Washington Falsely Jailed by Winchester Court Corruption

Pardon Expert Margaret Love commentary

2011-05-21T09:58:00.000-04:00

Wouldn't you "Love to know" if Pardon expert Margaret Colgate Love is related to the Charlottesville FBI Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Love?

ABOUT TIME, 16 years late, 16 years in Jail for an Innocent Man - Jeff Washington

2010-06-22T14:43:00.001-04:00

FINALLY, some progress toward Justice for All, Justice for Washington

2010-06-18T09:48:00.002-04:00

ABOUT TIME! Remember that the former Police Chief Reynolds wrote a letter to Paul Thomson back in 1999 (I believe I recall correctly) suggesting that an investigation into the prosecution by the Commonwealth Attorney should be conducted by the Attorney General or the Chief Justice. And what about the police notes of 2-17-1999 about Paul Thomson "skimming money from drug dealers"

*Special prosecutor sought in 1994 Winchester murder case

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com
WINCHESTER -- The father of a man imprisoned for a 1994 murder claims a court reporter altered transcripts of a hearing in his son's case.
After losing a civil suit in December, Frank Washington has sought a criminal probe into the matter.
Now Washington may get his wish.
Commonwealth's Attorney Alex Iden sought an order Thursday in Winchester Circuit Court asking a judge to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Washington's allegations.
Iden said he couldn't comment on the order except to say he filed the request because he felt a conflict of interest existed if his office remained involved in the investigation.
Washington recently approached the Winchester Police Department to look into his allegations the transcripts of a preliminary hearing held in the general district court Oct. 5, 1994 were altered purposefully to omit a person identified then as a potential witness in his son's murder case.
The incident number to which Iden refers in the court order is the same as the one given to the elder Washington, the father said. Washington expressed some satisfaction that his allegations may receive some attention by a special prosecutor.
Jeffrey Washington is serving a 70-year prison sentence for the Aug. 16, 1994, shooting death of 22-year-old Carlos Marshall.
The elder Washington maintains his son's innocence and has said he entered a plea agreement only after then Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Thomson threatened to seek the death penalty against the defendant in the case.
For further developments, visit nvdaily.com or read the print edition of The Northern Virginia Daily.

Easter Son-day letter to Governor Kaine, Congratulation on TWO Pardons on Monday / post to website

2009-04-12T15:00:00.000-04:00

Please Click on Image on image to enlarge for ease of reading...

Letter to Courts of Justice on Wetsel's Words comparing Washington with Adolf Hitler

2009-01-27T05:41:00.000-05:00

Please click on the letter image to enlarge for ease of reading.

Letter presents to Dave Albo, the Chairman of the Virginia House of Delegates Courts of Justice Committee information about "judge" John E. Wetsel, Jr., of Winchester...

... Wetsel in COURT compared Washington to Adolf Hitler!

Washington is an accused, yet innocent man, but jailed for 14 years due to "judge" Wetsel and his abomination of a Due Process Court.

NOW, Wetsel wants to be "Promoted"?

Despite "recommendations" by the bar, Wetsel is NOT competent to serve at the Court of Appeals of Virginia, or for that matter, serve on the bench at all.

Letter to "judge" John Wetsel asking him to fix his mess

2009-01-27T04:28:00.001-05:00

Detailed Letter / Petition for Pardon to Governor Tim Kaine

2009-01-27T03:44:00.000-05:00

Fine article in Northern Virginia Daily by Alex Bridges / also my Letter to the Editor

2008-11-04T13:03:00.006-05:00

[CLICK on article image to link to article.]
Friends of Liberty and Justice for ALL in America,

Alex, Thanks for an informative article. You are following in the fine tradition of former NV Daily reporters Darcy Spencer and Brian Root.

Words have meaning, and the term "Convicted killer" seems a bit wide of the mark.

I do not know exactly what to suggest because it is a problem with the less than honest use of words by the Courts, and so reporters on the Courts are somewhat stuck in using the deceptive language of lawyers.

I believe that you may know that many if not most of the Innocent Men exonerated and released from Jail have been freed by the work of journalists not jurists or lawyers.

Anyway, thanks again for your fine reporting.

For Equal Justice in Virginia,

James Renwick Manship, Sr.

Dear Editor of Letters to the Editor:

(Post headline of story you're commenting on here)
Court reporter seeks presidential pardon for convicted killer

Dear Editor of Letters to the Editor:

Northern Virginia Daily reporter Alex Bridges has done another informative article. Previous NV Daily reporters Darcy Spencer and Brian Root are the only (other) sources of light and truth in this dark stain on the integrity of the Courts of Winchester.

My only quibble is the confusion of language because of the Procedures of the Court, you know "legal-ese" intentional confusion of the facts.

Jeff Washington was not really "Convicted" and was NEVER the "killer", the Forensic Evidence if seen by the Jury or by Jeff would have PROVEN Jeff's Innocence.

In this Jeff Washington case an Alford Plea is better described as "NOT GUILTY but will submit to a Prison Sentence rather than Risk a Death Sentence, given the lack of effective defense by my defense counsel."

But the Prosecutor, Democrat Paul Thomson, working in concert with Jeff's "Defense Counsel" John Prosser forced a "Coerced Confession" Alford Plea AFTER opening arguments AFTER the JURY was seated.

The day AFTER the Coerced Confession "Alford Plea", Prosecutor Thomson admitted to a Northern Virginia Daily reporter that the scientific evidence to link Jeff Washington to the murder was lacking.

see a copy of that article at:
http://CourtCorruptionWinchesterVWashington.blogspot.com

By the 1970 U.S. supreme Court opinion by Justice White in North Carolina v. Alford, to be a VALID "Alford Plea" TWO REQUIREMENTS MUST BE PRESENT:
(1) Evidence against the Accused.
THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE AGAINST JEFF WASHINGTON - NO Gun Shot Residue Tests, NO fingerprints, NO DNA samples, NO body fluids, NO hair fibers, NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH.
Therefore on that basis alone the so-called Thomson-Prosser manipulated "Alford Plea" is UN-Constitutional per the Supreme Court 1970 Alford Opinion.

Then there is the second requirement:
(2) Competent Counsel.
A first year law student, or even better if allowed by Virginia "Unauthorized Practice of Law" Statutes, a Pro Se "Assistance of Counsel" could have gained an acquittal from a Jury who must decide on "BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT" to convict Jeff Washington of the murder.

IF the Gun Shot Residue Tests, that is to say scientific or Forensic Evidence on TWO tests showed NO Gun Shot Residue on Jeff Washington but POSITIVE on Prosecutor Thomson's star witness against Washington, namely John Doleman, what JURY in America would convict Jeff Washington?

The only reason Jeff Washington is in jail is because his Defense Counsel and the Prosecutor did a mind game on his mother by their Opening Statements to frighten her into begging her son to take an Alford Plea, that he had for weeks previously rejected when his Defense Counsel Prosser pushed for that.

Prosser certainly was Competent Counsel -- for the Prosecution, not for Jeff Washington.

For Equal Justice in Virginia,

James Renwick Manship, Sr.

Court Reporter
Investigative Journalist
Member, Society of Professional Journalists
President, The Virginia Chronicle
newspaper, 2003-2004

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/373908215333158.bsp

Court reporter seeks presidential pardon for convicted killer

{NOT "convicted killer", coerced confession Alford Plea...}

Washington serving 70-year sentence

By Alex Bridges -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — Jeffrey Washington's fight against a murder conviction and lengthy prison sentence made it to the White House this week.

Court reporter James Renwick Manship Sr. sent a letter to President Bush seeking a pardon for Washington, who was convicted in 1995 of murdering Carlos Marshall at a city residence the year before.

{NOT "Convicted killer", coerced confession Alford Plea yet NO evidence to link Washington to the crime!}

Washington is serving a 70-year prison term for the crime.

Manship cites in documents and in interviews that the commonwealth forced an Alford plea out of Washington in order to receive a conviction. An Alford plea means that the defendant does not admit guilt outright but agrees that prosecutors have enough evidence and therefore does not want to risk being convicted beyond a reasonable doubt.

Manship on Monday said he sent the letter and a number of documents concerning the case to the White House on Friday by express mail in hopes of next-day delivery. He also faxed nine pages of the documents he mailed to the White House.

Along with the letter, Manship sent material that he said shows Washington's innocence, including forensic evidence from the case.

In early September, Manship sent a similar request to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. However, as recently as Monday, Manship said Kaine's office asked for the original letter that would state whether Washington wanted Manship to seek the pardon. Manship said he had previously sent it by certified mail.

The request for a pardon from Kaine cites the case of Walter Snyder, a man convicted of rape but later cleared by DNA evidence and then pardoned by then Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.

In his letter to Bush, Manship cites the case of Earl Washington Jr., who is no relation to Jeffrey Washington, in which the man also was exonerated by DNA evidence. In 2000, then-Gov. Jim Gilmore pardoned Washington.

