PUBLISHER'S NOTE: A sour note, so to speak, has always hung over this case because of allegations of coerced testimony as well as widespread perception that prosecutor's used his Rap lyrics as evidence to send him to prison. Check out the recent article by Sam Fahmy: 'University of Georgia Professor challenges using Rap as criminal evidence. January 29, 2021..."
Andrea L. Dennis has catalyzed a legal assessment of the use of lyrics Rap is one of America’s most popular musical genres, but research by University of Georgia professor Andrea L. Dennis has found that it also has the distinction of being the only art form that is regularly used as evidence against criminal defendants. Her groundbreaking scholarship has catalyzed a national assessment of a practice that disproportionally affects Black and Latino defendants. “Whether used as autobiographical confession, evidence of state of mind, evidence of bad character, or as a threat, rap is the only fictional music genre used in this way,” said Dennis, the associate dean for faculty development and John Byrd Martin Chair of Law in the School of Law. “And the use of rap lyrics as criminal evidence is part of a larger and longer history of using racial epithets, racial imagery, stereotypes and narratives to criminalize and convict Black and Latino men.”
Harold Levy Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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STORY: "Rapper freed after 20 years in prison still claims innocence in killing," The Atlanta-Journal Constitution (Associated Press) reports."
GIST: "Rapper has been released from prison after being granted parole in the case of a 2001 shooting at a south Louisiana nightclub.
The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported that Phipps was released late Tuesday, hours after parole was granted by the state parole board.
Phipps was serving a 30-year sentence after a St. Tammany Parish jury found him guilty in 2001 of manslaughter in the shooting death of a man at a nightclub in Slidell. At the time of the shooting, he was a 22-year-old rapper with a new record deal with the No Limit label.
Phipps has always maintained that he was wrongfully convicted. Witnesses told The Huffington Post in 2015 that their testimony was coerced, bringing new attention to his case.
Phipps, meanwhile, was drawing praise for mentoring young inmates. Board members noted that he had no disciplinary infractions in the last 18 years and that he would be eligible for early release for good behavior in 2024.
Under his current parole conditions, he must observe a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, avoid establishments which serve alcohol, perform six hours of community service a month with at-risk youth, and meet with his parole officer weekly.
Phipps’ wife and mother pledged to help him comply with his parole conditions. No one opposed the parole and the parole panel approved it unanimously.”
“I want to say thank you for this opportunity,” Phipps added. “I definitely want to say I’m sorry to the family of the victim and to just anyone who was affected by this.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards granted Phipps clemency in April, setting up Tuesday’s hearing.
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog; -----------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
