in this region.

Although Bell will proceed to serve St. Louis in a distinct capability, the race to appoint his successor continues, and the escalating dispute between Page and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson continues. Page has already announced his selection of the next prosecutor, but the GOP leader said he plans to make the nomination.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Politics and Current

68-year-old black Georgia man knocked to the ground and brutally arrested at a red light fights for justice after three-year legal nightmare

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Black Man Thrown to Ground and Arrested during Minor Traffic Stop is Finally Going to Trial – Three Years After His Arrest

It’s taken greater than three years, but Jeffrey Lemon finally got his day in court.

A 68-year-old Black man was arrested in Georgia under questionable circumstances in 2021 after Clayton County sheriff’s deputies threw him to the ground and put a knee on his back after he was accused of running a red light in suburban Atlanta County.

He was charged with obstruction and red light violations, in addition to possession of a small amount of marijuana, which police present in a pipe in the trunk of his automobile after his arrest. He ended up spending two nights in jail.

A Black man thrown to the ground and arrested during a minor traffic stop will finally face justice - three years after his arrest
Jeffrey Lemon (left) was brutally arrested in 2021 by Georgia State Sheriff’s Deputy Jon House (right) after stating that he was falsely accused of running a red light. It was over three years before he was given the likelihood to prove his innocence in court, and only because his lawyer filed a motion for a speedy trial. (Photo: Jeffrey Lemon and Facebook)

But the case dragged on for greater than three years until his attorney filed a motion for a speedy trial last month. The trial is scheduled to start Monday, and Lemon hopes prosecutors will drop the case without forcing a trial.

“I hope they throw everything away, but it’s a corrupt system, so I don’t know what to expect,” Lemon told Atlanta Black Star in a phone interview.

Lemon also said he was offered a plea deal late Thursday wherein prosecutors would drop the marijuana and red light charges if he pleaded guilty to the obstruction charge, but he declined to take the deal because he plans to file a lawsuit if he’s cleared of all charges. .

Arresting deputies Jon House and Demetrius Valentine each resigned after the incident, but House, who initiated the traffic stop, was rehired three months later.

“The arrogance I experienced from Officer J. House and Sgt. Valentine… completely disregarded me as a human being,” he wrote in a letter wherein he presented his version of the arrest.

Lemon’s arrest got here a month after the death of Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill was accused faces federal charges after he was accused of tying pretrial detainees to a restraint chair for hours in violation of their civil rights. Hill was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison in March 2023, but he was released after serving lower than a 12 months.

Throughout this time, nonetheless, Lemon’s case has remained pending, which he believes is because the officers try to cover up their illegal behavior and prevent him from filing a lawsuit.

Arrest

The incident occurred on May 27, 2021, when Lemon was driving his Camaro on Valley Hill Road and noticed a Clayton County sheriff’s deputy behind him, who turned out to be House.

He stated that he was in the left inside lane and needed to enter the right outside lane to make a right turn in front of him, nonetheless, when he stopped his automobile at a red light, the deputy pulled the patrol automobile next to him into the right lane.

He said the deputy then refused to move forward when the light turned green, stopping Lemon from entering the lane.

Lemon said he waited a few seconds, hoping the deputy would move, but then moved to the next intersection when it became clear the deputy was not going to move.

He testified that when he turned right at the next intersection, the light turned green, but the deputy stopped him and accused him of running a red light.

Lemon told the deputy that he didn’t run the red light, but gave him his license, but the deputy began accusing him of trying to avoid him, and that is when he realized the deputy was trying to escalate the interaction, and as he tried to call his daughter and friend, but he didn’t. they replied.

He then called 911 because he feared for his life when the deputy began accusing him of things he didn’t do, and that is when House called for backup.

Valentine arrived and threatened to taser him if he didn’t get out of the automobile, so he complied under duress, which occurred when Valentine tackled him to the ground and House put his knee on his neck.

“I felt humiliated,” he said. “For the guy to come up and not try to have any dialogue. He just immediately walked up and said, “Get your ass on the ground before I kick you.”

He said that when he was arrested, he was on his way to rent a latest house, so he had $1,800 in money with him, but authorities didn’t allow him to use the money to bail, forcing him to stay in jail for two days.

“They didn’t want to take the money, so I had to carry it in my shoe throughout my stay in prison,” he said.

He said the aggressive arrest put him in a state of so-called cervical stenosis, where he’s currently in constant pain and has already spent hundreds of dollars on medical bills.

Report

The House deputy describes the arrest in a very different light, stating in his report that he became suspicious when Lemon failed to stop at the intersection after the light turned green, believing he was doing all the pieces in his power to avoid being stopped.

He further claimed that as Lemon moved forward, turning right, he ran a red light and that is when House stopped him.

However, this claim contradicts his initial claim because if Lemon was truly trying to avoid being stopped, he would never have run a red light knowing the deputy was behind him.

House also claimed that he began to fear for his life after he noticed a knife in the center console of Lemon’s vehicle and then called for backup and ordered him out of the automobile, but Lemon stated that the knife was never there.

“There was no knife,” Lemon said. “I would like to see their list of things they faraway from my automobile. This will show there was no knife.

House stated in his report that he found pot in the trunk while taking a listing of things in the automobile, which he ordered confiscated. He also claimed that “evidence was dropped in the sheriff’s office room,” but didn’t specifically mention the alleged knife placed in the room.

Valentine resigned two weeks later without explanation, according to personnel records obtained by Atlanta Black Star. He was then hired by the nearby Fairburn, Georgia Police Department the following month.

Personnel records obtained from the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office show House resigned in November 2021 because he was dissatisfied with “a change in the mission of this agency that does not align with my personal goals.”

House was then hired by the nearby Riverdale Police Department, only to resign from the job three months later because “the city-provided health insurance is expensive and does not provide adequate health care for my family,” according to a resignation letter obtained by Atlanta. Black Star.

He was then rehired by the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office in March 2022 and stays employed.

Lemon believes there may be body camera and dash cam video that might prove his innocence, but when Atlanta Black Star asked public authorities for any available footage of the arrest, the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office said “no records exist” ” regarding arrest.

“That sounds like another lie,” Lemon said.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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