However, Gov. Mark R. Warner did not pardon Washington in 2002, Manship said in the letter and, as of yet, neither has Kaine.

Manship said he was given no timeline as to when or if Bush or other officials would consider the pardon request.

Manship said he would have hoped the pardon could have been granted by Election Day and might even have helped Gilmore's campaign against Warner for U.S. Senate had it been granted.

But Manship added that Kaine might not have granted a pardon since his predecessor did not.

"So, to a certain extent I decided that working with current governor, based on the Catch-22 feedback I was getting ... I'm gonna continue to work with them, but it seems like they [Kaine and Warner] were not capable of making the decision prior to the election, and maybe the president would, and that's why I asked the president."

Manship may pursue other routes.

"The reality is that if there is not a pardon granted pretty soon, I'm going to work with people who are capable of doing so in bringing lawsuits against lots of people in Winchester for violations of Virginia law," he said. "I'm really hoping they go the easy way — easy for them, easy for me, easy for Jeff and easy for everybody."

* Contact Alex Bridges at abridges@nvdaily.com

Presidential Pardon Press Conference Statement (proposed)

2008-11-03T15:25:00.000-05:00

PRESIDENTIAL PARDON PRESS CONFERENCE
STATEMENT:

One of the duties of the President is to carefully, even prayerfully, use the Executive Power of Pardon to “set the captives free” when the President learns that a tragic miscarriage of Justice has transpired so that an Innocent Man has been jailed.

Back in 1994, a 22 year old Army man left active duty in Germany and came home to Winchester, Virginia where he took up with his old high school buddies. He had enlisted in the Army right after high school graduation. However, while he was in the Army, his buddies back home had become involved in using and selling drugs.

On 16 August 1994, in a drug deal gone awry, a drug dealer was murdered. Four drug user friends of the Army veteran were involved in the murder. Two initially stated the Army Veteran had no involvement, but after they did a “Plea Bargain” with the local Prosecutor, they changed their stories to say the Army Veteran was the gunman who murdered the drug dealer. Sadly, a judge compared the Army Veteran to Adolf Hitler!

The prosecutor, a Democrat, closed his eyes to the investigation of any other suspect, ignoring and indeed even covering up the fact that the Forensic Evidence of Gun Shot Residue Tests pointed away from the Army Veteran and toward one of his four “Plea Bargain” Prosecution witnesses, his entire case against the Army Veteran.
Falsely told the Gun Shot Residue Tests were “inconclusive”, yet knowing he was “Not Guilty”, the Army Veteran took an “Alford Plea”, praying an Appeal may set him free.

Some years later on 2-17-1999, a trusted Police Informant reported that the Prosecutor was “skimming money from drug dealers”. The great good wisdom of the Virginia Voters was displayed when they voted that Prosecutor out of office in 2001.

President Reagan economist Paul Craig Roberts has co-authored a book titled Tyranny of Good Intentions with the sub-title “How Prosecutors... Are Trampling the Constitution...” While it is Good Intention to take drug dealers and murderers off the streets, we must be certain that Prosecutors do not use Drug Dealers who “bear False Witness” to put an innocent man behind bars for fourteen years, or even one week.

Justice White in his Opinion in the North Carolina v. Alford case in 1970 set two requirements for an “Alford Plea” to be valid from a Constitutional basis: (1) Evidence against the Accused, and (2) Competent Counsel. My review of the case with trusted advisors confirms to me there was NO evidence to link the Army Veteran to the crime.

THEREFORE, given the Powers vested in me by
“this Constitution for the United States of America” as the President,
I do hereby grant a Pardon to Jeffrey Franklin Washington of Winchester, Virginia.

George W. Bush
President of the United States

FOX NEWS Religion Reporter Lauren Green blog comment...

2008-11-03T14:33:00.000-05:00

A letter for a visit with the mother of the murder victim

2008-11-01T18:09:00.001-04:00

Governor Sarah Palin signed House Bill 69 that reformed the Pardon Power that the Governor before her had abused.

The bill that Governor Palin signed required the Governor's Office to contact the family of the victim before a Pardon of the alleged criminal is announced.

"Just common decency..."

While not easy, it is just common decency to speak with the family of the victim to inform them of the plans to pardon a person who was innocent of the crime, but who the family was long ago led to believe was the murderer.

Therefore, since I was the Advocate for the Pardon of Jeffrey Franklin Washington, I felt it was my Duty to Common Decency, and Duty to God and my Country to go to speak with Mrs. Marshall to inform her of my investigation into the rampant Misconduct by Police and Prosecutor that caused the Coerced Confession by an "Alford Plea" by Jeff Washington, after his mother was manipulated by both the Prosecutor and the Defense Counsel to beg her son to take the Alford Plea rather than risk a Death Sentence as the Prosecution was feverishly seeking.

Washington Post article Saving Innocent Souls...

2008-10-31T13:37:00.001-04:00

The Washington Post
Religion Article
Saturday, October 25, 2008

Letter dated 31 October a.d. 2008:

Dear President Bush
and Counselor Fielding:

Justice Antonin Scalia in his new book with Brian Garner Making Your Case suggests putting up front in your case “Questions Presented”, so the Question Presented to the President and his Counselor Fred Fielding is:
“Can the President Pardon a State Inmate Incarcerated on a Non-Constitutional ‘Alford Plea’?”

I do not know if you read The Washington Post article “Working to Save Innocent Souls” on Saturday, 25 October shown in part above to the right. As G.W. prayed, be... a deliverer to the captives... Tragically, the article reports delays of Liberty and Justice of 5 to 10 years with costs from $150,000 to $300,000.

A few weeks ago I found a news item that reported on the Pardon of Earl Washington, Jr. in 2000 when James Gilmore was Governor of Virginia. In a letter to Governor Kaine dated Tuesday, 14 October a. d. 2008, ...

Halloween Horror Story ... Corrupt Courts of Winchester

2008-10-31T01:28:00.000-04:00

Halloween
Horror Story ??

“Hate evil and Love the good.
Remodel your Courts into
True Halls of Justice.”
-- Amos 5:15

Bubble, Bubble,
Toil and Trouble!
-witch’s cackle

Cracked, Crazy,
Corrupt Courts!
-witch’s curse

What crime is brewing in the corrupt Courts of Winchester?

Day after Day of the “Living Dead”
Innocent Man Sent to Jail for 70 years
by a “Coerced Confession” forced “Alford Plea”!
Next day, 3-1-1995 Northern Virginia Daily
reports Thomson admits no scientific evidence.
Prosecutor Thomson did a “Media Circus”
defaming Washington as a “Gangster”,
yet who REALLY is the “Gangster”?
On 2-17-1999 Police Informant reports
Thomson “skimming money from drug dealers”.

In Court on 4-3-1995 Judge Wetsel compares
Washington to Adolf Hitler!
In Court on 4-10-1995 Judge Wetsel
sentences Innocent Man Jeff Washington
to 70 years in JAIL! Is that Judicial Bias?
Defense Counsel Prosser “sells out” his client.
Was Prosser “rewarded” with Judgeship
a mere 2 to 3 years later?
Meanwhile Prosecution Witness
and Gun Shot Residue Test likely Gunman
now on the streets.

In 2000, Governor James Gilmore, a former Commonwealth Attorney “prosecutor”,
Pardons Earl Washington, Jr. (Not asked to Pardon Jeff Washington when has power as Governor.)
In 2002, Governor Mark Warner receives Letter about Injustice to Innocent Jeff Washington
yet fails to use Power of Governor to grant a Pardon to Jeffrey Franklin Washington.
In 2008, Governor Tim Kaine received letter and a very complete Pardon Petition package,
as yet Kaine has failed to grant a Pardon to Jeffrey Franklin Washington.
CALL Kaine TODAY!

CITIZEN ACTION:

Today, and tomorrow,
this week and next,
call Governor Kaine
[(804) 786-2211]
continually until he does the “Right Act” &
Kaine Grants an
Absolute Pardon
to
Jeffrey
Franklin
Washington

Left: John Prosser, now judge for
over 11 YEARS!
(Left client “dangling in the wind”!)
(Traded Jury Acquittal for Judgeship?)

Center: Jeff Washington,
now innocent inmate
in jail for over 14 YEARS!

Right: Paul Thomson, now former
(wrong!) Commonwealth Attorney,
(very, defeated by 423 votes
very, in 2001 election, wise action
wrong!) of “We, the People”!

Photo Credit: Alan Lehman
Northern Virginia Daily

Petition Governor Kaine to Pardon Jeff Washington, Governor Sarah Palin signed bill to curb Pardon abuse (CLICK this)

2008-10-27T14:13:00.010-04:00

Governor Sarah Palin signed House Bill 69 to stop future Bill Clinton-like "last days in office abuse" of the Pardon Power as the man she defeated Frank Murkowski granted a Pardon to a corporate executive in connection with the death of an employee in 1999.

