Kwayera Jackson - read his case and please sign the petition

In 1998, Kwayera K. Jackson was a student, a son, a brother, a nephew, a cousin, a grandson, and a friend to many. He was, also, an 18 year-old all-star athlete and football player in Edwardsville, Illinois, when his chance of playing for a major university was deferred by the news of his girlfriend‘s pregnancy. In order to help is girlfriend through the pregnancy and to be present for the birth and raising of their son, Kwayera enrolled in a local community college and the two young parents-to-be moved into a home of their own to raise their child. By all accounts, he was a dutiful father; an employed and productive member of society prior to his incarceration. Prior to this incident, Kwayera had never been involved with the judicial system.

When Kwayera’s infant was five months old, Kwayera performed strengthening exercises on him. His hope was that his son would have an early start at becoming a great athlete. Kwayera had read a magazine article that advocated for such training as a means to increase the performance ability in young children. As an athlete himself, and as a young, foolish, and unskilled father, