Rev. Edward Pinkney at Home After Release From Jackson Prison

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BANCO leader continues fight against racism in Benton Harbor

by Abayomi Azikiwe, Editor
Pan-African News Wire

BENTON Harbor, MI--Rev. Edward Pinkney, Michigan's political prisoner,
has been released from Jackson prison and is presently at home in Benton
Harbor.

The Baptist minister was ordered released pending the outcome of his
appeal and granted a bond hearing by the Michigan Appeals Court earlier
in the month. His hearing before Judge Wiley in Berrien County took
place on December 18.

Pinkney, the leader of the Benton Harbor Black Autonomy Network of
Community Organizers (BANCO), was convicted by an all-white jury in
Berrien County in 2007. The trumped-up vote tampering charges stemmed
from a successful recall campaign in Benton Harbor in 2005.

The African-American community, after years of oppression and
exploitation, had rose up in rebellion against racism and police
repression in 2003. Rev. Pinkney has been an outspoken critic of the
local police and judicial system which disproportionately sentences
African-Americans to long prison terms.

After his sentencing on May 14, 2007 to one year in prison and five
years probation, he was placed on a tether and told not to speak out
against racism and injustice in Berrien County, located in the southwest
region of Michigan.

Last December 2007, a Berrien County Judge revoked his probation and
placed him in jail for writing an article quoting biblical scriptures in
his criticism of the legal system in the area. He was later sentenced to
3-10 years in prison for utilizing his right to free speech.

Pinkney's supporters are celebrating his release. The minister had won
endorsements from people all over Michigan and throughout the United
States.

The Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued his appeal
before the Michigan court.