Governor James Gilmore in 2000 granted a Pardon to Earl Washington, Jr. when he learned of the Forensic Evidence that exonerated Washington.

Governor Mark Warner received two letters from Franklin Washington in 2002, but failed to act to Pardon Jeff Washington.

Governor Tim Kaine was first informed of the necessity to Pardon Jeff Washington on 29 August a.d. 2008 by letter, and in person in conversation with this reporter, and with another letter and a over 70 page notebook of supporting materials on 14 October a.d. 2008.

Please call Governor Tim Kaine to encourage him to "do my Duty to God and my Country" as George Washington once said, and see the wisdom in the Absolute Pardon of Jeff Washington.

The contact information for Governor Kaine is:
Office of the Governor

Patrick Henry Building, 3rd Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Phone: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351

http://www.governor.virginia.gov/AboutTheGovernor/contactGovernor.cfm

Letter to Winchester City Councilman / Public Defender Tim Coyne / Ask Governor Kaine to Pardon Washington

2008-10-27T12:05:00.005-04:00

27 October a. d. 2008, ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt b-day

Councilman Tim Coyne
City of Winchester
15 North Cameron St.
Winchester, Virginia 22601

Dear Councilman Coyne:

Thank you for sharing your time on the phone with me last evening and your willingness to meet in person this week. After speaking with you, I called again to the Republican lady activist who did a video of my talk on this Constitution in New Market in July, along with talks by Congressman Goodlatte, Governor Gilmore, and others. She asked me to come today to be with Governor Palin in Salem. I called to learn if I was to be a “warm-up speaker” as I have done for Congressman Forbes in Chesapeake and former Attorney General Ashcroft at a Bob McDonnell for Attorney General fund-raising dinner at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside Hotel. Learning that was not the plan, being a “Good Steward” of what God gives us - time, I ‘elected’ not to go.

So... that gave me time to review and research further the case of Jeffrey Franklin Washington.

I began by review of the Court Transcript of 4-3-1995 where Judge Wetsel compared Washington to Adolf Hitler. I asked Franklin Washington to get that transcript for me to confirm what I had read in 4-4-95 news stories by Darcy Spencer and Brian Root, both with whom I have been in communications. Should it be necessary, that transcript will be Exhibit A (for Adolf?) before the JIRC, or the Courts of Justice Committees if Wetsel’s renewal on the bench comes up again. If Senator Potts can drive out Judge Berry due to his denial of a conceal carry permit for Oliver North as a reward for John Prosser, what might be the result in a far more egregious case of bias? On Friday, to be fair, I wrote to Judge Wetsel to ask him to take action to correct his Court errors. I mentioned to Judge Wetsel the 14 September 2007 Virginia supreme Court opinion by Justice Stephen Agee that also involved an “Alford Plea” in a Writ of Error Coram Vobis case.

I reviewed past cases and found a “victory” for a journalist in a case against the Henrico County Clerk of the Court in obtaining the audio tapes of a trial under FOIA. That fits with my “intuition” after reading the Court Transcript of 2-28-1995 with the opening statement of Paul Thomson (rife with lies and falsehoods) and the opening statement of Defense Counsel John Prosser. There was a clue in Prosser’s statement about “saving his voice” or some such, that being a professional speaker myself and student of Mass Communications, a study reveals that 58 per cent of communications is visual, 35 per cent non-verbal (tone or ‘passion’) and only 7 per cent words said. What Defense Counsel Prosser said was acceptable, yet two witnesses to the trial, one Joanna Edith Powell, related that Prosser’s in-court presentation was less than inspiring, so little likely to put the Jurors in a frame of mind to doubt prosecutor Paul Thomson. An audio tape can confirm or refute that “intuition” derived from a thorough reading of the case.

Next I read the Court Transcript of 3-6-1995 where you were Defense Counsel for Rudy Powell opposite Paul Thomson before the people wisely voted Thomson out of office in 2001. On page 16 Investigator James Bailous (or Bayliss per the transcript) gives testimony that could be used in charges related to Forensic Misconduct by the Winchester Police Department in the Washington prosecution/persecution, “don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is closed to any alternatives” liberally called an “investigation” by “Investigators” Bailous and Sobonya. On page 28, Thomson asks, “Q ... you were aware that Mr. Powell gave a statement to Prosser??? denying his involvement in this?” In fact Rudy Powell first said Jeff Washington was NOT INVOLVED, before his “Plea Bargain” deal with prosecutor Thomson. Testimony by NON-“Plea Bargain” ‘witnesses’ support J. Washington.

Very evident to a careful reader in Paul Thomson’s court questioning is the purposeful confusion of Zahrain Washington and Jeff Washington. Testimony by NON-Plea Bargain witnesses shows Zahrain Washington was in possession of the alleged murder weapon, NOT Jeff Washington. Yet Paul Thomson, a skilled yet dishonest trial lawyer, knew how to obfuscate the truth, and “justice”.

You should know as well as I do know, there is NO, repeat NO, scientific or forensic evidence to implicate Jeff Washington in the shooting of Carlos Marshall. Paul Thomson admitted that fact to a Northern Virginia Daily reporter in an 3-1-1995 article after a mind-game manipulation of Mrs. Christine Washington who was allowed in the Courtroom, DESPITE a “Rule on Witnesses” so to beg with her son Jeff Washington to accept the Alford Plea. John Prosser was pressing his client to take the Alford Plea because she was told her son would die if he refused. Assistant Defense Counsel Randy Bryant was quoted in the newspapers as saying the trial would be like Jeff Washington standing in the middle of I-81 with a tractor-trailer bearing down on him.

Hmm... that analogy means the “driver” of the rig could stop, or Jeff could move out of the way. The “drivers” of this rigged trial are Bailous, Sobonya and Thomson, and the “traffic cop” who allowed this rape of the Lady Justice in his Courtroom under his watchful eye was Judge Wetsel.

After James Bailous was fired from the Winchester Police Department and after 2-17-1999 police notes reveal a credible informer reported Paul Thomson was “skimming money from drug dealers”, such that 20 minutes later the City Manager, City Attorney, Police Chief, Deputy Police Chief, and a few others convened a meeting to discuss how to respond to the revelation about violations of law by the elected Commonwealth Attorney Paul Thomson, they decided to call in an FBI investigation. In September 2008, Franklin Washington has had some help from Senator Jim Webb’s office to retreive box after box of supporting information shared to the FBI after the FBI failed to do its duty honestly and closed their investigation on 9-2-2008. Ironically, that same day, not knowing of the FBI letter, I wrote to Acting U.S. Attorney Julia Dudley asking for an investigation into this Washington case consistent with the “Broken Gavel” case of RICO activity by two state judges by U.S. Attorney Donald Washington in the Western District of Louisiana.

On 7-28-1999, Winchester Police Chief Gary Reynolds writes a letter to then Commonwealth Attorney Paul Thomson repeating the description that prosecutor Thomson used of the Washington case being a “mess”. When on 10-8-2008, I spoke with former City Councilman, now Commonwealth Attorney Alex Iden about that letter, he shared “there was a lot of bad blood between those two”. He related that “everybody knew” of the dissension. And apparently a few “power brokers” knew it was time for Paul Thomson to be defeated at the next election in 2001, when days before Election Day, a series of news articles about past misdeeds of prosecutor Paul Thomson ran in local newspapers, that helped Alex Iden to win the contest by 427 votes.

On 10-14-2008, I spoke briefly with Governor Kaine about a Pardon for Jeff Washington and gave his Press Spokesman Gordon Hickey a notebook of supporting materials. The next day I attended a Senator Webb sponsored Drug Trafficking, Policy and Sentencing Forum at George Mason Law School, and spoke briefly with the Senator who connected me with his Chief Counsel who I spoke with at his Capitol Hill office later that same day, and provided supporting materials. On 10-16-2008, I went to the office of Governor Gilmore to ask his decision process when he granted a Pardon after Gilmore learned of Forensic Evidence that exonerated Earl Washington, Jr. I will post the letters to those three public servants so you can see and read them (and others) at:
http://CourtCorruptionWinchesterVWashington.blogspot.com

To be thorough, I researched Governor Sarah Palin and her use of the Pardon Power, to find:
Friday, August 29, 2008 Alaska: Palin and the Pardon Power article from February 20, 2007...
http://pardonpower.com/2008/08/alaska-palin-and-pardon-power.html
Governor Palin signed House Bill 69 to stop future President Clinton-like “last days in office Pardon-power abuse” by the former Governor when “No one from the Murkowski administration notified the victim’s family of the request for clemency or that the pardon was granted.”

Tim Coyne, you being a Democrat, I ask you to call Democrat Governor Tim Kaine to ask him to Pardon Jeff Washington after first contacting Mrs. Dorothy Marshall of Manassas to share with her why it is Right to do so, and grant the Jeff Washington Pardon BEFORE this year’s election.

