Thanks, Gov. Snyder! For shame, Gov Snyder!


Christmas Eve, a day when I love to tell warm stories. The problem is that reality keeps interfering.

I have two short stories today, one of gladness…one of sadness. Both created by decisions of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder. Last Friday, December 21, he granted clemency to 61 prisoners before leaving office: 35 pardons and 26 commutations.

Keep in mind that he received more than 4,000 requests for clemency from prisoners. No matter what he decided, there would be joy and sadness. And that was the case with two of our clients.

James Hicks has been in prison since 1986, but he’s a rare breed. He decided that during his time of incarceration it was time to make things right with society. So, he worked with authorities at both the state and federal levels on case of case, getting conviction after conviction. In one scandal, a deputy warden was sent to prison. Through it all, the State of Michigan saved millions of dollars.

HFP began actively assisting Jimmy in getting some relief from his 50-200 year sentence after the State of Michigan made a promise to get him re-sentenced for his stellar work on a case. But then, after the trial was won, they changed their mind. “Nah, I don’t think so.” We worked for the next decade to help get his release. An overdue victory came last Friday when Governor Snyder commuted his sentence.

We celebrate with Mr. Hicks today!

But the same can’t be said for Nancy Seaman, sentenced to life in prison in 2005 for killing her abusive husband…even though he was doing his best to kill her when the attack occurred.

We shared her story with local activist and freelance writer Kelle Lynn, who went on to found Justice Through Storytelling, an agency focusing on cases just like this. Kelle waged a massive campaign to free Nancy. The case garnered national attention, and the Governor received hundreds of letters of support for this award-winning school teacher.

When the list came out Friday, Nancy’s name was not on it.

One of her supporters, Pat Hardy of Bloomington Hills, said bitterly: “… forget about making phone calls or writing letters to the Governor’s office or to the Parole Board.  They couldn’t care less!

The heart of Nancy Seaman is broken. “God long ago abandoned me. I know that now.”

That’s not true, of course. But on Christmas Eve, 2018, she’s not convinced.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Half-a-race!

The HFP Drag-Racing Fund-Raiser had the potential of being extremely successful, and could have raised several thousand dollars. Let's just say it was partly successful. For background purposes I'll explain that I was racing a 1963 supercharged Studebaker Lark that has a reputation of being one of the fastest stock Studebakers in drag racing today. The engine was built by one of the finest Studebaker engine mechanics in the country, and the car many times has achieved quarter-mile runs in less than 14 seconds! We promised to make at least ten passes in the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drags at Mid-Michigan Motorplex in Stanton, Michigan, this past weekend, and we asked for pledges ONLY ON THOSE RUNS REACHED IN LESS THAN 14 SECONDS. On Friday, here's how we fared: Run #1 13.936 @ 101.24 mph Run #2 14.027 @ 101.30 mph Run #3 14.091 @ 100.88 mph Run #4 13.805 @ 102.84 mph Run #5 14.058 @ 101.26 mph By the 5th run we discovered that ...
Read more

Gregory John McCormick: 1964-2008

Itchy is dead. The lifeless body of this talented rock musician, whose band Shock Therapy was a popular group especially in Europe, was found in a field in Detroit last Wednesday, November 5. The Wayne County Coroner's office informed father Glenn McCormick that the body of his son Gregory, better known to all of us as Itchy, bore no signs of trauma. Glenn said that Itchy, who had been living at his father's dental lab in Detroit, had been drinking to excess for some time. While the toxicology report has not been released yet, the general consensus seems to be that he drank himself to death. Our agency, while still named INNOCENT, first got involved with Itchy in 2005. The Detroit native, who called Germany his home, got involved in some unfortunate activity that placed him in the Michigan State prison system on a charge of arson of a dwelling. It was really just a bonfire in an alley, but an alleged parole violation placed him in prison for 1-20 years. I personally sat w...
Read more

Three lives, connected by a divine thread

My kids say it should be a book! The Doug, Pat and Mark story is a doozie!   About 25 years ago, while fighting to free Maurice Carter from prison, I read a newspaper column written by Pat Shellenbarger of the Grand Rapids Press on the topic of eyewitness identification. I contacted Pat re that story. That led to a friendship between Doug and Pat that continues to this day.   In subsequent months, Pat would go on to assist me in an investigation into the Maurice Carter case that eventually led to solving the crime.  That particular episode became a chapter in my book about the Carter case, SWEET FREEDOM, published in 2006.   Fast forward to 2009, A New York businessman claims wrongful conviction, and while serving time in a Michigan prison is handed a copy of my book. Mark Hartman, who was also convicted in Berrien County, was amazed at the similarity of these two stories and tried to reach out to me. His letters bounced.   Persisting in his efforts to c...
Read more