Greensboro Citizens for Commutation for Jorge Cornell Post Office Box 875 Greensboro, North Carolina 27402 August 3, 2016 Robert A. Zauzmer, Acting Pardon Attorney Office of the Pardon Attorney US Department of Justice 145 N Street N.E. Room SE.508 Washington, DC 20530 Dear Pardon Attomey Zauzmer: In your most honorable position as Acting U.S. Pardon Attomey of the Department of Justice, and speaking on behalf of thousands of Greensboro citizens, we humbly ask that you convey our message to our most distinguished President of the United States, Mr. Barack Obama: We urge President Obama to commute the sentence of Mr. Jorge Comell to time served and to remit the fines Mr. Comell has paid. It is our belief that Commutation is the last resort to correct what many of Greensboro’s most prominent and respected leaders perceive to be a terrible injustice done to Mr. Comell. Jorge Cornell was an advocate for the poor, especially Latinos and antiracism community organizers. He enjoyed a warm relationship with Greensboro’s first African American Mayor, ‘Yvonne Johnson, worked closely with a citywide network of African American Clergy (the Pulpit Forum) , and built strong relationships with area college professors and students. Mr. Cornell met with and secured the support of Dr. Alma Adams, who went on to become the U.S. Congressional Representative for North Carolina’s 12" Congressional District. At his core, Jorge was and remains a deeply committed and gifted young man who did all he could to help the most oppressed. His two beautiful young daughters claim his heart. Jorge Comell is not a criminal; nor does he support criminal activity. Currently an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution, medium security, in Petersburg, Virginia, Jorge Comell has already served almost five years of a twenty-eight year sentence for criminal racketeering. Mr. Cornell and other persons of color or Latino ethnicity with whom he ‘was tried in 2012, in the Middle District of North Carolina, were among the most indigent in the entire city of Greensboro. As a community organizer and youth leader, Jorge simply did not have the financial means for the quality and quantity of legal expertize that is required to successfully defend against a “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization” (RICO) indictment.When Jorge Comell moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, from New York City in 2002, he intended to start a new chapter of his life, not a new chapter of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN). Mr. Cornell, also known as King Jay, wanted a decent job and a more peaceful, less dangerous urban environment for his family. The events that actually transpired in Greensboro and the documented and known facts attesting to these events move us to support Jorge Comell in his Petition for Commutation, We and he are relying on our elected officials and public servants to uphold our nation’s promise of liberty and justice for all so that Jorge Cornell, justifiably and deservedly, may return to society a free man, ‘This petition is organized into four sections. Firstly, we want to share some biographical information about Jorge Cornell that is relevant to the task at hand. Secondly, we offer a brief and relevant overview of examples of Greensboro Police Department racism and disregard of the civil and human rights of certain categories of people. Next, we provide some details of Mr. Cornell's involvement in the Greensboro community, including his efforts to forge a peace treaty among street groups ~efforts that were encouraged and aided by numerous local clergy and community members from all walks of life. We describe his harassment by the Greensboro Police Department (GPD) that repeatedly brought unsubstantiated charges against Mr. Cornell and other ALKQN members, charges that were dismissed or did not hold up in court. Finally, we supply lenses through which Jorge Comell’s story may be viewed and considered. The intent is to suggest a context that would be helpful in arriving at the most just outcome with respect to the question of commutation. I. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON JORGE CORNELL Jorge Comell was bom to a drug-addicted mother of Puerto Rican ethnicity who eventually died of AIDS. Mr. Comell was brought up in a chaotic and dysfunctional household. Much of the time he was left to take care of his younger siblings. ‘The children had to beg and scavenge for food. Secking to keep the family together, Jorge and his siblings ran from social workers who might separate them. At public school, little Cornell was in Special Ed classes and was ‘bounced around to various foster homes. When he was about twelve years old, he was adopted by the Cornell family, a white family in upstate New York. Finally, Jorge was afforded a more normal and nurturing setting relative to his traumatized beginnings. Jorge Comell met his wife, Alana, of Dominican Republic descent, when both were very young. She introduced him to the ALKQN. The organization took the young couple under its wing. It was family. A compassionate and caring person, Mr. Comell eventually gravitated to a minority faction of the ALKQN. This minority faction within the ALKQN was attempting to redirect the organization away from the violence and criminality that, sadly, was typical in the Latin Kings and many other gangs and youth street organizations. Seeking a better and more peaceful life, Mr. Cornell moved to Greensboro in 2002 where he supported his family for several years as a truck driver and as a forklift operator. The Latino population had been growing rapidly in Greensboro and in North Carolina since the 1990s. Many in the community, immigrants, as well as their supporters and detractors, spoke 2out and debated about immigration policy, in particular about the enforcement of Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.' As a United States citizen of Puerto Rican descent, Jorge Cornell was not personally threatened with deportation. However, as a sensitive human being, he was affected by the stories he heard from other Latinos about their mistreatment by the GPD. In 2008 there came a turning point when Mr. Cornell, “witnessed GPD officers enter a local bar immediately following a car accident involving Latinos and falsely charge four innocent Hispanic men with hit-and-run.” After this incident Comell decided to start a chapter of the ALKQN as a way of uplifting the Latino community and giving a voice to Greensboro’s voiceless undocumented immigrants.”