The savagery of Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentencing

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by Zaharibu

Originally posted in the SF Bayview of August 2021, and on their site here, on 25th July 2021.

What specifically has been problematic about my situation is that I did not commit the crime that I am imprisoned for. I was not convicted for killing the victim in this case. I was acquitted on the charge that I personally used a weapon in the commission of the crime.

Nothing at all has been fair or just about the prison experience. I do assume responsibility for the mistakes that I have made in my life and during my incarceration. 

Rehabilitation has everything to do with a person wanting to fix himself. The tools needed to give the people who are constantly working on themselves simply do not exist in prison.

There must be a clear and firm commitment by legislators and CDCR to provide the incarcerated population with the tools that are needed to contribute to the maturation process inside. Tools that include housing people in prisons closer to their families and loved ones, an increase in pay for workers, technological training, expanding the makeup of the board of prison terms to include members of the community that the person will be paroling to as well as psychologists and psychiatrists who are not employed by the state, as many of them write incredibly biased reports.

A lot of the people who come to prison come as children, psychologically.

Along with the self-help programs that are available in only some prisons, a lot of the people who come to prison come as children, psychologically. We develop this warped sense of what manhood is – and there are no programs available in prison. There was and still is a program in Solano prison, MANUP, that focused on the development of manhood. In my opinion, it was a very effective program.

There must be a recognition that in order to know if we have learned, we must be put in positions to practice what we have learned. If prison is about rehabilitation, once we have started to engage in the life-long process of working on ourselves and fixing ourselves – becoming productive members of society – at that point and in that moment we have outgrown the prison experience. 

There is nothing left for us to learn in prison. From that point on, our being in prison is just about punishment. To the extent that we are willing to do so, politics should be removed from the equation of who is released. 

Prisoners and their families should be allowed to provide testimony.

There are people who were found to be not suitable for reasons that are highly politicized. And, as a result, legislators should not make it a discretionary choice for courts to resentence prisoners.

I was found guilty of first-degree murder, but the jury found the personal use of the weapons allegation to be not true. The jury did not find that I was the actual killer or shooter. 

In spite of this, none of the recently enacted new laws are being applied to me. I have been consistently told that I do not qualify for any of the relief offered in these new laws.

Hearings should be held and prisoners and their families should be allowed to provide testimony of their stories. That record would be valuable in crafting legislation that would remedy those injustices.

In closing, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the efforts to create a just and humane approach for how crime and punishment is administered.

Please know that the work that you do is crucial to our fulfilling our democratic potential.

Send our brother some love and light: Michael Reed Dorrough, D83611, SATF, B3-6-4L, P.O. Box 5248, Corcoran, CA 93212. Supporters have a website for him at: Zaharibu.org.

An incredibly unfair and unjust system

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Dear Mr Proctor,

Please forgive me for any inconvenience that my writing may cause. I am writing in the hope that I might contribute to changing the way that people think about the laws with regards to the draconian life without possible parole sentences, as well as other extreme sentencing.

I have a sentence of life without possible parole, of which I have served 36 years, and this sentence is the equivalent of a slow death. It completely removes from the equation that human beings are capable of redemption. It does not consider that most, if not all of the people who are subjected to it, like the country itself, has suffered severe trauma. Generational trauma. Trauma that has not taken a single day off over the past few centuries.

Life without parole permanently separates families and communities from each other. Because prison is not conducive to the maturation process, it is not possible to grow and develop into the kind of evenly balanced human being that can contribute positively to society in any kind of meaningful way.

Life without parole means that we will not be allowed to mourn the loss of our parents, sisters, brothers, children, and loved ones when they pass away. It is a contradiction to, on the one hand, say that family ties are encouraged, but purposely keep them separated for the rest of their lives as a result of the life without parole sentence. Imprisonment makes it impossible for there to be a support system to be developed that helps us mature in any meaningful ways.

Like so many of us in prison, I have lost my parents, sister, and grandson. I do know that they were heartbroken, all the way until their passing. I think it’s crucial for the families, loved ones, and communities to contribute to the discussion on how they have been and are affected by life without parole sentences. This punishment also extends to them.

