You have found the ad of an inmate in his 10th year of incarceration urgently wanting legal support to resume, research and prepare an appeal, to throw out a wrongful conviction.

In Detroit, February 2000, I was convicted by jury of a crime I didn't commit. Sentenced to LIFE - without parole.... 1999 conviction was for murder and attempted murder and, on appeal my attorney "overlooked/ignored" the issue to reverse the conviction. On appeal counsel should've appealed objections at trial to the use of the bogus confession.

2003 Detroit police made up another case using a fabricated witness, a career informant who works for police in exchange for deals (e.g., immunity, time cuts, making sure the parole board won't flop him for crimes he's committed in prison). From 2003 to mid-2004 during the pendency of appeal I was falsely tried by jury who acquitted.

The 2003 trial impeded appeal to the 2000 conviction. Attorney Wilkins who was retained to appeal the 2000 conviction stole my family's money and only copy of my court case file which is required to appeal the case, I seek urgent help with now. Disbarring Wilkins P56559, and ordering the return of both were ignored by the attorney. Authorities refused to pursue further action.

On my own since, I've recovered only parts of the case file from the court who says they've provided everything. Legal action is currently filed for supervisory control to get remaining documents. Through hell I've lost all family & outside contact. I need help and can only do the bare minimum as an inmate!

Here's what's found about this case: Deliberately mishandled evidence as it was passed from police to prosecutor and then to jurors allowed an unfair trial. My father became involved when he came to police headquarters to complain about arresting officers and what police were doing about detaining me. My father signed a witness form that has already been filled out by Sgt. Kinney, of what he thought were papers representing a police misconduct complaint. A jury never heard the ruling about Kinney's false incriminating statement written presented as my father's words that I had confessed. The day before my father's testimony police & prosecutor were threatening my father to say what they wanted him to say so the illegally detained him, when he was willingly there to testify, though he didn't know anything. My parent on the stand in jail clothes just because he was my father presented negative qualities to jurors and is the only thing used to convict me where, the eyewitness' testimony by police on-scene investigation, a next door neighbor listening to the crime take place and witnessing the only alleged eyewitness (drug addict wanted for serious pending charge, who hid across the street from police who came to this drug den searching for her) leave the scene alone, in more than four feet of snow out of a drug house with one exit/entrance was evidence I did not commit the crime.

Results of inappropriate law enforcement procedures in wrong arrest: When the judge ruled afterward police had sloppily fabricated documents the prosecutor based his theory of a less than circumstantial case on false information from police. But jurors were refused 4 times to review the fake statement that was thrown out just before deliberation, but, waved around all six days of trial. Jurors were even told to determine their verdict (opening statements & jury instruction) on whether the statement exists and if it were true.

Since February 2000, federal authorities from investigations, questions by the mayor, police commissioner, FBI, Justice Dept., Detroit newspapers, uncovered the past illegal Dragnet polices and practices by Detroit homicide.

In appropriate "law enforcement procedures that include techniques for both on-scene and station house interviews of witnesses" and "practice[s] of [involving] people they think are witnesses till somebody talks" can be skewed by skillful detectives investigating a murder who made -- my family & I -- strangers to a crime look like murder suspects and witnesses. My only connection, is that I was in the vicinity of a vicious crime, though not a part of it.

Factually, I was convicted because police wanted to close a case.

Write to me at:

James Hardman
#302824
Straits Correctional Facility
4387 W M-80
Kincheloe, MI 49785

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