Letter to the Editor
Rally for Innocence
Published Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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To the editor:
I am writing to let everyone know that our family and our beautiful supporters will never give up our honest fight to free my one-and-only, loving, Indian brother Marvin Roberts, as well as Kevin Pease, Eugene Vent and George Frese over their wrongful imprisonment that cruelly happened to them for nothing except being Native. It’s way too obvious as there is nothing, and I mean “NOTHING” to keep holding them in jail where they don’t belong!
We are going to hold a rally once again for them today, in front of the Tanana Chief’s Convention Center during the TCC Convention at noon.
We publicly invite Gov. Sarah Palin to listen to our heartbroken cries and to realize our hurting truth; our many, many cries from many, many people of all kinds — especially my mother, Hazel Roberts. To have her son rudely taken away in one blink with no evidence … this isn’t the olden days is it? Might as well be, considering their public hanging, getting whipped over going to a dance and having fun while being Indian.
I wish Gov. Palin would open her eyes to this terrible travesty against them and our huge family. We are Alaskans are we not? It seems as though we haven’t been since police Detective Aaron Ring and District Attorney Jeff O’bryant decided that we were not and decided to go ahead and charge us for murder with no evidence.
What’s up with that?!
They are the ones that got away with a major crime here and should be investigated thoroughly — and definitely not by the staff of Alaska for crying out loud. I’m talking FBI stuff.
These young innocent men and all of us never did anything to these men, judges or their all-white jurors (no offense given) to deserve this sad judgment.
How sick and absurd to have your life set in stone over biased hatred of the purest form.
Please join us!
Community Discussion
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The racial divide will continue to widen as long as you constanly point out how different you are. No one cares what race you are, so why keep bringing it up? The 'injustice,' whether perceived or reality, has nothing to do with being Native, so quit telling yourself that. You are oppressed in your own mind only, and until you let go of the fact that you have a different culture (we all do to some degree) you will never see yourself as equal to the whites. Quit projecting your negative perceptions on the rest of us. It is clear from this letter that you are racist.
If they didn't do it, who did? Who committed this crime? They were found guilty by a jury of their peers. It was a white jury, big deal. Are you saying that whites are not equal to natives? If you want to exonerate them at this point, the onus is on you.
Quit calling racial injustice and present this as a case of logic, mistaken identity, malice or any other number of things. We don't want to hear about the native plight or subjugation of the Great White Devil. For those like me who are impartial, as soon as I hear someone pulling the race card, I completely tune them out.
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These four young men were convicted in a Court of Law "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" - that means they were and are guilty in the Eyes of the Law (and in the judgement of the Jurors).
They are not innocent just because you can't believe they would do such a thing. Somebody was capable of the horrible and heinous things that were done to the victim. The District Attorney was able to present enough evidence to convince that jury that those four did commit the crime of which they were convicted.
I suspect most people in Fairbanks think "Justice was Done" in this particular case and are happy with the Verdict and the Outcome of the Case. If you have evidence of Prosecutorial Malfeasance or Judicial Tampering by the DA or the Court System, by all means present it and demand a new trial. Otherwise, quit belly-aching; it does not lend credence to your cause or generate sympathy for the four young men to beat, kicked, and stomped John Hartmann to death.
The only racism happening here in on your part, for insinuating that these men were incarcerated just because they were tried by a white jury.
I'd like to see the trial transcripts, so that I cam make a real judgment. Did these boys lawyer question that it was an "all white" jury to begin with, for example? Or just after conviction? Have there been appeals? How have those turned out? I tend to disbelieve that there was "no evidence" and that these boys were convicted solely on the basis of their race, although I'm sure there are exceptions (but those are exceptions, not the rule).
Racism absolutely does exist, but not every conviction of a minority is proof of racism. Sometimes the people convicted are actually guilty.
This person obviously does not care about the issue that they sort-of make. The writer of this letter constantly refers to "we" and "us". Are they the ones sitting in jail? Sounds like this is only an opportunity for a stump speech, not for the "falsely convicted". The writer of this letter was probably hurt by racism and is using this situation as a way of speaking out, no matter how irrelevent it is to the subject. I hope you find resolution, but I don't think the men in jail can provide that for you.
If the justice system works the way you claim it does, them how come there are Alaska Natives who are put on trial and found innocent? Are all the Native Alaskans you know in jail? Do you know anyone else of any other ethnicity that's in jail? If the system is so racist against Natives, then how come there's so many Black, White, Middle Eastern, and Asian people in jail too?
Your "rally for inocence" is a rally of ignorance and hate. It's like a friend of Charlie Manson writing to newspapers proclaiming that he is innocent. There's only one racist person in this argument and that is YOU!
