Protect 1st Amendment of Diane Bukowski

(Partial repost from the Committee to Defend Diane Bukowski and the Freedom of the Press)

Michigan Citizen newspaper reporter, Diane Bukowski, continues her fight in court to protect her 1st Amendment right to freedom of the press.

On April 17th, Wayne Co. Circuit Court Judge Michael Hathaway partially granted the prosecutor's motion to preclude testimony in Ms. Bukowski's criminal trial that she was acting in her capacity as a reporter during the 11/4/08 high speed chase by Michigan State Troopers that ended with the death of two men.

She faces two false felony charges of "assaulting, battering, wounding, resisting, obstructing or endangering" police while covering the chase. The refusal to recognize her role is outrageous!

Neither of the troopers, John Hetfield and James Wojton, have been charged with the deaths of the victims, James Willingham and Jeffery Frazier, although they violated many MSP vehicle pursuit rules, including conducting the chase in a densely populated area without a siren.

The Michigan Citizen is recognized as one of the only Detroit newspapers that covers stories about Black and poor citizens, including issues of police brutality.

Please support this grassroots reporter by attending Friday's 4/24/09 Press Conference and Rally at 12pm at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in downtown Detroit. Call Wayne Co. Prosecutor, Kym Worthy, and ask her to end this unjust prosecution! (313) 224-5777.

On Monday, 4/27/09, help us pack Judge Hathaway's court room for Diane Bukowski's trial: 9am, Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, Room 501.

Download flyer with Bukowski details and defense committee endorsements. Read the Detroit Metro Times for a good account of this story.

Groceries in Exchange for Guns

This weekend in Los Angeles, Sheriff Deputies concluded two weeks of Gifts for Guns--a community safety program that allows residents to anonymously turn in their guns in exchange for gifts cards. The strong response--965 firearms, including a Soviet-era semiautomatic carbine, plus two hand grenades--surprised even veteran deputies who believed participation was driven by the economic difficulties faced by families. One man who was recently laid off from his job told deputies that he needed to exchange his five guns to be able to get groceries for his family.

The gift cards were from Ralphs (a Kroger-owned grocery chain), Target, and Best Buy. The program is paid for mostly by the County of L.A, along with donations from these retailers and the City of Compton. Similar programs have been run in San Francisco and New York.

Last month, new statistics were released that ranked Detroit with the third highest crime rate in the nation. Residents of Detroit regularly view horrendous news stories of shootings involving innocent children and by-standers.

MWRO believes the Wayne County Sheriffs Dept. and the Detroit Police Dept. should create the Gifts for Guns program in Detroit. Not only would this get many guns off our streets but it would help hungry and needy families get the necessities they need, especially at this time of the year.

(Image from YahooNews/AP)