| CHANGE Calling for Forsyth DA Keith to Resign (NC) |
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September 8, 2009 By Michael Hewlett | Journal Reporter The Winston-Salem Journal A group of clergy and other residents organized by the group CHANGE, or Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment, said they will call for the resignation of Forsyth District Attorney Tom Keith at a rally this afternoon. According to a news release, the rally is in response to Keith's racially charged comments in a Yes! Weekly story that was published Aug. 26. The story centered on Keith's opposition to the recently passed Racial Justice Act, which allows inmates to present statistical evidence showing racial disparities in how the death penalty has been used. In the article, Keith lashes out at supporters of the new law who say that blacks are overrepresented on death row. He referred to a 2005 study from the U.S. Department of Justice. "If you're African-American, you're six, seven or eight times more likely to have a violent history," Keith said in the article. "I didn't go out there and put a gun in your hand and say, 'You commit eight crimes and I'm a white man, I'll commit one.' That's just instincts, that's just how it is." Keith could not be reached immediately for comment. In addition to expressing itself about Keith, CHANGE said it also is demanding the full release of a report by the Silk Plant Forest Citizens Review Committee, which spent 18 months examining the Winston-Salem Police Department's investigation into the 1995 beating of Jill Marker, a clerk at the Silk Forest Plant store. The initial investigation led to the conviction of Kalvin Michael Smith, who is serving 23 to 29 years in prison for the beating; he has maintained his innocence. Marker, blind and with brain damage, now lives in Ohio under 24-hour care. After a five-part series about the case in 2004 in the Winston-Salem Journal raised questions about the police investigation, the city council created the review committee to look into that police work. In their final report, committee members wrote that they had no faith in the police investigation. Separately, committee members voted 7-2 in favor of a statement saying they had found no credible evidence that Smith was at the scene on the night in question. The city has not released the committee's full report, which includes testimony from Don Williams, the lead detective in the initial police investigation. City attorneys have said that the information is protected by state privacy laws. The city could petition a Superior Court judge to allow the appendices to be released. The CHANGE rally will be held at 3:30 p.m. on the steps of Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University. http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/sep/08/change-calling-forsyth-da-keith-resign/
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