* From the very beginning of the formation of the North Carolina Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, Mr. Cornell demanded good behavior of members. He “worked to ensure that his chapter served a different purpose and forbade all types of normally understood gang activity, including drug use or sale, provoking violence, and stealing.”* Those activities were not tolerated and members who engaged in them had to leave the organization, “Given that many of the young people attracted to Cornell and the ALKQN had been abused, scarred, and had criminal histories, Cornell had a daunting task.” For some of the young people, Mr. Cornell functioned in loco parentis, a role that harkened back to his own tormented childhood when he was caring for his more vulnerable siblings. Mr. Cornell encouraged young Latin Kings to stay in school and graduate and to find jobs. In fact, he actively helped them stay in school. In addition, Mr. Comell “remained part of the national organization and sought to change the direction of the national organization to mirror his more positive chapter of the organization in Greensboro.”* As shown by support letters sent by eminent citizens who worked alongside Mr. Cornell in the community as well as the signers of this document, Jorge was not a criminal racketeer but a serious and determined community activist for social justice. Il, ABUSES OF POLICE POWER IN GREENSBORO Jorge Comell’s treatment at the hands of the GPD was far from being the first time that abuse of police power has been raised in Greensboro: He is one of many victims over many years of police corruption, double standards, and a lack of accountability. * See Complaint Under Title VI ofthe Civil Rights Act of 1964, submitted to the Department of Justice on October 30, 2010, p.3 ? See http://www youtube.com/watch?v=xiDebdOoilO where lorge discusses this epiphany. The video is 26 ‘minutes, from youtube, and is called The Jorge Cornell Story. It has good information and perspective on Jorge Cornell his character and family life > Complaint Under Title Vien P. 4 * ur Democratic Mission: Transitioning the Greensboro Police Department from Double Standards and Corruption to Accountability and Professionalism, (Greensboro, NC: Beloved Community Center, 2013) p.25 > ii WidIn 1969, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, a black high school student and social justice activist in Greensboro, Claude Barnes, was elected President of the Student Government by an overwhelming majority of students at the predominantly black Dudley High School but ‘was prohibited from taking his seat. The police treated protesting adolescents and teenagers brutally, causing them to go to nearby North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University for help. An uprising ensued for several days at the North Carolina A&T campus. In the course of this protest, a black A&T student, Willie Grimes, was shot and killed. According to Nelson Johnson, who was a student leader and organizer at A&T at the time, there were eye witnesses who claimed that Grimes was shot by a police officer, but they were never questioned by law enforcement officials. Community voices for a full investigation were ignored by the GPD: When a report by the North Carolina Civil Rights Commission subsequently found fault with the police and City of Greensboro, that too was ignored. ‘The failure of the local police to properly investigate the killing meant that racism and a lack of accountability continued within the GPD. Consequently, many black residents even today do not trust the police. In a 1985 civil suit connected to an incident that has come to be known as the Greensboro Massacre, two GPD officers were found jointly liable, along with several Klansmen and Neo- Nazis, for the wrongful death of an anti-Klan demonstrator at a 1979 Anti-Klan and labor rally. The City of Greensboro paid a $350,000 settlement for the police, Klansmen and Neo-Nazis, but the police did not acknowledge any wrongdoing or apologized to the families of five slain demonstrators or to those wounded in the shooting or to the traumatized residents of the black housing project where the killing of five anti-racist labor organizers took place. Although demonstrators had a legal permit so that police were duty-bound to protect them and despite the fact that police knew in advance the Klan and Nazi members’ violent plans and had tracked their caravan heading to the formation point of the parade, Greensboro police officers absented themselves from the scene at the critical moments of a deadly confrontation.’ Many years later, as a rogue police culture continued unreformed, a community-wide effort established the Greensboro Truth and Community Reconciliation Project, out of which came the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which used South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission as a model. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, visiting Greensboro on two occasions, fully supported Greensboro’s TRC which was the first of its kind (based on international models) in the United States. This grassroots-led TRC, in turn, became a model for truth processes in the U.S. and elsewhere. After thoroughly investigating the November 3, 1979 Greensboro Massacre, the Greensboro TRC coneluded in its report to the community that “the single most important element that contributed to the violent outcome of the confrontation was Fora fuller account of the Greensboro Massacre of Nov. 3, 1979, see books by two survivors, Sally Avery Bermanzohn, Through Survivors Eyes: From the Sixties to the Greensboro Massacre (Nashville: Vanderbilt. University Press, 2003) and Signe Weller, Love and Revolution: A Political Memoir, People’s History of the Greensboro Massacre, Its Setting and Aftermath (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002). 4the absence of police.”