Cochran Firm Fraud Goes On and On

Johnnie Cochran
1937 - 2005

HOW MANY PEOPLE, AGENCIES, COMPANIES AND COURTS DOES IT TAKE TO DEFRAUD BLACK AND BROWN FAMILIES USING A NAME THEY TRUST?

The important thing that black and brown people should learn from reading my accounts of The Cochran Firm Fraud is that law firm is apparently firmly against them, working for prison profiteers, gathering information that is probably disbursed among the very people and agencies they would least want to have their confidential data, and using its position of legal advocate to hold down the amount of damages paid to victims and victims' families after incidents of prison and police brutality and wrongful death. Readers who are unfamiliar with The Cochran Firm Fraud, please see the brief summary below.

SUMMARY:

New World Order Nullifies Constitutional Rights for Neal Family
http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1019414

The Atlanta office of The Cochran firm was allowed to claim it was not any part of The Cochran Firm in Georgia Superior Court and dodge a fraud lawsuit brought by the survivors of Larry Neal, a handicapped Memphis man who was secretly incarcerated by Shelby County Jail until his death weeks later due to lack of heart meds or worse. His family was never actually given and records or explanations, and our wrongful death attorneys, The Cochran Firm, never asked. See http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Next, The Cochran Firm headquarters was sued for fraud in USDC under the Diversity Rule (requiring different state residency addresses for plaintiffs and defendants), and it pretended not to have an Atlanta law office just blocks from the federal courthouse. This, too, was allowed. Meanwhile, in The Cochran Firm had undertaken the wrongful death of Ms. Kathryn Johnston, the 92-yr-old Atlanta woman killed in the world's worst no-knock warrant case. (That family has not recovered any damages, either as of this edit date - 9/13/09. The Neal family wonders if a lawsuit was really filed regarding Kathryn Johnston's murder. None was filed for Larry Neal's wrongful death.) The Cochran Firm's Atlanta office continued to advertise, contract with clients, and file lawsuits in Georgia and federal court while it pretended in the Neals v. Cochran Firm case not to even exist in Georgia. This perjury was allowed.

I perceive that protecting news of The Cochran Firm's potentially government-appointed role to defraud black and brown Americans and restraining its dissemination is the main point of my censorship and the failure of the courts to behave judiciously in our lawsuits as well as my in-person stalking, which is permitted to continue without police services. I don't know how many years The Cochran Firm Fraud against people of color was planned, but much money was apparently invested in setting up law firms in all the chocolate cities to victimize disenfranchised persons. Of course, to stay viable, the law firm has to win a couple of important cases now and then to keep public confidence high, but winning cases for its clients, particularly following police violence, is apparently not the norm or the intent of The Cochran Firm at this point.

No law firm of, by and for black and brown persons would be protected by the USDOJ, FBI, BBB, FTC, FCC, state and federal courts, HS and mainstream media - especially not protected when caught doing obvious fraud and entering perjury into court records. In order to have our case dismissed by Georgia Superior Court and accepted in United States District Court under the diversity rule (where it was also dismissed, with Judge Batten ruling everything “immaterial” that firm did to defraud the Neals and protect Memphis Shelby County Jail), The Cochran Firm’s Atlanta office issued court pleadings disclaiming that it was a Cochran Firm office in Georgia, and remained open every day, advertising prolifically under that identity. Such a thing is ridiculous in the extreme, but is characteristic of the blatant lies that America was subjected regularly during the previous administration. When caught, simply lie and have others in positions of trust to lie, also. My family was waterboarded.

The pleadings The Cochran Firm’s Atlanta office entered into court (using an assumed name that was not registered in the State of Georgia at any time) disclaiming its public identity were filed by the law firm of Carlock Copeland Semler & Stair. The perjurous pleadings were accepted by Judge Wendy Shoob, of Georgia Superior Court, while The Cochran Firm likely had numerous other cases pending before Georgia Superior Court. Indeed, The Cochran Firm went on to file a lawsuit in that same court for the survivors of Kathryn Johnston, elderly, black victim of murder by police in November 2006, six months after Judge Shoob issued an Order disclaiming The Cochran Firm’s existence in Georgia. The farce of non-existence of an Atlanta office of The Cochran Firm continued in United States District Court during the federal lawsuit launched August 15, 2007, against The Cochran Firm by the Neals. The scope of conspiracy among legal professionals to deny my family’s right to due process of law after Larry Neal’s murder in Memphis Shelby County Jail is magnificent and includes many parties. I consider them all as being accessories after the fact in Larry’s murder. Lawyers, judges, state bars, and federal agencies illegally used their positions conspired to shield those who were responsible for Larry Neal’s demise.

It is notable that The Cochran Firm never began discovery in defense of the Neal’s federal lawsuit against the firm until Mary Neal withdrew from attempts to leave home after being accosted numerous times and denied police intervention in her stalking. Especially after the November 9, 2008 murder of Duanna Johnson, another anticipated plaintiff against Memphis Shelby County Jail, Mary Neal remained home rather than risk exposure to stalkers who included a driver of a federal vehicle – a US DOT truck. Only when it was apparent that stalkers would not be able to catch Mary Neal away from home did The Cochran Firm file any discovery documents in USDC, which were filed after the six-month discovery period ended. Angela Mason, Cochran Firm attorney, admitted to USDC that she knew the color of the vehicle that followed Mary Neal home from work at night most often, although Mary Neal never told anyone the color of the vehicle. Therefore, I assume that The Cochran Firm expected it to be unnecessary to defend itself against the Neals’ lawsuit in the anticipation of actual harm coming to its main plaintiff.

Because there is no remorse or attempt to pay justified damages regarding the fraud the firm was caught doing regarding the secret arrest and wrongful death of Larry Neal as laid out in http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/, I can only assume the deception is intended to continue, along with my endangerment. Therefore, it behooves me to continue to alert the public about the farce - The Cochran Firm Fraud - so that people can beware and be cognizant of the threats to my family's safety which are meant to silence us and eliminate the treat of exposure to the carefully planned system of double-cross and illegal spying that is likely done against clients of that law firm in that people willingly tell lawyers things they would tell no one else.

I believe many people are being waterboarded. None of the attorneys I told about the events of The Cochran Firm Fraud perpetuated against my family were surprised, and the pro bono legal services I sought (unfortunately, they don't do civil action - only criminal) reported that they have been approached before by other Cochran Firm's clients who were similarly treated when they had civil action cases against police and municipalities after police violence. The only people who don't know are the general population of black and brown Americans.

