Davontae Sanford: innocent and incarcerated … and hogtied? UPDATE

UPDATE 6/7/16: Davontae Sanford is to released on his own recognizance tomorrow. All credit goes to Vincent Smothers – one of the actual perpetrators –  who would not “go along to get along.” My sincere thanks to everyone who has shared the story of Davontae’s frame-up and Vincent’s heroism, worldwide, and put pressure on authorities to do the right thing. Now it’s time to push for Davontae’s persecutors to be brought to justice by the FBI and Department of Justice.

UPDATE 5/24/16: It appears – at long last – that Michigan is prepared to acknowledge that Vincent Smothers 2008 confession was evidence-based and entirely credible, and that Davontae Sanford should be freed. The best coverage of unfolding events to date that I’ve found so far came from Michigan Radio’s Kate Wells, and can be found here. Rather than releasing Davontae on recognizance, Michigan is moving him from facility to facility. Please share this post with the hashtag #ROR (for Release on Recognizance) to push for Davontae’s immediate release. When Davontae is safe, we can begin to push for his persecutors to pay the full price of his malicious prosecution. When he is safe, we can begin to push to undo more of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s travesties.

Davontae Sanford: now 23, and still not free

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Davontae Sanfords’s innocence was clear in 2008, when “hit man” Vincent Smothers confessed to his role in the quadruple homicide that Davontae was convicted of, and named his accomplice. Davontae’s only 19, half-blind and developmentally disabled. Corrections employees should be taking a special interest in protecting him, but reports are that they’re instead torturing him. Speak up.

From: Susan Chandler
Date: April 30, 2012 4:48:22 PM EDT
To: Bill Schuette <miag@michigan.gov>
Cc: ombudsman@legislature.mi.gov
Subject: Davontae Sanford; cleared by perpetrator, falsely imprisoned, reportedly abused – Citizen Inquiry AG# 2010-0026914

The Honorable Bill Schuette, Attorney General

State of Michigan

G. Mennen Williams Building, 7th Floor

Lansing, MI 48909

Dear Attorney General Shuette:

I am writing to insist that you end 19-year-old Davontae Sanford’s false imprisonment. There are reports that Davontae and other inmates are being abused by Ionia corrections officers.

To review my previous correspondence: In 2007, Detroit police coerced an incredible false confession to a single-handed quadruple homicide from 14-year-old, half-blind, developmentally-disabled Davontae without a parent or advocate present. In 2008, “Hit Man” Vincent Smothers confessed to being one of the two adult shooters; he has reasserted his guilt at every opportunity, accurately describing the homicides and weapons (link below).

As an attorney, you are aware that the younger and more mentally challenged a suspect is, the likelier he is to tell officers whatever they want to hear. I have made you aware that Detroit police have a history of coercing confessions. Eddie Joe Lloyd – also mentally challenged – died prematurely after his DNA exoneration due to Michigan’s negligent prison care.

 

Hog-tying. That’s what the reports say Davontae is being subjected to. For over 24 hours.

You announced today, in regards to unpaid child support, “It is a privilege to help more than 10,000 children and their parents when they need it most.”

You haven’t helped Davontae and his parents when they needed it the most, the minute you took office. Because you didn’t, they all have additional losses and traumas to heal from. Myfoxdetroit described Davontae as a man. He’s still a teen. He’s still half-blind. He’s still developmentally disabled. He’s still innocent.

Drop whatever you’re doing and do what you should have done in January of 2011 … send Davontae home. Then make sure that coerced confessions, malicious prosecution, judicial malfeasance and cruel and unusual punishment end in Michigan.

Sincerely,

Susan Chandler

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/detroit-hit-man-signs-confession-to-help-free-another-accused-man

From: Susan Chandler

Date: July 28, 2011 3:23:20 AM EDT

To: Bill Schuette <miag@michigan.gov>

Subject: False imprisonment of Davontae Sanford – Citizen Inquiry AG# 2010-0026914

The Honorable Bill Schuette, Attorney General

State of Michigan

G. Mennen Williams Building, 7th Floor

Lansing, MI 48909

 

Dear Attorney General Shuette:

 

I am writing to again ask that you intervene in the persecution of Davonate Sanford.

 

According to the AP as reported in clickondetroit.com, Judge Brian Sullivan decided to disregard the testimony of Linda Borus – a state investigator – that confirmed what the police, prosecutors, judiciary, your predecessor and you already know … that Davontae Sanford’s confession was coerced; Vincent Smothers and another man committed the quadruple Runyon Street homicides that Davontae is serving time for.

