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Showing posts with label Restitution Task Force. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restitution Task Force. Show all posts

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Brian Banks Deserves 2nd Chance With NFL & Restitution Like Michael Vick (FORGIVENESS)
















BRIAN BANKS SHOULD PURSUE & RECOVER ALL!

Its NOT enough for Mr. Banks to just be FREE after being Wrongfully Convicted & Imprisoned for a Rape Crime he NEVER Committed.

His Attorneys are also preparing to Sue the State of California for Restitution due to Wrongful Conviction & Incarceration.

I Concur with this Legal Action against the State of California 100%

According to his Attorneys he is Legally entitled to receive $100. Per Day for Wrongful Conviction & Incarceration from the State of California.

Considering he lost 10 Years of his Life due to NO Fault of his Own, I say He is entitled to that Money and Much, Much MORE!

TROY DAVIS was Executed by the State of Georgia NOT because he was Guilty but because they did NOT want to Pay Him Millions of Dollars for Wrongful Conviction & Incarceration.
Thus they MURDERED Troy & Stole his Organs.

As it relates to Mr. Banks' situation, No Amount of CASH can reverse the Damage done to His Life & Reputation, however a large amount of CASH will most Certainly Help him to move Forward.

Furthermore if the State of California had done their job accurately, Mr. Banks would NEVER have served one day in jail.

But since they did NOT, now its time to PAY Him in CASH!!

In addition California Law Enforcement Authorities should Prosecute his Accuser Wanetta Gibson & her Family for FRAUD & Lying to Law Enforcement Authorities because they Sued his former High School and Won a Huge Settlement based on LIES!

Has anyone notice that whenever a BLACK Citizen is Wronged by the American Criminal Justice System, Society & the Media just wants Us to FORGIVE, Forget & walk away as if NOTHING ever happened. aka "The Happy Slave" Attitude!

But Whenever a WHITE Citizen is Wronged by the American Criminal Justice System they receive a boat load of CASH, Movie & Book Deals!

While its True GOD Does want Human Beings to FORGIVE those who have Wronged them, he also Instructs Us in his Word (1 Samuel 30:8) to Pursue & Recover ALL after we have Forgiven.

So to Mr. Banks, his Family & his Attorneys I say YES Definitely SUE the State of California for RESTITUTION!

Immediately!!!

And YES Wanetta Gibson & her Family Should be Ordered to Repay the Money they STOLE from Mr. Banks High School Years ago.

Thank God He is FREE & Still ALIVE to Experience VICTORY!

Are there any NFL Teams Still Interested?

I believe BRIAN BANKS could be another Michael Vick!

So YES by all means please FORGIVE those who Wronged You but also GET YOUR CASH because you are Legally Entitled to it.

PURSUE & RECOVER ALL! HALLEJUAH!
1 Samuel 30:8

FORGIVENESS DOES NOT ELIMINATE CONSEQUENCES And When Someone Has Been Unjustly Wronged It Is Right To Expect RESTITUTION.

Even the Bible Agrees with the Premise of Restitution.

Brian Banks Deserves Another Shot At The NFL & He Deserves Restitution.
The State of California Must Pay!
His Accuser Must Also Pay!

"But if it is actually Stolen from him, he shall make Restitution to its Owner."
Exodus 22:12

“If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be Blood shed for him; for he should make full Restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his Theft.”
Exodus 22:3

“When the Savior returns, He shall ensure "the Restitution of all things,"
Acts 3:21

"Eight generations of African-Americans are still waiting to achieve their rights - compensation and restitution for the hundreds of years during which they were bought and sold on the market."
Cynthia McKinney

“We want Full Restitution ... so Black Farmers can move on with their Lives.”
John Boyd

GOD BLESS BRIAN BANKS, HIS FAMILY & THE INNOCENCE PROJECT






Exonerated football star to NFL: Give me a chance

Now that Brian Banks has been exonerated of a rape conviction that put him in prison for five years, the one-time prep football star has a message for NFL coaches: Give him a chance.

After Thursday's emotional court hearing during which Banks broke down in tears, the 26-year-old said he wants to pursue his interrupted dream of playing professional football.