Prosser's "CYA" or "Cover-UP" Memo, full of falsehoods

2008-10-25T17:56:00.000-04:00

Click on the image to enlarge for ease of reading, however, it is NOT easy to see his duplicity.

Adolf Hitler comparison - Judge Wetsel. Letter for Judge to Initiate Writ of Error Coram Vobis...

2008-10-24T12:02:00.002-04:00

Photo of Prosser, Thomson "behind the back" of falsely Accused Jeff Washington working together to COERCE an invalid Alford Plea

2008-10-23T16:08:00.003-04:00

Adolf Hitler comparison - Judge Wetsel. Is this Judicial Bias of the WORST degree?

2008-10-22T16:42:00.004-04:00

A week before the "Sentencing Hearing" of 10 April 1995, Trial Judge, John E. Wetsel, Jr., compared Jeff Washington to Adolf Hitler.

According to the corrupt and invalid "Alford Plea" Plea Agreement of 28 February 1995 forced upon or coerced from the falsely accused Jeffrey Franklin Washington, the Defendant, or in reality, his Defense Counsel, may present evidence to the judge so to reduce the duration of JAIL time from the maximum to some lesser jail time.

Any surprise that seven days after Judge Wetsel compared Jeff Washington to Adolf Hitler, that he gave the MAXIMUM sentence of 70 years in JAIL?

By the way, the reporter Darcy Spencer honestly reported the OUTRAGEOUSLY BIASED WORDS of Judge Wetsel. On page 125 of the Court Transcript of the 4 April 1995 Sentencing Hearing of William Edward Beamer, III, and John Paul Doleman by Valley Reporting Agency, are the transcribed words of the biased judge Wetsel.

Judge Wetsel later sentenced the likely murderer, John Doleman, on page 128 to 53 years, with 33 years suspended, while seven days later sentencing the innocent, but COERCED Alford Plea defendant Jeffrey Franklin Washington to 70 years in Jail with NO YEARS suspended.

This is JUSTICE?

By the way, go to this link here to see where on 15 February 1995 the Micron inc Forensic Laboratory of Wilmington Delaware did a test of seven of the eight suspects and John Doleman tested POSITIVE, meaning he had fired a Gun before the Gun Shot Residue Kit sample was taken. What is John Doleman's explanation? Why did the Winchester Police FAIL to explore this test result honestly? Might it be the concept of "Don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up -- Jeff Washington is the man we want to convict (even if innocent)."

(Jeff Washington was tested in early September 1994 and shown to be NEGATIVE of ANY Gun Shot Residue, thus establishing that Washington did NOT fire a weapon, and thus, it does not take Sherlock Holmes to deduce that he could NOT have murdered Carlos Marshall by the gun shot through his chest).

Faithful Father Franklin Fights for Freedom for FOURTEEN YEARS for beloved son Jeff Washington who is INNOCENT

2008-10-21T17:15:00.003-04:00

Over 4000 pages of Court related documents, but the key ones are the two pages each of the first two Gun Shot Residue Tests.

Here father Franklin is looking at one of the Gun Shot Residue Test reports.

Secretary of the Commonwealth Senior Deputy Bernie Henderson, submission letter to Pardon Jeff Washington without delay!

2008-10-17T15:35:00.000-04:00

On 17 September a.d. 2008, the "Clemency" Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth Katherine Hanley, sent a letter to wrongly jailed Inmate #... (Jeffrey Franklin Washington)

...at the Greenville Correctional Facility near Emporia, Virginia not far from the North Carolina border...

...giving notice to submit his Pardon Petition package within 30 days.

The actual package was given to Governor Tim Kaine aide, Press Spokesman Gordon Hickey moments after the Pardon request was verbally conveyed face to face by Pardon Advocate James Renwick Manship, Sr. authorized by Notarized letter dated 29 September 2008 to act on behalf of Jeffrey Franklin Washington.

This submission provided record of the many communications since early September with the Governor's clemency office.

Governor Gilmore in 2000 Pardoned Washington (Earl), when will Kaine pardon Washington (Jeff)?

2008-10-16T15:20:00.002-04:00

This letter is to former Governor James S. Gilmore, III, who granted a Pardon in 2000 to Earl Washington, Jr. when Gilmore learned that Forensic Evidence exonerated the accused Earl Washington who had been in jail for 14 years or more, even days away from execution on Death Row, despite being innocent of the charges on which a Court "Railroad" hearing convicted him.

Some wise man once said about the American Courts, "The American Justice System is the best that money can buy."

The Corollary of that is "IF you have money, you can "BUY JUSTICE" (if that is truly "justice").

But if you are a poor man, especially a poor black man, like Earl or Jeff Washington, you and "Lady Justice" will be RAPED by the Members of the Bar who make their income, receive their "blood money" like Judas, in their betrayal of the Truth.

Senator Webb and Governor Kaine letter to End Injustice and Pardon Jeff Washington

2008-10-15T11:51:00.001-04:00

Key issue is that Governor Kaine does NOT need to waste Taxpayer Dollars or waste more of Jeff Washington's life by sending the Pardon Petition package to the Parole Board for "review" or more bureaucratic delays.

The issues are CLEAR to those of honesty and integrity who OPEN their EYES to the TRUTH, there is NO, repeat NO Scientific Evidence to connect Jeff Washington to the crime.

There are "Alibi" Witnesses, with nothing to gain, who say that Jeff Washington was NOT involved.

The case of the disgraced former "prosecutor" Paul Thomson is based only on "Plea Bargain" witnesses by four "Co-Defendants" who got reduced JAIL terms for "cooperation" with Prosecutor Thomson, to join in a false story that makes Jeff Washington the "fall guy".

There is also amply evidence of Forensic Misconduct by Winchester Police Investigators James Bailous and David Sobonya.

According to the 1970 U.S. supreme Court decision in North Carolina v. Alford, an "Alford Plea" is ONLY VALID IF (a) there is Evidence against the Accused (Scientific Evidence is "evidence", or Testimony by Expert Witnesses is also considered "evidence", but NEITHER Police testimony or Plea Bargain testimony is "evidence", thus the Jeff Washington so-called "Alford Plea" is invalid, or Void, or Void Ab Initio) and (b) "Competent Counsel".

Would YOU judge there was "Competent Counsel" when the Defense Counsel, John Prosser, coerces the mother of the Accused to persuade her son to accept an Alford Plea, when there is NO Scientific Evidence against his client, impeachable testimony of Prosecution Witnesses, and witnesses for his client Jeff Washington saying Jeff was NOT INVOLVED?

Senator Webb / GMU Law School Forum on Drug Trafficking, Policy and Sentencing

2008-10-15T09:00:00.001-04:00

Author of this blog, James Renwick Manship, Sr., has been a Drug War Warrior ever since 1985 when he served as Commanding Officer of a Navy Cryptology unit that won the Delaney Award, the prize for the best crypto reserve unit in the Nation.

Now the dangers of Drugs have descended even into the police and prosecutors in a small city in Virginia, the lovely historic Winchester.

Governor Kaine Pardon Letter petition

2008-10-14T10:00:00.001-04:00

Absolute Pardon (sample) "Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their countryman..."

2008-10-14T04:17:00.001-04:00

Absolute Pardon (sample) from Patrick Henry Award from Governor Gilmore

U.S. Department of Justice Statistics on Alford Pleas and others...

2008-10-13T17:38:00.001-04:00

U.S. Department of Justice Statistics on Alford Pleas and others...

While it may often be true the Defendant knows the EVIDENCE is against him, so "Cops a Plea" or accepts an Alford Plea to avoid a Death Sentence.

It is ALSO TRUE that the Defendant knows that he does not have "COMPETENT COUNSEL", if being COMPETENT includes being HONEST.

So a Defendant may ALSO take an Alford Plea because the Defense Counsel has shown signs of working with the Prosecutor to allow a CONVICTION with a Death Sentence.

That is the case of the case of Jeff Washington taking the Alford Plea, because of ample evidence of collusion between Prosecutor Paul Thomson with his so-called "Defense Counsel" John Prosser.

Time Line on Gun Shot Residue Tests requested by Commonwealth Attorney Alex Iden

2008-10-08T13:12:00.002-04:00

Time Line on Gun Shot Residue Tests letter requested by Commonwealth Attorney Alex Iden during meeting in his office on the morning of 8 October a.d. 2008.

Old 2004 Alex Iden letter DENIAL of FOIA Request by Franklin Washington about Beamer Break-in

2008-10-07T18:40:00.000-04:00

Letter from Franklin Washington to Chief Justice Leon Hassell to "drop" Writ of Prohibition against local judges

2008-10-04T18:05:00.003-04:00

After Judge John Prosser recused himself on 22 August a.d. 2008 from a lawsuit filed by Franklin Washington and Judge John Wetsel recused himself from the same lawsuit on 28 August a.d. 2008, they got together to chose a third judge to preside over the trial.