* Sadly, to this day the police have not acknowledgment any wrongdoing nor apologized to those who suffered from the role they played in the Greensboro Massacre . Following the publication of the TRC report, another police scandal, illustrating racial bias within the GPD, resulted in the resignation of Greensboro Police Department Chief David Wray. In January 2006, it was disclosed that black and Latino officers were being profiled and electronically bugged by the GPD. Three years later following that, 39 black police officers sued the city of Greensboro for breach of contract and racial discrimination. They stated that Police Chief Wray and his Chief Deputy directed other officers to include their pictures in a “black book” of photo lineups and to pursue unsubstantiated charges against them because oftheir race.” The City of Greensboro spent over two million dollars fighting the suit. Bight years after the scandal broke, and shortly before the case was to go to trial, the City settled with most of the civil suit’s black and Latino officers for $500,000." Thus, even police officers were not exempted from the Department's long-standing racist policies and double standards. The cases of Police Officers Joseph Pryor, Ahmed J. Blake, Robert Reyes, and Captain Charles Cherry are instructive and are discussed in the Beloved Community Center's 2013 monograph.'" If police officers could fare so poorly within the prevailing biased police culture then one can imagine how much worse off are civilians of African, Latino or Asian descent. For example, in September of 2009, an 85 year old African ‘American woman, Eva Foster, was shopping in a store that suddenly was raided by police for harboring an illegal gambling operation. An innocent bystander, Ms. Foster was forced to the ground by a white officer and handcuffed with such force that her wrist was fractured. The GPD ignored the elderly lady’s complaints for years, violated her civil rights, and refused to investigate in an all-too-familiar pattern. Only her persistence, a civil law suit, and grassroots support from an outraged community finally moved the City to make a $15,000 settlement to Ms. Foster. The police, however, continued to claim that nothing improper was done."? More recently, community-police relations were aggravated when police refused to release the police body camera tape of a Vietnamese woman, Chieu-di Thi Vo, who was shot to death by * Fram the Executive Summary of the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Final Report, presented to the residents of Greensboro, the City, the Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Project and other public bodies on May 25, 2006. in a footnote on page 7, the Report says, “In fact, Detective Jerry Cooper and GPD photographer J.1. Matthews were present, but did not make their presence known and so had no effect on preventing the violence. ° amanda Lehmert and Jennifer Fernandez, “Police officers sue city for discrimination,” Greensboro News & Record, January 10, 2009. http://www greensboro.com/news/police-officers-sue-city-for- discrimination/article 7de7al5e-209f-111e3-be5b-001a4bcf6878. html * Robert Lope, “City settles police department ‘black book’ suits for $500,000,” Greensboro News & Record, September 18, 2013. http://www.greensboro.com/news/government/city-settles-police-department-black-book- its-for/article_ Oac9biee-209a-1163-2aec-001adbc{6878 html * our Democratic Mission, Pp. 19-21; 17-19; 14-15; and 27-29 respectively ” op. cit,,p. 21. Op. cit, pp. 21-22.a white police officer in March of 2014.'* Under intense community pressure the video footage was finally made available to the public. Many people in the community who have viewed the tape, including the Vo family, do not think that what they saw aligns with the police justification for the shooting. The entire matter remains unresolved. Further ramifications are likely to come. Police misconduct, racism, antagonism toward those who organize to create a better society and a posture of being above the law all come into play in the case of Jorge Cornell. That is our rationale for offering these examples of police abuse and their lack of accountablity in this letter requesting the commutation of Mr. Cornell's sentence. Jorge is a victim of questionable to dishonorable police tactics we cite. He is not a criminal. ‘We submit this letter in hopes that the injustice to which Jorge Comell had been subjected will be remedied to the extent possible and we look forward, one day soon, to having a City and a municipal police force of which we can be proud. One hopefil sign is the recent case of two African American men, the Scales Brothers. They were falsely arrested for impeding traffic and subjected to a biased and inadequate police review process; however, community pressure resulted in the charges being dropped. Pursuing further redress, they received an apology from the City and a settlement of $50,000.'° If not for the justice and democracy-loving community support the Seales Brothers received, they most likely would have been convicted in court on false charges.'® II MR. CORNELL’S GREENSBORO EXPERIENCE Harassment of Jorge Cornell and the ALKQN by the GPD began even before a federally funded Gang Enforcement Unit dedicated to suppressing gangs was formed in 2007. Once the Gang Unit was established, Mr. Cornell and the ALKQN became the primary focus of a systematic and unrelenting harassment campaign for over three years. Meanwhile, Mr. Cornell was at work creating an Agreement among gangs and street organizations, a.k.a. a Peace Treaty. ‘The Agreement promoted laying down violence and working peacefully together on positive community projects. It pledged to bring about more understanding between black and brown people and called on clergy from Pulpit Forum of Greensboro for assistance in public communication and dealing with expected challenges.'” * See Joe Gamin, "Deadly shots echo in silence,” Greensboro News & Record, june 21, 2015. The News & Record ran a 3-part series on June 21, 22, and 23, 2015, which focuses on police-involved shootings and community response. ® Sarah Newell Williamson, “Scales brothers receive settlement, plus apology,” Greensboro News & Record, May 3, 2016. The Scales Brothers’ lawyer, Graham Holt, sid “public support was key in the positive resolution the brothers reached with the city. The community got behind them. That's a victory.” http://www greensboro.com/news/local_ news/scales-bi city/article 1c54dea0-7427-Sde-8426-21418cb84118,htm| iid ¥ See A Beginning: Towards Peace Among Us ("Gangs"), Agreement Reached Wednesday, luly 23, 2008, Greensboro, NC 6Gangs (others might refer to them as youth street organizations), are identified in the public's mind with violence and criminal behavior. It is undeniable that there is plenty of evidence to support this view. However, we often talk about the exception that disproves the rule, the atypical. Jorge Comell and the Latin Kings in Greensboro, North Carolina, were atypical. However, they were targeted and treated as criminals by the GPD from the beginning. For example: On December 1, 2007, one month after the gang unit’s formation, ALKQN