Appearing Friday on NBC's "Today" show", Banks said he just wants a chance from an NFL team.

"I think that any team that gives me an opportunity will be really impressed with what I can do despite all of what I've been through these past 10 years," Banks said.

It was the plan he left outside a prison door when he pleaded no contest to a childhood friend's false accusation of rape in 2002, a claim she has now recanted.

The hearing that changed Banks' life took only minutes. Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Brentford Ferreira said his office conceded the case should be dismissed. Superior Court Judge Mark C. Kim concurred and quickly announced it was over.

One of his first moves was to report to the probation office to have the electronic monitoring ankle bracelet removed — a felon no longer.

Banks said he is ready to move forward and is trying not to be angry.

"I couldn't ask for more today," he told reporters after Thursday's hearing. "But there is always the question of why did it have to happen in the first place? Why wasn't I heard with the truth of what happened when I was 16?"

Even after he was released from prison, he could not get work because he was a registered sex offender and had a felony record.

Before the charges, Banks was a star middle linebacker at Long Beach Polytechnic High School and was attracting interest from college football powerhouses as the University of Southern California, Ohio State University and the University of Michigan, according to the website Rivals.com, which tracks the recruiting of high school football and basketball players.

He verbally agreed to a full scholarship at USC.

Then, a teenage girl he had known since childhood claimed he had raped her. He was arrested and, on advice of counsel, pleaded no contest to rape and an enhancement of kidnapping in order to avoid a possible life sentence if tried by a jury.

According to CBS Los Angeles, Banks said his defense attorney told him, "'When you go into that courtroom the jury is going to see a big black teenager and you're automatically going to be assumed guilty.' Those are her exact words."

His story is a triumph for the California Innocence Project which took up his case and illustrates the growing trend toward taking a new look at convictions. But Justin Brooks, head of the program at California Western University in San Diego, said this was the first case he had championed for someone already out of prison. He felt it was not too late to right a wrong for Banks and turn his life around.

The key, said Brooks, was the woman's admission she had lied. And it came out of the blue.

After serving five years and two months in prison, Banks was released, and a strange thing happened. Wanetta Gibson, the woman who claimed he had attacked her on the high school campus when she was 15, contacted him on Facebook and asked to meet with him.

He recalled being stunned. "I thought maybe it wasn't real. How could she be contacting me?"

He said he knew that if he became angry when he met with her it wouldn't help, so he struggled to keep calm.

"I stopped what I was doing and got down on my knees and prayed to God to help me play my cards right," he said.

In two meetings, she said she had lied and offered to help him clear his name, but there was a catch. She did not want to return a $1.5 million payment from a civil suit brought by her mother against the Long Beach schools.

She refused to repeat her new story to prosecutors but they accepted the account which had been secretly videotaped by the defense.

It was uncertain whether Gibson will have to return the money and unlikely she would be prosecuted for making the false accusation so long ago.

Gibson did not attend the hearing and she could not be reached for comment. Prosecutors and defense attorneys said they were unable to find her recently.

At the press conferences that followed the court hearing, Brooks appealed to NFL teams to give Banks a chance. He said Banks has been training six days a week to get in shape for the career he wants.

"He has the speed and the strength. He certainly has the heart," Brooks said. "I hope he gets the attention of people in the sports world."

Gil Brandt, an NFL draft consultant, said Banks would be eligible to sign with any team that might show interest. However, his years away from the game will be hard to overcome.

"History tells us guys who come back after one or two years away when they go into the service find it awfully hard," Brandt said. "And this has been much longer a time."

Brandt compared the challenge to someone who has been out of high school for years trying to get an A in their first class in college.

Banks said he is ready for the challenge.

"It's been a struggle. But I'm unbroken, and I'm still here today," the tall, muscular Banks said, tears flowing down his face.

Outside court, Banks donned a sweatshirt that read: "Innocent."



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Sources: ABC News, Black Sports Online, CBS News, Youtube, Google Maps

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Brian Banks Wants Restitution From California For Wrongful Conviction & Incarceration! I Concur!










