April, 2006

News Update: Victory in Benton Harbor Struggle for Justice.
Jury Deadlocked. Mistrial declared. Get ready for the next round!

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Judge Sides with Prosecution in Benton Harbor Struggle for Justice

FROM THE PEOPLE'S TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD

As we go to press, the judge in the "vote fraud" trial of Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Michigan, ordered the jury back to deliberations after they announced that they could not reach a verdict. The stakes in this case are high. The city power structure, controlled by the Whirlpool Corporation, is determined to crush anyone who stands in the way of their plan to transform the city into an expensive resort area, which requires driving out the poor. Unemployment in Benton Harbor stands at 65 to 70 percent.

Rev. Pinkney is under attack because he dared to stand up. But this case is not about Rev. Pinkney. It is about how a corporation like Whirlpool takes over a whole town and boasts that labor costs are 32 percent below the state average. It is about how they buy up the judicial and political structure. It is about how their opposition -- the honest, community leaders who hold public office -- are discredited, fired, and run from office. It is about how democratic elections that favor the poor are overturned, and about how community leaders like Rev. Pinkney are threatened with 20 years in prison for encouraging others to exercise their democratic rights. The message the Whirlpool-controlled power structure is sending is clear.

There is a strong core of leaders in Benton Harbor -- women, men, young and old -- who are committed to this fight. They are arousing the community. They understand that either the people take over the corporations, or the corporations are going to take over the people. What happens in Benton Harbor is a harbinger for every American. Let's make a stand for democracy in Benton Harbor.

Rev. Pinkney and his defenders speak

"I'm concerned about our citizens not getting a fair share of the money coming in. There is a lot of homeless people here. We see teenagers, male and female, walking the streets trying to find a place to sleep in cold weather while abandoned homes are boarded up. Four or five in my block. I voted by absentee ballot in the recall election and I know the procedure. My vote was taken away along with others. That means they didn't recognize our vote. Some people now say they will not vote anymore if they are taking our votes away. Voting is a right. People died for voting. That's a slap in the face to vote in a recall and they take it away."
-- A long time Benton Harbor resident and grassroots citizen.

"Pastor Pinkney, you are part of our future because you have helped a lot of people. You have killed that spirit of ignorance. The Bible says we perish because of a lack of knowledge. But you don't have to stay that way. Thank God for Rev. Pinkney because he is one person who has exposed this system and he has caused them to get really upset."
-- Belinda Brown, speaking at a Benton Harbor rally

"My defense lawyer told the jury that the whole case is like a dead squirrel thrown on a porch. The evidence stinks. It's like a father clock that strikes at the 13th hour. You can't trust it. People are calling the Judge 'one-sided Butzbaugh.'"
-- Rev. Edward Pinkney

Make a donation for Rev. Pinkney's Legal Defense Fund at http://bhbanco.blogspot.com by clicking on "Make a Donation." Or send a check payable to BANCO, 1940 Union St., Benton Harbor MI 49022. Call Rev. Pinkney at 269-925-0001.