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VOICES FROM BENTON HARBOR

This article is published in the June 2008 edition of the People’s Tribune. Visit http://www.peoplestribune.org. Call 800-691-6888 or email info@peoplestribune.org for more information.

MORE LIQUIDATION OF RIGHTS

By Pastor Mary Gault
Thursday, June 26, 2008, corporate power raised it’s ugly head again in the Berrien County Courthouse at the probation violation hearing of Rev. Edward Pinkney. The contrived violation was on the grounds that an article he wrote quoting Deuteronomy 28 was a threat to the life of the trial judge, Judge Butzbaugh. While on the stand, Rev. Pinkney’s probation agent, when asked how he knew about the article, said that a colleague not assigned to the case brought him the article. Then he, as probation agent, his supervisor, and the prosecutor brought the probation violation against Rev. Pinkney. No testimony was given that the Judge Butzbaugh brought forth the complaint as a threat on his life. They also took offense at his calling the judge a racist and for being corrupt. Isn’t it interesting that for years Rev. Pinkney showed up in the courtrooms in the Berrien County Courthouse wearing t-shirts calling the judges and prosecutors “Benton Harbor’s Most Wanted,” without interference?
More interesting is that Rev. Pinkney had reported to his probation agent an hour before he was arrested yet no mention was made to him of a violation nor did they detain him at that time. Rev. Pinkney’s arrest came on the coattails of a very successful rally in Benton Harbor whose guest speaker was former congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. One can only make the deduction that corporate and governmental powers saw this as too big a threat and decided to remove Rev. Pinkney farther from the community by sending him to prison.
The presiding judge assigned more power to Rev. Pinkney than Moses by saying he was able to call upon God to carry out this so-called threat and God would obey. As a pastor, I look at this as government ignoring the constitution by breaching our right to religious belief and ability to freely preach the word of God. This court also trampled over the constitutionally protected freedom of speech.

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SIGN PETITION IN SUPPORT OF REV. PINKNEY: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/624471377

re: Harbor Shores: “Perhaps some of you do not own a foot of ground.
Remember then, that this is your park, it belongs to you,” said John Klock,
a local newspaper publisher, when he gave the land to the city of Benton Harbor in 1917 in honor of his daughter.

Please send letters or postcards supporting Rev. Pinkney’s application to the Parole Board. These are extremely important. Text can be as simple as: “I support Rev. Pinkney’s application for pardon.”
Michigan Department of Corrections
Office of the Parole Board
Pardons and Commutations Coordinator
Post Office Box 30003
Lansing, Michigan 48909

Checks to BANCO for Pinkney’s legal fees (tax-deductible):
BANCO
1940 Union St.
Benton Harbor, MI 49022

BOYCOTT WHIRLPOOL & SUBSIDIARIES (Amana, Estate, Gladiator Garage Works, Insperience, Jenn-Air, KitchenAid, Magic Chef, Maytag, Roper, Acros, Inglis, Bauknecht, Brastemp, Admiral, IKEA appliances, some Kenmore)

www.bhbanco.blogspot.com