From: The Unapologetic Mexican

UNFORTUNATELY, all- or mostly-white juries and in mostly-white towns aided by white lawmen who institute their own type of justice disproportionately against people of color have a long history in the US. From Rubin Carter to Luis Ramirez; from Amadou Diallo to Billey Joe Johnson, the names change, but the stain of a dark refrain refuses to fade. Publicly paid and celebrated cirrhotic-souled ghouls do their part to broadcast the message that whites are superior and the rest hardly human (tho perhaps hot-blooded or able-ballers), and the rest of the institionalized hatemachine roars into action. The only good thing about the tide of race-based violence that has sprung up since the immigration debates sprawled through this political era, ungainly and littered with slur and a smoked-over lens half the time, is that the mainstream dialogue is beginning to accept some of the factuality of bias, of institutionalized racism and consequent violence and injustice that is evidencing itself rather baldly, and especially so since President Obama was elected. That means those of us already aware of this embedded racism can spend less time fighting “allied forces” over the fundamental ideas upon which these particular battles for justice must spring from, and spend more energy in the actual battle. I was asked by Efrén Paredes, Jr.’s mamá Velia to try and raise awareness for Efrén’s case. And I am. Because 21 years in prison with a lifetime to go is a long time to be shut away from justice. And there are far too many of us there already. There’s a couple things listed after this post that you can do to help. If you do nothing else, please read through and consider at the least, writing Efren a letter of support or just to say hi. These things mean a lot on the inside. His address is at the bottom, and his story begins with the headline— 15-YEAR-OLD LATINO HONOR STUDENT SERVING THREE LIFE SENTENCES FOR CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT

“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is exercised under cover of law, and with the colors of justice.” —U.S. v. Jannottie, 673 F.2d 578, 614 (3d Cir. 1982)

Learn about innocent 15-year-old Latino former high school honor student named Efren Paredes, Jr. who was wrongly convicted in 1989 for a murder and armed robbery he did not commit; a crime to which others plead guilty. The crime occurred in St. Joseph, Michigan (Berrien County), USA. Efren was tried and convicted only three months after his arrest on March 15, 1989 and convicted by 11 White jurors and one Black juror in a city whose racial composition was 95% White. The judge, prosecutor, and all the investigating police were also all White. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Berrien County ranks among the top 25 most segregated metropolitan areas in the country. It is also important to note that all the youth in Berrien County who have received life without parole (LWOP) sentences have been children of color. Efren is also the only Latino youth in Berrien County history to receive a LWOP sentence. The case against Efren was entirely circumstantial and based primarily on the statements of other youth who received reduced charges and sentences from the prosecutor in exchange for their incentivized testimony.

Asst. Prosecuting Attorney Michael Sepic knowingly committed professional misconduct when he allowed a man, who would later become the jury foreman, to be seated on the jury who worked with the aunt of the victim’s widow in Efren’s case. The information about the juror’s connection to the aunt was brought to Sepic’s attention on two occasions, once before the trial began and once after it began by the victim’s widow. Sepic has openly acknowledged that he knew this information, most recently at Efren’s December 4, 2008 public hearing. Appellate courts have held these acts of unprofessional and conspiracy by Sepic were “harmless error.” There was no physical evidence linking Efren to the crime, no eyewitnesses to the crime, and Efren was home with his parents and two brothers when the crime occurred. Despite all this Efren was sentenced to two life without parole sentences and one parolable life sentence. He is now 36-years-old.

