New Jersey v. Cynthia Johnson for Being Young, Gifted & Black

This article contains an appeal for help by a woman who is suffering injustice. Her issue is followed by results of AIMI's first online survey: "Jails or Mental Hospitals?" Links in this blog do not open in a new window. Please read all before opening links, or use your back arrow to return (be aware that the censorship force does not always allow the back arrow function to work for my articles). The link to share this article is http://FreeSpeakBlog.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-jersey-v-cynthia-johnson-for-being.html - If this link does not work, it is the censorship force. I just discovered that Cynthia's posts were removed from Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill, a group she joined and has been active in to help others. See http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/ for under-reported news and information unavailable elsewhere.

Please read, endorse and share Cynthia Johnson's petition. Her situation as I understand if from our conversations is presented below:

NEW JERSEY v. CYNTHIA JOHNSON FOR BEING
YOUNG, GIFTED, AND BLACK

In September 2008, Cynthia Johnson reported a woman for child neglect. The negligent mother happened to be a relative who Cynthia says was leaving her children for long periods partying (with drugs). Because Cynthia reported on a family member, she is enstranged from others in her family now, and the woman retaliated by falsely accusing Cynthia Johnson of a crime. The white police officers who went to her home to question or arrest her on the woman's allegations attacked, raped, and beat Cynthia, who is an African American.

Cynthia either fell or was thrown against furniture during the officer's attack, and she incurred a head injury. Since that abuse, Cynthia suffers from seizures and PTSD. Although she had excellent earnings prior to her brutal assault, she has been unable to continue working. Cynthia lost her home and has had many health and financial problems - all since her police brutality occurred. The police officer who beat Cynthia and caused her disabilities was also in the news for beating another citizen. Cynthia said that she was wearing a robe when police came into her home to take her in for questioning on her cousin's bogus allegations that were made in retaliation for Cynthia reporting her for child neglect. Cynthia told the police officers she needed to get dressed. They followed her into her bedroom. Cynthia reports that one officer nodded his head at the other officer and turned his back. The other police officer proceeded to rape Cynthia. She was then taken into custody. Cynthia reported the rape to officers at the police station. They refused to take her to the hospital or give her a rape kit. They kept Cynthia in jail until all evidence of the officer's semen and her assault were gone. That is enough trauma to cause any woman to have post traumatic stress disorder.

Cynthia said the Newark, New Jersey D.A.'s office offered her a deal: If she agreed not to pursue damages for rape and police brutality, she would not have to stand charges on the negligent mom's false allegations. This was clearly blackmail, and Cynthia would not accept the deal. As a result, she is standing trial for criminal charges. Cynthia has been so traumatized with preparing for court on the trumped-up charges, economic stresses due to lost income, plus physical challenges resulting from her attack that she recently had a stroke. The lovely, young professional woman now has a speech impediment. Her words were slurred as she spoke to me about her trauma.

Some people are sexists and have such racial bigotry that they hate to see independent young women of any race, particularly African Americans, living comfortably.

Unfortunately, Cynthia's justice quest is not going well. She said that the day a hearing was held, the judge walked in court and asked something to this effect: "Is there someone in here who needs a mental health break," and the D.A. and police officers all laughed with the judge. Furthermore, the court refused to allow Cynthia's evidence that her prosecution is the result of blackmail. The court disallowed her admitting police phone records from 9/8/08 and police videotape from 9/1/08, 9/2/08, and 9/8/08. She asks your support on her petition for justice and for your prayers. Petition for justice for Cynthia Johnson: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/please-promote-and-support-advocacy-for-cynthia-johnson

"I DON'T CARE HOW MANY DEGREES YOU HAVE. YOU AIN'T SH*T!" said the peace officer to Cynthia, according to her account of the conversation.



Incidents like Cynthia's abuse demonstrate that whether people earn $10,000 per year or six figures, all who work for a living and those on fixed incomes are undervalued in this society. Whites like Cameron Todd Willingham, Thomas Arthur, Tim Sauders, Paul House and many other Caucasians were/are treated unjustly because of a lack of wealth. Numerous Asians who were killed by police in California over the last two years also lacked wealth. African Americans are undervalued no matter how wealthy they are and regardless of their source of income. As police continue to remind affluent African Americans of that fact, more of them will likely give attention to the ongoing battle for equal justice that many of them erroneously believe was already won.