The problem with extreme sentencing, and for me the starting point, is that we are supposed to be so much more enlightened than this. The United States is an outlier as it relates to what amounts to the most hateful sentencing laws on the planet And California might very well be, in spite of its reputation for being liberal, one of the most hateful states in the country. California has always been able to hide its hate behind the perception of liberalism. As a result, we have an incredibly unfair and unjust system.

There will come a time when California, like the rest of the country, will be exposed for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of wrongful convictions. With many of those persons being sentenced to life without parole and other extreme sentences, including the death penalty.

What specifically has been problematic about my situation is that I did not commit the crime that I am imprisoned for. I was not convicted for killing the victim in this case. I was acquitted on the charge that I personally used a weapon in the commission of the crime.

Nothing at all has been fair or just about the prison experience. I do assume responsibility for the mistakes that I have made in my life and during my incarceration.
Rehabilitation has everything to do with a person wanting to fix him/herself. The tools needed to give the people who are constantly working on themselves simply do not exist in prison.

There must be a clear and firm commitment by legislatures / CDCR to provide the incarcerated population with the tools that are needed to contribute to the maturation process inside. Tools that include housing people in prisons closer to their families and loved ones, an increase in pay for workers, technological training, expanding the makeup of the board of prison terms to include members of the community that the person will be paroling to as well as psychologists / psychiatrists who are not employed by the state (many of them write incredibly biased reports).

Along with the self-help programs that are available in (some) prisons, a lot of the people who come to prison come as children, psychologically, we develop this warped sense of what manhood is-and there are no programs available in prison (there was / is a program in Solano prison, M.A.N.U.P., that focused on the development of manhood. In my opinion, it was a very effective program).

There must be a recognition that in order to know if we have learned, we must be put in positions to practice what we have learned. If prison is about rehabilitation, once we have started to engage in the (life-long) process of working on ourselves and fixing ourselves (becoming productive members of society), at that point and in that moment, we have outgrown the prison experience. There is nothing left for us to learn in prison. From that point on, our being in prison is just about punishment. To the extent that we are willing to do so, politics should be removed from the equation of who is released. There are people who were found to be not suitable for reasons that are highly politicized. And, as a result, legislators should not make it a discretionary choice for courts to resentence prisoners.

I was found guilty of first degree murder, but the jury found the personal use of the weapons allegation to be not true. The jury did not find that I was the actual killer or shooter. In spite of this, none of the recently enacted new laws are being applied to me. I have been consistently told that I do not qualify for any of the relief offered in these new laws.

Hearings should be held, and prisoners and their families should be allowed to provide testimony of their stories. That record would be valuable in crafting legislation that would remedy those injustices.

In closing, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the efforts to create a just and humane approach for how crime and punishment is administered.

Please know that the work that you do is crucial to our fulfilling our democratic potential.

In Solidarity,

Michael Reed Dorrough D-83611
SATF, II, B3-6-4L
P.O Box 5248
Corcoran, CA 93212

Written 4-28-2021

Michael Reed Dorrough, spring 2021

This was written by Zah and also posted on the website of SV Debug on June 28th, 2021, on the website of the SF Bayview on July 25th, 2021, and on In Case of Innocence, on June 8th, 2021. I just thought I would mention these sites too.

We have a Fund for legal costs for Zaharibu

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Please help Michael gain justice! Please donate to the Legal Fund which we, his supporters, have set up so that Michael can go back to court to receive real justice: click here to go to our Fundraiser for Justice for Michael!
Thank you so much!

Update on Michael and COVID-19 in prison

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Michael has clear Covid-19 symptoms (loss of taste, flu-like symptoms such as aches and pains, tiredness, etc.), and is in a quarantine unit, he was moved there last week with 42 others, but now the whole unit of 100 men is being quarantined! This means he is going to have to share a cell with someone else, who may also, or may not yet have Covid-19, and who may be a total stranger to Michael, posing anxiety and even more nervousness.

