Introductions

Greetings, readers. Please, call me Kelly. I am beginning this blog in response to grave injustices committed against my fiancee, whom I've always called George. Some of you may know us. Some of you have never met us before. I am not much of a writer, but I want to introduce ourselves and present our situation. I feel strongly, as do others, that it needs to be heard.

George and I live in a small town straddling the vast waters of Lake Michigan, where the sirens still ring once at noon and 10pm every day, remnants of a time when industrial workers and fishermen took these as reminders to put their nets down and get some lunch or go home to see their wives. A town that seems lost to time, where everybody knows everybody and word spreads quickly, where tourists are smirkingly dubbed "fudgies" and locals stroll daily through old downtown's array of antique and oddity shops.

It is also a town rife with corruption. Police officers covering drug dealers and prostitutes, prostitutes and drug dealers covering police officers - everyone in the town aware of it but unable to stop it. Fudgies are the first to be ticketted for anything, and everyone knows all too well that if you have a true emergency, you'd better be equipped to handle it yourself - it's more than likely the police will not be there to help. Most people will drive a good 45 minutes away just to get their driver's licenses, go to a hospital, or any other important thing; they all know if you seek assistance here, you'll be met with a blank stare and a shrug.

We've been told to move away. But there was just something about the sunset on the quiet beach every evening, the peaceful quiet of a place time forgot. We couldn't stay away. I digress, perhaps - but to me it seems important to point out. This is where we are from; and this is the town that has turned against us. And when this place decides to turn on you, it goes for the jugular.

To begin with, I would like to show a copy of the e-mail I sent to the Secretary of State for our state. I think it covers the beginning of our plight very well. Names have been removed for propriety's sake. Thank you for your time.

On Friday, 2/1/13, a state police officer by the name of J. H. awoke George and myself at approximately 10:30am and insisted repeatedly that we were required to go with him to the P.M. police station and fire department so that George could be questioned. Prior to this we had been told by George's mother that a false accusation had been leveled against him by his stepsister after she attempted suicide and that she was planning something terrible. George, already shocked that these accusations had been leveled against him, tried to reason with the officer, who refused to accept no for an answer in any way shape or form and continued to state that we were required, in no uncertain terms, to go the station so that George could be questioned, while stepping further and further into the house. Feeling that we had no choice, I drove George to the station and he was interrogated for 2 1/2 hours while I was told to stay in my car in the cold and wait.

During these 2 1/2 hours, officer H. threatened George repeatedly, stating that if he did not confess to the exact allegations leveled against him, he would be immediately arrested and taken away. He would not accept any other terms than the exact allegations, and any attempt made to explain the truth was laughed off with sarcasm, mild intimidation and threats. George was not allowed to leave at any time, was not advised of his Miranda rights in any way shape or form, and was repeatedly threatened with jail if he did not confess. Feeling that he had no hope and no options, he broke down and tried to write a statement of the truth, at which point the officer began to slam his hand to the table and yell and threaten that George had to confess, dictating to him exactly what to write matching the accusation precisely, and refusing to let him leave until he wrote it. Afterward, he told George not to speak to anyone for 72 hours or he would be arrested immediately.

During this time I was in need of a restroom and had waved down a nearby firefighter to please allow me to use the facilities inside. The entire time I was inside and on my way out, I could hear the officer speaking in increasingly very loud and intimidating tones and George being brought to tears. I was unable to assist as I had been told I was not allowed into the room, and inevitably had to wait in the car once again. When he returned to the car, he was visibly shaken and told me that he could not say what had happened for 72 hours, but that he was forced into giving a false confession and had no hope.

On Tuesday, 2/12/13, Officer J. H. once again knocked on our door. He stated in both of our presence that he was here to arrest George. He then asked, "So, did you speak to anyone?" and moved his hand towards his gun pointedly. We told him that we had spoken to a lawyer briefly, but I reminded George that he needed to get a court appointed one (since we cannot afford to hire one) and to not speak to anyone in the meantime, and that we would all fight to prove his innocence and he would be alright. The officer became increasingly agitated and mocking, and tried repeatedly to cut me off from advising and calming down George, who was of course overwhelmed. George has had a stroke twice in his life and, due to what was taking place, began to show neurological signs from distress: stuttering, shaking and becoming weak on his left side (the side that his stroke affected). The officer accused him of "playing games" and I explained carefully that George displays these symptoms in high stress situations; I was ignored and shrugged off, as George was handcuffed and taken stumbling away.