ATTACKS ON EDUCATED, MIDDLE CLASS AFRICAN AMERICANS OFFER A VALUABLE LESSON.

For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. ~Esther 7:4

Professor Gates, an African American Harvard professor, was arrested this year for not giving a white police officer reverence. Robbie Tolan, son of a famous former baseball player, Bobby Tolan, was shot by police at his Texas surburban home on January 1 when he objected to police battering his mother on their front lawn. Billey Joe Johnson, a Mississippi high school football star who had a good chance of going to the NFL, died of an "accidental" shotgun blast on a stretch of Mississippi highway. He had reportedly been dating a white girl. Education and affluence do not exempt African Americans from being treated as subhuman. What happened to Professor Gates and Cynthia Johnson is usual and ordinary. When police are wrong, they often cite the wronged citizen for some crime, as happened in Professor Gate's case. People need DOG JUSTICE.

As one comment on Cynthia's petition stated, when the police abuse or kill citizens, the system sticks together like a pac of wild animals. The Cochran Firm was declared by the court to be non-existent in Georgia where we filed suit against that law firm for pretending (under contract) to be our wrongful death attorneys after the secret arrest and wrongful death of my mentally and physically ill brother, Larry Neal. The Cochran Firm actually protected the jail where Larry died by doing zero regarding Larry's negligence and wrongful death lawsuits. The Firm allowed the statute of limitations pass while lying to my family about fictitious legal work that was not actually being done. Because of The Cochran Firm Fraud, suit was never filed against Memphis Shelby County Jail, and The Cochran Firm escaped paying damages for defrauding us by claiming not to exist where our suit was served - Atlanta, Georgia. View this YouTube commercial for the court-declared "non-existent" Cochran Firm office in Atlanta: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlcolpUzckU

"When you have no defense, just say you don't exist." After filing suit, my family started being followed. I am stalked online and in-person for taking steps to get records of Larry's fatal arrest and accountability for the lawyer fraud that was done to prevent Larry's relatives from having legal recourse for his murder. Police did not respond to our 911 call in September 2008 when my six-year-old grandchild and I were stalked and accosted, and no investigation was done about that or about Larry's murder - in six years. African Americans' abuses and deaths by police count less than abuse and murders of dogs. My family's issues are presented in this article:

Amercan Family Under Siege for Inquiring About Brother Who Died in Govt. Custody
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/amercan-family-under-siege-inquiring-about-brother-who-died-govt-custody

Dogs have protected rights in America, whereas African Americans, poor whites, Latinos, and Asians as well as the mentally ill of all races only have rights on paper without any enforcement. Cynthia Johnson could be incarcerated (at taxpayer expense) for doing nothing wrong, just like many mental patients are incarcerated today and have no criminal charges against them whatsoever. This started long BEFORE the Patriot Act: www.jstor.org/pss/795072

TOO BAD YOU AREN'T A DOG, CYNTHIA JOHNSON! THEN YOU'D GET JUSTICE!

EVERY DAY, I ASK FOR DOG JUSTICE http://bit.ly/7vJ5Z
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WHAT have we overcome? http://bit.ly/2BAFuC

WHAT HAVE WE OVERCOME? Cynthia Johnson and Professor Gates probably believed that being middle class would exempt them from being treated as they were. That is not the reality. Cynthia never considered going to prison as being a possibility. However, many innocent people are in prison, especially black women, whose incarceration rate is eight times that of white women. Women who have committed no crime are frequently imprisoned for many years - their children are torn from their arms as during slavery. Taxpayers are paying $50,000 or more per year to imprison each and every woman arrested for her romantic chocies and significant foster care costs for children left behind.