I [webmaster] e-mailed the Ombudsman, but she only referred to the medical staff, which I called, but they only had an answering machine on, so I spoke in a long message about the situation.

Michael wrote that he still is very tired, has lack of energy, but he also had lack of taste and the taste is slowly returning. He is trying to exercise to keep fit, but he has also lost a lot of weight. Soon he will be celled up again, inside the quarantine-unit at CSATF, with a potentially new Corona-sufferer…

From Zah, via Jpay-message: 9-3-2020:

“They are going around to each cell and demanding that people move into the cell with someone… They have no problem putting people in further harms way. Which is what this would do. And the medical is not going to say anything, knowing it will put people in harms way.”

In an earlier message that day:

“This is the second week for a lot of guys who were quarantined last week (some of us came over here last Monday and Tuesday). It will be interesting to see what is done. Particularly with much of the remaining people waiting to be moved now. I will keep you posted on any new developments. Please thank everyone for me ok.”

Please write Michael, via Jpay.com (he can respond!) or snail mail, thank you! He has no paper or envelopes or stamps to respond, but he can respond via Jpay.

Zah is in quarantine

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Michael in October of 2018-closeup

Michael in October of 2018

“I have been pretty sore, particularly in my back and shoulders. And I have noticed that I am tired.

We are not specifically being told by health care staff why we are being quarantined. Anytime I have ask I am being told, “they do not know,” (we have a right to know why we are being quarantined) but, we were told that all of the people who were moved over here, starting, I think, on Wed., had tested positive for having the virus. We actually have been infected.

Since being over here in the quarantine building, it has not been unpleasant. Staff have been really decent. We have our vitals taken 2-3 times a day. We are not being told anything by the health care staff. I honestly do not ask any questions because it can become very frustrating being told, “I do not know,” by the people who are suppose to have some answers. Flu station has a way of turning into arguments.

At least two of the guys who were quarantined, have been quarantined twice in a month. One of the guys is the guy who was moved back in the bed over me. Social distancing is simply not possible in dorm settings. The beds are less than 3 ft. apart. And about 50 or more people in each section share everything from the showers, to the toilets, and day room area. It’s pretty difficult to try and stay out of the dayroom area, and instead stay in the area of your bed, because if you have someone sleeping on top of you, as I do, you are trying to find some kind of privacy. And it’s hard to have privacy in these settings.

There is now this added pressure because now you have been infected by the virus. Once you have had it, you know that you can get it. And you feel as though you are always in, potentially, harms ways, regardless of what you do to try and keep yourself safe.

Even when we try to protect ourselves by putting up a sheet or towel to be used as a divider between your bed and the bed next to you,we are told that it’s not allowed (we were actually suppose to be provided with divider that would be placed between each bed to create some distancing. We were told that the dividers would not be provided to us because of the cost. So the position that we find ourselves in is, they will not provide us with the things that could prevent the spread of the virus because of the cost. And, we are not allowed to use a sheet or towel between the beds as a preventive measure because it is a safety and security issue, (and this would not cost anything).

We are in the midst of a pandemic, people are dying, and in spite of this they just do not think it is necessary to make changes in the way that prisons are run. We are being put and kept in these extremely high risk situations. If many of us took the position that we no longer want to be housed in these high risk dorm settings, we would be placed in ad seg and given a disciplinary write-up.

There must be changes made immediately to what is being done. One change should be around the “NDPF,” (or 50/50, “Non-Designated Programming Facilities“) yards. The Office of Administrative Law has determined that the policies on this is an underground regulation. Fixing this problem and providing programming for regular lower level prisoners is now possible, and in non-dorm settings.”

Note: After this, Zah let us know: “I am in a cell by myself now. Everyone who is quarantined is put on single cell status. The dorm is where I was housed when this happened.”

Sent to a supporter via Jpay on 8/29/2020 2:03:19 PM

Wrongful convictions and racism as human rights crises, and more thoughts on heroes

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Michael in October of 2018

Michael Reed Dorrough, aka Zaharibu

By Michael Zaharibu Dorrough (written originally on 2-26-2020)

The number of people that we routinely see being released from prison as a result of wrongful convictions constitutes a human rights crisis. In most countries, if this were happening, there would be protests involving thousands of people who would be demanding change. In this country there is shameful silence.