The many veiled threats that I received regularly to my Yahoo email box included threats of induced cancers. I think it is relevant to consider that cancer is exactly what Johnnie Cochran died from within a short period of signing contract with the Alabama lawyers who wanted use of his name. According to Shawn Holley, a Los Angeles attorney who worked with Johnnie for 17 years, the firm is prejudice against people of color and fired attorneys who would not comply with the Cochran Firm’s plan to victimize clients by rendering poor legal services following Johnnie Cochran’s death. In case you never heard her account, here is a link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12171473

African American and Latino members of the community, particularly those in the area of the Atlanta offices of The Cochran Firm, should know that Cox Enterprises, Inc. and other mainstream media owners refuse to report anything that would alert them to the dubious identity of The Cochran Firm offices that operate in Georgia. Cox Enterprises, owner of The Atlanta Journal Constitution and WSB Channel 2, refused in 2007 to accept a legal ad by Mary Neal intended to find other clients of The Cochran Firm’s Atlanta office who entered contract with or shared privileged information with the law firm believing “The Cochran Firm Atlanta Office” to be its proper identity. I believed that such persons might have basis to launch a class action suit against a solitary law firm (at 127 Peachtree Street in Atlanta) for presenting itself as being an office of The Cochran Firm when it was not actually that. However, with the release of a YouTube commercial by The Cochran Firm’s Atlanta office on February 17, 2009, it is apparent that the law firm at 127 Peachtree Street is actually a Cochran Firm office as represented in television commercials, newspaper ads, online ads, etc. Therefore, The Cochran Firm lied in Georgia State Court and in USDC when it disclaimed that identity and thereby called all such ads false.

Until release of the YouTube commercial on February 17, I was unsure whether the commercials that were running advertising the Atlanta law firm as being The Cochran Firm were true or false and whether they were still running after the law office dismissed that identity in Superior Court of Georgia because they had been pre-paid to run for a certain amount of time. This is because I was denied records from Cox Enterprises that would have revealed whether the law office claimed the identity of being a Cochran Firm office after its representations in Georgia Superior Court. The YouTube commercial of February 17 left no doubt that that is the identity that the Atlanta law office presently claims, just as it always has – even while presenting pleadings contradicting that identity in Georgia Superior Court in 2005/2006.

In 2008, Cox Enterprises was allowed by Judge Batten to ignore a federal subpoena to release records pertaining to advertising related to The Cochran Firm’s Atlanta office that go out regularly to an unsuspecting public, geared particularly to induce black and brown persons in the community to entrust their legal needs to The Cochran Firm. As far as I know, MARTA no longer carries ads for the duplicitous Cochran Firm, but that needs to be verified.

A secondary identity used by the law office at 127 Peachtree Street in Atlanta is “Cochran Cherry Givens Smith & Sistrunk, P.C.” Because the Atlanta law office illegally used the designation “P.C.” after the name “Cochran Cherry Givens Smith & Sistrunk” in signing legal documentation (including perhaps contracts with its clients), consumers could still launch a class action suit (clients and potential clients who shared privileged information and who were duped by that false designation). The class might be able to also include attorneys who were opposing counsel in lawsuits filed by The Cochran Firm’s Atlanta office using that false designation. The law office is not and has never been a duly registered “P.C.” in the state of Georgia (P.C. meaning professional corporation, requiring registration with the Secretary of State’s office). The law office was allowed to continue with carrying forward that false representation, also. That Atlanta Cochran Firm’s identity fraud is apparently allowed to continue without censure, and it targets African Americans and Latino members of the community with particularity. Cochran Cherry Givens Smith & Sistrunk is no more a P.C. in the State of Georgia than I am an M.D.

What happened to Larry Neal and what role does The Cochran Firm play in or for the government? Asking that question may get you followed, waylaid in neighborhood businesses while deprived of police assistance, stripped of your First Amendment rights to free speech and free press. If you dare to ask it, here is a link and an email address:

Congress: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

USDOJ eMail: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

WRITE AT YOUR OWN RISK. SEE WHAT MAY HAPPEN TO YOU:

Terrorism by sources unknown after lawsuit against Johnnie Cochran Firm

http://my.nowpublic.com/world/terrorism-sources-unknown-after-lawsuit-against-johnnie-cochran-firm

American Family Under Seige for Inquiring About Brother Who Died in Government Custody

http://my.nowpublic.com/world/amercan-family-under-siege-inquiring-about-brother-who-died-govt-custody

VIDEOS:

Vidoes issued for protection after Mary Neal's stalking events and denial of emergency 911 police services occurred on September 27, 2008 - exposing the fact that the law office purported to be The Cochran Firm's Atlanta office denied that identity in Georgia Sup. Ct. (notice the video threat posted in response about the nice woman who is deceased).

http://video.yahoo.com/search/?p=mary+neal&t=video

Video issued on YouTube by The Cochran Firm Atlanta office Feb. 17, 2009 (after USDC Judge Batten gave the firm summary judgment on Feb. 9, calling everything the law firm did to defraud the Neals "immaterial.")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlcolpUzckU.

(After I published Cochran Firm Fraud 1 and 2, the law firm apparently hurried and published its own Cochran Firm 3 to break up my numerical order, I suppose. How about this? Cochran Firm Fraud 3.1 )

PETITIONS:

To see the Neals and supporters' request the USDOJ to do its job regarding the secret arrest and wrongful death of Larry Neal and the conspiracy of fraud that followed, see these petitions:

(This petition is closed for signatures, but petitioners' signatures and comments can be viewed.)

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/380598497

(This petition is open for signatures and/or viewing petitioners' signatures and comments.)

http://www.petitiononline.com/Neal/petition.html

POLICE REPORTS:

To see some of the illegal stalking and drama I endure, read the police report at this link:

http://my.nowpublic.com/health/finally-heard-police-re-911-emergency-call-when-waylaid

COURT:

Cochran Firm Fraud Continues Unchecked by the Courts

http://my.nowpublic.com/world/cochran-firm-fraud-continues-unchecked-courts

USDC DOCKET - http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-gandce/case_no-1:2007cv01935/case_id-145173/

PRINT MEDIA - NATIONAL NEWS

Cochran Law Firm Beset by Changes
by Betty Pleasant

Special to the NNPA from WAVE Newspapers
http://www.blackpressusa.com/news/Article.asp?SID=3&Title=National+News&NewsID=7215
LOS ANGELES (NNPA) — A change has come over Johnnie Cochran’s law firm, which Los Angeles’ Black community has loved for lo, these 43 years — and not necessarily a change for the better. Longtime attorneys and staffers who help build the Cochran legacy are gone and have not been replaced, and White people are occupying leadership positions in his law firm that did not exist before he died March 30, 2005.