Women sentenced under the war on drugs "girlfriend" law are incarcerated (at taxpayer expense) for nothing more than associating with men who were involved with drugs. Ironically, they are given the same sentences as their boyfriends or husbands who joined the 1 in every 9 young black men already imprisoned. Roughly 2/3 of all inmates were convicted on nonviolent offenses such as drugs, and a little dab of marijuana will do.
See the link below to access an article by Patrice Gaines and my comments on it: "The cost of incarceration-Part III"

The Conspiracy Charge That Traps Women (Guilt Not Required)
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1302672
In India, widows used to die when their husbands did, because they were tossed on their husbands' funeral fire. Similarly, in the U.S.A., innocent women go to prison when their boyfriends do. Their crime: "loving bad boys." The fight for women's rights obviously has a long way to go in America. Women can vote now. Use the power of the voting booth to end this expensive, cruel, unsuccessful war on drugs and save your sisters from life as prison laborers (slaves). Reunite them with their children and elderly parents who need them, and reduce your own tax burden while doing so.

Like my family and many other people of color and whites who lack wealth, Cynthia Johnson was wronged. As typically happens when the system is caught doing wrong, authorities are now coming after her - the victim. More information and survey results follow this video.

Channel O presents Young Gifted & Black with African musicians
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nXXjfpv_PE



Watch yourselves, young, gifted black people. Even though you may have accomplished much through education and hard work, you are NOT exempt from suffering wrongly in the justice system. Ask Cynthia Johnson, Professor Gates, and Robbie Tolan. Tolan and his cousin were followed from a restaurant to their surburban Texas home on January 1, 2009, by police officers who claimed to believe they were in a stolen vehicle (without checking the license plate). Apparently it was a nice van - too good for young black men. When Tolan reached his house, Bellaire, Texas police officers physically assaulted Tolan's mother who went outside to see what was happening to her son and nephew. Tolan protested his mother's abuse, and police shot him. The CNN report is at this link: http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/01/08/baseballer.shot/index.html

Tolan's gunshot wound did not kill him, or he would have had the sad honor that was taken by Oscar Grant, also shot on January 1 on a train platform by a B.A.R.T. officer while other police officers held him down. My article about Grant's murder and the video are below:

Oscar Grant - First Unarmed Black Man Killed by Police in 2009 - Next?
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/oscar-grant-1st-unarmed-black-man-police-killed-2009-next

There is no exemption for middle class African Americans when it comes to racial profiling, police brutality, and being treated unjustly in courtrooms. One beautiful bowl of chocolate fondu does not make a Thanksgiving feast, and neither will it make up for centuries of missed meals.

The mentally ill comprise another group that is often discriminated against, regardless of what race they are.


Mental Illness is frequently treated as a crime or a joke.


Cynthia's PTSD is not severe, and I hope it subsides and disappears altogether as God grants her relief from persecution by the justice system she is currently undergoing. Unfortunately, many people find mental illness ENTERTAINING, as Cynthia's judge, the Newark district attorney, and the police officer who beat her senseless reportedly did. Citizens who have that common, treatable health condition are often victimized by police officers, prison guards, and people in their communities. Sometimes they are abandoned by their families, and many live homeless until they become defendants in a lunacy arrest - no crime necessary. Mentally ill citizens are guilty of mere EXISTENCE.

II. SURVEY: JAILS OR TREATMENT FOR THE MENTALLY ILL

In 2008, I conducted a survey regarding how mental illness is addressed in America. To assure that the results represented opinions by a cross section of the community, the survey was sent to members of conservative political groups, African American groups at Yahoo, and liberal groups. Additionally, it was live online for several months under this name: SURVEY: JAILS OR MENTAL HOSPITALS? At the end of these results is a one-question poll.

1. What is your interest in mental health issues?

answered question 51 - skipped question 0

Responses:

I have a mentally ill relative or loved one. 54.9% 28

My mentally ill loved one is/was incarcerated. 23.5% 12

I work with the mentally ill or in a related field. 17.6% 9

I work in law enforcement, criminal justice, or legal field. 3.9% 2

I work in health care. 13.7% 7

None of the above, but I am concerned about this issue. 31.4% 16

Comments: 31 (I will publish the comments without email addresses at a later time)

2. The mentally ill who commit crimes should be held in a secure mental hospital while awaiting trial, NOT jail.

answered question 51 - skipped question 0

Responses

Agree 94.1% 48

Disagree 3.9% 2

Don't Know 2.0% 1

3. People diagnosed with acute mental illness who commit crimes should NOT have the right to reject treatment or hospitalization.

answered question 48 - skipped question 3

Response

Agree 77.1% 37

Disagree 29.2% 14

Show replies Explain 31 (Some who disagreed explained that either (a) they distrusted the system to have the right to enforce treatment, or (b) they felt it depended on how seriously mentally ill the defendants are. There are, of course, levels of mental illness.)