The efforts being made to reform the criminal justice system are truly commendable. It is simply not enough. When people are convicted for crimes that they did not commit, believe me, it is not by accident. And everyone in the courtroom, the judge, prosecutor, everyone, they know what is happening.

At some point during the process/trial, something goes terribly wrong. The process stops even pretending to be fair. And everyone recognizes it. The only people who are not surprized by it are the people who know it’s coming.

Juries know that something is terribly wrong. They simply rationalize their convicting people according to their specific biases. Juries convict innocent people in spite of the massive amounts of reasonable doubt that exists. They routinely engage in nullification.

Entire communities are impacted

There is little outrage because the people who have always been crossed by it are Black, Brown, and poor. When people are placed in prison, families and entire communities are impacted by it.

Black and Latino men, in particular, are held up as the poster child for what constitutes irresponsible fatherhood, not being in their chidren’s lives, (and this is a much more complex issue than is generally discussed) but, this is as a result, in large part, of their being herded off into into these prison kamps and separated from their families and communities.

There has never been a time in the history of the United States where the Afrikan and Latino communities were considered to be a part of the American family. And made to feel welcomed by the larger society. Our being herded off into these traps is simply the way it is suppose to be. We did not create this kind of destructive thinking. We internalized it over time, normalized it, and we have passed it on from one generation to the next generation. The system is doing what it is suppost to do. What it was designed to do.

Outgrowing the prison experience

The Board of Prison Terms represents the interests of the state. And it is just as politicized as the courts, and every other branch of government. One reason why it is such a challenge for some of the guys who before the board and are denied suitability, has to do with people transforming themselves and as a result, outgrowing the prison experience.

There are scores of people in prison who have put in years of work to fix themselves. For many, that process started well before they were able to engage in the self-help programs that are now available in some of the prisons throughout the state. They are no longer the person that they were.

And when that happens there is nothing left for that person to accomplish in prison. He/she has learned the lessons, whatever those lessons are, that come with growth and maturity for that person.

Punishment must have a beginning and an end

 

The board also recognizes this in a person. When people are denied suitability for reasons that have nothing to do with the transformation that they have made, it is, and should be, upsetting to that person. It’s just punishment from that point on.

The board will not say this, at least in part, because punishment must have a beginning and an end, (if rehabilitation is really a/the goal) and anytime you stand the perceived need to constantly punish someone who has transformed him-/herself, up against the power of transformation, the perceived need to punish will lose. The power of transformation will outshine it everytime.

 

Political punishment

Political punishment is even more obvious. We have seen it express itself throughout history. And we know what it looks like. It looks like Sitawa (get well soldier. We still have some struggling to do. I love you).

It looks like the many, many, women/men who were imprisoned in the 1960s-1970s, and who are still imprisoned.

It looks like Mumia Abu Jamal and Assata Shakur. Angela Davis and Winnie Mandela. Marilyn Buck, James “Doc” Holiday.

The Board though, is doing its job. It is doing what it is designed to do. “Reforming” a system means just trying to change what the system looks like. Not its mentality and how it thinks.

There has to be a different kind of thinking – one that does not reflect the capitalist arrangement that it continues to function under. As long as we rely on new laws, the courts, the system, as it is, changes will be short lived, and they will always result in leaving people behind.

“Reforming” a system means just trying to change what the system looks like. Not its mentality and how it thinks.

We all know, without question, that people are given Death Penalty/Life Without Parole sentences, because they are Black, Brown, and poor, so why do we have capital punishment? Why would we subject people to a process that we know is anti-human (it is worse than unfair)? Again, when people are punished, we are not just punishing that person. We are punishing families, communities. The future.

 

People creating their own dangerous realities

There are people in this country who genuinely believe that their way of life is under attack (and they are being manipulated into believing that it is true). They believe it so passionately that they create their own realities and will argue that their reality is real.