Judge James Lane may be the best judge in Virginia, but the mere fact he was "appointed" by two recused judges Prosser and Wetsel invalidates his credibility as an impartial judge.

As a consequence a Writ of Prohibition was filed by Franklin Washington to prohibit Judge Lane or any other judge appointed by judges Prosser and Wetsel from presiding over the trial.

Turns out that Chief Judge Prosser had for over 10 days known that Judge Lane had also recused himself, so the Writ of Prohibition was Moot. The decision as to which judge will preside is now in the hands of Chief Justice Leon Hassell.

Voting results for Victory of Iden over Thomson (after week before Election news stories about Thomson's many misdeeds)

2008-09-28T23:47:00.000-04:00

Voting results for Victory of challenger Republican City Councilman Alex R. Iden over incumbent Democrat Commonwealth Attorney Paul Thomson (after week before Election news stories about Thomson's many misdeeds alerted the Voting Populace of "something rotten in the State of ... Winchester Courts!)

Will Winchester Virginia "heal thyself" as NC did?

2008-09-28T19:58:00.006-04:00

Please CLICK on the image to enlarge for ease of reading...

Today after church, I was doing research on the Pardon petition for Jeff Washington. I found The New York Times article of May 7, 2008 on the release of a N.C. inmate 14 years in jail. Likewise, Jeff Washington of Winchester, Virginia has been over 14 years in jail due to “missed critical evidence pointing to his innocence”.

Another article gave more revealing and positive data:
Innocent North Carolina Man Exonerated After 14 Years On Death Row
On May 2, 2008, the District Attorney of North Carolina's Duplin County dropped all charges against Levon "Bo" Jones, who has spent the last 14 years of his life on the state's death row after being wrongfully convicted for the 1987 murder of Leamon Grady. A federal judge ordered Jones off death row in 2006 and overturned his conviction, declaring that Jones' initial defense attorneys missed critical evidence pointing to his innocence.

Mr. Idens, I call on you to be wise like your District Attorney counterpart in North Carolina and drop all charges against Jeffrey Franklin Washington. As in NC, could wise, constructive action by YOU advance Justice, and obviate the need for a Pardon?

A former Lockheed Martin computer systems engineer, now in business in Winchester, Randy Cadmus, contacted me about the Jeff Washington case after reading the Northern Virginia Daily article by Alex Bridges on 5 September. He has scanned about 4000 pages of Case documents and photographs. Two Gun Shot Residue Tests, each “Inconclusive” by itself, together prove Washington innocent, with Prosecution “Plea Bargain” Witness John Doleman the gunman.

In the 1970 Alford “SCOTUS” decision, reading the opinion of Justice White, two prerequisites are essential for an “Alford Plea” to be valid on a Constitution Due Process Rights basis: 1) Evidence against the Accused, and 2) Competent Counsel.
Clearly there was NO Forensic Evidence against Jeff Washington, only “Plea Bargain” testimony of drug dealers and users.

Whether then attorney John Prosser was “Competent Counsel” before, or after 28 February 1995 when a deal was made with Paul H. Thomson, the man you beat in the 2001 election, is a subjective evaluation. The Winchester Police notes of 0840 on 2-17-99 state “...information that Paul Thomson is skimming money from drug dealers.”

One question is “Was the “prosecutor” a “Competent Counsel” or Corrupt Counsel in the case against Washington?”

How PROSECUTORS and Bureaucrats are Trampling the Constitution in the Name of "Justice"

2008-09-27T20:40:00.002-04:00

CITIZENS, Beware!

Who is to protect us when the "protectors" (Police and Prosecutors) rape our Sacred Rights under "this Constitution for the United States of America" ??

The answer my friends, is not "blowing in the wind", the answer is the first three words of the Preamble of this Constitution:

"We the People"

Remember that George Washington wrote:
"A primary object... should be the education of our youth in the science of government.
"In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important?
"And what duty more pressing... than communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?"

We the People must learn, and love, and be the guardians, the protectors of "Lady Liberty" who is defined by the principles of this Constitution!

Follow-Up Letter to Governor Kaine for Washington Pardon

2008-09-26T20:09:00.000-04:00

Jeffrey Franklin Washington authorizes an Advocate...

2008-09-25T20:23:00.000-04:00

Unable to bring in to the jail any paperwork during the prayer time and pardon process discussions, this letter was mailed within 30 minutes of leaving the Greenville Correctional Facility at the nearby Jarratt, Virginia Post Office.

It is a letter prepared on Thursday, 25 September 2008 addressed to Governor Tim Kaine from Inmate Jeff Washington authorizing an advocate to prepare and present a Petition for Pardon for Washington.

Key paragraphs are:

I believe an Absolute Pardon is warranted, yet conversation between Mr. Manship and the Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth Bernie Henderson on Monday, 15 September suggested the course of seeking a Conditional Pardon. The Conditional Pardon is based on
(1) my 14 years of Good Behavior, (2) a Rehabilitation Plan for me to comply with upon your granting the Conditional Pardon, and (3) is justified by two Forensic Lab Evidence letters that proves I did not fire the murder weapon while a Prosecution Witness against me did fire a gun.

Two Forensic Lab letters that prove my innocence were never seen by the Jury, ~ or me!

Williamsburg based National Center for State Courts: Pardon info

2008-09-24T02:30:00.002-04:00

After attending a Family Foundation of Virginia Pastors' Conference in Williamsburg, and appearing ever so slightly the next morning in the Today Show aired from the Colonial Capital of Williamsburg where great Governors such as Thomas Nelson, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe served, a visit was made to the National Center for State Courts across from Bicentennial Park and beside the Marshall-Wythe School of Law of William and Mary University.

No Love Lost between Police and Prosecutor in Winchester, yet by lies LIVES lost... & forced All-Fraud "Alford Plea"

2008-09-22T12:20:00.013-04:00

CLICK on the image to enlarge for ease of reading.

Married Prosecutor Paul Thomson "sleeps" or "commits adultery" with Court transcriber Lanell Hockman Berger...

...and she then alters the court transcript, leaving out witness Amy Ruble at the murder scene of Carlos Marshall,...

...and altering the transcript text in how many other ways to help her lover Thomson's case?

When Thomson "dumps" her some time later, in 1999, she is the subject of a Missing Persons report in February 17, 1999, and Prosecutor Paul Thomson is a "suspect" at the Police Station...

...once Thomson's name comes up for the possible crime related to the Missing Person issue of Lanell, an informant tells SGT. Bush of the Police Department who tells Detective Sobonya, that Prosecutor Thomson is
"skimming drug money"

Soon Police Chief Reynolds, Deputy Police Chief Hildebrand, Investigator Prinz, City Manager Daley, and City Attorney Robinette, if not others meet to discuss this corruption crisis.

A decision is made on 17 February 1999, that because Paul Thomson is protected from Police Arrest as a Constitutional Officer in his elected servant post as Commonwealth Attorney, the FBI must be contacted.

On 2 September 2008, after years supposedly "investigating", the FBI sent a letter to the father of Jeff Washington, Franklin Washington saying they did not agree there was evidence of corruption in the Courts or Commonwealth Attorney office of Winchester.

Jeff Washington was railroaded by Policeman Sobonya and Prosecutor Thomson into a 70 year Jail sentence when Jeff was Not Guilty of the murder but forced to take an Alford Plea on 28 February 1995 or "die in the electric chair" as his defense attorney John Prosser kept brow-beating Jeff by saying over and over and over again.

If you knew there was Forensic evidence to exonerate you and yet YOUR defense attorney was threatening YOU with a Death Sentence, how much would YOU trust your attorney to defend YOU?

Better to take the forced and fraudulent Alford Plea, and pray someday for an honest advocate to advance your case, and advance the Cause of Liberty and Justice for All!

The ONLY time Jeff Washington was allowed to SPEAK was at the 10 April 1995 Sentencing Hearing, and the transcript shows that Jeff Washington CONTINUES TO ASSERT HE IS INNOCENT of the murder of Carlos Marshall.

Prosecutor Thomson continues to badger Jeff Washington into "admitting" he murdered Carlos Marshall (in accordance with the All-Fraud Alford Plea), but Jeff Washington continues to say that he did NOT shoot the gun and so did NOT murder Carlos Marshall.

The Prosecutor and the Judge were ANGRY at Jeff Washington for NOT "playing their little game" of a false admission of Guilty with the Alford Plea, so the judge punished Jeff harshly.

Oh, by the way, Judge Wetzel who sentenced Jeff Washington to 70 years in Jail for crimes he did NOT commit, was reported in one newspaper as saying IN COURT that Jeff Washington was like HITLER!

And Wetzel is to be considered as a good or even an "Un-BIASED" Judge?

"There are none so blind as those who refuse to see."

