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OV1V »f ugjV VU1 1IVI a ■ ■ mu V»1 w. ■ ~ **» ■ V«J‘V» W*** ~ ------*Trespassing charges, sentence unfairWhere is the justice? Is the criminal justice system actually being run by criminals?I went to trial for a felony trespassing at a. local apartment complex. I originally was placed on the complex’s trespass list for loitering, but I was only there to apply for a rental and a job. I was found guilty, not of the felony, but of a sao-called lesser'charge of trespass—a Class A misdemeanor.Instead of it being dismissed or being given the minimum $25 fine, $50 court cost and zero days in jail (given that the jail is overcrowded), I was given the maximum—one year in jail. I was sentenced by the same judge who lets child molesters go free and by a judge rumored to bebiased—Judge Robert Schmoll, By the way, he replaced the original judge, Fran Gull, at the last minute for my trial.I was testified against by a woman whom I once considered to be a pillar of our black community, the woman who manages these apartments. I was astounded when she testified at the trial, under oath and blatantly lied about seeing me at the office and interviewing me and then turning me down for an apartment. She denied having any of the paperwork I filled out—applications—or computer records acknowledging those events.Obviously, she could care less about sending young black men to prison for such a petty crime. I’vebeen in jail since June 2003. More than half the black men I’ve met here ’ have been charged with trespassing at these same apartments and given a lengthy sentence. What you have to understand is that we black young men are racially profiled and then stalked by police when seen on these premises and harassed and, sometimes, intimidated with drawn guns and asked for identification as was I. We are then locked up, criminally confined in jail for such minor offenses, plus given, excessive bail or, sometimes, no bond.Please show us we have real black leaders supporting us and not those being used by a puppet master who eventually abandon us.— Terrell Brown
Newspaper Details
Fort Wayne Frost Illustrated
Fort Wayne, Indiana, US
Wed, Dec 10, 2003
Page 14
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 13 Jul 2023
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