The gun debate is one such issue. No one has said anything about taking anyone’s guns, but, the resistance to any proposed gun regulations is based on the claim that the government is trying to take everyone’s guns! People who think like this should not own guns!

Again, when people are punished, we are not just punishing that person. We are punishing families, communities. The future.

We can no longer sit by and remain silent when people say “Guns don’t kill, people do”. Guns take on the personality of the people who own and use them. If you put a gun into the hands of a racist that person is going to walk into a house of worship and slaughter people who are Black, Brown, Jewish and Muslim as they pray. A Travon Martin or Tamir Rice will be the result.

If you put a gun into the hands of a misogynist, there will be assaults on the humanity of women. If you put a gun into the hands of a homophobic, people will be shot, no, slaughtered, as they dance inside of a nightclub, simply because of who they choose to sleep with. Acts of violence are forms of hate. Guns are expressions of that hate.

The people who create this and other realities are so entrenched in this thinking that they do not care about anything except resisiting what they consider to be attacks on their way of life. And they will go to any extreme in their support of people who claim to represent their interests. They do not care that they are simply being exploited. They only care about the reality that they have created.

It is not possible to try and reason with a person or people who use as their basis of fact, a reality that they have created (in an episode of an old Seinfield series this was called the “Bizarro” world).

They are so determined to hold on to what they consider to be their country that they weaponize cars to mow down human-beings who engage in efforts in creating a just and humane society.

Stick together

If we are to honor the many, many sacrifices that have been made by those who love liberation, the best way for us to show how much we continue to be inspired by their sacrifices is to stick together! They loved liberation. So much so that they sacrificed themselves.

Anything worth loving is worth fighting for!

I would also like to thank (and this seems like such an understatement) the many people who supported me throughout a recent setback, including Heshima… I have not had many people in my life who have been friends… Asanta sana for your encouragement. Fire… I hope that one day I can repay you by contributing to creating the kind of planet that you, we, envision.

Love and Struggle, Zah

Send Bro Zaharibu some love and light:

Michael Reed Dorrough, D83611
CSATF II B3-8-5L
P.O. Box 5248
Corcoran, CA 93212

Visit the website his supporters have made: Michaelreeddorrough.org

Michael is now at SATF

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Michael in October of 2018-closeup

Michael in October of 2018

Michael Dorrough was moved to SATF in Corcoran a week ago. He was placed on Level 2, which is the same low security level he had before he was temporarily wrongfully placed in administrative segregation.

Please write to Michael via the following address:

Michael Reed Dorrough, D83611
SATF-II B3-8-5L
P.O. Box 5248
Corcoran, CA 93212
You can now also use Jpay.com to write to Zah, but he can only respond via snailmail. So do not forget to add your return address in the letter as well as on the top left side of your envelope.
You can also include stamps for Michael to respond.
The fundraiser for the Legal Trustfund for Zaharibu is also still on, and you are invited to donate towards legal costs to get him his day in court, by clicking here.
Thank you!

New Fundraiser for Justice for Michael Reed Dorrough launched

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Michael in October of 2018-closeup

Michael in October of 2018

Dear friends, supporters of Michael Reed Dorrough and Justice,

It has been nearly 35 years since Michael was falsely arrested, charged and sentenced to Life Without Parole (LWOP).

In Michael’s own words:

I was tried separately from my co-defendants.

The jury found me guilt of first degree murder, but, they found that I did not personally use a weapon in the commission of the crime.

The jury did not consider me to have been the actual shooter or killer.

The trial jury could not agree on punishment during my penalty trial, and a hung jury was declared.

A second penalty trial jury was impaneld and this jury recommended that I be sentenced to life without parole.

Some of the jurors said that they only recommended this sentence because they did not have any other choice. They said that if they could have recommended a sentence less than that, they would have.