Ex-football player, wrongly jailed for rape, wants money from state

A former high school football star who had his rape conviction dismissed plans no legal action against the woman who recanted the sexual assault claim she made 10 years ago.

But Brian Banks, 26, does plan to file a claim against the state, seeking money for his time behind bars, his attorney said.

"We do not plan on taking any legal action against Gibson," said Banks' attorney, Justin Brooks of the California Innocence Project, referring to Banks' accuser, Wanetta Gibson. "We do plan on filing a state claim for the $100 a day Brian is entitled to under State Law 4900 for every day he was wrongfully incarcerated."

Gibson was a high school sophomore when she accused Banks of raping her at Long Beach Poly High School. She and her family sued the school, receiving a $750,000 settlement, and Banks spent five years in prison after pleading no contest to forcible rape.

While a judge Thursday tossed out the rape charge, it remains far from certain if Gibson, 24, will face any consequences.

L.A. prosecutors have said they have no plans to charge her with making false accusations, saying it would be a tough case to prove.

Legal experts noted it could be difficult for the Long Beach school district and its insurer to get the settlement back.

Then there is the reality of Gibson’s life.

Court records suggest she has few assets: She received public assistance for a time and her children, ages 4 and 5, still do, according to two suits brought by the county in an attempt to collect child support. Gibson, who could not be reached for comment, was ordered initially to pay a $600 a month toward their support. But in the last year, county officials said she didn’t have to pay anything, citing a lack of income and employment.

According to Banks and his private investigator, Gibson has refused to admit to prosecutors that she lied to avoid having to return the money she and her family had won in court.

She also said she feared it would affect her relationship with her children, Banks' attorney alleged in court papers.

The statute of limitations for making a false claim is four years, but experts say it could restart when a previously hidden crime is discovered. In this case, Gibson testified in 2003 during Banks’ preliminary hearing but recanted her accusation last year. “No, he did not rape me,” she told Banks and his private investigator in a recorded conversation.

“The prosecution can say that we only learned last year that the crime of perjury occurred and therefore we are still within the statute of limitations,” Loyola Law professor Stan Goldman said.

The fact that Gibson was a juvenile when she initially made her accusation poses a potential complication, as does the fact that she has since recanted her recantation, but Goldman said the large monetary settlement she received might make charging her a priority to prosecutors trying to ensure the integrity of the criminal justice system.

Police in Long Beach said there is no official investigation into Gibson’s conduct, but officers are “reviewing the matter” and “will be in consultation with the district attorney’s office following the review,” spokeswoman Lisa Massacani said.








BRIAN BANKS IS FREE! HALLEJUAH!

Thanks to the Innocence Project, after 10 Years of HELL & a Ruined Reputation due to the lies of a Young BLACK Woman (Wanetta Gibson) who falsely accused him of RAPE, Brian Banks a Young BLACK Man finally walks FREE.


5 QUESTIONS:

1) Will the State of California pay Brian Banks Restitution for False Imprisonment & Wrongful Conviction?

2) Will his Accuser Wanetta Gibson be Indicted for Lying under Oath to a Law Enforcement Officer?

3) Will the NFL give Brian Banks an Opportunity to relive his Dream of trying out for the NFL Draft?

4) How many more Wrongfully Convicted BLACK Men would be Released from U.S. Prisons with the help of the Innocence Project if they had more Financial Resources?

5) Why hasn't Congress taken a Closer look at how Prosecutors Abuse the Plea Bargain Process in America?
Especially with BLACK & Latino Male Defendants??

The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled to Expand Defendant's Rights regarding the Plea Deal Process.
Now what about our Corrupt Congress???

GOD BLESS BRIAN BANKS & HIS FAMILY!
GOD BLESS THE INNOCENCE PROJECT!



Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy





Brian Banks, former high school football star, asks for NFL shot

He was a high school football star in Long Beach, Calif., heading for a full scholarship at powerhouse USC when he was falsely accused of rape.

Now, exonerated after the alleged victim confessed she made up the whole story, Brian Banks has one goal: to play in the NFL.

In an appearance on the “Today” show Friday morning, the 26-year-old pleaded with any NFL coach watching the morning show to “give me an opportunity.”