leader Jorge Cornell had parked in his friend’s driveway and was walking toward her house to pick her up for a party when about eighteen GPD cars pulled up. ‘The officers walked toward Corell’s car with guns drawn, They ordered him back in his vehicle, Comell obeyed the order, returning to his car and sitting with his hands on the dashboard. The officers then ordered Cornell out of the car. ‘Then, he was told to get down on his knees and put his hands on his head. Next, they ordered Comell lay down on the ground. Ashe lay prostrate, Officer Finch twisted his arm behind his back and handcuffed him. Officer Finch rammed Comell’s face into the ground. When Cornell moved his neck in an attempt to protect his face, several officers began beating him. One officer hit Cornell in the head with a flashlight. The officers later charged Comell with assault, claiming that Comell had somehow attacked them from his handcuffed position on the ground... Cornell was acquitted of this charge in December of 2008. * Following this incident, Mr. Cornell tried to enter the Melvin Municipal Office Building in Greensboro to file a complaint with the Complaint trough the Human Relations Commission. He was blocked from entering the building by an Internal Affairs employee. Jonge was told that he had no right to enter the building because he was a “gang member”. ‘On February 8, 2008, Gang Unit officers, using a warrant under Mr. Cornell”s name, kicked down the door at the residence of former Latin King, Anthony Vasquez. They searched the house and found half an ounce of marijuana on a separate person in the house. They charged Vasquez with possession with the intent to sell and distribute. A few days later, the Gang Unit arrested Mr. Comell and charged him with maintaining the dwelling, because they found his name on the water bill at the Vasquez residence.” The felony charges against both Vasquez and Cornell were later dismissed. Also in February of 2008, Mr. Cornell and his biological brother Russell Kilfoil (also known as King Peaceful) were charged with ten counts of conspiracy to embezzle. Subsequently, the District Attorney, citing lack of evidence, dropped all charges against both men.*! * Complaint Under Tite VI.-pp. 6-7. ® op cit, p.7. > id Ibid. Defense Attorney Georgia Nixon reported that the DA told her "Based on what the officer turned in we had to dismiss ths.” Cited in Jordan Green, “Jorge Cornell Called for Gang Peace..So Why Does He Look Like a Marked 7Former Gang Unit officer, A.J. Blake, a black officer of Honduran descent, later told the press that “the gang unit was instructed to charge the Latin Kings with any possible violations that we could.” Officer Blake fell out of favor with the GPD after he approached Sergeant Sizemore, who served under the Gang Unit's commander Captain Wolfe, and complained of discrimination against Latinos. Officer Blake told Sergeant Sizemore of his concern that the Gang Unit was focusing exclusively on the ALKQN while other “gangs” were actively shooting at each other. He suggested that the Gang Unit needed to break that up before someone got killed. Despite the violence ongoing and emanating from other “gangs,” Sizemore still wanted to focus on Mr. Cornell and the Latin Kings.” ‘The unwarranted focus on the ALKQN resulted in the further impoverishment and marginalization these young people by straining their meager resources with legal fees. The effects of constant harassment at their homes, on their jobs, and in public places were that many. lost their jobs. Their lives became filled with fear and anxiety, not knowing what harm the next police encounter might bring. Unmerited arrests were followed by dismissals and acquittals. To illustrate the systematic discrimination and harassment that Mr. Comell and the ALKQN chapter faced, consider: While North Carolina had approximately a 68% conviction rate for felonies charged, the conviction rate for Greensboro ALKQN members charged with felonies was only 11%."* By Spring of 2009, Mr. Cornell alone had been charged with more than fourteen felonies in an eighteen month period, every one of which was either thrown out of court or defeated in court.”* In late June of 2008, as police provocation and harassment continued, Jorge Comell sought spiritual guidance from Reverend Nelson Johnson, Executive Director of the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro and Co-Pastor of Faith Community Church. The two men prayed together and Mr. Comell shared his vision of a “Peace Treaty” that would bring street organizations together in the service of the community. Grateful for the support he received, Jorge Cornell began announcing his plan to forge “a peace treaty among street groups and sought out clergy to stem the tide of street violence in Greensboro.”*° In the weeks that followed, several street organizations engaged in a genuine and hopeful peace process. Due to Mr. Cornell’s efforts, representatives from several street organizations met together, prayed together, sang together, and showed their solidarity before many community witnesses. Man?,” YES! Weekly, November 19, 2008. http://vesweekly.com/article-5209-jorge-cornell-called-for-gan: peace.htm! ® quoted in Jordan Green, “Suspended Gang Unit Officer Corroborates Abuse Allegations,” YES! Weekly, June 10- 16, 2009, p. 8. h ssweekly.com/print-article-6428-print.htmn! ® ibid. * Qur Democratic Mission, p. 25. “am Urgent Plea to Greensboro to Help Save Lives,” Rev. Nelson Johnson, November 2009, © Our Democratic Mission, p. 25. 8On July 23, 2008, with support from the Pulpit Forum and the Nation of Islam, a Peace Treaty was agreed to by five street organizations: the ALKQN, the Almighty Black Peace Stone Nation, the Crips, the Five Percenters and the Piru Bloods. The five organizations urged other “gangs” and the community at large to “lay down violence and join us in working together for peace among us and within our community Instead of law enforcement encouraging this promising initiative by poor and marginalized youth, or at least remaining neutral, the ALKQN experienced almost daily harassment by the GPD’s Gang Unit in the weeks after the Peace Treaty announcement. In a private meeting between four Pulpit Forum clergy and former Police Chief Timothy Bellamy, the ministers expressed their concer that the provocative behavior of the Gang Unit toward the ALKQN was creating a dangerous situation, The ministers asked Chief Bellamy outright whether Mr. Comell’s ALKQN chapter was a violent organization. The Chief replied that the ALKQN was not known to be violent in Greensboro.”