RADIO:

Wake-up Call BlogTalk Radio

Jan. 2008: "The Wrongful Death of Larry Neal Show"
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wakeupcallshow/2008/01/22/TBA

Real Talk with Brothas Keepa

May 2008: "Mental Illness in the Black Community"http://www.blogtalk%20radio.com/%20nbbta/2008/%2005/28/Real-%20Talk-With-%20Brothas-KeepaThe

NVO Radio Hour Second Guest - Mary Neal

March 2009: "CHANGE the Justice System"

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/NVO/2009/03/26/The-NVO-Hour

ARTICLES:

NowPublic.com

http://NowPublic.com/duo

OpEdNews

www.opednews.com/articles/Mentally-Ill-Patient-s-Sec-by-Mary-Neal-080802-527.html

IndyMedia

http://www.indymedia.org/pt/2008/09/913787.shtmlEtcetera

BLOGS:

Care2

http://www.Care2.com/c2c/Share/Sharebook/513396753

Google

http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com

Alarms for Justice at Ning

http://alarmsforjustice.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?user=222b81seabx24

Etcetera

**************************************

Mary Neal
Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/

Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill

http://www.Care2.com/c2c/groups/AIMI

Martin Luther King's Final Speech Fraudulently Edited

FOREWORD: (33 paragraphs, 17 links) On December 18, 2008, I discovered that Dr. King's final speech had been fraudulently edited in almost all of its online text versions, and my attempts to tell the public are also censored. The censorship force deleted "dogs and water hoses" and "illegal injunctions," among other fraudulent edits. See the video: http://alturl.com/hogv - I immediately wrote about my findings and emailed several people and organizations. Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG News) picked up the link to this blog to carry the news to its members. However, someone did not appreciate the public being informed, and my FreeSpeakBlog was attacked (the name is a joke). Dr. King's censorship frce asked Google to take this blog offline as spam. Luckily, Google emailed me and gave me the opportunity to refute the lie. To see comments, see MLK's Final Speech Frudulently Edited to Change History, by Mary Neal, published at NowPublic - http://NowPublic.com/duo - A person commented at NowPublic.com that she had noticed the deletions and edits years before, and she was disgusted by it just as I am and I trust you will be. The article is below. End the conspiracy of secrecy about this censorship. Share the article with your friends and groups.

I had trouble posting the news about Dr. King's edited speech at NowPublic.com, also, as well as everyplace else I tried to insert a link to this blog or to my NowPublic news article reporting the sabotage. When I initially found the omissions and substituted text in Dr. King's final speech, I was unsure whether online publishers had been given incorrect language by accident or by design. Based on the amount of censorship and cyberstalking I encountered publishing news of the illegal edits to Dr. King's "Mountaintop" address, I no longer have any doubt that Dr. King's speech's alterations are deliberate censorship such as he encountered while living.

Since publishing this article, I also discovered what is advertised as being Dr. King delivering his entire final speech at YouTube in two separate videos. Ironically, that video presentation totally skipped the entire section that is fraudulently edited in the online text versions. Unquestionably, these are deliberate omissions and substitutions. I urge readers to contact publishers and request that they check all of Dr. King's addresses for accuracy and make needed corrections.

Dr. King Still Censored 41 Years After Death

Online Versions of "Mountaintop" Speech Are Frauds

I made an astonishing and disheartening discovery. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final speech has omissions and substituted text in 18 of the 20 online sources checked. This means there could be more. Are people throughout the world learning inaccurate wording for Dr. King's "I've Been to the Mountaintop" address? Rev. King delivered his famous final speech in Memphis, Tennessee on April 3, 1968, the day immediately preceding his assassination. He was shot in the face while standing alone on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel on April 4 during a strike by sanitation workers.

Below is the correct language of Dr. King's quote. Text that is usually omitted online is in ALL CAPS below, and text often substituted for Rev. King's actual wording is parenthetical.

All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, maybe I could understand SOME OF THESE ILLEGAL INJUNCTIONS. MAYBE I COULD UNDERSTAND the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they HAVEN'T (hadn't)* committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of (the)** press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for RIGHTS (right)***. And so just as I say, WE AREN’T GOING TO LET ANY DOGS OR WATER HOSES TURN US AROUND, we aren't going to let any injunction turn us around.

___________________

References to "illegal injunctions" against peaceful assembly and to "dogs and water hoses" were deleted in the fraudulently edited presentations of MLK's "Mountaintop" speech.

* I did not hear MLK say "hadn't," but "haven't."

** I did not hear MLK say "THE press," but only "press."

*** I did not hear MLK say "right" (an ideological standard), but "rights" (as in full citizenship).

It is disturbing that so many online sources changed Rev. King's words without notifying readers that the speech was altered. One would assume the individual publishers carrying the misprint do not know.Dr. King was more than a scholarly, peace-loving dreamer. He was a courageous human rights activist whose inspired leadership required that he and thousands of others who were fed up would stand up in the face of powerful government opposition. It is interesting that the text revealing the civil rights leader's willingness to defy illegal injunctions while facing police armed with guns, vicious dogs, and high-powered water hoses would comprise the frequently omitted parts of Dr. King's speech.

Most online videotape excerpts of the "Mountaintop" address start with Rev. King saying, "We’ve got some difficult days ahead." Those video excerpts are not useful in verifying the authenticity of this often-misprinted quote, because this quote comes before their starting point.

Stanford University has the quote correct at its link: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/speeches/I

NOTE - I tried using the Standford University link on 9/12/09. It now redirects browsers to Standford's main site for Dr. King - http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/ - where I was not able to find the Mountaintop speech presented in its entirety. If Standford is no longer presenting Dr. King's authentic speeches online, it may be more difficult to validate Dr. King's other work. Standford University's text presentation of Dr. King's speech matched the video at Scholarspot. Unless one has actual videos from a trusted source, censorship of Dr. King's other speeches may go undetected.

Compare online text of Dr. King's final speech with the video at Scholarspot, and listen to speeches by other historic persons while at the site.

http://www.scholarspot.com/video/1318/1968-Martin-Luther-King-s-Prophetic-Last-speech-Remember

The Scholarsport video was apparently edited to capture the most memorable portions of the “Mountaintop” address. Unlike the Scholarsport video, the written versions all carry Dr. King's description of an airplane incident just before the speech's famous conclusion when Dr. King proclaimed having "been to the mountaintop."

Dr. King’s methodology for non-violent social change required suppressed people and their supporters to peacefully assemble and protest for basic citizenship rights in a hostile climate wherein their justice quest was met with fierce dogs, strong water hoses, and worse. Thousands of African Americans were joined by people who were Jewish and gentiles. They stood together for justice during the civil rights movement in the face of illegal injunctions.

Civil rights activists should be heralded by all Americans. Their tenacity taught us that the human spirit is determined to be free, and society is better for the dedication those freedom fighters showed. Their protests against injustice never included rioting, looting, or losing their sense of dignity, unity, and purpose. Young people who protested the shooting death of Oscar Grant by Bay Area Rapid Transit police on New Year's Day are to be commended for demanding justice; however, protesters should take a lesson from Dr. King and the Freedom Riders who stood with him. The civil rights era of the 50's and 60's offers valuable lessons about the effectiveness of non-violent conflict resolution that should be protected and passed down to future generations without censorship. We must all learn to get along and resolve disputes without property damage and bloodshed. See the link below:

Happy Martin Luther King Day to Americans - Strongest People on the Planet!http://my.nowpublic.com/culture/happy-martin-luther-king-day-americ...

The online versions of the "Mountaintop" address had omissions described in the quote below in 18 of 20 online sources checked in mid-December 2008. Recurring errors in Dr. King's speech are noted by brackets. Three of the links that featured the misquote follow it, although this writer hopes necessary corrections have been or will be made.