Senator Webb... Corruption in the Courts Causes Crisis in Jails

2008-09-17T19:52:00.000-04:00

Corruption in the Courts

Causes Crisis

in American Jails,

and

Crisis in our Families!

Contact Senator Webb to ask him to ask Governor Kaine to PARDON

Jeff Washington !

http://webb.senate.gov/contact/http://webb.senate.gov/contact/

FBI Quits search for Justice, Ignored Senator Webb 3 times

2008-09-16T20:13:00.002-04:00

Letter to Former Governor Wilder who Pardoned Walter Snyder, 7 years Falsely Jailed, framed by Alexandria Police

2008-09-13T20:18:00.006-04:00

Click on the Image of the Letter to Enlarge for Ease of Reading.

THE SMOKING GUN: Forensic Misconduct by Winchester Police, Legal Malpractice by Prosecutor and Defense Attorney

2008-09-13T19:30:00.011-04:00

Please CLICK on the image to enlarge it so you may more easily read and study the two Forensic Laboratory Test Results that show Jeffery Washington did NOT have ANY Gun Shot Residue, and PROSECUTION WITNESS John Doleman DID HAVE GUN SHOT RESIDUE in 7 of 10 categories still many months later.

Why did Winchester Police "Investigator" Sobonya abort the rest of the tests of the other 7 suspects on 8 September 1994 after the murder on 16 August 1994, after he was told of NEGATIVE Gun Shot Residue Test on Jeffery Franklin Washington by the Virginia State Forensic Lab in Richmond?

Maybe to prevent the real gunman from being shown from one of the other seven suspects in the timely first test?

Why did "Investigator" Sobonya EXCLUDE the Gun Shot Residue Kit from Washington on the second test done by the contracted Private Forensic Laboratory, Micron, inc. of Wilmington, Delaware?

Maybe to undermine the test from being comprehensive of all eight suspects, and therefore to give the Prosecutor the "legal-ese" or "lawyer-language" of the test being "inconclusive"?

Why did the prosecutor, Commonwealth Attorney Paul Thomson, seeing this very CLEAR Forensic Testing Evidence not change his primary or even ONLY suspect to John Paul Doleman?

Why did Winchester prosecutor Paul Thomson join the Winchester Police in the "Frame-Up" of the NOT GUILTY Jeffery Franklin Washington?

Might the fact that John Paul Doleman was a "blood relative" to the wife of the OTHER Police Detective in this case, James Bailous, have any bearing on why Doleman was NOT prosecuted as the Gunman of murder victim Carlos Marshall?

Why would any competent Defense Attorney not see he could create in the minds of a JURY the fact there is at least some PROBABLE DOUBT that his client Jeffery Franklin Washington was NOT THE GUNMAN because the Forensic Tests proved he did NOT fire any gun, and the Forensic Tests showed that PROSECUTION WITNESS John Doleman did fire a gun, very likely the murder weapon?

Why did the Defense Attorney accept, even "parrot" the Prosecution lawyer language that the Gun Shot Residue tests by recognized Forensic Labs were "inconclusive"?

Why instead did the Defense Attorney for first two days of the JURY TRIAL "brow-beat" his client Jeffery Franklin Washington and his mother Christine and his father Franklin to force the family to accept an Alford Plea, that is NOT GUILTY, yet accept a prison sentence rather suffer a Death Sentence?

What would YOU do if you saw your Defense Attorney abandon YOU?

Might you ALSO take an Alford Plea, and PRAY that someday an honest attorney and a fair justice system would properly process your Appeal, your appeal for Liberty and Justice?

Failing the justice system working properly to advance the cause of Justice, now the ONLY HOPE FOR JUSTICE is a PARDON from the Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine !

At Winchester Hob-Nob, Letter to Governor Kaine handed to Atty Gen Bob McDonnell, case discussed with Senator Vogel

2008-09-12T20:00:00.002-04:00

At the Friday night Winchester Hob-Nob in the Valley at the new Shenandoah University Health Sciences building, the Patriots' Day Letter to Governor Kaine handed to Atty Gen Bob McDonnell, asking the Attorney General to "weigh in" to ask Governor Tim Kaine to grant an Absolute Pardon to Army Veteran Jeffery Franklin Washington on Constitution Day, Wednesday, 17 September 2008, in the Virginia Capitol designed by Jefferson, in front of the statue of George Washington.

What a great way to honor a great day, to return Liberty on Constitution Day to an Army Veteran falsely jailed for 14 years!

Washington Liberty on Constitution Day, by Gov. Kaine Pardon, Patrick Henry principles and Governor Gilmore...

2008-09-11T15:14:00.001-04:00

Washington Liberty on Constitution Day, by Governor Kaine Pardon?

What did Governor Wilder do?

What would Governor Patrick Henry do?

Washington College of Law INNOCENCE PROJECT intake form...

2008-09-10T19:29:00.001-04:00

NOTE: "Served 20 years in Maryland prison due to forensic misconduct."

Jeff Washington has served 14 years in Virginia due to forensic misconduct by Winchester Police Detective David Sobonya, aided and abetted by prosecutor Paul Thomson, and defense attorney, John Prosser.

On Wednesday, 10 September 2008, the 19 page Intake Form was completed and hand delivered to the INNOCENCE PROJECT of the Mid-Atlantic at the Washington College of Law of American University, in Washington, D.C.

This is one page of the document.

CLICK on the image to enlarge to make it easier to read.

If you would like a PDF copy of this document, please email your request to: JeffWashington@NoJuryNoJustice.US.

Thank you.

Pardon Letter to Secretary of the Commonwealth Hanley for Gov. Kaine

2008-09-09T15:27:00.002-04:00

In the September 5th Northern Virginia Daily article by Alex Bridges, Governor Kaine's spokesman was quoted:

Any letter seeking a pardon from the governor would have to go to the office of the secretary of the commonwealth, according to Kaine spokesman Gordon Hickey. Earlier this week, Hickey said the office had not received the letter.

OK, so here is the letter to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, hand delivered to the 4th Floor reception area in the Patrick Henry Building, into the hand of Mrs. Patricia Tucker at about 3:20 pm, on Tuesday, 9 September 2008.

Mrs. Tucker said she no longer handles pardons, that Gregg Hennock (?sp) handles them now.

Reporter Manship said, "Oh I recognize that name, it was on your voice mail message when I called the phone number from the website. I called you and called him, last Friday, but I have not received a call-back from either of you... yet."

Reporter Manship also said, "Please give this copy to Mr. Hennock, and this copy to Secretary of the Commonwealth Katherine Hanley, and this copy I will deliver myself to the Governor's office. Thank you."

Pardon Letter to Secretary of the Commonwealth Hanley for Gov. Kaine, pages 2-4

2008-09-09T15:11:00.001-04:00

Governor Kaine Press Release on More EFFICIENT Virginia Government... Due Process in Courts not always "Efficient", but a proper Pardon is Efficient..

2008-09-08T20:53:00.000-04:00

Northern Virginia Daily reports on Pardon request to Gov. Kaine

2008-09-05T15:20:00.000-04:00

http://www.nvdaily.com/news/301609655733617.bsp

Friday, September 5, 2008
Father receives support in quest to have son freed

Advocate of defendant in 1994 slaying sends letter to Kaine seeking pardon

By Alex Bridges -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER — After years of fighting his son's murder conviction alone, Franklin Washington may now have allies.

James Renwick Manship Sr. sent a letter this week to the office of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine seeking a pardon for Jeffrey Washington, who is serving a 70-year prison sentence for the 1994 shooting death of Carlos Marshall in Winchester.

In his letter, Manship states he learned about Washington's case after seeing the father ask a judge on Aug. 22 to recuse himself from hearing a lawsuit filed against the court reporter employed during his son's trial.

... (continued)

In the request, Manship cites former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder's pardoning of Walter Snyder when DNA evidence cleared him of a rape for which he served seven years in prison.

Manship now wants Kaine to follow Wilder's example.

"I ask you to be wise like Wilder and pardon [Jeff] Washington, a man wrongly accused who maintains his innocence and only under duress by his defense attorney, accepted an Alford plea," Manship states.

... (continued)

RICO Violations Letter to U.S. Attorney for Western District of Virginia

2008-09-02T13:13:00.001-04:00

The United States Attorney's Office
Western District of Virginia

US Attorney

Assistant US Attorneys

Might this man's background be good for him to lead the investigation into the Racketeering and Influenced Corrupt Organizations law violations by former Commonwealth Attorney Paul Thomson, Winchester Police Detectives David Sobonya and James Bailous, and possibly also former Defense Attorney, now Circuit Court judge John Prosser?

Harrisonburg, Virginia
Jeb Terrien
Assistant United States Attorney
Mr. Terrien graduated with a B.S. in History from the University of Virginia in 1994. He graduated cum laude from Tulane University Law School, receiving his J.D. in 1997, where he served as a senior board member of the Tulane Maritime Law Journal.