* When pressed further about why the ALKQN were being pursued by the police, Chief Bellamy told the clergymen that it was because they are organized.” Most disturbing is what happened next. On the night of August 10, 2008, just a few weeks after his public call for peace among street organizations, Jorge Comell was shot and critically wounded in what appeared to be an assassination attempt.’ Upon receiving news of the shooting, Rev. Johnson visited Mr. Cornell in the hospital after his surgery. The two men discussed the need to prevent any escalation of violence, Rev. Johnson recalled, “I asked if ] could say on his behalf that he was asking all who loved him and respected Erie Ginsberg, “Greensboro Gangs Unite to Build Peace,” The Guilfordian, September 19, 2008, The agreement, as previously noted, is entitled, "Towards Peace Among Us (‘Gangs)" * Our Democratic Mission, p. 25. ns reported by Rev. Nelson Johnson, one of the four clergy present in a private meeting with Police Chief Bellamy. It seems the ALKQN was targeted because of its community organizing efforts rather than criminal activity, which it neither promoted nor tolerated. This peculiar logic of punishing organizing and ignoring police harassment carried over to the RICO trial where the Prosecution and the Court successfully denied Mr. Cornell a defense of police harassment and ruled out evidence of his community organizing. * complaint Under Title VI... p.18. The Title VI Complaint, and several other published sources have put the date of the shooting as October 11, 2008, but this is incorrect: the wrong date was probably copied from a source that stated it erroneously and not checked. Verifying the correct date of August 10" is Rev. Nelson Johnson who visited ‘Mr. Cornell at Wesley Long Hospital at approximately 10:00 PM on Sunday August 10”, the day on which he was shot. Its also verified by Mr. Cornell himself and quoted in the November 19, 2008 issue of Yes! Weekly, “Jorge Cornell Called for Gang Peace...50 Why Does He Looked Like a Marked Man?," p. 13, in which he indicates he was shot on Sunday, which would be August 10, 2008 and not August 11, 2008, 9hhim not to retaliate. He said that the peace process was still in place and would continue, He agreed and added that I should tell the public that whoever shot him is forgiven.”! Recovering from his wounds, Mr. Comell persisted in his commitment to seeking peace among street organizations and within the community. He began to take a more active role in public life in behalf of youth, poor people and marginalized minorities, often speaking out against racism and discrimination. In October of 2008, Jorge Cornell participated in a Black and Brown Unity Conference. He was appointed to and served on the Guilford County School Safety Committee in 2009. Mr. Cornell ran twice for a Greensboro City Council seat. In 2009, he ran for an at-large seat. In 2011, he ran to become the District 5 representative. His presence was felt in poor communities as he comforted and aided those who were victimized by senseless violence, as illustrated by the following incident at a public housing project. Ina press statement on August 12, 2009, a year after the shooting, Mr. Comell told of a recent it that he and the ALKQN had with a grieving mother in the Hickory Trails Public Housing Community. We have helped raise money and got a church for her to hold the funeral for her sixteen- year-old son, who was killed by senseless violence. Even before her son was buried, however, the Housing Authority said that it will put this mother out of her home. I will be working with others to help keep her in her home in the weeks to come. This is the kind of violence I think we ean prevent if we and other peace-seeking stret groups could work freely in the community. ‘The GPD appeared to take no notice of any positive achievements by Mr. Comell and the ALKQN. Instead, the GPD kept hardening its stance. On several occasions, the Gang Unit disrupted their peaceful participation in events in downtown Greensboro. One such disruption ‘occurred on November 1, 2008, at Center City Park, when officers of the Gang Unit rushed a ‘group of African-American, Latino, and White youth who were “involved in a friendly game of tag football." ‘The Gang Unit's actions unsettied families with small children and elders who were enjoying themselves in the park on a beautiful, sunny day. There even appeared to be a Quinceaieras (a Latino debutante ceremony) underway. Twenty minutes after the Gang Unit 3 «Outline for Discussion of Sequence of Events Related to the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation," Nelson Johnson, August 16, 2008. * *city Council Candidate's Curfew Lifted,” Greensboro News and Record, August 5, 2008. mw gt -council-candidate-s-curfew-lfted/article 860a207a-99ce-5110-8261- ‘262d322306F7 html; Amanda Lehmert, “Latin King Gang Leader Seeking Council Seat,” Greensboro News and Record, July 16, 2009. http://\www.greensboro.com/ litical/latin-king-gang-leader-seeking-city-council- seat/atticle_ 254d6afd-c34f-598f-af86-67a7892880e0.html * “public Statement by Jorge Cornell; ‘I Will Continue to Work for Peace and Unity,”” August 12, 2009. This statement was delivered at @ joint press conference with former Gang Unit Officer, A.J. Blake on August 12, 2009. See: httos://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRXJPm6wO80 ** See, “Behavior of Greensboro's Gang Squad Puts Young People and Community Members in Danger,” Press release by the Pulpit Forum of Clergy and the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro, November 6, 2008. 10stormed in, the park was virtually empty.’* The Gang Unit arrested Mr. Cornell and three other men and charged them with abducting a 15-year-old girl. The felony charges associated with the alleged kidnapping were later dropped. In fact, no abduction or kidnapping ever took place. In the meantime, the local newspaper hastily ran with the police version of the story portraying Mr. Cornell and his friends as criminals.** In response to the major local media’s slanted coverage, Reverend Gregory Headen, President of the Pulpit Forum, and Rev, Johnson, also of the Pulpit Forum, publically denounced the charges,” as did local alternative community newspaper journalist Jordan Green.