All we say to America is, "Be true to what you said on paper." If I lived in China or even Russia, or any totalitarian country, [OMISSION] maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic First Amendment privileges, because they hadn't [SHOULD BE "haven't"] committed themselves to that over there. But somewhere I read of the freedom of assembly. Somewhere I read of the freedom of speech. Somewhere I read of the freedom of the [EXTRA WORD] press. Somewhere I read that the greatness of America is the right to protest for right [OMITTED"s" - "right" should be plural]. And so just as I say, we aren't going to let [OMISSION] any injunction turn us around.

http://www.school-for-champions.com/speeches/king_last_speech_3Apr68.htm

http://www.afscme.org/about/1549.cfm

http://www.kingian.net/ive-been-to-the-mountaintop.html

There are many more examples of Dr. King's final speech being misquoted in online documents while being presented as literal translations. Because identical errors recur in so many publications, this appears to be deliberate misinformation on the part of the person or entity that supplied the speech to publishers.

During the 1970’s, Black History gained popularity in universities because African American history was omitted from or misrepresented in most American History classes. For instance, my high school textbooks of the 1960's and 1970's made little or no mention of slavery, only Pilgrims.

Laws barring the right for Rev. King and other demonstrators to peacefully assemble and petition their government for a redress of grievances were "illegal injunctions." Dogs and water hoses were regularly used against demonstrators. It seems ridiculous for anyone to intentionally change Rev. King's speech to leave out those references, especially since peaceful protests won the great victory of that day. On the other hand, perhaps the deletions in Dr. King’s final speech result from error rather than intentional sabotage. It could be that the censorship this writer faces daily has made her distrustful enough to ask:

WHY IS THERE STILL AN EFFORT TO RE-WRITE BLACK HISTORY?

An article by Karen Hatter at the link below commemorates the 41st anniversary of Dr. King's death and presents a thorough examination of the misinformation that was employed to discredit him and confuse his message. Apparently, this effort never ended.

The 41st Anniversary of the Murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
http://www.nowpublic.com/world/41st-anniversary-murder-dr-martin-luther-king-jr

Martin Luther King, Jr. and 21st century human rights activists have much in common and apparently face the same opposition. There are striking correlations between Dr. King's struggle for civil rights for African Americans and my own family's efforts to hold America to "what it said on paper." Dr. King's freedom quest ended in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968, by an assassin's bullet. He was killed the day after giving his "Mountaintop" address that is now edited online to change history. Suspicions of a police cover-up linger to this day. My family's justice quest began in Memphis on August 1, 2003, with my mentally ill brother's secret arrest and wrongful death while in secret police custody. Due to an elaborate cover-up, although it is now six years later, Larry Neal's family is not allowed to know why he was secretly arrested or exactly how he died. Authorities refuse to answer his family's simple question: Why and how did Larry Neal die? See http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/

Rev. King was a human rights advocate who devoted himself to liberating oppressed people. He used the Word of God and his gift as an orator to make a positive difference in the world. Since Larry's death, my family started ASSISTANCE TO THE INCARCERATED MENTALLY ILL ("AIMI"), a grassroots human rights organization with an online presence on Care2 and other Internet networks. This writer spends long hours advocating for oppressed mental patients and their families, trying to save others from suffering as my family has by an unjust system of "justice" that appears to use such persons to keep prisons and jails filled and profitable. AIMI also advocates for other people victimized by the justice system, especially prisoners.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. This writer remains home day after day after being followed for months and accosted several times at businesses in her neighborhood by parties unknown. The stalking has been going on ever since Larry Neal's family successfully served a lawsuit to The (Johnnie) Cochran Firm for fraud, alleging that The Cochran Firm contracted with Larry's mother immediately following his death in order to protect Memphis/Shelby County Jail, then merely held the wrongful death lawsuit against the jail to linger inactive on the law firm's shelves while Tennessee's statute of limitations ran for 10.5 months. The statute of limitations on such matters is 12 months in Tennessee; therefore this law firm kept our case inactive until it was too late to find honest lawyers.

The plight of African Americans living under Jim Crow laws and their quest for civil rights spearheaded by Rev. King and other leaders were ignored, met with violence sanctioned by authorities, and censored in mainstream news until the civil rights movement became impossible to ignore. Rev. King took it to the streets. Thousands of protesters joined Rev. King and marched for equal rights under the law. The quest to render basic human rights and civil rights to 1.25 million mental patients who are presently wrongly imprisoned in America for reason of their mental dysfunctions may require a similar effort. Just as Rev. King and his freedom fighters marched across the Jim Crow South, Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill members march across the Internet to alert the public of the injustice inherent in imprisoning rather than treating citizens for mental illness, challenge capital punishment, and other humanitarian concerns. Many other human rights and civil rights organizations also march online every day.

Atlanta is Martin Luther King's hometown. It is also home of the Court-declared "non-existent" Atlanta Cochran Firm office. It seems to this writer that this law firm took the name of a trusted legal agent for disenfranchised persons and now uses it to prevent or contain damages from lawsuits after the wrongful deaths of African Americans like Billey Joe Johnson, Kathryn Johnston, and Larry Neal. The justice system now incarcerates 1 in 9 African American young men. People are made to serve long sentences in prison for infractions that were mere misdemeanors a few years ago. Contrarily, it is nearly impossible to hold the system accountable for infractions against the people - even wrongful death by police like my unfortunate brother, Larry. Whereas poor and middle-class Americans are regularly imprisoned after trials where they had inadequate defense, denied DNA tests to prove innocence, and some are executed, justice does not seem to work well in the reverse.

People of all races find the apparent emergence of a police state and decline of civil liberties in America alarming. With 1 in every 31 persons either behind bars or living under the immediate threat of prison as parolees or probationers, America has been dubbed a "prison nation." Inmates are oftentimes abused and killed, including vulnerable mental patients who should have been treated in hospitals or their communities (depending on their offenses) rather than jailed in the first place. While the investment portfolios of prison investors grow thicker, the chairs around American dinner tables grow fewer because brothers, sisters, uncles, and parents are in prison - 2/3 of whom are arrested for non-violent crimes. In January 2009, Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) introduced H.R.645, which proposes to build six (6) FEMA centers in America for Americans, capable of imprisoning millions more.

Unfortunately, the cruelty within America's prison system rivals that in offshore "War on Terror" determent camps. Read a desperate plea for help by Pennsylvania prisoners who fear for their lives, saying they were severely punished since President Obama was elected, especially on his inauguration day, by verbal abuse, beatings, electrocution, and starvation, with their punishment allegedly growing more brutal after they reported the torture: http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/1124844

Dr. King and other historical human rights heroes of all races and nations would be disappointed that people in the U.S. have allowed the proliferation of an emerging police state in America without strong and united opposition. While we still have freedom of assembly on the books, people must unite and just say "NO" to injustice prevailing - peacefully, lawfully, and emphatically. Join us in our online demonstration for justice and human rights at http://www.Care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI

Human Rights for Prisoners March
http://freespeakblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/human-rights-for-prisoners-march-by.html

See a list of 25 justice issues at the link above which my family planned to be addressed by peaceful, concerned people walking together in what is intended to be a multi-racial, multi-cultural march for justice in Dr. King's hometown. It stormed on May 16, so AIMI members continue the Human Rights for Prisoners March on the Internet every day, just as many ther human/civil rights organizations and people of conscience do. Our primary objective is to let Americans know about H.R.619, a congressional bill to resume Medicaid funding for mental hospitals. It was the deletion of that funding souce around 40 years ago that made 1.25 million mentally ill people prisoners in this country. They are cruelly incarcerated for being sick. If Dr. King were here, he would address that human rights violation. But Dr. King did his part, and he is gone. What about you? You are here, and I hope you will insist that our elected officials support H.R.619 and deliver millions of sick people from the risk of imprisonment for being sick and having their need for psychiatric help denied until AFTER they commit a crime.