 

As Smothers’ very reasonable fear in testifying publicly for Davontae is prison retribution for naming his accomplice in those homicides, please immediately find a way to grant Smothers the ability to admit to his role and exonerate Davontae without naming his accomplice.

 

Jailhouse informants – and I can name many – who provided coached, false testimony typically got “walks” or reduced sentences.  All Smothers has asked for is not to be forced to turn his prison sentence for admitted homicides into a death-by-other-inmate sentence for snitching.

 

That’s not a lot to ask.

 

It’s clear that Vincent Smothers cares about what happens to innocent young Davontae.
Please make it clear that you do, too.

 

Sincerely,

 

Susan Chandler

 

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/28660393/detail.html

 

From: Susan Chandler

Date: July 11, 2011 7:33:34 PM EDT

To: Bill Schuette <miag@michigan.gov>

Cc: ASKDOJ <ASKDOJ@usdoj.gov>

Subject: False imprisonment of Davontae Sanford – Citizen Inquiry AG# 2010-0026914

 

The Honorable Bill Schuette, Attorney General

State of Michigan

G. Mennen Williams Building, 7th Floor

Lansing, MI 48909

 

Dear Attorney General Schuette:

 

I am writing again to ask that you personally intervene in the ongoing persecution of Davontae Sanford.

 

Allowing a judge to ignore a client-authorized exception to attorney/client privilege does not serve justice; it instead furthers a four-year fraud on Michigan taxpayers.

 

I also ask you to personally intervene in Governor Rick Snyder’s lawlessness.  For all you know, you may be the next elected public servant whom Snyder deems too inefficient to retain elected office.

 

After it [all], it is fiscally irresponsible to incarcerate innocent young Davontae Sandford while guilty, self-proclaimed “hit man” Vincent Smothers is already behind bars and has named an accomplice who remains free to commit additional homicides.

 

Sincerely,

 

Susan Chandler

 

Judge in Davontae Sanford hearings bars testimony from hit man’s former lawyer – Detroit Crime | Examiner.com

http://www.examiner.com/crime-in-detroit/judge-davontae-sanford-hearings-bars-testimony-from-hit-man-s-former-lawyer

 

Michigan’s Governor May Be Worse Than Walker

http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/michigans-governor-may-be-worse-walker

 

 

From: Susan Chandler

Date: January 6, 2011 2:26:50 PM EST

To: Bill Schuette <miag@michigan.gov>

Subject: False imprisonment of Davontae Sanford

 

Dear Attorney General Schuette:

 

Doubtless you are besieged by requests for assistance.  I can only hope that you anticipated that you would be and were prepared to hit the ground running.

 

Were you to search incoming emails to the Attorney General’s office, you would find my requests were ignored, and bear repeating:

 

Out of curiosity, 14-year-old Davontae Sanford approached police officers at a crime scene, in his pajamas.  That naïve act cost him his freedom.

 

Blind in one eye and developmentally disabled, Davontae was the unlikeliest of suspects for a quadruple homicide.  Just as mentally challenged Eddie Joe Lloyd had been tricked into confessing to a 1984 Detroit homicide, Davontae was tricked into confessing.  Although accused decades apart, the two shared a an embittered and ineffectual attorney, and both were convicted.

 

Mr. Lloyd was not exonerated until he had spent 17 years in prison.  He died shortly afterwards; harsh prison conditions had ruined his health (link below).

 

That should not be Davontae Sanford’s fate.  The facts are much clearer in his case.

 

Self-proclaimed “hit man” Vincent Smothers credibly confessed to the same crimes, along with eight others.  While Smothers is serving time for the eight homicides selected by Wayne County prosecutors to spare Detroit Police embarrassment, the other killer – whom Smothers named – walks free to make Detroit’s streets bloodier.

 

Davontae’s family believes that their prayers will free him.  I believe that if you are anything like your predecessor, Davontae doesn’t have a prayer, at least not for the next four years.  Please cut through Wayne County and Detroit politics to free Davontae and make sure that – on your watch – every civil servant fears framing innocents just to please the press.

 

Additionally, A. G. Cox did nothing to make sure that rape kit backlogs were rapidly cleared, the likeliest reason that the perpetrator has not been found for the homicide that Mr. Lloyd was framed for.

 

While it is important that invasive fish species do not enter the Great Lakes, it is my hope that you can multi-task and ethically address the corruption that keeps Davontae Sanford incarcerated and make sure that all crime scene forensic evidence is rapidly and accurately processed so that the real perpetrators can be found the first time, with no stand-ins.  There is no time to waste, Davontae has been transferred to an adult facility, and has few defenses to survive there.

 

Thank you for your time, I look forward to your response.

 

Sincerely,

 

Susan Chandler

 

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Eddie_Joe_Lloyd.php