People of the State of Illinois
v. Joseph Champs
The Voices of Innocence
�An Assistant State�s Attorney, it must be remembered, �is the representative of all the people, including the defendant, and it is as much his duty to safeguard the constitutional rights of the defendant as those of any other citizen��..To be sure, he is expected to prosecute with earnestness and vigor, but �while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones.��
Such ruling is indeed full of lofty ideals, and it places the American Criminal Justice System upon a pedestal. However, those of us who know the System first hand, recognizes that there is no genuine application of such action on the part of the prosecutor, none at all. In fact, experience has shown us time and time again, that the overriding concern of the prosecutor before all else, is to insure himself of maximum media coverage and of a victory at all cost, and his or her overzealousness often serve as the basis for whole sale violation of any and all constitutional rights belonging (supposedly) to the defendant.
This mindset on the part of the prosecutor is not new, and history stands as our most credible witness; and we can even go a step further and ay that the American people themselves (Caucasians), have traditionally ignored any and all rights that were supposedly possessed by its minorities. One has to remember, that when the American Constitution was written, the so-called Blackman (and woman) were viewed as property, and were not considered human beings or beneficiaries of the United States Constitution � how could they, when they were in fact slaves at such time?
In spite of the bold proclamation made along with every discussion on the American Government, about how great the American Constitution is, no one seems to notice that it still contains that little section that says ��.three fifth of all other Persons�� No efforts are under way to remove such section, and it serves as a testament of this country�s infamous history and disregard for the humanity of each human being.
So when we read of the various Supreme Court decisions, going back to Dred Scott and the statement that, ��.no Blackman has any rights that any white man is bound to respect�.� We need not be dismayed over such ruling. Nor should we frown up over the separate but equal doctrine, and a host of other legal decisions designed specifically to prevent us as a people, from claiming any of the rights privileges and immunities guaranteed by the United States Constitution. We can reflect over the various legal changes in the laws, over time, but we must not forget the role and mood of the people (Caucasians), who marched and vowed to die before bowing down to desegregation � damn, what the United States Supreme Court had to say!
In fact, it is quite odd, that a people who are said to be citizens via the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, with the full entitlement of all rights, privileges and immunities specified in the said Constitution, still have to request permission from the said government in order to cast a ballot for voting purposes. Even though the right to vote is guaranteed to every American citizen, our people must have permission from Congress, as noted in the �Voting Rights Act� and we should not that it is simply an �Act� and not a Law, and that it must be renewed again sometimes during 2007 A.D�. It certainly does not reassure me that I am entitled to every right, privilege and immunity specified in the said United States Constitution. Someone has to do some tall explaining to me, in order to make me think otherwise.
Due to the constitutional exclusion from those benefits that are guaranteed by the said United States Constitution, I am able to understand the obvious inequalities reflected by the Criminal Justice System, and the fact that most of what I may have read regarding rights, privileges and immunities do not in fact pertain to make me and/or my people, they are meant exclusively for Caucasian folks; and I cannot expect the type of legal outcomes that Caucasians generally receive within the Criminal Justice System.
I now fully realize that when I am accused by the System of violating any of its crimes, I am in fact guilty until I am able to prove beyond all doubt, (reasonable and otherwise) that I am in fact innocent. The role of the prosecutor at such point, is to make sure that because the System made the accusation, he proves that I am in fact guilty as charged, and anything that tends to prove otherwise is discredited and disregarded under a host of legal techniques.
Herein, you will read about incidents in which men who are Actually Innocent, have been adjudged guilty as charged, and because of their soci-economical status, they are unable to secure the legal help necessary to establish their innocence, and they sit within the Criminal Justice as forsaken men, experiencing mis-carriages of justice, yet being absolutely powerless to do anything about. Clearly, nothing has actually changed here in America, the only real differences is in the packaging of the product. For if in fact the United States Constitution applied to us as a people, many of us would not now be suffering the depravation of their civil liberty.
To Whom It May Concern:
My name is Joseph Champs, Reg. No. N-94926; I am incarcerated at the Stateville Correctional Center, located at P.O. Box 112, Joliet, Illinois 60434. Such incarceration is the result of an erroneous criminal conviction, for the offence of first degree murder and armed robbery; in the Criminal Court of Cook County, Illinois.
Due to ineffective assistance of counsel, a lack of effective, pre-trial investigation; I was found guilty of the offense of first degree murder in connection with the offense of armed robbery.
It is my sincere belief, that if you seriously review and consider those facts which I disclose below, you will conclude that my conviction is highly suspect. Additionally, the process by which such conviction was obtains, cast grave doubts upon the reliability of the evidence and the witnesses used by the State.
I do realize that it is commonly assumed, that all convicted prisoners claim that they are innocent, when in fact they are actually guilty. However, given the most recent flood of released prisoners here in Illinois due to DNA, mis-identification, and/or the voluntary confession of an offender whose conscious prompted him to step forward and take responsibility for his criminal actions � which someone else was being held to account for (or was convicted of), it is my hope that such claim would at least merit some serious consideration.
In my particular case, I was convicted and sentenced to ninety (90) years imprisonment. The evidence relied upon was supposedly eyewitness testimony, which was both inconclusive and contrary to forensic reports � I simply did not look like the individual identified as the offender; nor could an eyewitness who had actually seen the offender identify me as the offender.
Of great significance is the fact that all of the State�s witnesses, happen to have been individual who were criminal defendants, incarcerated in the Cook County Jail on unrelated criminal charges. They were Lamont Harris, Timothy Jones, David Redmond, and Keith Kelly who was serving a sentence in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Mr. Kelly was remanded to testify against me, but he refused to do so.
The key witness against me in this case was a young man named Joseph Dobine, who had given a statement in which he said he had actually pushed the shooter in this case (the accusation made against me by the State); but this young man could not pick me out in any line-up, nor did he testify against me at the trial, because he made a statement that I was not the shooter that he pushed, so the State decided not to call him a witness.
I wanted my attorney to call him (Joseph Dobine) as a witness for the defense, but my Public Defender told me that because he was not listed on our witness list, we could not call him, so he would not be of any help to the defense.
Clearly, every witness who did provide testimony against me for the State, had a motive to lie given their own situation of confinement and/or pending criminal charges. As to the explanation provided to me by the Public Defender regarding Joseph Dobine, I simply do not know why he could not be added to our list of witnesses, given the crucial testimony he had to offer as cited above herein.
I definitely need help in my particular predicament, and I am asking you to aid me in obtaining the Justice that has eluded me over the years, due to indifference by some and unwillingness by others to become involved. It is my belief that if someone would only take the time to investigate this case, they would definitely come up with evidence, information, and the basis upon which to secure my civil liberty from this unjust confinement.
The record in my case strongly support the facts which I have related to you herein, and conclusively supports my claim of �ACTUAL INNOCENCE!�
Please allow me to state the following: under no circumstances would I waste your time, mislead you, or request you to pursue any line that was not factually relevant to securing my release from confinement. I truly am a victim of a �miscarriage of justice.�
If required of you, I am prepared to forward you any and all legal documentation pertaining to my particular case, or supportive of the information shared herein.
I respectfully request that you respond to my cry for help as soon as possible, and I pray that you are of a mind to assist me in my legal predicament.
For your time and attention, my gratitude!
Sincerely,
Joseph Champs, #N-94926
P.O. Box 112
Joliet, IL. 60434