From 1998 to 2004 he prosecuted violations of Virginia criminal law, serving as both an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney and Assistant Attorney General. He began his career as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Accomack County, Virginia, then worked for the Virginia Attorney General in the Financial Investigations and Money Laundering Unit in Richmond. From 2002 to 2004 he operated the Regional Drug Prosecutor’s office that covered Halifax, Charlotte, and Campbell counties and also served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney.

In 2004 he was sworn in as an Assistant United States Attorney and worked in the Northern District of West Virginia, and the Southern District of Ohio before coming to the Western District of Virginia in 2008.

Washington "Frame-Up" Evidence and News Reports, Read, Analyzed, Coded & Catalogued...

2008-09-02T02:43:00.000-04:00

Over 180 pages of Police Notes, Forensic Laboratory Reports, News Articles and other documents were read, analyzed for consistencies and discrepancies, coded page by page, and catalogued for reference and recall.

The story told by this detailed study of the handling of this case by the Winchester Police Detectives David Sobonya and James Bailous, and prosecutor Paul Thomson is one of a mentality of "I have my mind made up who is guilty, don't confuse me with the facts." It is disgraceful!

Equally disgraceful, or even more so, is the "selling out" or abandonment of his client Jeffery Franklin Washington by Defense Attorney John Prosser, who was within 2 years rewarded with an appointment to a Circuit Court judgeship.

On 25 July 2008, this investigative reporter witnessed Judge Prosser suspend TEN FELONY Drug Convictions for a woman so that NO, ZERO, ZIP time was served in JAIL.

On 22 August 2008, this investigative reporter witnessed Judge Prosser "recuse" himself when a 65 year old black man acting Pro Se, who has suffered a STROKE from the stress of this 14 year ordeal, came before Judge Prosser in the Winchester Courtroom.

That motivated man is the persistent "Papa" of Jeff Washington, his faithful father Franklin.

Thank God for fathers who never ever ever give up loving and fighting for their children!!!

document how, once police zero in on a suspect, everyone recasts the evidence and their memories to make him match

2008-09-01T14:21:00.000-04:00

a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, offer compelling case histories of men such as Walter Snyder, convicted of raping Faye Treatser in Virginia. They document how, once police zero in on a suspect, everyone recasts the evidence and their memories to make him match.

Pardon letter for Washington and Navy Four to Gov. Kaine

2008-08-29T15:48:00.000-04:00

This letter of 29 August was sent after a week investigating the case of the Wrongful Jailing of Jeff Washington, and doing research on the website of the Innocence Project, Mid-Atlantic, and their sample letter for the Navy Four, also wrongly jailed.

We hear about "Law and Order" on TV, but notice the words... Law... and.. Order, not Law with Order, or Law for Order.

Too often the Police want to maintain their notions of Order, without regard to the Law, or the Rights of Due Process for Citizens.

Such is the case in the forced "Alford Plea" of Jeff Washington.

What would YOU DO if YOUR Defense Attorney who your parents had paid large sums of money was telling you that YOU would DIE in the electric Chair if you did not accept the Alford Plea your defense attorney was forcing on you?

Suit reveals Court Corruption in 1995 murder trial

2008-08-29T12:20:00.000-04:00

Suit targets court reporter of 1995 murder trial (in Winchester vs.
Washington)

Dear Alex Bridges,

Thank you for this article. http://www.nvdaily.com/news/295115663758839.bsp . I tried to comment online, but had some registration problems.

As to the Statute of Limitations, while thank God NOT a lawyer, contrary to the claims in Court by the defense attorneys for the Court Reporter- bed buddy of former Commonwealth Attorney Paul Thomson, I believe there is a 3 year period after the discovery of the Fraud.

The altered Court transcript is a Fraud. Your article indicates that Mr. Franklin Washington learned of this fraud of the Court Reporter in March 2008, just a few months ago.

Parties to the fraud are the former public prosecutor Mr. Thomson, his sexual partner the Court Reporter, and the so-called defense attorney, then in private practice, now a judge of the Circuit Court, Mr. Prosser. At least, Prosser recused himself from the case. That is
like a smoking gun of past wrongs.

Also VERY important is that the court reporter who altered the Court Transcript was having illegal sexual relations with the prosecutor, then Commonwealth Attorney Paul Thomson, who was in the courthouse, not the jailhouse yesterday.

Thomson has many charges for abusive behavior in public but because he is one of the privileged class, unlike his victim Jeffrey Washington, Bar member Thomson is not serving time in jail.

Significant to remember is the Alford Plea clearly indicates that Jeffery Washington did NOT admit Guilt. But when he saw that his own Defense Attorney John Prosser was "conspiring" with prosecutor Thomson, at least to the point of an ineffective defense, then it is
totally rational to take the Alford Plea so that maybe, just maybe, an honest attorney could be obtained to mount an effective appeal while in jail, at least still alive.

Prosser told Washington he would die if he did not accept the Alford Plea.

After you left the Court house yesterday, Mr. Franklin saw another assistant of defense attorney Prosser, who I spoke with, and who indicated other irregularities in the defense efforts of Prosser.

The investigative records, many of which gave a very strong defense case for Jeffery Washington, were given over to Prosser's office as directed, and later when files were needed by Mr. Franklin Washington, the secretary said the files are missing.

It was related that some experienced Court workers felt there was a strong case for the defense of Jeffrey Washington, yet Prosser forced his client to accept an Alford Plea.

There are items from the Courts "evidence lockers" that are missing.

There are ballistics and residue tests that point to other than Jeffery Washington.

One thing for sure is missing in the Jeffery Washington case is "Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." And yet a man apparently falsely accused, who rightly refuses to "admit guilt", still sits in jail 14 years later. His loving and loyal father has impoverished himself trying to get a fair trial on an Appeal and remand to an honest court.

Where there is smoke, there is fire. And some members of the Bar should be "fired", and jailed, but by virtue of being Bar members, no other Bar member will bring charges, much less vigorously prosecute the likes of Thomson and Prosser.

The Office of U. S. Attorney of the Western District of Louisiana Donald Washington recently prosecuted two state judges for RICO violations with a bail bondsman. Here it appears a current Judge, John Prosser, when a defense attorney, working with the then Commonwealth Attorney Paul Thomson, and his sexual partner, the Court Reporter altered the transcripts to conceal a key witness to the case.

A paralegal researched that person last Friday to learn she has lived in 29 locations since the Alford Plea forced on Washington by then defense attorney Prosser.

Remember the Snyder v. City of Alexandria case where the Alexandria Police coached or tampered with two witnesses to testify (Bear False Witness) in Court that they saw Mr. Snyder rape a woman. After 7 years in jail, a "Constitution Project" was able to act through the
courts to force a DNA test, that proved Snyder could NOT HAVE BEEN the Rapist. Governor Wilder pardoned Snyder.

Maybe Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell or Acting United States Attorney Julia C. Dudley for the Western District of Virginia will begin to restore justice to the Winchester Court, investigate the "Rape of Justice" by Thomson and Prosser in the Jeffrey Washington
Case (and others most likely, such as the one where ten Felony Drug Counts by a WOMAN were all suspended by Judge Prosser a few weeks ago). Someone suggested the woman might be a "police drug informant" so got Prosser's special handling.

Maybe Governor Kaine can pardon Jeffery Washington whose Parole for good behavior while falsely imprisoned after altered transcripts and missing evidence is coming up soon.

Let us pray that Parole is not denied as retaliation for his father's lawsuit exposing the Fraud of prosecutor Thomson and his sexual partner the Court Reporter on the case way back when.

Remember that Joseph in the Bible was falsely imprisoned for 14 years because of the false accusations of Potiphar's wife.

For Equal Justice in Virginia,

James Renwick Manship, Sr.

Investigative Journalist
Member, Society of Professional Journalists
President, The Virginia Chronicle newspaper 2003-2004

So much falsehood by the Winchester Police and Courts!!!

2008-08-28T16:34:00.001-04:00

Citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia,
As General Sherman ordered his Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley,
"Destroy everything except their eyes with which they can see and weep."

See and weep with serious sadness about the Rape of Justice in the "Criminal Justice" system of Winchester Virginia Courts.

Click on the image to read where the Winchester Police, the Prosecutor, AND apparently also the Defense Attorney to send an innocent man to jail...

for 14 YEARS!

State Supreme Court Denies Washington’s Plea for Release

2004-11-29T13:00:00.001-05:00

State Supreme Court Denies Washington’s Plea for Release

By Annette Jones
The Winchester Star

Convicted murderer Jeffery Franklin Washington’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus has been denied by the Virginia Supreme Court.

A writ of habeas corpus is a legal request that the person in custody be released from jail because the custody is unlawful due to fatally flawed legal procedures.

Washington, the convicted trigger man in the 1994 drug-related murder of Carlos Marshall, had hoped to have his conviction overturned.

