INJUSTICE…-N- GEORGIA...

Denied A Motion For A New Trial Judge Land appointed a couple of weeks after the conviction, another confederate public pretender named Howard Tanner to represent me on appeal. Attorney Tanner visited me once at the jail and asked a few questions. He filed a motion for new trial in October 1981, which was scheduled for a hearing in December 1981. Only the general grounds were raised. 1) The verdict was against the weight of the evidence, 2) the verdict was without evidence to support it, and 3) the verdict was contrary to the law. Mydell Simons and I communicated often. He was the only one in the jail dormitory that had knowledge of the law. I showed Mydell my motion. “Paul, man, I’m not trying to break your spirit, but that motion ain’t shit. No court in the United States will grant a new trial on that motion. Lawyers only file it to keep the 30 days time from running out in which to appeal. Then, when the transcript is prepared, it’s read for errors and an amendment motion for a new trial is filed.” “Damn, man, I’m glad you pulled my coat. I thought the motion was sufficient! I’ll await my copy of the amendment!” “Paul, I stress to you every time we talk, you need to take an hour a day to study and learn the law. It’s not as complex as it seems, plus it’ll benefit you. I stress this due to the bad experiences I’ve had with lawyers. They’re licensed con men and women. They ain’t shit, they are there to steal your money. Although there are a few good lawyers, but the majority of them is working hand in glove with this racist system to lock up all black males and the poor!” “But, Mydell, learning the ramifications of the law has to be complicated. Those people attend college for years and some…” “Hold on, Paul. You’re trying to avoid responsibility! I’ve been to prison before and I met some outstanding jailhouse lawyers. That’s how I learned the law. And guess what. Some of those guys didn’t finish school, so finishing college don’t mean shit.” “Damn, I didn’t know that; that’s interesting!” “Paul, stay away from gambling, idle talk, and watching the trick box (television) so much because that’s taking you down a dead end road. You have too much time to take it for granted. A life sentence actually means life behind bars until you die. Do you want to die in prison?” “Hell no, man!” “Well, you better get into those legal books and stop spending so much money at the commissary. Take some of that money and purchase some legal books. This is an extremely wicked system. I’m not supposed to be in prison. I’m innocent this time. Paul, I used to snatch rob when I was younger. I went to prison twice and during the second trip I gave up crime. I got a job, met a nice sister, we fell in love and was gonna get married and this ship came up. That civil tongue lawyer told me what I wanted to hear: ‘Give me $5,000. The case is weak. I can get you out.’ Once I paid him, his tune changed to take the five years plea offer. I took a jury trial and I was found guilty and I received twenty years. The damn woman stated she don’t know what the man looked like. But, in this racist and evil system, our black skin is the real reason they’re getting us off the street.” “Damn, Mydell, that’s deep. I never thought about it that way, and that’s some fucked up shit, too!”