I've been in school here in Fairbanks for 16 years (including UAF)with many Alaskan Natives. I know them as intelligent, gentle, and kind people but you seem to be the exception. They didn't see their people as outsiders because of their ethnic background, just simply as their ethnic background. You sound rediculous when you talk of racism. Just because you say it's racist doesn't make it true.
i know from first hand experiance that cops lie on the stand. i know cops plant evidence all the time. every day d.n.a. proves people convicted by a jury innocent. prosocutors dont care if your guilty as long as they get a conviction. lots of innocent men are in prison. the police in fairbanks are no exception to this either. all of this said im sure these men were not convicted because of their race. the jury was givin the evidence by cops and the d.a. and 99 percent of law enforcement will lie every time they are on the stand. if they suspect you of a crime they can build a case against you. law enforcement in this country is legalized terrorism. i worry more about them than musslim radicals or ossama bin laden. every day you read about or see on tv another man is free from prison after a long stay for a crime he didnt commit. some d.a. and cops had to lie to get him convicted. i love america and as bad as our judicial system is. its still the best in the world. i am not saying these men are innocent. all i am saying is never trust a cop. if you are ever questioned request a lawyer and do not answer a question. innocent men do have a reason to worry. they convict innocent men every day.
Ditto ditto ditto to what ecray wrote.
I for one am sick and tired of hearing the families of these MURDERERS whining about their so called "wrongful imprisonment". Give it a rest. I say the citizens of Fairbanks show up at the TCC Convention at noon and protest the fact that a young, innocent boy, was killed in the prime of his life by 4 men who had nothing better to do that fateful night.
"It’s way too obvious as there is nothing, and I mean “NOTHING” to keep holding them in jail where they don’t belong!"
Actually, there is one obvious thing holding them in jail....it's called a GUILTY VERDICT.
johnmcgarry, might I suggest you learn how to properly spell, capitalize, and make sentences to form a paragraph? Your point may be taken a little more seriously if it wasn't so disfigured in written form.
99% of cops lie on the stand? Where is your proof? What is your firsthand experience with them lying? Why not trust a cop? Lastly, please cite examples of innocent men being wrongly convicted on police officer testimony alone. Most of the stories I see involve a key witness being confused.
ecray, my first hand experiance is i was accused of murder in fairbanks. they had a very convincing case. all lies made up by cops. thank god i had a good lawyer. at the time of my indictment some air force guy addmited to this murder and several others in fairbanks and else where. he killed himself the next day. i read all the fabricated evidence the cops and d.a. presented to the grand jury. i would still be in prison had this case gone to trial. have you ever heard of the tuscon 4 ? these men were arrested for killing 8 or 9 buddist monks in phoenix. they all signed confesions. right before they went on trial a group of teen agers were found to be the real killers. one of these 4 men had never been to phoenix in his life. how come he confessed to such a horrible crime ? because COPS LIE. i know first hand because i have been a victim of cops lieing. ecray im sorry i cant spell. i also do not know how to type very well. sorry about that too. look up my case in the system. im not full of it just because i cant type or spell. i have no criminal history except for a d.u.i. 28 years ago. why did cops lie and a d.a. build this case against me ? because they didnt have any one else to blame. they needed a conviction. they would have got one if the real guy had not confessed. many men just like me are in prison because COPS LIE. there is a web site called cops gone bad. the crimes they commit every day are the worst in the world. you dont have to know how to spell or type to see COPS LIE. they are power tripping punks who think they can get away with any thing. they usualy do to.
johnmcgarry - I'm sorry that you were the recipient of maltreatment by our justice system. Like the case above, I'd really like to see all the evidence here. IF your claims are true, was there any action taken toward those involved in the lying and falsified evidence? If it was that apparent, I would think that your good lawyer would have explored these avenues to get you monetary compensation, at the very least.
I think that this may be an example of generalization. You had one bad experience (ok, if true it was a horrific one), thus all police are bad and liars. That is about as rational as saying that one had a bad experience with a white man, a black man or an Alaska Native, so ALL of that population is bad and guilty of whatever wrong you experienced. There are corrupt police, just as there are corrupt people in almost every other walk of life, but it makes no sense to classify everyone as corrupt because of isolated incidents.