On the day that one of the prosecution’s witnesses claims I was at her apartment in Los Angeles, I was in San Diego, CA, visiting friends, and I had been there for a few days. March 6th is the birthday of my youngest son. And March 5th, 1985, was his one year birthday. I could not be with him on this day because I could not make it back from San Diego in time. I did call his Mother to make her aware of this. And I spoke to my son on his birthday.

The people I was visiting in San Diego had a brother who was incarcerated at the time, and he called while I was at the home of his sister, whom I was visiting, on his birthday. His birthday was also on March 6th.

The mother of my youngest son, as well as the people that I was visiting in San Diego, and the brother whom I spoke to on the phone while in San Diego, were all willing to come to court to testify to this. I also have affidavits from them.

None of them were called to testify on my behalf.

We have a Legal Fund now so that we all can contribute to/donate to hire a lawyer for Michael, so that he can eventually go back to court. Michael’s own alibi’s have not been heard.

Please donate whatever you can, and share this link:

https://fundrazr.com/91arq4?ref=ab_a7DYLe

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Michael was moved to CSP-Sacramento

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Please write to Michael, he needs our support:

Michael Reed Dorrough, D83611
CSP-Sacramento STRH – G 178L
P.O. Box 290066,
Represa, CA 95671

Thank you so much!

Photo of Michael Reed Dorrough 2014

One of the first photo’s after Michael was allowed to have a picture taken (once a year that was in 2014)

Michael’s Letter requesting our Support for his Case of Innocence

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Michael in October of 2018-closeup

Michael in October of 2018

September 23, 2019, published on International Wrongful Conviction Day 2019

A letter from Michael to you all:
Greetings,

I am writing this letter because I am in need of support. This is the first time that I have had to write and ask for some kind of support or assistance, so it is not an easy thing for me to do.

I believe that because I am asking for support, I have a responsibility to explain why.

I am incarcerated for a crime that I had nothing to do with. And I am serving a sentence of life without possible parole as a result.

As some of you might be aware of, I, along with thousands of other prisoners, was housed in solitary, many of us for almost, or more, than three decades, and during that time my late Father and I were working tirelessly to try and find an attorney, including innocence projects, willing to help. To no avail.

I have continued to write and ask attorneys for any assistance that they might be willing to provide, for the past four years that I have been in the general population. This has been part of the ongoing effort that my Father and I were engaged in for the past 34 years.

I do have a website thanks to Annabelle Parker, who has been a loyal supporter and friend since meeting her while I was in solitary, as well as an innocence project website in Europe, that a Ms. Katja Pumm is responsible for. I have had this website for several years, thanks to my niece, Kia, who has also been very supportive of me in these efforts.

These websites have all of the facts of my case on them.

In April 1985, I was charged, along with two other people, of being armed with three different caliber weapons, and shooting a person 15 times. Each of us was charged with being armed with, and personally using a firearm in the commission of the crime.

There was no physical evidence. No guns, bloodstain clothing, fingerprints. It was alleged by the state that this was an execution-style murder. The shooting occurred in the late night or early morning hours, after 12:00 AM. The lighting in the area was very bad. Because I had been previously convicted of two counts of second degree murder in 1975, the state was seeking the death penalty against me.

The trial jury deliberated for almost four full days, and requested a complete re-reading of the testimony of the only two witnesses that connected me to this case.

I was tried separately from my co-defendants.

The jury found me guilt of first degree murder, but, they found that I did not personally use a weapon in the commission of the crime.

The jury did not consider me to have been the actual shooter or killer.

The trial jury could not agree on punishment during my penalty trial, and a hung jury was declared.

A second penalty trial jury was impaneld and this jury recommended that I be sentenced to life without parole.

Some of the jurors said that they only recommended this sentence because they did not have any other choice. They said that if they could have recommended a sentence less than that, they would have.

There were two witnesses who testified for the prosecution that connected me to this shooting.

A female named Linda Toliver, who claimed that on March 6th, 1985, I was at her apartment in Los Angeles, and I had a conversation with her and admitted my involvement in this shooting.

I had known this female for no more than two weeks in my life. She admitted that she did not know anything about me. She did not know where I stayed. She did not know what kind of car I drove. She did not know my phone number, nothing, but she claimed that I would tell her that I was involved in a killing of another person.