The solution for justice is the same today as Rev. King suggested four decades ago. America must be true to what was said on paper and actually become a nation with equal justice for all. It is too late to change history, but if the historical record is left intact, we can use what we learn from it to avoid repeating errors in our future.

Let no man pull you so low that you hate him. Always avoid violence. If you sow seeds of violence in your struggle, unborn generations will reap the whirlwind of social disintegration. ~Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

*********************************

Mary Neal
MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com

Google Profile: http://www.google.com/profiles/MaryLovesJustice
(carries links to my radio interviews, articles, photo album, videos, Twitter,
Facebook, HubPages, and other networks)

Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill (AIMI)
a/k/a The Dorothea Dix Group
http://www.Care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI
P.O. Box 153, Redan, GA 30074
MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com

See also - http://www.Care2.com/news/member/513396753?sort=sorted
.
.

THE COCHRAN FIRM FRAUD - VIDEO 1 OF 2

VIDEO 1 of 2 - THE COCHRAN FIRM FRAUD

I will wait until Video2 uploads to send to everyone. Video 2 has the MEAT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1ltCpy1uu0

- bet you can't even DIGG this story, it is so censored! -

NOW PLEASE HEAR THIS:

Whether you know it or not, YOU - the online public - are my protection. I have tried to keep the public informed, since the mainstream media is CENSORED . You should know about our civil action in the wrongful death of my mentally ill brother, Larry Neal.

We are in the DISCOVERY phase of our USDC case against that traitor, The (Johnnie) Cochran Firm, who are NOT who you think. LISTEN to this:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12171473

Because I am requesting lots of records, I may have to travel to various offices of hostile people who may have conspired to keep Larry's death secret.

They did not expect me to get this far in our court case without a lawyer. BUT THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY GOD!

So now, we must release the VIDEO to ensure that the whole world has eyes on this. I need protection. You have no idea of the things I have been through. See docket item 22, final paragraph.
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-gandce/case_no-1:2007cv01935/case_id-145173/

I need to know that YOU are watching out for me. This is the most CENSORED news story I can imagine. Law offices can go to court and declare themselves NON-EXISTENT under the advertisements THEY SENT OUT TO YOU via Internet, television, press releases, etc., and the press will not report it. JUST WHO DO YOU THINK THEY REALLY ARE?

Anyway, I walk on faith. I have the Lord's protection. But I want some eyes on folks, too. That is why I write so much, and that is why we did the radio interviews, and that is why we are releasing the video -- before I take a single step INTO THE LION'S DEN.

AMERICAN NEWS MEDIA, you are really making folks think badly of you. People are wondering, "Why is this not covered in the news?" Can I take a guess?

See what people think about your silence at these links: (1) my Petition to the USDOJ to PLEASE investigate Larry Neal's wrongful death in Shelby County/Memphis Jail -- Records denied for 5 years! and (2) Survey: Prison or Treatment for Acute Mental Patients. Read the thoughts of your public. See what they think about MAINSTREAM MEDIA'S SILENCE ON THIS JUSTICE QUEST. "Independent media," this goes double for you. Who are you really? See the comments left by your public at the links below:

SURVEY: PRISON OR HOSPITALS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL?

http://www.surveymonkey.com/sr.aspx?sm=UEy3jTvmr4Oi3bhWk5djlKNKMmDO0fPWb7dTDZURhKg_3dhttp://www.petitiononline.com/Neal/petition.html

PETITION TO THE USDOJ - GIVE AT LEAST DOG JUSTICE TO THE MENTALLY ILL!

http://www.petitiononline.com/Neal/petition.html

Please note: I am not on drugs, do not sell drugs, and have no enstranged lovers or ex-husbands. That takes care of the usual ways police explain things when black women meet with foul play. The only controversy in my life is the wrongful death of Larry Neal and my continuous quest for justice and exposure of the problems faced by mental patients in America. I believe my articles and hard work may be helping. Despite our news being censored, thousands of people are reading our website monthly, and thousands more are reading my articles at this link:

http://my.nowpublic.com/search?fulltext=1&type=story&keys=mary+neal

Yes, we are pro se. I thought it was awful that lawyers were too afraid of "deep pockets" Cochran Firm to take our case, and others had a conflict of interest with at least one of the many folks who may be complicit in doing Larry's family wrong in our justice quest. But now I realize the Lord wanted us to defend ourselves so that I could write all of those articles. Any lawyer would have told me to just sit quietly and let him/her handle things. BUT GOD WANTED ME TO WORK FOR THE OPPRESSED MENTAL PATIENTS ALL AROUND YOU, AND SOME IN YOUR OWN FAMILIES!

So I work for the Lord, and I know success is assured. His Will will be done. Praise the Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me. Praise His Holy Name!

FORWARD THIS EMAIL - FOR MY PROTECTION! And if you have a heart to, send $$ to help with this justice effort.

Mary Neal
Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
Visit Online at: http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI

P.O. Box 7222, Atlanta, GA 30357

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ~ Matthew 25:37-40

Michael Vick Facing Bankruptcy, by Mary Neal

According to news reports released today, Michael Vick is imprisoned for animal abuse and facing bankruptcy.

Michael Vick files for bankruptcy
Tue Jul 8, 11:28 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Michael Vick, the former star National Football League quarterback serving a 23-month prison sentence for his role in a dogfighting ring, has filed for bankruptcy protection, court papers show.

The swift justice America demanded regarding Michael Vick's dogs is truly impressive. Animal abuse laws have been strenghtened and are vigorously enforced, just as they should be. My family remains hopeful that some day, the rights of mentally ill citizens will enjoy equal protection to our canine friends. However, this seems unlikely to occur soon. Recently I was sent a petition to sign regarding animal rights that had been circulating only a few weeks, and already it had more than 2,500 signatures. Contrarily, I started a petition requesting an investigation of the death of my mentally ill brother, Larry Neal, while under secret arrest in Shelby County Jail, Memphis, Tennessee, which occurred on August 1, 2003, and Larry's petition now has only 120 signatures after six months.

Whether Larry's life is worth less than a pit bull's according to the United States Justice Department and his fellow human beings because he was black, handicapped, or indigent, I cannot say. Perhaps it is even the NATURE of Larry's handicap that makes his death irrelevant: mental illness.