I disagree with you 100% that they are all liars, and I have had experience on both sides of the law. What you experienced is the exception, not the rule. Police, and the justice system have some problems, but that's because they are human too and subject to human failures. They also provide a great and necessary public service. More often than not (and I think this is an understatement) men and women are in prison because they committed a crime, were tried and CONVICTED on evidence; not because some cop lied.
this case is very sad. I feel bad for the family of the kid who died and the kids who were convicted without any evidence. Eugene Vent is my cousin. Many would say that it is hard for one to believe that someone they know could do such a wicked crime. Although, I truly do not believe that my cousin or the others had anything to do with the crime. Eugene was seventeen years old and the first to supposedly admit to stomping some kid. This was after eight hours of interrogation and refusing him of his repeated requests to eat and see his mom. The cops did get the supposed getaway car and the shoes used in this crime. For a stomp-to-death homicide, you would think there would be a little blood on one of these items.
I am not stressing the racism card. I believe the cops wanted a story fast in order to satisfy the publics thirst for answers and justice, whether they were on the right track or not.
There are rumors out there of who the real killers are, and new names are definetly floating around. I doubt that the fairbanks justice system is going to try to hard to figure out their mistake.
r. dewilde
dana vandam, our jury system is as competent as o.j. simpsons jury proved it to be. all the evidence in the world and he was found not guilty. other cases no evidence at all and a man is on death row. 99% of the cops give the rest a bad name. that goes the same for the district attourneys. all these punks care about is getting a conviction. they dont care about whos life they destroy in the process. over 25 years ago in my case and people still judge me as a killer. i never did any time for the crime so i couldnt have a case for sueing these crooks. the cops and d.a. were not investigated for falsifying evidense because they all cover for each other. its like leaving the wolf to guard the sheep. this is not genaralizing. it is what has happened to me all my life. every time i have had any contact with the police im harrased. i got stoped yesterday for no light on my license plate. the first thing out of this cops mouth is where am i coming from. like that is any of his buisness. i dont drink or use drugs. this punk gave me a sobriety test. guess what ? i passed. when he and i looked at my light it some how fixed it self. wow what a surprise. i just wonder why he realy stoped me ? is it because they are still trying to frame me for another case they cant solve ? im almost 49 years old im not a fool. my time and our tax dollars are wasted every time im stoped. i never get a ticket. they always search me , my car or bike. im put thru tests they know i can pass. i never speak cross to them because i dont want to get pepper sprayed or tazzered or shot. if they shoot you and you dont have a gun they will plant one on you. they all carry throw aways. you can not win against these punks. all these years and no criminal arrests or convictions. i havent had a traffic ticket in over 20 years. i get stoped at least once a month and harrased. im still treated like charles manson by the cops. you tell me dana vandam how am i supposed to feel about the justice system and cops ?????????????
"if they shoot you and you dont have a gun they will plant one on you. they all carry throw aways."
Stop spreading vicious lies. Comments like this irritate me to no end.
Hear Hear! Go John! Go John!
Mr. McGarry,
I can't tell you how you are supposed to feel about the justice system and cops; I'm telling you how I feel. I have my doubts that you have been stopped EVERY MONTH for the last 20 years, but I'll take you at your word. Assuming this as the truth, then you have either: made someone angry and they are after you OR you are not driving properly.
My last paragraph in my earlier post stands for itself. Humans make mistakes, the people that form our police and justice systems are just that: people. And they make mistakes. It is still the exception, not the rule. I do not now, nor will I ever, believe that all or even most police are corrupt, willing to "plant a gun" on someone, for example (and, if I remember correctly, it is these types of accusations - corruption, evidence planting, racism - that got OJ off to begin with - which WAS a travesty of justice). Some corruption, sure. Just as there is some corruption almost anywhere you look.
However, I do wish you luck, Mr. McGarry, in finding a resolution to your experiences.
wild alaskan, you dont think that a cop has ever planted a weapon on a unarmed man ? you are a fool. it happens more often than you think. they have on a rare occassion been busted for it. thats because they cover for each other. how can it be a lie when it has been proven so many times in the past ? if these comments irratate you stay off this forum. you shouldnt upset your self. its not healthy.
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Mr. McGarry,
If you have a record of all the stops that you have been subjected to, would it make sense to retain a lawyer to sue for harassment? I'm not a lawyer, and have not taken the time to research this, but it seems to me that if you can prove that you are being stopped repeatedly, being forced to take tests, and not receiving any tickets, than there must be some recourse open to you. I sincerely question the ideas of conspiracy against you, but I don't often question proof. Lawyers are often open to this type of suit, if there is a basis to it. Just a thought.
I think all of this is sidestepping the vandalism issue, however. Cops aren't miracle workers, and they can't be everywhere at once. Neighborhood watches are wonderful, if you can get neighborhood involvement.
Oh heck. I combined two threads. I'm so sorry.
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Julie Stricker
Online Content Director
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Proving without reasonable doubt seems to be the case. There are others that were involved. Me and a frien