The Berrien County Prosecutor’s Office and police investigating the crime provided false and erroneous information to the media in an attempt to convict Efren in the media before trial. Their unethical conduct and betrayal of the public trust infected every level of the legal process and contributed to Efren’s unlawful conviction. Efren has the support of several notable scholars and activists across the country including Dr. Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez, Director, Institute for MultiRacial Justice, author, and activist; Dr. Carlos Munoz, Jr., Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, author and activist; Dr. Rodolfo Acuña, historian, educator and Chicano studies scholar; Dr. Jorge Chinea, Director of Chicano-Boricua Studies Department, Wayne State University, author and activist; Juana Alicia, muralist, printmaker, educator, and activist; Favianna Rodriguez, political printmaker, digital artist, activist; Dr. Martha Grace Duncan, Professor of Law, Emory University, and author; Dr. Walter Garcia-Kawamoto, Journal of Adolescent Research, Manuscript Consulting Editor; Elena Herrada, Director of Centro Obrero, activist, and writer;Elisha Miranda aka E-Fierce, filmmaker, writer, and activist; and others. Efren also enjoys the support of world renowned wrongful convictions expert Paul Ciolino, a veteran private investigator. Ciolino is the author of numerous articles in professional publications and the book “In the Company of Giants: The Ultimate Investigation Guide for Legal Professionals, Activists, Journalists & the Wrongfully Convicted”. In addition he co-wrote the best-selling and critically acclaimed textbooks “Advanced Forensic Criminal Defense Investigations” and “Advanced Forensic Civil Investigations”. Ciolino is chief investigative advisor to Northwestern University Law School’s Center on Wrongful Convictions, the Medill School of Journalism, and DePaul University Center for Justice in Capital Cases. In 2003, when former Illinois governor George Ryan granted clemency and pardons to 167 death row inmates, he cited Ciolino’s investigative work, which helped free five innocent men, as one of the reasons for the en masse commutations. According to Ciolino, “There is not one shred of credible evidence to suggest that Efren was involved in the murder. No weapon, no eyewitnesses, no physical evidence, no motive, no prior conduct to suggest that a 15-year-old student athlete, and honor role student with zero criminal background, would have planned, participated or committed this murder. The community and jury were sold a bill of goods based on the words of drug dealers and thieves.”

Letters of support from these individuals can be viewed in the “General Information” tab on the above-left-hand-side of this page. The National Lawyers Guild has also endorsed our efforts to free Efren. The National Lawyers Guild is a membership of progressive civil rights attorneys. It is dedicated to the need for basic and progressive change in the structure of our political and economic system. Through its members — lawyers, law students, jailhouse lawyers and legal workers united in chapters and committees — the Guild works locally, nationally and internationally as an effective political and social force in the service of the people. Tuesday, February 10, 2009, the Berkeley City Council (California) voted to condemn the life without parole sentences imposed on Efren as human rights violations in contravention with several international treaties. They join the 192 nations in the world who have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and universally condemned the imposition of life without parole sentences for children. City councils in other municipalities will now begin following the model set in Berkeley. Click here to read more about this historic resolution and read our press release. Efren appeared in the 2004 study released by the ACLU of Michigan about life without parole sentences for youth in Michigan titled, “Second Chances,” p. 16 and appeared on the cover of the 2005 national life without parole sentences for youth study released by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International titled, “The Rest of Their Lives.” His case was also presented to the United Nations Human Rights Commission twice. Once by the University of San Francisco School of Law Human Rights Advocates and once by the ACLU of Michigan. This site is maintained by the The Injustice Must End (TIME) Committee who is working to exonerate Efren and working to generate support for his campaign for justice.

Efren can not access the Internet. If you would like to send him a message you can do so by sending us an e-mail at info@4Efren.com which we will print and forward to him for a response, or you can write him directly at:
Efren Paredes, Jr. #203116 3510 N. Elm Road Jackson MI 49201

Efrén’s family asks everyone to visit this link first and foremost if they want to help. There, you can learn how you can write a letter to Michigan Governor Granholm expressing support for Efrén’s release.

** Also, join the Facebook effort to petition the Governor to support the release of Efrén Paredes, Jr. Note: Sharing this Facebook group or this post (see widget at end of post) is appreciated.

Finally, I leave you with a poem by Efrén, himself:

“Brush Strokes” by Efrén Paredes, Jr./Tlecoz Huitzil
The world is my canvas vast and serene I evoke pleasant memories paint indescribable scenes. My pallette of colors an ocean of words Some capsize in their depths never again to be heard. Create brilliant pigments with magical names Their presence is vibrant like portraits in frames. Poetry is soothing it can vanish your woes Manifesting as gifts wrapped in ribbons and bows. Like an orchestra conductor leads beautiful choirs My words ring like symphonies they can quench your desires. Manifested thoughts and verbalized dreams Carefully selected each held high in esteem. My lyrics magnetic their compositions abound Capture imaginations create marvelous sounds. This is an artist’s rendition of the way I see life A gaze through my window where possibilities are rife.

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