Humanity for Prisoners

It’s no secret that an action film inspired by the story of Doug Tjapkes helping a wrongly convicted prisoner named Maurice Carter is in the works. I became Maurice’s partner in the late 1990s under some providential circumstances, and that decision changed my life. I fought at his side for nearly a decade, hoping to clear his name and gain his freedom.   The story became a book, then a stage play, and now a movie, and the names of numerous heroes are listed. However, there was a critical player in this story whose name was seldom mentioned. As my Maurice Carter memories get rekindled during the making of this movie, I’m compelled to set the record straight.   The person I’m talking about is Hon. Gary C. Giguere, Jr., Kalamazoo County Chief Judge Circuit/Probate Court. At that time, we knew him as Gary Giguere, a young criminal defense attorney with the prestigious Kalamazoo law firm of Levine and Levine.   The powerful legal forces that we were able to mobilize beh...

On Maurice Carter day, this story is worth repeating. Maurice Carter was not exaggerating when he complained about the lack of justice in his case. An off-duty white police officer was shot and injured in what may have been a hold-up attempt during the Christmas shopping season in Benton Harbor. That was back in the 1970s. Two years later, based on the testimony of a jail-house snitch, Maurice was arrested in his hometown of Gary, Indiana. It was 29 years later before he ever took a breath in free society again!   Talk about “grinding to a halt,” consider these points.   - No one, not even the police officer and his wife, identified Maurice from the police department lineup photos until 2 years later, after his photo accompanied the news of his arrest in the Benton Harbor newspaper.   -The only real witness to the crime, the store clerk, insisted that police arrested the wrong man. The shooter, she said, was “African black,” and Maurice was lighter-skinned. When a...

I learned a lot about unsung heroes when I was a young radio newsman. As News Director of a small-market radio station, I discovered that we were pretty much taken for granted.   The larger stations in the larger markets were getting publicity and awards. That’s because their operations had enough money to spend on special investigations, documentaries, extensive coverage of events, etc. I’m not taking away the importance of their work. It’s just that, in the little radio stations, we had no money for that kind of exotica. With what dollars we had, we did our very best to make sure the people in our community were properly informed. I was one of hundreds of small-market reporters doing our best to not only fairly cover the news, but to make sure that public officials were operating within ethical norms.   That’s true in so many categories, isn’t it? We read and hear daily about heroes…rescuing people from sinking boats, burning buildings, smoking automobiles. Granted, thos...

Michigan prosecutors have it tough these days. All you have to do is listen to them complain. Some of their most recent comments can be read in Paul Egan’s fine Detroit Free Press story: Michigan prosecutors push back as state allocates millions for indigent defense.   Keep in mind that I’m an amateur. I’m an old guy who got into the field of advocating for prisoners late in life. I have no legal credentials or experience. But, I am a journalist, and I accurately report what I see and have seen.   When I got into this business in the mid-1990s, prosecutors held all the good cards. They had police departments and state agencies at their beck and call. They had investigators on staff. And, they had dollars.   True, the constitution guarantees that everyone must have legal counsel. But, in those days, some penniless guy who got arrested might end up with a court-appointed attorney who got the job by submitting the lowest bid. My friend Maurice Carter was charged with a...

Pastor Nate actually quoted me in one of his sermons a while back. He reflected on one of the lowest periods of my life. I nearly died as the result of a stubborn staph infection in 2010, lost 65 pounds, and was on a feeding tube for 6 months. During that time, a very good friend---a prisoner whom I had helped to attain freedom---not only reoffended and was returned to jail. While there, he took his own life.   It was at that time that Nate, during one of his pastoral visits with me, asked for my reaction to all of this. My reply: “God is still on his throne.”   On this 4 th of July (I’ve seen 85 of them now!), as I reflect on everything in the newspaper today, I suppose it’s fair to ask if God is still there?   As Pastor John Pavlovitz pointed out in an email message this morning:   This has been a bad week for diverse humanity.   It has been a bad week for vulnerable people.   It’s been a bad week for racial equity.   It’s been a bad w...

Beware! Democrats want to put hardened criminals back on the street in Michigan!   That’s the essence of a warning in a recent Detroit News column. Just for the record, I’m not a novice. I’m an “old-school” editorial writer. In my career as a broadcast journalist spanning nearly 3 decades, I wrote and aired hundreds of editorials about issues in my community. I think there was a clear difference between my opinion pieces and those being written in newspapers and aired on TV these days.   On occasion a listener would chide me for trying to persuade people to think my way. My immediate and strong response was NO. Instead, I simply wanted people to think! Period. I raised the issue, and expressed opinions, to prod listeners into doing their own research on the topic allowing them to reach an informed opinion.   I get the feeling that too many of these cable news commentators and flaming liberal or conservative columnists have goals of high ratings…integrity be damned. ...

So, I take a break from my duties on behalf of HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS, grab Wednesday’s edition of the Detroit News, open the newspaper and I’m greeted by two repulsive headlines. Across the top of the page I read: Eight prison workers charged in inmate’s death. Right below it, in the right-hand column, I read: Officer charged in assault of prisoner. What the? Is it open season on inmates?   The second story is actually a report of a city cop in Warren who, while booking a 19-year-old prisoner, let his anger get the best of him. Witnesses said, and a video cam proved, that he punched the kid in the face, then slammed him to the ground. Just for the record, the police officer was charged with two misdemeanors. Guess what the kid might have been charged with, had he displayed such behavior?   The lead story, however,  is of particular importance to everyone in the State of Michigan.   Jonathan Lancaster had mental issues, and he stopped eating and drinking while ...