See the petition calling for DOG JUSTICE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL at this site: http://www.petitiononline.com/Neal/petition.html

I was so impressed with the efforts to enforce justice for Mr. Vick's dogs that I penned this poem, which is available in three languages at this site: http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/dog-justice-mary-neal

DOG JUSTICE, by Mary Neal

Too bad you weren't a dog, my brother
In my heart, I cried
Many more people would care about you
And wonder why you died
You had no spots or floppy ears
You never fetched a ball
Instead, you were a human being
But poor, black, and flawed

You died in jail for mental illness
I know down in my heart
Your death would be investigated
If only you could bark

Dog deaths get swift justice
Their abusers are sent to jail
Poor Mama would have closure now
If you'd had a wagging tail

But you were made in God's image
And some day, I have no doubt
The mentally ill and American dogs
Will have at least equal clout

~ by Mary Neal
All rights protected


Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill
Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/

Petition Requesting Dog Justice for the Mentally Ill

http://www.petitiononline.com/Neal/petition.html

Sign the Petition

To: United States Department of Justice

See http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com. On August 1, 2003, mentally ill heart patient, Larry M. Neal, died while incarcerated in Shelby County Jail, Memphis, Tennessee. During the 18 days of Larry Neal's fatal incarceration, his family and social worker searched for him as a missing person, while the jail repeatedly denied having Larry Neal under arrest. In 2003, Shelby County Jail was under the jurisdiction of the United States Justice Department, following suit by the United States of America due to violations of inmates' civil rights. To date, all requests by Larry Neal's family for official reports and an investigation regarding his death have been denied or ignored. The undersigned petitioners ask that Larry Neal's death be thoroughly investigated by the United States Justice Department and that Larry's family be given full disclosure of the results of the investigation on a regular basis, with a final report upon close of investigation. We ask that the Justice Department also investigate the possibility of a conspiracy between Larry Neal’s family's attorneys and Shelby County Government to deny the family's right to due process of law following Larry’s alleged wrongful death. The undersigned petitioners feel strongly that a mentally ill citizen's death deserves at least the same investigative efforts and call to justice as the abuse and deaths of America's dogs.
Sincerely, Sign the Petition
______________________________________________________________
Request from New Organization
Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ("AIMI"):

PLEASE TAKE OUR SURVEY!

Please help by taking our 2-minute survey about incarceration and the mentally ill. Persons concerned about mental health should work to make this a primary campaign issue during our upcoming elections. Your identity will be anonymous, unless you otherwise instruct. Thanks in advance for your participation!
Click here to be taken to the survey.

____________________________________________________

DOG JUSTICE, by Mary Neal

Too bad you weren't a dog, my brother
In my heart, I cried
Many more people would care about you
And wonder why you died

You had no spots or floppy ears
You never fetched a ball
instead, you were a human being
But poor, black, and flawed

You died in jail for mental illness
I know down in my heart
Your death would be investigated
If only you could bark

Dog deaths get swift justice
Their abusers are sent to jail
Poor Mama would have closure now
If you'd had a wagging tail

But you were made in God's image
And some day, I have no doubt
The mentally ill and American dogs
Will have at least equal clout

by Mary Neal
http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Johnny Cochran's Atlanta Cochran Firm Says in Court It Is Not The Cochran Firm and Not Affiliated With Other Cochran Firm Offices

Secret Death of Mentally Ill Heart Patient in Shelby County, Tennessee Jail while that facility was under supervised by United States Justice Department; and

Cover-up of same by The Cochran Firm while pretending, under contract, to represent decedent’s family

Letter written to the U. S. Senators:

I am writing to you, Senator, to solicit your help in resolving issues surrounding the death of my brother, Larry Morris Neal. He was a mentally ill heart patient who was secretly arrested in mid‑July 2003 and detained until his death on August 1, 2003, in Shelby County Jail in Memphis, Tennessee. Larry spent most of his life from early childhood (age 9 through his mid-20’s) in Western State Mental Hospital in Bolivar, Tennessee. As you know, during the 70’s, many such institutions were closed or no longer kept mental patients who presented no apparent threat to the public. After release from Western State, Larry was arrested numerous times for misdemeanors connected with his handicap, paranoid schizophrenia. The last ten years of his life, Larry suffered from severe respiratory problems and a heart condition that necessitated prescription drugs for his survival. During the 18 days of Larry’s final incarceration, his family and State-appointed social worker searched for him as a missing person. The jail falsely and repeatedly reported that neither Larry Neal nor a John Doe meeting his physical description was incarcerated in that facility. It is therefore reasonable to assume that Larry received none of his vital prescription heart and psychiatric drugs during incarceration, which likely caused his death. Larry supposedly was unidentified until he died, despite the fact that (i) he had suffered many contemporaneous arrests in that very same facility for misdemeanors related to his mental illness, with the last arrest only two weeks prior to the incarceration that killed him; (ii) Memphis police had supplied emergency transport to mental hospitals for emergency treatment during Larry’s psychotic episodes for more than 25 years; and (3) Memphis police were fully aware of Larry Neal’s heart condition and had contact information for his social worker, who was usually called when Larry was arrested on public nuisance charges, panhandling, and the like.

At the time of Larry’s death, Shelby County Jail was under federal overview by the U. S. Justice Department following suit by the USA, filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. One would think that overview by the United States Department of Justice would ensure openness and honesty from everyone connected with Larry’s death. Contrarily, for four years, all requests by Larry’s family to government entities, including the Justice Department, for reports, explanations, and accountability regarding my brother’s euthanasia have been ignored, or we were told no reports exist.

I attribute the fact that Larry’s family has never received any information explaining Larry’s incarceration and death to The Cochran Firm. Unfortunately, Larry’s family hired The Cochran Firm to file Larry’s wrongful death suit, never knowing that The Cochran Firm’s managing partner in the law firm’s Memphis office, Julian Bolton, Esq., had a vested interest in seeing to it that our suit against Shelby County Jail never got filed. I cannot begin to tell you how hurt we were to learn that The Cochran Firm deliberately tricked my grieving, elderly mother into signing a contract for legal representation that the law firm never had the smallest intention of honoring. Rather, it was necessary for The Cochran Firm to trick Larry’s family into believing we had lawyers so that no honest lawyer would ever get the opportunity to really work in our behalf and file suit against Shelby County Jail. Because we planned to sue, it was not surprising that Shelby County Government was tuncooperative regarding the release of information about Larry’s incarceration and death. However, if Larry’s family had indeed had an honest attorney, those records would have been subpoenaed and released during discovery. That is exactly why The Cochran Firm contracted with my mother – to prevent her hiring an honest attorney with no conflict of interest in the matter of Larry’s wrongful death.

Below, I offer a brief chronicle of my family’s fruitless efforts over nearly four years to get information and demand accountability for Larry’s death:

Shelby County JailShelby County GovernmentShelby County Attorney
In response to my inquiry, the County Attorney declared “We did nothing wrong,” but rendered no explanation or report. (Letter from Brian L. Kuhn, Shelby County Attorney, dated 8/17/06)

Shelby County Coroner’s Office
Faxed the Neals a poor copy of Larry’s autopsy drawings with sketchy narrative descriptions, but lacking a full narrative report. When asked for a detailed autopsy report and a coroner’s investigative report, the Coroner’s office replied that there were no further reports on Larry’s death.