* Of the many charges, both felony and misdemeanor, thrown at him by the GPD, Mr. Comell was convicted only once of a misdemeanor: He was charged with obstructing and delaying a law enforcement officer.” The occasion for the charge was a free concert, sponsored by a local restaurant, which brought hundreds of people into downtown Greensboro on Saturday, August 1, 2009. The GPD claimed that ALKQN members were “throwing gang signs” -- an accusation the latter adamantly denied. What really happened was that Mr. Cornell had filed with the Board of Elections to be a Greensboro City Council candidate and was campaigning, It was a good opportunity for the distribution of campaign literature and also for young people to have some wholesome entertainment, Mr. Comell was downtown with his campaign manager, Eric Ginsburg, a Guilford College student. During the concert, Wesley Williams, for whom Mr. Cormell had temporary custody, and several other ALKQN members arrived with Jorge’s daughters, Janice and Abigail Cornell. From a distance, Mr. Ginsburg waved to the newly arrived group and they waved back.” No gang signal had in fact been sent. When Mr. Cornell spotted police officers surrounding Wesley Williams, he walked over to see what was happening. Gang Unit Officer Roman Watkins aggressively confronted Jorge Comell and quickly arrested him, Mr. Comell offered no resistance but spoke to the crowd, asking them to take note of what was happening. One of his daughters calls out “Why are you > wig. Sonja Elmauist, “Four Men Face Charges in Abduction of Girl, 15,” Greensboro News and Record, November 3, 2008 http://www. greensboro,com/news/public_safety/four-men-face-charges-in-abduction-of- girV/article_75a25b06-8150.5347-a4d3-247032929277.htm! *” “Behavior of Greensboro's Gang Squad...” Pulpit Forum of Clergy and the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro, November 6, 2008, Jordan Green, “Jorge Cornell Called for Gang Peace...So Why Does He Look @ Marked Man,” Yes Weekly!, November 19, 2008, p. 23. » Gerald Whitt, “Candidates Arrest Leaves Facts Unclear,” Greensboro News and Record, August 3, 2009, htto://www.greensboro.com/news/public_safety/candidate-s-arrest-leaves-facts- unclear/article_78cfOflbb-290a-52a5-a00b-c9ba0Sfd346e.html * Public Statement by Jorge Cornell. August 12, 2008. ualways harassing my father?” The younger one starts to cry hysterically. A youtube video captured some of what transpired. Asa result of this unnecessary, wrongful arrest, Mr. Comell was put on a curfew at the height of his campaign for a City Council seat. He was forbidden to be out-of-doors after 6 p.m., a time when he did much of his campaigning. The community responded swiftly to this violation of Mr. Cornell’s civil rights. Some viewed it as an effort to sabotage his electoral campaign. After a strong public response, Mr. Cornell’s lawyer was able to have the curfew dropped.” On August 12, 2009, the Beloved Community Center held a joint press conference for Jorge Cornell and former Gang Unit Officer A.J. Blake.” Besides allowing Mr. Cornell to respond to his being wrongfully arrested as he campaigned, the joint press conference displayed an unlikely alliance between former Gang Unit Officer Blake and Mr. Comell. A Black man of Honduran decent, Officer Blake had expressed his objections to the Gang Unit's discriminatory policies and racist speech, Due to Blake's own integrity and professionalism in voicing concer over the tacties used by the Gang Unit, Blake was eventually subjected to internal police ridicule and retaliatory dismissal. In charging him with something he did not do and in the disciplinary steps they took against him after firing him, the GPD illustrated the very discriminatory practices about which the former gang unit officer had complained.* ‘Throughout 2009, Jorge Comell was striving to put into practice an inspiring vision for a “paradigm shift” that he himself had helped develop along with the Beloved Community Center and the Pulpit Forum. In the words of the BCC, the plan lays out how the community, the ALKQN, the school system, the clergy, the BCC and the police could work together to reduce violence and promote community building.”** The police harassment of Jorge Comell was tantamount to sabotaging any opportunity for a better and safer community as laid out in “A Paradigm Shift.” That “shift” required an emerging concrete example in which a person, or a group, demonstrates some of the features of anew and more desirable way of doing things. Mr. Cornell was that person! ‘The moral force of his example, his sacrifice, and his stand led open-minded community members to imagine and watch the video at: http://www youtube.com/watch?v=IQnECK6v2: © See Jorge Cornell for Greensboro City Council, Archive for August 2009, p. 9, online at hitps://cornellforcouncil,wordoress,com/2009/08/pane/2, © See the two main statements made: Public Statement by Jorge Cornell, “I Will Continue to work for Peace and Unity," and “Statement by Greensboro Police Officer A.J. Black.” August 12, 2009. For a youtube video of Cornell's statement see https://wuw.youtube.com/watch?v=mRXJPmEwO80 . ™ See Jordan Green, “Culture of impunity: Unresolved Grievances in the GPO,” Yes Weekiy!, July 7, 2010. i i Jure-of-impunity-unresolved-grievances-in-the-god.ntm © Beloved Community Center and the Pulpit Forum of Clergy, “A Paradigm Shift: A Proposal to Engage Street Groups or ‘Gangs’ As a Potential Resource for Safe Communities,” Greensboro, NC, January 2009. Download the document at https://www.scribd. com/doc/$5756680/A-Paradigm-Shift-Gangs 12reflect on a way to turn damaging social relationships (as for example the ALKQN and the police, or the ALKQN and other street groups) into healthy, mutually beneficial ones. The paradigm shifi document that Mr, Cornell helped draft detailed several concrete examples in which Mr. Cornell's vision was put into practice and actually guided the ALKQN for the better. Mr. Cornell taught many young people not to simply react when they felt disrespected or offended but to sit down and talk out the problem in order to bring about a satisfactory and peaceful solution However, even with support for a paradigm shift in some sectors of city government and among community leaders, matters did not improve for Mr. Cornell and his friends. Constant police harassment was wearing them down, financially and emotionally. Greensboro clergy and other community members feared that the Gang Unit’s tactics would effectively shut off any opportunities for legitimate employment and leave these youths with no lawful way to support themselves. Finally, with local redress seemingly out of reach, a multiracial delegation of thirty-seven Greensboro citizens, including Mr. Cornell, clergy members, students, college professors and four current and former police officers, journeyed to Washington, D.C. in October 2010. There they met with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to discuss their concerns about the GPD’s systematic targeting of Mr. Cornell and other members of the community." (One would hardly expect a person who was actually engaged in racketeering activity to present himself to the Department of Justice: Common sense alone debunks the charges leveled at Mr. Comell.) Representatives of the Department of Justice listened respectfully as the Greensboro delegation described the unlawful and questionable police activities and the constitutional rights violations from which they were seeking relief. Their concerns were summed up in a Title VI Complaint.