Weekend Reading 76

This weekend you can get an autographed copy of Medicine Girl on sale at freespm.bigcartel.com  . Caroline Rodriguez has features by SPM, Juan Gotti, Powda, Low G, Nino, Lucky Luciano, and Chingo Bling.

Also, if you haven't already seen Pablo Time Nunez's excellent blog, please check that out here: http://letsfreespm.wordpress.com/ It's got a lot of great pics, links to the Dope House Soundcloud account downloads, videos, etc.

Backlog

In 2006, when HPD resumed DNA testing after an ignominious halt, it was announced that there were 4,000 rape kits waiting to be tested. Remember that the lab was first shut down in 2002 because unqualified technicians were handling the testing, correct protocol was ignored, samples were being kept under a leaky roof, and assorted other fuck-wittery. Several years later, that number was bumped to over 6,000.

Well, it appears that HPD has finally sent the last of those kits out to independent labs to be tested. The samples may be degraded by now; there were reports of improper storage, of water leaking onto the kits, etc.

The articles I can find don’t seem to really specify how many of these kits are from cases that have already gone to court, and how many have already been tried. Imagine for a moment going through a trial, knowing there was DNA evidence that may affect the outcome, but not being given access to it.

This is encouraging to me, and I hope to all of you, because someone is trying. Whether the attitude towards the accused has shifted, or they’re just tired of the bad publicity, this is a great effort on the part of HPD.

My only qualm is the curious absence of any mention of how they intend to notify interested parties of the results; once the tests are completed and sent back to the HPD, who will they tell? Will the the defense lawyers in these cases be informed if there was mismatched DNA, or will it simply disappear down the memory hole? How many defense lawyers were simply never informed that there was DNA evidence?

The whole thing reminds me of the Jonathon Salvador issue. At what point does a government entity’s bad behavior call for a complete re-set of the entire system?

 All in all, this is encouraging. As far we know there was never any DNA taken in Coy's case, so this will not help him personally. Still, I hope very much that it represents a commitment on the part of Harris County to focus more on justice, and less on expediency.

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/HPD-s-untested-rape-kits-delay-justice-in-assaults-1692206.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+houstonchronicle%252Ftopheadlines+%2528chron.com+-+Top+Stories%2529

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/23151420/2013/08/15/no-longer-back-logged-rape-kits-in-the-hpd

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Council-OKs-4-4-million-plan-to-erase-rape-kit-4314525.php

Weekend Reading 75

DVD520 shared this video of SPM, Fat Joe, and Tracy Morgan meeting in New York; take a look!

Letter to Mike Anderson 13

Time for another letter to the D.A.! As always please feel free to copy this one, write your own, or just send one of the flyers to the right. You've heard Coy's voice from prison in Angels, People, and Frustration; let's make sure the Harris County Justice System hears ours!

1201 Franklin Street,

Suite 600,

Houston, Texas 77002-1923

The Honorable Mike Anderson

District Attorney

Harris County

Sir,

I’m writing to you today about the case of Carlos Coy, #908426.

One of the recent exonerees from Dallas, Steven Phillips, is being sued for a share of the compensation he received for his wrongful conviction. He was married before serving 24 years in prison for a string of sex crimes that he did not commit and his ex-wife, who stuck with him until 1992, wants a share of Philip’s compensation money.

I don’t know the details of the situation, but you can tell from the face of it that his conviction destroyed multiple lives. While it’s right that the state compensate him for the time he spent paying for someone else’s sins, what amount of money could possibly ‘fix’ the devastation it wrought on his family? How much would be enough for the forceful dissolution of a marriage?

Sir, when the justice system perpetuates injustice, innocent people suffer. Not just those that are falsely imprisoned, but their parents, their children, their spouses. Steven Phillips was lucky to be exonerated but he will never get back the years of his life spent in prison; he will never get back his son’s childhood. The wages his ex-wife spent to provide him with commissary money, the hours spent away from work and family in order to visit him are gone forever.

If he had been exonerated sooner, that damage would have been mitigated, if only slightly. I urge you, please, do not allow this to go on in Mr. Coy’s case. I truly believe that he will eventually receive a new trial and be exonerated; the only difference between it happening this year and ten years from now is the accumulated suffering of the innocent. His accuser testified in court that she wasn't sure what had happened, she really couldn't remember; Coy’s family does not have the luxury of being unsure if they've suffered or not.

Please, sir, investigate this trial; give us justice.

Me, my address, etc etc etc.

