I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
The Michigan Court of Appeals has ordered that bail be granted for Benton Harbor preacher Rev. Edward Pinkney pending his appeal of a sentence handed down in response to a newspaper article he published last year.
Pinkney — a well known community activist and critic of the criminal justice system in one of the state’s poorest and most highly segregated towns — has been in jail for nearly a year. His probation was revoked because he criticized a Benton Harbor judge in the Chicago People’s Tribune and warned that God would take action against those who do wrong.
A Berrien County judge ruled that Pinkney’s Biblically inspired statements constituted a threat and violated the terms of his probation and resentenced him to 3-10 years in prison. Pinkney’s underlying charge was for election law violations connected to his effort to recall a Benton Harbor city council member. (This conviction is also being appealed.)
The court ordered Berrien County to set an amount for bail.
The ALCU of Michigan, which is representing Pinkney on the appeal of his probation revocation, celebrated the court’s order.
“We are thrilled that Rev. Edward Pinkney will be home with his family celebrating Christmas instead of sitting in prison for criticizing a judge,” said Michigan ACLU Legal Director Michael J. Steinberg said in a statement, “The court properly recognized that serious constitutional questions are raised when a minister is thrown in prison for predicting what God might do.”
Steinberg told Michigan Messenger that the appeal of Pinkney’s election fraud conviction will be combined with the appeal of his probation revocation with arguments expected at some point next year.
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