® Despite the Justice Department's assurances of a follow-up investigation, no subsequent steps appear to have been taken: the Title VI complaint went unanswered. Instead, in the following year, “the Department of Justice prosecutors charged Comell and 13 other ALKQN codefendants with violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) statute” In the eyes of many people in the Greensboro community who are aware of the facts, there was nothing in the conduct of Mr. Comell or his North Carolina organization to warrant a RICO indictment. Mr. Comell was caught between a vicious police vendetta and a misapplied “© on more than one occasion, GPD officers went to places of employment to warn employers they had a gang. ‘member working for them. One young ALKAN member was dismissed from his job at the Greensboro Coliseurn as 2 consequence of such a visit. *” ur Democratic Mission, p. 26 * Ibid. for an account of the community action and, as cited in first footnote, see the complaint in its entirely at Complaint Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, submitted to the Department of Justice on October 30, 2010. © our Democratic Mission, p. 26. Bfederal RICO statute, Despite years of surveillance, provocation and harassment, the local police were unable to get any substantial conviction of Mr. Cornell. It appears that they looked to RICO as an easier and more powerful weapon with which to bludgeon him and the other ALKQN members. Defense Attorney Michael Patrick, Mr. Comell’s attorney, “learned that the GPD lobbied the Justice Department on several occasions to bring RICO charges but was refused. It is not our intention to speculate or revisit the trial that took place in the Middle District of North Carolina in 2012. However, the trial and subsequent legal review left many in the community wondering if justice was ever seriously sought. For one thing, former ALKQN members who testified against Mr. Cornell reported they did so “in order to reduce their sentences for petty crimes they did commit”. Some, it was disclosed in court, “were paid sums as high as $14, 000 for their testimony.”*' Also germane, but apparently ignored, was the fact that many who testified against Jorge Comell “had been expelled from the organization for not complying with the strict non-criminal practices that Comell advocated.” At trial, presentations by several lawyers, involving multiple defendants and testimonies, evidently caused confusion about how the array of facts related to the star defendant, Mr. Cornell. Jurors debated for four days and stated several times that they were unable to come to a decision.** They were told by the judge, apparently pressing for a verdict before the Thanksgiving holiday, that the government had spent a great deal of money on the case and would have to spend a lot more if it were not concluded right away.’ The Beloved Community Center, which had worked so closely with Mr. Cornell to end violence, bring peace to street organizations, and harness youthful energies into constructive, community-serving purposes, called what happened on November 21, 2012, a “Thanksgiving Eve pressure verdict."** The BCC maintains that the jury “hastily returned an irrational verdict of guilty (e.g. convietion on a charge for which no connection to one of the defendants was ever made) for Comell and two other members of the ALKQN group of six being tried”** "ibid. We may speculate why the DOJ assented finally to the urgings of a municipal police force but we do not know why or when this happened. Nothing in the objective situation with the NC ALKQN had changed: the ALKON did not begin to pursue criminal activity. We only observe that is the penchant and usual practice of the DOJ to support local police organizations. * oid id. (Italics are ours.) The point is also made on page 26 of Our Democratic Mission that if the Justice Department had investigated the Title VI Complaint brought to them by Greensboro citizens in 2010, as they were required to do by law but did not do, the false claims made by the GPD against Jorge Cornell and the ALKON would have been exposed. They would have seen there was no basis for RICO charges. > tid * oid > oid * bid 14IV. CONSIDER COMMUTATION FOR JORGE CORNELL ‘We sincerely hope that our petition for the commutation of Jorge Comell’s twenty-eight year sentence to time served, as well as remittance of fines he has paid, will be considered in the justice-loving spirit in which it is made, We have stated here what we know and believe to be true; and we have not omitted any relevant information which, if considered, would paint a different picture. We believe we have provided a sufficient basis for a decision of commutation. In summing up we offer some final thoughts for your consideration. Does Mr. Comell’s case best advertise RICO’s effectiveness or its failure? Since its inception, the statute has been much criticized by prominent legal minds on grounds of its unfaimess and attack upon civil liberties. Former federal prosecutor Gerard E. Lynch, who has written extensively about RICO, called it “incredibly vague and amorphous.”