Weekend Reading 74

I'm afraid I've been slacking a little bit with the Weekend Reading, but I have some great videos for you today; first up is a track from Pillz SignalSix's upcoming album, Perfectionist Specialist. The release date is November 26, and you can find him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/Pillztherealest

The second was posted by Angela Nino, of The Painted Box; Streets on Beats 2013:

Quick Update 11

Quick Update: “The SON Rise”

El Fambo,

            Buenos no cheese! That greeting may bother some of my Spanish aficionados, but I’m pretty sure that “no cheese” means “evening time.” Either way, nachos and tacos for everyone!

            Just stopping by to give you an update for the SON  First of all, on August the 1^st, you’re due for another free song. That will be “Frustration.” You may get this letter after the 1^st – I don’t know, because Incandesio is out of town – but I hope you enjoy the song. Our next giveaway is on September the 15^th, but I’m not sure what song you’ll be getting. That brings me to the conversation I had with my nephew, Trey Coy. We sat in the visitation area, him eating a bag of chips, me eating a small pizza, when he said, “Uncle Carlos, I’m happy we’re giving fans these songs, but I’m worried about how many we’ll end up giving away.”

            I said, “Neph, I’m worried about how long fans will end up waiting for this album.”

            “I understand that, Unc, but you just recently gave us the info on the insert artwork. It’s not like we’ve had it for years, more like weeks.”

            “Right, but communication’s been slow in all aspects.”

            “Ever since I’ve been project manager, I’ve kept it solid.”

            “Exactly, that’s why I made the forty-five-day-deal. I believe you’ll get it done.”

            “Can we make a new deal?”

            “What’cha got?”

            “Since the fans have been waiting in limbo, not knowing when the SON is coming, not knowing if there even is a SON, I think an official release date would fix that.”

            “Okay.”

            “Okay, so, how bout we give them a free song every forty-five days, just like we’ve been doing, till we can provide them with an official release date? Most fans know the album is coming, but they don’t know when. That’s where the problem is.”

            “How long before you can get a date?”

            “I think I can get everything to Fontana, including the chopped and screwed version, somewhere before or after the 5^th giveaway. That leaves us with 12 or 13 unheard songs, which is plenty enough to push album sales.”

            “Let’s say we give the fans the release date. How long, from that point, will they have to wait for the album?”

            “A hundred days, give or take a little.”

            “I’ll make that deal, Trey, but I still wanna give them something new every forty-five days, even after we give them a release date. I don’t care if it’s a County Jail freestyle, Cold Forty, remix, just something.”

            “Cool.”

            And that’s about how our conversation went. So, according to the plan, you’ll get around four or five free SON songs, (maybe more), then you’ll get the official release date, (which you’ll wait no more than a hundred days from that point), then we’ll continue to give you something new every forty-five days. We’ve got all kinds of dope shit we can give you.

            I hope everybody is okay with this. Understand that Trey’s sole concern is the well-being of Dope House Records. His father, (my brother, Tudy), has kept the company strong, eve through eleven years of my incarceration, and Trey’s carrying that torch, now.

            CTS. My boy Coast is acting bad on that insert artwork. I had no idea he was that good with computer graphics. The insert will fold out into a small poster, just like the last two albums. A main feature on the artwork will be eight of our Dope House Fam answering three questions:

            1. What would you like to say to our amazing fans?

            2. Where can we find you and your latest projects?

            3. Please give us one of your favorite memories with SPM?

            The artists who we featured for these questions were Juan Gotti, Lucky Luciano, Low-G, Coast, Quota, Rasheed, Carolyn Rodriguez, and the man who started it all, Grimm.

            Pain Ortiz will have Pimpstress, Powda, Baby Bash, Russell Lee, Major Riley, and other family members answer those questions for our website.

            But the eight that are featured gave some incredible answers. I cried, I laughed, I laughed till I cried, I loved reading those.

            There’s also a Cold Forty on the insert called “The Son of Norma”. I don’t know if I’ll ever write a forty that dope again.

            There’s also an interview that Carolyn did. She’s actually the interviewer, but I’ll keep her guest a secret. I think you’ll like everything Coast is doing.

            If you don’t know, there will be a free/bonus CD, which is the Screwed and Chopped version of The SON. Pain told me that DJ Rapid Ric did his best shit on that, so, for all my screw heads, you’re taken care of.