4. We should increase the availability of inpatient services for people diagnosed with acute mental illness BEFORE they commit crimes.

answered question 51 - skipped question 0

Response

Agree 100.0% 51

Disagree 0.0% 0

Don't know 0.0% 0


5. We need more and improved mental hospitals for inpatient care.

answered question 50 - skipped question 1

Agree 100.0% 50

Disagree 0.0% 0


6. Jailing the mentally ill puts an unfair burden on our law enforcement and criminal justice system.

answered question 51 - skipped question 0

Responses
Agree 90.2% 46

Disagree 5.9% 3

Don't Know 3.9% 2

Show replies Other (please specify) 15 people made comments, which will be published later.

7. Tranquilizers and straitjackets used in mental hospitals are MORE HUMANE than Taser guns, jail bars, night sticks and handcuffs police use to contain the mentally ill.

answered question 51 - skipped question 0

Response

Agree 98.0% 50

Disagree 3.9% 2

8. Political candidates should address the issue of increased and improved mental hospitals during elections.

answered question 51 - skipped question 0

Response

Agree 100.0% 51

Disagree 0.0% 0


9. I would vote for an elected official based partly on his/her support of improved mental health services.

answered question 51 - skipped question 0

Response

Agree 96.1% 49

Disagree 3.9% 2

10. Having read about the wrongful death of Larry Neal in http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com I am concerned about the United States Justice Department's supervision of jails and mental hospitals where abuse is reported.

answered question 51 - skipped question 0

Response

Yes 94.1% 48

No 0.0% 0

Don't Know 5.9% 3

Show replies Other (please specify) 11 comments will be published later.

11. Having read about the wrongful death of Larry Neal at http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com I am concerned about how complaints against lawyers and law firms are handled.

answered question 48 - skipped question 3

Response

Yes 95.8% 46

No 4.2% 2

12. Having read about the wrongful death of Larry Neal at http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com I am concerned about how reliable news coverage is in America.

answered question 48 - skipped question 3

Response

Yes 100.0% 48

No 0.0% 0

13. Having read about the wrongful death of Larry Neal at http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com I am concerned about upholding the Freedom of Information Act (which gives public access to government records, except in national security issues. Larry Neal's family is denied any accountability, investigation, or records about his deadly arrest in Memphis Shelby County Jail in 2003, despite FOIA and federal subpoenas. We think they must have waterboarded him to practice for Guantanamo Camp).

answered question 47 - skipped question 4

Response

Yes 97.9% 46

No 2.1% 1

14. I am interested in helping to decriminalize mental illness and/or receiving updates on the issues faced by Larry Neal's family in their quest for information and justice.

answered question 49 - skipped question 2

Response

Yes 89.8% 44

No 10.2% 5

Show replies - Please contact me at this e-mail box: 34

The survey above was taken prior to intense advocacy for the incarcerated mentally ill was undertaken by an organization I founded that has now 220 members - Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ("AIMI"). We have worked together for more than a year to heighten public awareness about mental illness and help remove the stigma and roadblocks to treatment. Preliminary plans are being made for a class action lawsuit for psychiatric equity to move mental illness from the criminal justice system and back to the health care system. Mental illness is the only health condition for which people are arrested. That is morally wrong and discriminatory against persons with that health disability.

Care2 News Network http://www.care2.com/news/member/513396753/1300380

Below is a one-question poll, Treatment or Prison for Mental Patients?
http://www.opednews.com/Poll/Treatment-or-Prison-for-Me-by-Mary-Neal-080802-595.html



Your opinions are invited in the comments field below, or write me at MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com
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Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. ~Psalm 82:3

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JAIL IS THE LAST THING MENTAL PATIENTS NEED, and too often it is the very last thing they experience. Join in our efforts to decriminalize mental illness. No one deserves to be punished for having a disability.