*” The statute is overly broad and sweeping in its implications of guilt by association. As best as we can discern, several conspiracy charges, in a very loose and mostly false fashion, tied Mr. Cornell to others with whom he may have associated at some time. The RICO statute allowed for essentially criminalizing Mr. Comell for mere association, without proof of criminal culpability or responsibility on his part. Mr. Cornell was doing his best to help the young people around him, some of whom probably did commit crimes, but such behavior did not grow from orders or the influence of Mr. Cornell. What is more, the amount of money derived from the petty crimes for which some defendants were charged was hardly what one expects from racketeering activity. It would be a different matter if Mr. Cornell was in fact just bad at racketeering activity, but the truth is that the cooperating witnesses acted on their own and out of individual greed. For example, one actual robbery that may indeed be attributed to a former Latin King, but not to Mr, Cornell, involved a dry cleaning establishment in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was a crime that would not normally be deemed a federal offense. But federal jurisdiction (interstate ‘commerce) was tenuously established when prosecutors argued that the cleaning fluid purchased by the store owner had come from another state. Hence, a RICO offense was born. The small amounts of monetary gain from this and other crimes charged in this RICO ease (arguably too small to appropriately be assigned to federal jurisdiction) did not end up increasing the wealth of Mr. Cornell or lifting any of the North Carolina Latin Kings from their impoverished and downtrodden social moorings. Moreover, the infringement of civil and human rights for which some RICO prosecutions ~ this case among them — are notorious is a shared concern of many organizations and individuals in North Carolina. Those who have been paying attention to Mr. Cornell’s case understand the 7 scot |. Paltrow, “Debate Rages Over the Long Arm of RICO, Los Angeles Times, August 13, 1989. 15question posed by one member of our community about Mr. Comell and the North Carolina ALKQN, were they a criminal network or a social justice organization? Mr. Comell is not a criminal but an activist concerned with issues of poverty and social justice. Another lens through which to view this case, as suggested earlier in this letter, is to consider a“lost opportunity”. What might have happened if the GPD, the Clergy and ALKQN had been able to collaborate to rid the city of actual gang violence? This was the thinking-outside-the-box that was represented by a paradigm shift. In that shift, Mr. Comell, working with the Greensboro community and its municipal and religious leaders, would have steered troubled youth into lawful and beneficial community service, What if at least some of the federal resources the local police received to suppress “gang” activity had been used to support wholesome activities for the members of street organizations? Couldn’t this have been done without sacrificing the important police function of reducing crime and keeping the city’s residents safe and protected? We cannot change the past, but a lost opportunity in the past could become a real and redeeming possibility for the future. The commutation of Jorge Comell’s sentence could be a bridge from a flawed past to a more hopeful future for Greensboro, North Carolina, There is no question that commutation would signify a more hopeful future for Mr. Comell, his family and possibly for Greensboro. Please consider that Jorge has already served approximately five years of his sentence, years that are lost to him forever. His two daughters, Janice and Abigail, now teenagers, are fully integrated into the Greensboro Community. They suffered a great deal from their father’s treatment at the hands of the GPD’s Gang Unit. Short and infrequent visits to the prison hardly afford them the opportunity for the nurturing parental love and moral guidance they previously enjoyed. Mr. Cornell’s daughters are bright and delightful young ladies with beautiful spirits Janice and Abigail need to be reunited with their father! Janice, the older one, is about to go west to naval training school. She has her heart set on becoming an officer in the United States Navy. We, his friends and supporters, urge you to free Mr. Cornell so that he may be at his daughters’ sides for the next chapters of their lives and present when Janice is hopefully inducted into the U.S. Navy. As a final lens with which to consider commutation for Mr. Comell, please think about the ‘g00d he will do once he has regained his freedom. He had been moving toward a paradigm shift that would be a community asset and model for all youth. He might continue this promising ‘work that he began in Greensboro as a mentor to youth, a peacemaker, and a community activist for justice, Counter-intuitive though it might seem, a free Jorge Comell might greatly assist ongoing community efforts to make the police better—i.e., more accountable and professional public servants than has historically been the case. Also, please consider that at the time of his arrest in 2011, Mr. Comell had been working diligently to develop an innovative, non-profit employment ageney to provide jobs for motivated young people with criminal records. This type of project is so badly needed today that we should be grateful to anyone who might undertake it. 16Mr. Comell had made a promising beginning before he was arrested. He had shaped “Community United Staffing” with the help of some local Clergy and influential citizens. A distinguished Board “had secured an arrangement with at least two companies to hire felons, as Jong as they were trained and recommended by Community United Staffing.”* These aspirations were rudely interrupted when he was unjustly convicted. Please keep in mind that itis the work described above, or work along those lines, that is likely to occupy a free Jorge Cornell. For all the reasons we have set forth in this letter, and in the name of Justice and Compassion, we petition you to commute the sentence of an upstanding and honorable citizen, Mr. Jorge Cornell. Respectfully yours, Greensboro Citizens for Commutation for Jorge Cornell: Dr. Alma Adams dey Ni hee) US House of Ryprgsematives, 128 Fongessional District Pro tem! Greensboro, NC (Dr. Glady& A Kinser? rs. Qgtolyn Allet ( Senator NC State Legislator pone, creer ar Ato fp. pehrow LER AI + Aes Nelson N. {6hnson_ ‘ev. Cardes H. Brown Pasion, Fath Community Church Pastor, New Light Msionary Baptist Church Execuive Digg, Beloved ghryrty Conor i ee pee ba Eph ee Cobalt Header Shop Alfred C. Marble Retired Pasor de Founder, Gps Bopst Church Retired Asisting Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina (Veruts ) en yelplee Dal wv) Dr. Claude W. eS ¢Sighe Waller Foxworth Senior Research jsocite Beloved Community Center, sg Dep Dr. Kathleen Cagey ‘Atty Lewis Pitts Retired Professor, Univer of NC Greensboro ene cad alee Rey. Dr. William J. Barber, II Pastor, Greenleaf Christian Church © Qur Democratic Mission, p. 27