tagged w/ ray larson
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I wrote an article in July titled, 'Does Glen Rahan Doneghy's life matter?'. In that article I discussed local prosecutorial racism, propaganda in favor of police, prosecutorial misconduct and police corruption as some of the reasons Doneghy may not get a fair trial. Recent events in the case have made that article just shy of prophetic. The case involves a driver that struck a police officer who was tragically killed.
Lexington detective David Richards testified to the grand jury and at an earlier preliminary hearing providing false information. He falsely claimed that a witness at the scene claimed that Doneghy's vehicle was the only one on the street at the time. He also claimed that this witness saw Doneghy's vehicle deviate from it's course of travel and then struck officer Durman.
Doneghy's attorneys, Kate Dunn, Sally Wasielewski, and Gayle Slaughter attempted to talk to any witnesses to prepare their case. Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney, Lori Boling, falsely claimed that there were no witnesses, thus, denying them their right to interview the witness. I've personally seen this type of mis-direction and prosecutorial misconduct time and time again in my own cases.
The witness, Ronnie Hood, however claims that while sitting on his porch his bushes obstructed his view. Mr. Hood claims that he did not know about the accident until after he heard a loud noise. Additionally, Mr. Hood's home is several doors down the street from where the accident took place.
Our founding fathers understood a number of things about criminal accusations. It’s difficult if not impossible to prove a negative. It’s better to free a guilty man than to punish an innocent one. Government cannot be trusted or supported if it doesn’t respect the rights of the accused. Finally, they gave us a Constitution to protect our rights and provide confidence to the court system.
Because it is nearly impossible to prove a negative the accused is never required to prove his innocence. To do so would require the accused to prove he did not do something. The burden of proof rests with the prosecution who must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Commonwealth Attorney, Ray Larson, states on his website and on WLAP radio and internet sites that he believes 99% of accused are guilty. This guilty until proven innocent mindset has permeated our criminal justice system all the way down to the beat cops. It is because of this that prosecutors hide witnesses and evidence and overzealous police officers lie to grand juries. They believe that the accused is guilty anyway so what does it hurt to lie or hide evidence if it speeds up the process of conviction. What we wind up with are thousands of falsely accused being imprisoned by a system gone awry.
Ray Larson also makes no secret of his personal feelings about minority criminals on his website or in his lengthy rants on the radio. While portraying white collar criminals as tragic situations of wrong decisions he resorts to name calling and slander when referring to cases involving working class crime and especially minorities. White collar criminals are wished a better future after learning a minor lesson, usually without jail time. However, Larson tends to claim that minorities fit into the once a 'thug' always a 'thug' category and they will always re-offend, he states.
Doneghy is a poor black man and officer Durman was a middle-class father and husband and member of local mega-church, Southland Christian Church. He was also caucasian. Believe it or not, in 2010 going on 2011, that still matters in Kentucky. Very rarely, 10 times in the last 25 years, has someone been prosecuted for vehicular homicide in Fayette County. However, this case involved a police officer and a black man with a criminal record lacking the money for Johnny Cochran.
Read the rest of the article at the link: http://www.examiner.com/courts-in-lexington/lexington-detective-lies-to-grand-jury-case-regarding-police-officer-s-deathI wrote an article in July titled, 'Does Glen Rahan Doneghy's life... more
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I decided to include the full story here to clarify some confusion by readers. Please go to my link on Examiner and click follow to get future updates.
Marc Anthony Laquinn Buchanan, 27, was arrested Wednesday after testing positive for marijuana use, according to court records.
Buchanan was out on bond after being arrested in 2009. Buchanan's grandmother had posted the $50,000 property bond.
Buchanan is awaiting trial on charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault, fleeing and evading police, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence. These charges stem from an incident where Buchanan is accused of shooting and causing "serious physical injury" to Officer Nicholas Whitcomb during a footchase.
The Commonwealth Attorney's Office wants Judge Ishmael to revoke his bond. This would most likely lead to the loss of Buchanan's grandmother's home. Judge Ishmael has refused to do this and, I believe, rightly so.
