Friends –

Rev. Edward Pinkney needs your help as motion for reconsideration of his case is heard before the Michigan Court of Appeals. He is seeking to be released on bond during his pending court appeal (which could take another year). Two things we need from you:

(1) Sign this petition by Wednesday, August 26, 2015 which will be sent to each Michigan Court of Appeals judge listed below in request of Rev. Pinkney's release on bond.

(2) Follow up this online petition with a hard copy letter to each judge politely urging them to grant Rev. Edward Pinkney bond while pending his appeal. The address is Court of Appeals, State Office Building, 350 Ottawa NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503. Again, please be polite in your letters. The judges are:

a) Judge Joel P. Hoekstra

b) Judge David H. Sawyer

c) Judge Douglas B. Shapiro

Background: Rev Edward Pinkney was convicted December 2014 in Benton Harbor, MI, with absolutely no evidence against him. This non-violent, outspoken critic of corruption and collusion between corporations and elected officials in Benton Harbor, MI, led to trumped up charges of election fraud in a recall petition of the Mayor Hightower. In an unprecedented court decision, Judge Schrock sentenced Rev. Pinkney to 2½ to 10 years in prison. For detailed information about this see the story and a timeline go to http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/08/13/why-is-rev-...

ACLU of Michigan filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the bond motion stating that the conviction is “almost certain” to be reversed. Rev. Pinkney has already spent over seven months in prison removed from his family and community. Pinkney will have “paid a debt to society he didn’t owe.”

Read Rev. Pinkney's story from prison at http://peoplestribune.org/pt-news/2015/05/we-have-...