On the day that Toliver claims I was at her apartment in Los Angeles, I was in San Diego, CA, visiting friends, and I had been there for a few days. March 6th is the birthday of my youngest son. And March 5th, 1985, was his one year birthday. I could not be with him on this day because I could not make it back from San Diego in time. I did call his Mother to make her aware of this. And I spoke to my son on his birthday.

The people I was visiting in San Diego had a brother who was incarcerated at the time, and he called while I was at the home of his sister, whom I was visiting, on his birthday. His birthday was also on March 6th.

The mother of my youngest son, as well as the people that I was visiting in San Diego, and the brother whom I spoke to on the phone while in San Diego, were all willing to come to court to testify to this. I also have affidavits from them.

None of them were called to testify on my behalf.

Toliver was absolutely sure that it was on March 6th, 1985, when I was at her apartment in Los Angeles, and she explained to the court why she was sure about this.

According to Toliver, she asked me why did we have to shoot the person who was killed. Couldn’t we have beaten him up? She said that I responded to this by saying: “What they did was messed up.” The trial judge later said that he was unsure who this statement was referring to, me and my co-defendants, or my co-defendants and not me.

Thomas Vandiver testified that he witnessed the shooting.

He gave at least three different versions of what he claims to have seen. Including that he did not see anything, and someone told him about the shooting. He also claimed in one version that he ran away from the area, ran home and jumped in the bed and threw the cover over his head.

Vandiver later admitted that he had been up for 24 hours, without sleep, was tired, and that he had smoked some marijuana and was high. Vandiver claimed to have been standing at least 60 ft. from the shooting when it occurred.

I was in Compton, CA at the time of the shooting. And my alibi witness was willing to testify that I was with her for a couple of days.

Both Toliver and Vandiver were arrested for narcotics charges about two weeks after the shooting. Both of them admitted that they agreed to cooperate with the police as a result of the trouble that they were in, and they both admitted that they were afraid and would do anything to get out of the trouble that they were in.

Vandiver initialy stated that he did not know that the victim had been killed, and found out only as a result of his being told by the police when he was arrested two weeks later. Vandiver also testified that I was arrested with him on the narcotics charge, and that he was positive, just as sure about this as he was that I was one of the people that he saw commit this crime.

It was proven that I was never arrested for or in connection with that narcotics charge.

An evidentiary hearing was held [with]out the jury’s presence. This hearing was held to determine if threats that Vandiver claims to have received would be admitted. It was established that there was no evidence to connect any threats to me.

At the hearing Vandiver was asked by my attorneys if the threats affected the way that he testified? And if he had testified truthfully each time that he testified.

Vandiver answered that although he was afraid, the threats did not affect the way that he testified, he told the truth no matter what. It was also learned at the hearing that Vandiver had made his inconsistent statements to the police well before any threats occurred. And they continued after Vandiver says that the threats stopped!

When the jury was called back in and the prosecutor started to question Vandiver about the threats, the prosecutor was allowed to present the threats as though I had authorized the threats. And as though threats were the reason for why Vandiver had lied and gave inconsistent statements to the police.

Because the transcript from the evidentiary was not completed, my trial attorneys waited until the next day to call Vandiver as defense witness to impeach him on his testimony at the evidentiary hearing.

When my attorneys attempted to question Vandiver, the prosecutor objected to this stating that we could not impeach our own witness.

The trial judge then stated that my trial attorney had already thoroughly questioned Vandiver, and then he refused to allow my attorneys to impeach Vandiver on his evidentiary hearing testimony. This left the jury with the impression that Vandiver had testified the same way in their presence as he did out of their presence.

And the jury was left with the impression that Vandiver had lied and gave inconsistent statements to the police because he was afraid as a result of threats that he received. And that I was responsible for the threats.

The jury was never allowed to hear any of the testimony that Vandiver gave at the evidentiary.

None of this was ever raised on my appeal.

