Everyday Injustice

The Harvest Cycle Davidson v. El Dorado County case features two separate questions: the constitutionality of SB 1437 and whether Mr. Davidson was a major participant in a 2016 robbery and thus acted in reckless indifference to human life.

The Attorney General’s Office takes the position that SB 1437 is constitutional but that SB 1437 does not apply in this case because Mr. Davidson played a key role in the underlying robbery.

Meanwhile the El Dorado County DA disagrees and argues that SB 1437 is unconstitutional.

On our podcast is Jennifer Mouzis, the attorney for Mr. Davidson who lays out the importance of SB 1437, why it is constitutional, and explains why her client, Mr. Davidson had actually nothing to do with this crime.

Davis Mayor Brett Lee comes on for his second monthly podcast. The big question the day before Christmas - did the council address core issues or were they simply putting out brushfires. Naturally the Mayor thought that the council was addressing core issues rather than putting out brushfires.

Trische Duckworth helped found Survivors Speak in February 2018. They have heavily focused on wrongful convictions due to Ms. Duckworth's work with the Vesey Family since 2014.

As they explain: "We were birthed from the thought of people suffering and not having the courage or wherewithal to speak their truths. It was with that thought in mind that we began."

It is their mission "to provide a platform for those taboo, unspoken truths, as well as for social injustices that others find it hard or unnecessary to speak about."

Trische Duckworth on this podcast talks about wrongful convictions and the her work on behalf of Survivors Speak.

Nazgol Ghandnoosh is a Senior Research Analyst at The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit organization engaged in research and advocacy for criminal justice reform. Nazgol holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles (2013).

In the podcast, she talks about mass incarceration, how reform the system to attempt to cut the prison population in half while maintaining public safety and how we can end life in prison.

Michael Gennaco was hired as the police auditor by the city of Davis in the wake of the Picnic Day incident. Mr. Gennaco is a veteran auditor who has reviewed cases and incidents across the nation.

Everyday Injustice talks with him about his job, the field of police oversight and how it has evolved over time, the advent of body worn cameras and high profile cases like the death of Kelly Thomas in Orange County.

Joe Kimok is progressive candidate running for Broward County State Attorney in Florida. One of eight Democratic candidates vying for the August 2020 primary in a race dominated by the specter of the Parkland shooting and the upcoming death penalty trial for the shooter next year.

Joe Kimok is running as the reformer candidate. We talked extensively about the Parkland shooting and the death penalty. He talked about bail reform, the decriminalization of marijuana and sex work, police accountability, wrongful convictions unit and restorative justice.

In 1986, Dusty Turner was convicted of 1st degree murder and abduction and sentenced to 82 years in prison in Virginia - a state lagging behind in criminal justice reform and which has no parole.

A former Navy SEAL, Dusty had hooked with a woman one night. He and his friend, Billy Joe Brown, drove to the Bayou, a nightclub in Virginia Beach, where Jennifer Evans, who was with two female friends, introduced herself to Dusty. At 1:15 am, Jennifer stayed at the bar with Dusty and Billy as her friends left.

Dusty and Jennifer went to Dusty’s car to talk and listen to music until her friends returned. Billy had become intoxicated and was angry he had to wait the ride that Dusty secured for him. A few minutes before 2 am, Billy came to Dusty’s car and went into the back seat behind Jennifer, still inebriated. Billy made a few crude comments and with his right hand touched her shoulder or hair which she smacked away. Billy lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her neck in a maneuver that killed her instantly.

A quirk in the VIrginia state law has left Dusty Turner with only avenue - his only chance left is clemency from the Governor of Virginia. Dusty currently has a petition of conditional pardon being considered by Governor Northam's administration.

The Vanguard meets with ASUCD President Justin Hurst, along with Vice President Shreya Deshpande, Adam Hatefi and Francois Kaeplin. They talked about their plans for 2020, the fee referendum that is coming up along with three controversial admends that are up for a vote as well.

The Vanguard meets with Adam Hatefi and Francois Kaeplin of ASUCD and discusses the problems with UC Path - the payroll system snafu that has led to hundreds of students not getting their pay.

We also discussed among other things: student loan issues, district elections, student housing and more.

From 2003 to 2008, George Powell III had been living in that town which had a large soldier presence and working on music. He appreciated the solider population there but found the Killeen police mistreated soldiers. He notes one instance where soldiers would be playing his music too loud and they got pulled over and ticketed by the police officers. He wrote a song where he thanked soldiers but addressed the harassment the police gave to him (https://www.justiceforgeorgepowell.com/thank-you-soldiers). The Netflix Original Exhibit A also notes that he acted aggressively towards police officers and could identify him.

In 2013, there were a series of armed robberies at convenience stores in Killeen, Texas. There was video evidence from many of the stores and this evidence was released by Crimestoppers to the public with the promise of $1000 for people who could provide information. The hotel keeper of the place George was staying at reported George to Crimestoppers.

While the face may be similar, the height difference was a major player. All of the witnesses testified the armed man was 5’6” to 5’8” but George was 6’3”. Video evidence also appeared to corroborate the same thing until Michael Knox, who runs a forensic consulting firm, did a 3d animation where the person in the video appeared to be 6’1” at a certain angle (where the man in the video was tilted). Police are also reported to have been singling George out in particular in photo lineups, according to one convenience store worker in the Exhibit A article.

The use of forensics convinced the jurors enough to convict him and he’s been serving 11 out of 28 years.

A pen pal of George read about his case independent of him and ended up calling the forensic science division in Texas about the video. They learned that the evidence Knox had created had been done on a program he was not trained in - additionally there were other clearer images where the man in the video was standing straight that Knox should have compared George to instead. Grant, one of the individuals from a forensics team in Texas, had done a 3D scan of George and compared this to still images from the video, showing that the man who had done the crime and George were too completely different people.

Knox’s inexperienced model can be fought under Texas’s Junk Science Law, also known as SB 344, which has a writ of habeas corpus filed if facts at the time of his or her application show:

• Relevant scientific evidence that is currently available was not available at the time of his or her conviction because it was not ascertainable through reasonable diligence,

• The current scientific evidence would be admissible under the Texas Rules of Evidence at a trial held on the application date, and

• If the current scientific evidence had been presented at the original trial, based upon a preponderance of evidence the person would not have been convicted.

George is currently being represented by the Innocence Project of Texas with his attorneys Mike Ware and Walter Reaves, Jr.

Despite being released on bond – Mr. Powell still faces a potential life sentence as they look to retry him.

Click here to see the Netflix video on him: http://Www.netflix.com/title/80245117

Despite being released, he has had trouble finding work, a GoFundMe has been set up to help him pay bills.

You can donate to his GoFundMe: http://Www.gofundme.com/georgehome