According to the request filed by Washington, D.C., attorney William Moffitt, Washington claimed that witnesses against him were coerced into giving damaging testimony by representatives of Winchester Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul H. Thomson.

The one-page ruling issued Tuesday by the state Supreme Court said the justices didn’t find any merit in the complaints raised by Washington.

Ever since Washington entered his Alford guilty pleas, his father, Franklin Washington, has embarked on a letter-writing campaign to public officials highlighting what he saw as illegal activity in the Winchester Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office regarding his son’s prosecution.

Franklin Washington also has maintained a vigil in front of the Winchester Public Safety Building on North Cameron Street trying to keep his son’s case in the public eye.

Jeffery Washington was identified by police as the man who formed a plan to robbery Marshall of marijuana on Aug. 16, 1994, and as the man who fired the shot that killed the 22-year-old former Shenandoah University basketball star. Washington was sentenced to 70 years in prison.

Also convicted of Marshall’s murder were John Doleman, Rudolph Powell, William Beamer, and Shawn Polston

2004 Evidence Review... Winchester Star article

2004-04-29T12:57:00.000-04:00

Mal-Retardation in City Government thwarts man's freedom

By Laura Arenschield
The Winchester Star

A Winchester man’s decade-long fight to reverse his murder conviction hit another roadblock on Thursday in Winchester Circuit Court.

Jeffrey Franklin Washington, 32, who pleaded guilty 10 years ago to killing and robbing a 22-year-old Winchester man, has spent the time since then trying to get his trial thrown out.

His most recent attempt began last December, when he filed a lawsuit charging that a city prosecutor — now a local defense attorney — and his defense attorney — now a 26th Circuit Court judge — worked together to trick him and the court system.

But retired Circuit Court Judge Herman A. Whisenant Jr. of Manassas said on Thursday that Washington’s accusations are not true.

He dismissed Washington’s suit, leaving the convicted killer with few options.

“He can appeal the court’s decision today to the Virginia Supreme Court,” said David B. Hargett, Washington’s attorney for the suit. “Beyond the Supreme Court, if we appeal and are denied, it would take additional new evidence for him to get a new trial.”

Had Washington been convicted of capital murder 10 years ago, and had a Winchester Circuit Court jury decided he deserved it, he could have been executed.

Rather than risk that outcome, Washington, then 23, and his attorney, John R. Prosser, opted for a plea bargain with then-Winchester Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul H. Thomson.

Washington pleaded guilty to eight charges, including first-degree murder, for the shooting death of Carlos Darnell Marshall, who lived on Woodstock Lane.

He entered Alford pleas, a legal option that allowed him to admit that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him, but to maintain that he did not commit the crimes.

Circuit Court Judge John E. Wetsel Jr. sentenced him to 70 years in prison, the maximum allowed under the plea bargain.

Because Washington was convicted and sentenced before Virginia legislators abolished parole, he could be released before he serves the full prison term. According to the Virginia Department of Corrections, Washington is eligible for parole in November 2006.

During Thursday’s hearing, Haggert argued that Washington agreed to the plea deal because he was afraid he would be convicted of capital murder.

Haggert said Washington also pleaded guilty because police and prosecutors intimidated and threatened witnesses who would have said Washington did not kill Marshall.

Washington was not in the Joint Judicial Center courtroom on Thursday, but participated in the hearing via speaker-phone from Buckingham Correctional Center, near Dillwyn, where he is being held.

He said prosecutors offered his co-defendants lighter sentences in exchange for their testimony against him.

Five men, including Washington, were arrested and charged in connection with Marshall’s death.

Washington was the only one found guilty of murder.

Washington said on Thursday that one of the other four men, John Paul Doleman, made a videotape re-enacting the murder for police investigators, and that the video “never placed me at the crime scene.”

But Assistant Winchester Commonwealth’s Attorney Marc H. Abrams said the evidence showed that Washington killed Marshall. All four of the other men at Marshall’s home that night said Washington was the killer.

[Editor's Note: See other article that states:

Also convicted of Marshall’s murder were John Doleman, Rudolph Powell, William Beamer, and Shawn Polston ]

Also NOTE error of journalist... An Alford Plea is NOT an admission of Guilt, rather an admission of likely being convicted. Due perception of abandonment or less than zealous defense by his defense attorney John Prosser, now "rewarded" with a judgeship, and the manipulation of evidence by the Winchester Criminal Justice system, it was a rational decision by Washington to accept the Alford Plea of No Admission of Guilt but to accept a sentence so to live to be able to appeal the injustice to date rendered.]

"Ever since Washington entered his Alford guilty pleas, his father, Franklin Washington, has embarked on a letter-writing campaign to public officials highlighting what he saw as illegal activity in the Winchester Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office regarding his son’s prosecution.]

[Then again NOTE: that one witness did a video "re-construction of the crime" where Jeff Washington was NOT part of the video. ]

“I think the evidence was very strong — very, very strong — in this particular case that the right person was convicted,” Abrams said.

Winchester prosecutors are pleased with Whisenant’s decision, he said.

“Frankly, it’s been very frustrating to be retrying aspects of cases that took place 10 years ago,” Abrams said. “At some point, there needs to be finality. We can’t just have somebody make a new allegation years down the road and then retry old cases.”

Watch your back, buddy (Criminal lawyers behind you!)

1995-02-28T18:54:00.000-05:00

New York Times about Gov. Wilder Pardon of Walter Snyder

1993-04-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

Ask Governor Kaine to do as Governor Wilder did for Snyder, wrongly jailed...

DNA TESTING FREES MAN

JAILED IN RAPE

Published: April 25, 1993

Citing a new analysis of genetic evidence, Virginia's Governor today pardoned a man who had served six and one half years on a rape conviction.

Seven hours later, Walter T. Snyder Jr., 27, walked out of the prison here into the arms of a son, Terrell, who was 1 when his father was arrested. "I'm not bitter," Mr. Snyder said, blaming what he said were overzealous detectives. "Man is so unjust, man to man."

Gov. L. Douglas Wilder said Mr. Snyder was exonerated by a test of DNA from the semen left on the victim. "In the absence of that DNA, the evidence would have been pretty damning," Mr. Wilder said in Richmond. "If it can be used to convict, it must also be used to protect the innocent."

Mr. Snyder's lawyer, Peter J. Neufeld of Manhattan, said he would seek compensation in the courts and Legislature for the "lost years of his youth." Prosecutor Sought Release

The case was unusual because the prosecutor petitioned for Mr. Snyder's release. "Had that evidence been presented at trial, he would have been acquitted," said John E. Kloch, the Commonwealth's Attorney of Alexandria.

"There's only one person who knows whether he committed this crime and that's Walter Snyder," Mr. Kloch said. "But with this evidence there's reasonable doubt in my mind."

Although the DNA test results were complete in December, Mr. Kloch defended the delay in releasing Mr. Snyder. "Virginia is a very cautious state," he said. "Sometimes a citizen can suffer because of that."

The victim of the crime, who now works as an accountant for a home-building company in Northern Virginia, said in an interview that she remained convinced that Mr. Snyder was her assailant. "I can't believe that seven years pass, then pull out a Baggie of evidence and say, 'He's not the one,' " she said. "I have been living in forgiveness. Now everything I had settled in my life is in question." Reaction From Jurors

Three of the 12 jurors who convicted Mr. Snyder said the new evidence warranted his release. "This leads you to wonder how many other errors have been made in other cases," said Walter T. Corson 2d, an environmental policy analyst who was on the jury.

Mr. Snyder had lived with his parents in Alexandria, just outside Washington. He was convicted in 1986 of raping a neighbor who reported that a man with a "puppy dog face" came through her open window and assaulted her until she faked having a heart attack.

Mr. Snyder's mother, Edith L. Snyder, a postal worker who was rearing Terrell, spent $90,000 in most of her spare time trying to free her son. She began researching genetic fingerprinting after Mr. Snyder learned about the process while reading a magazine article in prison. In 1990, a laboratory examining evidence from the Alexandria rape found too little DNA to evaluate. In December, a new technique determined Mr. Snyder was not the attacker.

In issuing the pardon, Mr. Wilder criticized a state law that prevents convicts from introducing new evidence of innocence more than 21 days after their initial appeals are exhausted. "This matter should never have been on the Governor's desk," Mr. Wilder said.

The unconditional pardon means Snyder may file a petition with the state to expunge his record of the conviction, Mr. Kloch said.

Genetic fingerprinting, which has been used primarily by prosecutors since being introduced in United States courts in 1986, has become a tool for the innocent. Several authorities in the field said Mr. Snyder was the latest of about 12 convicts who had used the technique to clear their names since 1990.

"Within months, we will see a tremendous demand for testing," said Dr. William C. Thompson, a criminology professor at the University of California at Irvine. "Word is getting around that this is possible. You wouldn't need a very high rate of false convictions to have an awful lot of people in jail who are not guilty."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEEDA1331F936A15757C0A965958260