“Let me show you what I can produce,” he said. “I think that any team that give me an opportunity will be really impressed with what I can do despite what I’ve been through these past 10 years.”

After being charged with rape and kidnapping in 2002, Banks took a plea deal on the advice of his lawyer to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison despite knowing he was innocent. He was sentenced to six years, ruining his football career and was forced to wear an ankle bracelet after being released on parole in 2008.

“It’s like branding,” he said on “Today”. “It’s like if someone put a brand on you: rapist.”

His accuser friended him on Facebook after he was released from prison with a strange request to make “bygones be bygones”.

With the help of a private investigator, she was recorded admitting she made the whole thing up and was reluctant to come forward because of a settlement she had reached with the school district.

With the help of the Innocence Project, Banks used the evidence to be exonerated — and on Thursday, a prosecutor moved that the case be dismissed.

Banks, video shows, broke into sobs.

“My only dream in the world was to just be free and to have the same opportunities as everyone here,” he told reporters.

Banks said he’s concentrating on moving forward with his life — and hasn’t thought about what happens to the woman who falsely accused him.

“I know it’s best for me to try and move forward in a positive manner for the betterment of me, it hurts no one but myself to hang on to the type of negative energy,” he said on “Today.”

He added he hopes that in the future, investigations will be thorough enough to avoid sending an innocent man to prison.

“I definitely feel that further investigations in cases like this are definitely necessary especially when it involves minors, children,” he said. “I think I was quick to be judged.”



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Sources: ABC News, Black Sports Online, CBS News, Innocence Project, LA Times, MSNBC, NY Daily News, Youtube

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

N.C. AG Roy Cooper Sets Up Crime Victims Restitution Task Force (Eliminating NC Corruption)























Charlotte Observer----

(Shocked AG says he'll help crime victims get their money after courts improperly diverted it.)

RALEIGH - State Attorney General Roy Cooper says he is shocked that thousands of crime victims were denied restitution that had been diverted to pay other legal costs, and he is setting up a task force to help the victims get their money.

“I'm shocked that crime victims have been forced to wait behind the government before getting the funds they deserve,” Cooper said in a news release. “Our task force will help crime victims get the money that belongs to them.”

The News & Observer and the Observer reported Sunday that for the past 10 years, North Carolina's court system had improperly diverted millions of dollars that should have gone to compensate crime victims. State law requires that victims be compensated first, but the court system placed them third in line, behind fees for probation and community service. A computer setting pushed crime victims even further down the line, behind fines and city and county fees.

Court officials said it would be difficult to track down all the victims who lost out on restitution.

But starting Tuesday, the codes in the court system computers were to be reconfigured so that victims receive their money first, said Sharon Gladwell, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. That will mean victims in any pending criminal cases should start receiving money that perpetrators were ordered to pay to them.

The state agency is also looking at what legal hurdles might get in the way of retroactively paying victims in cases where offenders paid portions of the money owed before the case was closed.

Mecklenburg Clerk of Court Martha Curran said Tuesday she and her clerks will do everything they can to make sure victims of crimes receive their restitution. She said her staff will be reviewing cases where restitution has been ordered to make sure the victims from now on are compensated first.

“Restitution to victims should be the number one priority,” Curran said. “We'll do everything possible to get victims their money.”

Cooper, a former state lawmaker, was one of the sponsors of the 1998 state law that put crime victims first when criminals pay restitution to the court. He has also sent a letter to John Smith, the director of the state's administrative courts office, urging him to identify cases in which crime victims lost compensation as a result of the improper actions.

“Just as important as setting future priorities is making it right for past crime victims,” Cooper wrote.

The letter was copied to Chief Justice Sarah Parker, House Speaker Joe Hackney, Senate leader Marc Basnight and Gov. Bev Perdue.

“It's shameful. It is disheartening,”Basnight said.

He has instructed his staff to find out how so many victims didn't receive the money they were owed. He said that victims in closed cases should still get the money they are owed.

Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for Perdue, said: “Governor Perdue believes that criminals should pay for their crimes, both by serving time and paying restitution to their victims.”



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Sources: Charlotte Observer, News Observer, Google Maps