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SCHR May 2015 Newsletter

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On Our Docket
Cordele Right to Counsel Lawsuit: A Statement from the DOJ and a Settlement
N.P. v. State of Georgia was filed in January 2014, challenging the frequent absence of public defenders in juvenile court and the assembly-line processing of adults resulting from the chronic under-funding of the Cordele Circuit Public Defender office. A settlement was reached this month, which will result in significant improvements in the legal representation provided to poor children and adults.

Remedies in the settlement include:
* The requirement for representation of children in juvenile court by a lawyer who specializes in juvenile law and childhood and adolescent development
* Indigent juveniles no longer being allowed to waive counsel without first consulting with a public defender who will explain the benefits of representation
* All people, including children, arrested in the Circuit will consult with a lawyer within three business days
* The size of the Cordele Circuit Public Defender Office will nearly double; and
* Significant and relevant training requirements for public defenders will now be required.

The U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, Michael Moore, and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest (http://schr.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=58f4168e0f&e=e8961fc9d4) in the case on March 13, 2015, setting out the due process rights to which children are entitled. Notably, this was the first time the DOJ has filed a statement in a state court action regarding children’s right to counsel in juvenile courts.

(Left) SCHR President and Senior Counsel Stephen Bright and (right) attorneys Atteeyah Hollie, Melanie Velez, and Crystal Redd push for adequate staffing and training in the Cordele Circuit Public Defenders Office. Photos by Rachel Stanley
Lawsuit Filed Against Private Probation Company to Stop Abuses
SCHR filed Edwards v. Red Hills Community Probation, LLC, et al. (http://schr.us6.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=3f64abae45&e=e8961fc9d4) , on behalf of indigent people injured by the abusive business practices of a probation company operating in two south Georgia municipal courts.
The civil rights lawsuit asserts that employees of Red Hills Community Probation routinely demand large amounts of money from probationers, seizing and detaining them in the local courthouses until they or their family members make a payment on their fines and fees. In addition, the employees use threats and misrepresentations to coerce people to report and pay long after their probation terms are complete.
“Red Hills probation officers hold poor people for ransom over traffic tickets, while their families scramble to come up with money to secure their release,” said SCHR attorney Sarah Geraghty. She added, “Practices like this one erode public confidence in law enforcement and undermine the integrity of the court system.”

Vera Cheeks was fined $135 for a traffic violation in Bainbridge, Georgia. She was not allowed to leave the courthouse until a payment was made on her fines. Photo by Vera Cheeks.

Former Death Row Inmate Tony Amadeo Released From Prison
On April 6, 2015, SCHR welcomed longtime client Tony Amadeo home from prison after 38+ years! Tony was sentenced to death in Georgia and charged with capital murder in Alabama in 1977. In 1988, SCHR's Stephen Bright successfully argued Amadeo v. Zant (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=604a154f15&e=e8961fc9d4) in the U.S. Supreme Court (listen to the oral argument (http://schr.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=19316776c1&e=e8961fc9d4) ). In a unanimous opinion, Tony’s conviction and death sentence were vacated. Following this, SCHR resolved both Tony’s Georgia capital case and Alabama capital case for consecutive life sentences.

In prison, Tony changed his life. He did not receive a single disciplinary violation in more than 38 years of incarceration and graduated summa cum laude from Mercer University. In 2011, he was granted parole in Georgia. He was then transferred to Alabama to serve his life sentence there.
In 2013, SCHR began advocating for parole for Tony in Alabama, in part due to his medical condition. On March 4, 2015, the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole held a hearing and granted parole, permitting Tony to move to Texas to live with his sister.

Tony's first stop after leaving prison was SCHR, where he enjoyed lunch and fellowship with staff and friends from the Open Door Community. Tony's release proves that miracles can and do happen.
Longtime SCHR client Tony Amadeo (first row, center) is welcomed home by friends and supporters from SCHR and the Open Door Community. Photo by Calvin Kimbrough.
2015 Georgia Legislative Session
On April 2, the first year of the 2015-2016 Georgia General Assembly came to a close. We are pleased that criminal justice reform remains a priority of Governor Deal and we saw much needed reform regarding private probation in Georgia, eye-witness identification, as well as the opportunity for parole eligibility for people serving life sentences for non-violent drug offenses. Also, with your help, we successfully defeated provisions that would have severally weakened Georgia’s public defender system. You can read more about our priority legislation here. (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=de4ed90134&e=e8961fc9d4)
Join Us
​May 12, 6 pm, ATLANTA