Mr. Buchanan stands accused but is presumed innocent until proven guilty. I don't know all of the details of the case, however, bonds are set to make sure the accused show up for their court date. I believe the bond was appropriate and efficient. The comments left after the article posted on Kentucky.com tend to disagree. http://www.kentucky.com/2010/09/23/1447397/lexington-man-charged-in-officers.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted&qwxq=7993217#Comments_Container
The issue at hand is the positive test for marijuana. Should a grandmother's home be taken because Buchanan tested positive for marijuana while awaiting pre-trial?
I could argue for days about mis-information regarding marijuana. However, I'll just point out that the last thing marijuana would do is make Buchanan violent or dangerous. I'll leave it up to the comments section to debate the pros and cons of marijuana and whether or not it should be legalized.
Judge Ishmael made the right decision by weighing the issues and making a calm, level-headed ruling. Buchanan knew the rules of his release, yes. Testing positive for marijuana was a violation of his release. However, did the marijuana make Buchanan dangerous or more likely to evade prosecution? No. Would justice be served by taking away the home of his grandmother? No. Would the judge be causing more pain, grief and heartache for the grandmother, family and friends of Buchanan by doing this? Yes.
I tend to be critical of the Lexington courtrooms and the legal community due to past and present experience. Today, I praise Judge Ishmael for realizing that sometimes rules and laws are not written in stone. Justice is best served with a touch of wisdom.
Thank you, Judge Ishmael, you've got my vote.I decided to include the full story here to clarify some confusion by readers. Please... more
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Recently I was contacted by a person who had read my articles on the kangaroo courts in Lexington, Kentucky. This person commented that Ray Larson's website proudly displays information on plea bargains and convictions but mentions nothing about those found not guilty. Solution: a Not Guilty website. I loved the idea so I immediately registered http://www.thenotguiltysite.com.
The Not Guilty Site will celebrate those who have been falsely accused of a crime and beat the odds by winning their innocence. Many people who are falsely accused of a crime must plea bargain a lighter sentence due to the extreme cost of going to court. In addition, there is always the danger of losing in court, even if the person is innocent. The rules for the prosecution to present evidence are more lenient than the rules allowing you to defend yourself. Worst of all, most prosecuting teams will fight to exclude any evidence that would point to your innocence. Sadly, prosecutors are in it for a win and not to find the truth if that would mean losing the case and exposing the city to prosecution.
Article continued at the link above:Recently I was contacted by a person who had read my articles on the kangaroo courts... more
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It didn't take long after my last article for more marsupial madness to find it's way into the headlines. This time three famous monkeys join the fun in the municipal mansions we call the courthouse complex. See No Evil, Speak No Evil and Hear No Evil joined up with Fayette Commonwealth Attorney, Ray Larson, and Fayette Circuit Judge Pamela Goodwine to ensure that Lexington's middle class neighborhoods stay "mostly white and crime-free".
Lexington's corruption continues...follow along at the link above:It didn't take long after my last article for more marsupial madness to find... more
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Lexington Kentucky's Mayor, Jim Newberry, publicly stated that police officers lives matter...a lot. Other people, those that didn't make much of a difference in the world don't matter much. Lexington's Commonwealth Attorney, Ray "The D.A." Larson, calls black defendants hoodlums, gangsters, thugs and more. White criminals are referred to as people who had a temporary lapse in judgement.
Glenn Rahan Doneghy is a black man that hit a police officer, whom later died of his injuries, with his SUV. The officer, Bryan Durman was on the passenger side of a vehicle, in the road, wearing no reflective vest and without his cruiser lights on. Glenn Doneghy left the scene of the accident and was later apprehended. He is being charged with murder. Not only that...murdering a police officer...in Lexington.
Click on the link above as we discuss in detail whether or not Glenn Rahan Doneghy can get a fair trial in Lexington, KY.
Christopher Hignite
Lexington Courts Examiner
(And Monkey_Films on Current.TV)Lexington Kentucky's Mayor, Jim Newberry, publicly stated that police officers... more
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In this series of articles we will explore the term 'Kangaroo Court' and I'll give examples from Lexington's Municipal Mansions otherwise known as the courthouse complex. We'll take a trip to the courthouses and discuss particular cases, particular courtrooms and we'll even discuss some of the judges and attorneys that have come to not only rely on but make a pretty penny from this Marsupial Madness.
More at the link:
Christopher Hignite
Lexington Courts ExaminerIn this series of articles we will explore the term 'Kangaroo Court' and... more
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