Larry’s autopsy was performed by the office of Shelby County’s Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. O. C. Smith. This same man was later indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for faking his own kidnapping after placing a note on his person accusing himself of lying in favor of Memphis police in a capital murder case. The accused in this case was facing a death sentence, having maintained throughout his trial that it was a policeman who shot the policeman he was accused of killing.

US Department of Justice
According to the USA’s Agreement with Shelby County Government, the jail was to issue monthly reports as well as an inmate mortality report when someone died in custody. In response to my letter to the Justice Department, which was addressed to Terrell L. Harris, Mellie Nelson, Mary Bohan, and Tammie Gregg, the Justice Department reported that that agency never received any report regarding Larry Neal from Shelby County Jail/ Government (signed by Marie A. O’Rourke, Assistant Director, July 26, 2005 (copies attached)).

Subsequently, the Justice Department failed to respond to Larry’s family’s request under the Open Records Act for ANY reports from Shelby County Government/Jail for the time period Larry was incarcerated and died. Any reports from the jail to the Justice Department for July and August 2003 that failed to report Larry’s death were misleading at best, and likely fraudulent. (See attached our 3/29/06 request, directed to Chief John L. Wodatch, for copies of those reports under the Open Records Act.)

The Justice Department subsequently released Shelby County Jail from overview without any investigation regarding Larry Neal’s death, to my knowledge.

The Cochran Firm
Fraud / Undisclosed Conflict of Interest / Deliberate Malpractice

This law firm contracted with the Neals (August 2003) to file a wrongful death action against Shelby County Jail and a negligence suits against the State of Tennessee and Larry’s final care home. The Cochran Firm did not reveal to its clients the fact that the firm’s Managing Partner of the Memphis office, Julian Bolton, Esq., was a 20+year member of the Shelby County Commission, which is the entity that owns and operates the jail where Larry died. The Cochran Firm used its position as our attorneys to shield Shelby County Jail from our lawsuit by accepting our case and allowing it to languish on its shelves while the statute ran. After successfully preventing our suit against Shelby County, Bolton was promoted to the position of Treasurer of the Board of Commissioners, and then to Chairman. Ironically, Julian Bolton is/was also a valued member on the Midtown Board of Mental Health.

The Cochran Firm lied to clients before contract, stating that the firm’s conflict of interest check resulted in no impediments to their representation. This firm lied to the Neals in writing after contract regarding a fictitious and nonexistent investigation and discovery process, it was conducting, cautioning us not to discuss Larry’s death with anyone. Instead of behaving as the Neals’ attorneys, The Cochran Firm merely held Larry’s wrongful death case inactive for nearly 11 months while the statute of limitations ran (12 months in Tennessee). By the time the Neals found out about The Cochran Firm’s ties to their defendant and the law firm’s lies about a nonexistent discovery process, it was too late for another law firm to accept our case on a contingent fee basis. (The poor in America suffer many injustices for the lack of affordable legal counsel.) Later, The Cochran Firm lied to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility during its investigation of the Neals’ malpractice allegations. David McLaughlin, who was The Cochran Firm attorney assigned to handle Larry’s wrongful death and negligence suits, presented fraudulent documentation to that Tennessee Bar during its investigation.

The Neals filed suit pro se for fraud against The Cochran Firm, having their Complaint served to the firm’s “Atlanta office,” which was the office the Neals originally contacted for legal representation on August 1, 2003, immediately following Larry’s death. The Cochran Firm’s Atlanta office answered the suit in the name of “CCGSS,” and claimed in its discovery responses not to be The Cochran Firm (as it had represented to the Neals prior to contract signing) and denied any affiliation whatsoever with other Cochran Firm offices.

Fulton County GA Superior Court
Hattie Neal and Mary Neal v. The Cochran Firm (Civil Action No. 2005CV104215 – filed 8/1/05 -- Fraud suit brought pro se against The Cochran Firm)

Judge Shoob dismissed the case on June 8, 2006, with her Order citing two reasons: (a) The judge found that “there is no Cochran Firm in Georgia.” Meanwhile, The Cochran Firm advertised then and continues to advertise now its legal services to millions of Georgians via rapid transit system television commercials, network television, the Internet, etc., with business being conducted out of its Peachtree Street, downtown Atlanta offices; and (b) Judge Shoob further stated that our suit was dismissed because Plaintiffs did not specifically allege fraud in their Complaint. You will note that (1) FRAUD is clearly listed as the cause of action on the court’s filing form completed by the Neals to initiate the court action; (2) throughout their Complaint, Plaintiffs allege fraud against The Cochran Firm; and (3) in the conclusion of their Complaint, Plaintiffs specifically asked for punitive damages for The Cochran Firm’s fraud against Plaintiffs as their attorneys (see attached hereto Plaintiff’s Complaint p. 15, ¶ 113(b); and see the Complaint’s filing form).

Surprisingly, when the discovery period ended and it was time to set a trial date, it was reported to the Neals that the Fulton County Superior Court Clerk’s Office had “lost” an important motion from the court’s file. As a legal secretary for over a decade in Georgia, I have filed hundreds of motions with Fulton County Superior Court and worked alongside countless other legal secretaries, yet this is the first time I heard of this court losing a motion from the court file.

With Judge Shoob’s dismissal of our suit, Larry’s family was denied the opportunity of having a jury trial, and those responsible for Larry’s death and the subsequent cover-up were given a reprieve from complete disclosure regarding the circumstances of Larry’s incarceration and death.

The selection of a Fulton County Superior Court judge for any given case is supposed to be by a random lottery process. However, Judge Shoob is likely the only judge on a Georgia Superior Court who ever presided over another case involving allegations of wrongful death against Memphis, Tennessee police. The Internet reports that in a case assigned to Judge Shoob through a change of venue several years ago, she ruled favorably for Memphis police regarding the admissibility of certain key evidence. Major coincidence? By now we understood that the Neals were unlikely to get any opportunity to have a fair hearing against The Cochran Firm in open court, perhaps even if we appealed to a higher court or filed against the firm in another venue. We understood that we would probably only receive more of the same treatment. A Georgia court recently sentenced two black boys to prison for 10 years because they killed a puppy. Even this dog got his day in court. Does this mean that the life of a mentally ill man is not equivalent to the worth of a dog?

One thing is clear to me now regarding another case handled by The Cochran Firm: It was not necessarily the same glove.

Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility
In September 2005, we lodged a complaint against The Cochran Firm with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. Jesse D. Joseph, the Disciplinary counsel assigned to the case, performed a cursory investigation and then hastily dismissed the Neal’s case against David McLaughlin, The Cochran Firm’s attorney the Board held accountable for answering the Neals’ allegations against that law firm. Mr. Joseph closed the investigation within weeks, without asking to review any proof of wrongdoing against The Cochran Firm that the Neals had to present. The case was re-opened in the Spring of 2006, after the Neals informed the Board (by e-mail to all members) that Larry’s family was seeking justice in another venue (namely, the lawsuit filed against The Cochran Firm in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia).