Don't miss Justice Taking Root Atlanta (http://schr.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=42e4dc4d89&e=e8961fc9d4) , an annual benefit reception for SCHR. This year we honor Former Chief Justice Norman Fletcher, Mawuli Mel Davis, and Larry Bracken. Join us at the beautiful Summerour Studio (http://schr.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=728f872096&e=e8961fc9d4) in Atlanta for a fun evening, with entertainment by international jazz and blues performer Habaka Kay Foster.

Visit our website (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=286c677c09&e=e8961fc9d4) for more information, or contact Terrica Ganzy, Development Director, at tganzy@schr.org (mailto:tganzy@schr.org) or by calling 404.688.1202.
Former Chief Justice Norman Fletcher
Mawuli Mel Davis
Lawrence Bracken

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Around the Nation
Death of Walter Scott Highlights Police Violence and Child Support Debtors' Prisons: The death of Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man fleeing from police after a traffic stop in South Carolina, is another stark example of the epidemic of unarmed Black men killed by police officers. SCHR Board member L. Chris Stewart ** represents the family (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=6f7ce4df31&e=e8961fc9d4 )
of Walter Scott. Scott’s death has also highlighted the use of incarceration as punishment for failure to make child support payments, regardless of a parent’s ability to pay. “Parents who are truly destitute go to jail over and over again for child support debt simply because they’re poor”, said SCHR senior attorney Sarah Geraghty, in a recent ** article (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=13dd1bd597&e=e8961fc9d4)
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Dzhokhar Tsarnaev: The Case for Life: Despite Massachusetts' having repealed the death penalty over 20 years ago, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the convicted Boston Marathon bomber, is facing the death penalty, at the request of federal prosecutors. Tsarnaev is represented by legendary ** death penalty attorney Judy Clarke (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=8d6daf7053&e=e8961fc9d4)
. Clarke is known for securing life for her clients, despite their often notorious crimes. In this case, several victims of the bombing, including the parents of 8-year old Boston bombing victim Martin Richard have ** called for (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=e6f053cd21&e=e8961fc9d4)
the death penalty to be taken off the table.

Violence in Georgia Prisons Goes Viral: A photo that recalled Abu Ghraib emerged on social media this month. The photo depicted 18-year-old Cortez Berry, badly beaten and wearing a leash at Buruss Correctional Training Center in Georgia, and was posted on Facebook before prison officials were aware of his injuries. People across the country were shocked to see this disturbing image and the photo quickly went viral. This incident highlighted the crisis in security in the Georgia prison system that SCHR has been advocating against for several years. To read SCHR's report, The Crisis of Violence in Georgia Prisons, ** click here (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=ca41805b8e&e=e8961fc9d4)
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SCHR in the Press
The Economist: ** Private Probation: Paying for Poverty (http://schr.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=2f2d97595a&e=e8961fc9d4)
New York Times: ** Skip Child Support. Go to Jail. Lose Job. Repeat. (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=ffd54bfdb0&e=e8961fc9d4)

Fulton Daily Report: ** Settlement Reached in Case Over Cordele Public Defenders (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=e1a3db7f5b&e=e8961fc9d4)

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ** Federal Suit Alleges Wrongful Jailings by Probation Company (http://schr.us6.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=c3fd3bc49b&e=e8961fc9d4)

National Public Radio: ** Justice Department Weighs in on Assembly-Line Justice for Children (http://schr.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d7f4ddb26fc8c1dfa5506f3ef&id=aa3626c791&e=e8961fc9d4)
Staff Profile
Throughout the year, we are highlighting individual staff members in our e-newsletters and on social media. This month, we feature Impact Litigation Attorney Atteeyah Hollie.

Atteeyah is an alumna of Dartmouth College and worked as an investigator at SCHR for five years. She left to attend the University of California Berkeley School of Law and then returned to SCHR as an attorney in 2010. Atteeyah now works to improve the quality of legal representation provided to poor Georgians accused of crimes. You can read more about Atteeyah's recent work on indigent representation in Cordele, Georgia above.
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