            My sister-in-law, Linda Coy, sent me a copy of the SON lyrics, and my neighbor, Gordo, wanted to read them. He’s a thirty-nine-year-old Heavy metal fanatic and loses his mind when Iron Maiden comes on the radio. I let him read the seventeen songs for this album, and I’d like to share what he wrote me:

Carlos, man homie, I can say you out did yourself because this is the first time I’ve ever “read” your words pero Mexican, you smash the fucking gas! I just ain’t sayin it either. You had some real deep shit, silly shit & If It Were You, People, Frustration, Without The S.O.N. were the ones I like best but that My Homegirl? Damn Los! That was fucking kick ass! Addicted to Storms has some real shit. Man it ALL did. I really cut for those I mention. Angel was something out of left field. But I can understand why you set it up asi because If It Were You, Storms & Angel has something in common then the others. Gracias homie for letting me read them words. If I’m the first outside Dope House? I think your shitting me pero str8 up Gracias for the honor. I was so tempted to copy it pero something like that would need your permission! Got a ? Was it a hamster or a rat? ha!ha! You a fool with that pen homie! Bueno again Gracias! That was a honor eh – God bless us.

CTR

 G

It really needs to get released!

“CTR” means “con todo respecto”, (with all respect). And the question he had about, “Was it a hamster or a rat?” comes from reading the song “The Poor Kids.” There’s a part on the first verse where me ad a girlfriend are in my living room and a rat runs by. I was in seventh grade, embarrassed as hell, and I said, “There goes my hamster! Sam! Sam, get over here!” But she knew it wasn’t a hamster. She ran out my house and never came back. You’ll have to hear the song.

            I was surprised on how much Gordo enjoyed the lyrics. He’s read them several times since, and repeats his favorite lines throughout the day. Today he’s stuck on, “I make more bread than a deli and burn rubber in belly!”

            Well, I’ll go ahead and write you a “Quick Sixteen” just to keep you medicated. But, before I do that, let me remind you to be kind, so that you’ll be happy. The secret to life is simple: The heart rewards kind people with the same happiness they give to others, and rewards mean people with the same misery they give, or try to give, to others. Pretty simple, huh?

Con Todo Mi Amor,

Los

"The SON Rise"
(Quick Sixteen)

This is where the book begins, this is where I look within

everything of who I am, travels through this crooked pen

once again they took a friend, anger like a thunderstorm

if you think the Summer's warm, wait until the SON is born

friend I know you've waited long, somethin you have prayed upon

on that day the break of dawn, rises with an Asian song

maybe when you hear it, you will understand the meanin more

dope is when a mystery is somethin they are fiendin for

floatin in the sea, but eventually it reaches shore

some make it faster but I've never heard a cheetah roar

I am Lion King and your, just a piece of beast manure

rap needs Los like a mothafucka needs the Lord

boys got the people bored, some of y'all have switched to country

I be jammin Taylor Swift, she ain't got a nigga does she?

love'em tall, rich and busty, even though I'm short and pudgy

Damn, this my last line, least it ended sorta funny.....

Los

Prosecutorial Shenanigans

Just a short post today, because the article I found for you today is quite long. It’s an overview of prosecutorial misconduct all over the nation; specifically Brady violations, why they happen, how they happen, and why there’s very little incentive for the prosecutors to police their own behavior.

Maybe you know someone who believes that Coy is guilty because the justice system is never wrong, and certainly never maliciously wrong; maybe you are one of those people. If that’s the case, I encourage you to take a look at this article.

“Courts most commonly deal with misconduct by overturning convictions. To get a new trial, however, a defendant must not only show evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, but must also show that without that misconduct the jury likely would have acquitted.

The policy may seem more sensible than one of setting guilty people free because of low-level prosecutorial misconduct that had no impact on the verdict, but civil liberties advocates say it sets the bar too high. "It requires appellate court judges to sit as jurors," says Steven Benjamin, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It puts them in a role they were never intended to be in, and asks them to retroactively put themselves at trials they didn't attend. It takes a really extreme case to overturn a conviction."”

(Emphasis mine.) I haven’t spent a lot of time on Coy’s 2007 appeal lately, but remember for a moment the many problems brought up by his lawyers; the description of the child as ‘the victim’ from the very beginning of the trial. A judge may say to himself, “Well, *I* know that technically no crime had been proven, so *I* would know to ignore that”, and then label it as harmless. But would your average citizen pulled into jury duty know that? I don’t believe that I would have.

Or consider the officer who swore that she had proof that Coy intended to rape his own daughter, then later admitted her ‘proof’ was actually her ‘feelings’. A judge may say, “Well, her later statement contradicted her initial testimony so much that not only do I understand she had no proof, but also that she’s should reduced the weight of every other statement she made”, but again, would a normal person with little interest in the law understand that? Would the inherent trust that most people have in law enforcement officers allowed them to say “Whoa, she overplayed her hand; I wonder what else she’s exaggerating?”

Please, take a look at this excellent article.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/01/prosecutorial-misconduct-new-orleans-louisiana_n_3529891.html