By letter dated October 19, 2006, Lance B. Bracy, Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the Board, ruled, however, to close our case without any sanctions against The Cochran Firm. In so doing, the Board found that the Cochran Firm did nothing wrong in (1) lying to its clients and concealing its conflict of interest from clients; (2) performing no substantive work on the client’s case during the 10.5 months it was under contract as the family’s attorneys, despite letters to its clients that discovery was going forth; and (3) falsifying documentation to the Board in its defense of the Neals’ allegations of professional misconduct against The Cochran Firm. In dismissing the case, the Board offered no response to the Neals’ material evidence regarding forged and fraudulent documents submitted to that body by McLaughlin.

Georgia Bar
Georgia’s Board of Professional Responsibility gave no response whatsoever to the Neals’ report to that agency of professional misconduct by The Cochran Firm.

DeKalb County, Georgia Police Department
Failed to investigate or respond in any way to the Neals’ report of phone tampering and removal of Yahoo e-mails that related to Larry Neal’s death. (Police report filed 5/10/06, with Officer Perkins, no. 2426, case no. 06-064301, Center Precinct)

Your Name Goes Here(I am writing my personal appeal to each U. S. Senator, individually.)
How say you, Senator? Will you help us resolve Larry’s death, please? Do you believe in the God-given, unalienable rights of all Americans, including those with disabilities? Even the mentally ill? Even black men? Even the indigent? If so, please help bring closure to Larry’s 84‑year-old mother. She fell and hurt her hip in the lobby of The Cochran Firm’s office building in Memphis as we left the contract meeting four years ago. Her fall apparently triggered arthritis throughout her body. Hattie Neal has not had a single pain-free day since that fall, which she suffered due to her weakened, grieving state after having contracted with counsel on the morning immediately following Larry’s funeral. Larry’s mother believed that in placing her case with that law firm, she had helped to prevent other mothers from enduring the death of their handicapped children in jail due to negligence and/or euthanasia. Won’t you help?

The list of persons and entities contacted by the Neals in our continual quest for information and justice regarding Larry’s wrongful death is four-years long, despite verifiable proof for all allegations. The details of our quest for justice in this matter are truly shameful for America, a country so concerned about human rights around the globe, with a creed of equality and justice for all of her citizens. This letter is a personal appeal for your assistance, Senator. In addition to this letter-writing campaign, a website is being constructed (http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com) and demonstrations are planned to cry out to the world for help in gaining information and finally reconcile the issues of Larry’s imprisonment and death as well as to assist the thousands of mentally ill persons like Larry who yet languish in American jails. Perhaps some fellow inmate or honest police officer will come forward and tell us how things really were with Larry during his final incarceration, thereby helping to bring closure to his family.

I hope that America will soon move away from its practice of imprisoning its mentally ill citizens. Let us not continue to replace psychiatrists with policemen, trading long-term care and mental hospital beds to sleep on cold, iron prison racks with no mattresses and no cover, lest a sick prisoner hurt himself. We must not continue answering the need for compassionate care for the mentally ill with chains, mace, and Taser guns. Mental illness is not a crime, Senator; it is a handicap. As such, we should not continue the Dark Age practice of keeping our sick people in dungeons, particularly those Americans who have diagnosed mental impairments that make it impossible for them to comprehend and abide by the laws that rule the behavior of ordinary citizens. The Cochran Firm had on its brochure in 2003 when it tricked my mother into signing contract this quote: “To whom much is given, much is expected.” Luke 12:48. America has so much to spend defending the human rights in foreign lands, including the lives of our young soldiers and billions of dollars. Yet, the condition of our mentally ill citizens, evident in my brother’s incarceration and death, rises to the level of cruel and unusual punishment. So, I answer to The Cochran Firm’s Bible quote with one of my own, and one that I feel should be applied by my government in its treatment of the mentally ill: “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:40-41. We must not allow our response to mental illness continue to be jail, commitment to substandard hospitals (as evidenced by the recent deaths in one Atlanta area mental hospital), homelessness, and euthanasia. I believe that America is better than that, and her citizens rightfully expect more for their incapacitated brethren. If we do not address this problem now, Senator, what next? What will we do with our many children diagnosed as being bipolar or who suffer from autism? What are we going to do with the soldiers who return from combat brain damaged due to the shock of bombs exploding close to their heads? What of our elders with Alzheimer’s? Will we simply build more jails and order up more chains? Will we just starve our brain damaged citizens to death, as was done in Florida? What has happened to this “one nation under God”? Is hospitalization in America to continue to be a solution only for the wealthy or the criminally insane, while the rest of our mentally ill population crowd our jails and put an unfair burden on our criminal justice system? Are families to lock their deranged loved ones away in basements and attics to prevent their arrest for misbehaving in public?

We have regressed a great deal over the last 30 years in caring for our chronically mentally ill citizens. The mental hospital where we visited my brother on Sundays when I was a child was a large, attractive, and serene place with manicured lawns and comfortable seating for visiting with family members on the lawn, or inside, if the patient did not have outside privileges. My mother used to sit and speak gently to Larry on the park bench while holding his hand. If he was feeling good during a particular visit, Larry would tell us about his group therapy sessions and crafts classes, and the hospital’s weekly social event. Larry and the other patients would try hard all week to remain calm and follow instructions, lest they be denied attendance. Nowadays, only the very rich can hope to have their sick loved ones in an atmosphere with psychiatric care and skilled, compassionate personnel on staff. All the poor ones in America who just cannot seem to stop disturbing the peace or show proper respect the law (which many of them cannot even understand) are thrown in jail for their criminal lack of good sense.

I would like to see a three-day limit placed on the amount of time that persons who are certifiably mentally ill can remain incarcerated awaiting trial. America should construct or reconstruct hospitals for the speedy transfer of such detainees, where they should remain under psychiatric care until making bail, standing trial, or longer if so determined by their doctors. If America has the money to fight for the humane treatment of people in other countries, let us expend the necessary funds to secure the humane treatment of our own citizens who are mentally disabled. If this happens, Senator, if you will introduce and fight for such legislation, then poor Larry’s isolation, suffering, and death in jail will not be in vain. Please consider making the humane treatment of America’s mentally ill citizens one of your re‑election platforms.

Thank you for your kind attention to my letter, and in advance, thank you for your assistance. Moreover, I thank God for my right to freedom of speech without fear of reprisal, the right to petition my government for a redress of grievances, and I thank Him highly for placing righteous men and women in positions of leadership and power in America. I will be standing by, hopeful of your intervention in the shameful denial of information and reconciliation concerning my sick brother’s jail death. I will be watching for new legislation introduced in Washington to alleviate the suffering of our mentally ill citizens and their families.

Please feel free to contact me at my home number above, or my work number during regular business hours: _________. If your published avenue for electronic contact is a web form instead of a regular e‑mail box, please note that I may not be able to attach any substantiating documentation to this correspondence. However, you will receive same with delivery of your hardcopy of this letter by the U. S. Mail. Furthermore, I hereby authorize you to conduct whatever investigation you deem necessary to substantiate the facts presented to you herein.
Sincerely,

/s/

Mary L. Neal

mln@wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

/mln
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