Another witness who testified for the prosecution, Ann Trunnell, testified that she had been with the victim throughout the evening smoking drugs. Ms. Trunnell testified that earlier in the day she was in front of her home in Compton, CA when she saw the victim in this case, in a green Cadillac. She said that she and other people who saw this were surprised to see the victim and the driver of the green Cadillac together, because they were known to have hostilities with each other. Ms. Trunnell said that when she first heard that the victim had been killed, she and others thought it was the driver of the green Cadillac.

As far as I know, nothing was ever done by the police to determine other suspects.

Photo of Michael Reed Dorrough 2014

One of the first photo’s after Michael was allowed to have a picture taken (once a year that was in 2014)

In 2014, while I was still housed in solitary, my former trial attorney contacted my niece to ask if the case files in my case could be picked up. My niece did go by the attorney’s office to pick up the files, and after looking through the files I was told about statements that were provided to my former investigator. I was sent a copy of these statements.

There were several statements from witnesses who told my investigator that I was not present at the location of the shooting at the time that the shooting occurred, and that I had left the location earlier in the day and had not returned.

None of these witnesses were ever called to testify on my behalf (I have affidavits from three of these witnesses that were notarized this year).

Also included in these statements is a statement from my former investigator. He went to the location of the shooting (in the Nickerson Gardens Housing Projects) because he wanted to get a visual look himself at what the alleged eye-witness Thomas Vandiver claims to have seen. My former investigator concluded that it would not have been possible for Vandiver to have seen what he claims from the area where he says he was standing, because there was no clear line of sight. There was an apartment building blocking the view and he would not have been able to see the area.

None of this was brought to the jury’s attention.

None of these issues were ever raised on my appeal.

I do not believe that my appellate attorney was aware of these statements. She never gave me the impression that she knew these statements existed. I did explain to her hat there were witnesses who had been willing to testify on my behalf. I just did not know of these statements.

The jury was also instructed on aiding and abetting, pursuant to CALJI 3.01. This instruction was unconstitutional because it failed to inform the jury that to convict me under aiding and abetting principles, it must also find that I had the specific intent to do so.

The jury was also instructed on Principles Defined, pursuant to CALJIC 3.00. This instruction allowed the jury to convict me as a principle under the theory of aiding and abetting. This instruction also contained the now unconstitutional “Natural and Probable Consequences” doctrine.

I recently been in contact with a journalist from the Los Angeles area named Michael Douglas Carlin. He writes for Century City News, and he has been investigating the police corruption that had made the news over the past several years. Mr. Carlin has informed me that he has information that shows that at least one of the police officers who was involved in the police corruption, and who has pled guilty to charges relating to the police corruption, may have been involved in my being railroaded.

Mr Carlin has also expressed that my (as well as my co-defendents’) case may have been one of several cases that involved trade-offs. (It has been explained to me that this is when prosecutor/law enforcement and attorneys trade-off on cases of people who are, basically, railroaded).

It is simply not possible for me to fight this alone. And, since my parents passed away, I do not have the resources to fight this. Over the years the courts have made it quite clear that I have nothing coming. It has been incredibly disappointing and frustrating, not so much that the courts have responded as they have. That is, sadly, to be expected, but that no one has been willing to help, when an injustice has so clearly occurred, is the real source of so much disappointment.

I do have copies of the statements and affidavits that I mentioned earlier. And I am now in possession of the case files that my former [attorney] had. (I was convicted in 1987. I was not made aware of these case files until 2014, when they were picked up by my niece Kia).

In closing, as I understand it, Ms. Annabelle Parker has established, through the website, a way for people to contribute to helping get the legal assistance that is so desperately needed if I am to have any chance at overcoming this injustice.

The struggle continues. I am always with you.

Love and Solidarity,

Zah

Michael Dorrough’s family

Michael Reed Dorrough, #D83611
CSP-Sol B 10-127 Level III
P.O. Box 4000
Vacaville, CA 95696-4000

Website: Michaelreeddorrough.org

Donations towards Zah’s legal fund: Paypal-pool: https://paypal.me/pools/c/8hjS44sUXT