Approximately thirty minutes to an hour after George's arrest, I was on my way to run some errands and start an all out effort to raise money for him, accompanied by our room mate, E.M.. As we drove to the front entrance of our residential community (River Meadows), we found that an unmarked red truck was parked slightly in the way of our exit, with a policeman clearly visible sitting inside wearing his uniform. He spotted me and gave a grimace, started his truck, waited for me to pass and began to follow extremely close behind me, riding my bumper. He followed me in this manner for a short distance before eventually turning the opposite direction and slowly driving away.

George was taken to M.C. Jail, where he was held until Saturday, 2/16/13, when his mother and I managed to raise the amount needed for bail via donations from ourselves and other concerned friends and loved ones. George called me approximately one to three times daily, and informed me repeatedly that despite his constant requests for a court appointed attorney, not only had his requests been ignored but they had been outright denied. He had indicated to the officers at the jail that while we were doing what we could to raise the amount of money we needed for an attorney, it was not likely to happen and he was in need of a court appointed one as soon as possible because we could not afford one. This request was laughed off and he was given no such thing.

Shocked at being told of this violation of his constitutional rights, I began making phone calls to inquire as to what reasons may have been given for his outright denial and to request again that he be given an attorney since he had been asking for one since the 12th, already arraigned without one (with bail set at the amount of $25,000), and his trial set for a mere two weeks from the date of his arraignment (giving us a very short time to work with) on 2/27/13.

I found myself being told several different stories, between the courthouse and the officers at M. C. Jail, all of which were discourteous and unwilling to help. I was told by the courthouse that they had been told George never asked for one and that we would be hiring one - at which point I stated in no uncertain terms that this was not the case and that he had been asking for a court appointed attorney since the 12th. Upon calling M. C. Jail, I was told by the first officer I spoke to that he never asked for one at all, and when I informed him otherwise, I was transferred to the seargent. The seargent was agitated and discourteously told me that "verbal requests don't count" (verbatim) and that George needed to fill out a KITE form to request an attorney. I begged the question, why had nobody then given him this paperwork if he was asking? The seargent sarcastically told me that he would go and speak to George. He then waited several hours to do so until the end of the day, and since it was Friday, this effectively means that George will not be given a lawyer until Wednesday, 2/20/13, giving us very little time for legal consult.

On Saturday, 2/16/13: Myself, George's mother (B.F.), and our friend C.W., arrived with a bail bondsman at 6:00pm with cash and surety at the ready to have George released on bail. Upon filling out the necessary forms and turning them in, the bondsman was turned away outright, given a false account that the judge required $25,000 in cash. The bondsman of course had spoken to the courthouse and been told otherwise; as had 3 to 4 other bail bonds companies we had spoken with in preceeding days. The officers, in contrast, told him in no uncertain terms that they would accept no less than $25,000. Disturbed by the actions of the officers, we asked the bondsman to please try submitting the forms again. In the end we were made to wait two and one half hours before they reluctantly released George to us on bail.

George has informed me that at no point in time were his Miranda rights read to him in any way shape or form until his arraignment on the 13th, at which point the judge was the one to read said rights to him. Afterward no attempt was made by any officer at any time to uphold these rights. His neurological symptoms have been in full swing, with weakness on his left side, chest pains, dizziness, disorientation, stuttering and aphasia (difficulty speaking), pain, loss of fine motor control (ability to move his fingers), and difficulty walking. These dangerous symptoms were ignored and mocked by the officers at M.C. Jail, who told him things like "If you were really in pain, you wouldn't be limping that way; we know you're acting."

We are concerned that George has not been treated in a legal and upright manner and that there seems to be an attempt to stall or even thwart his right to a fair trial, instead rushing for swift prosecution. We would like to request your assistance in these matters as there is so much at stake.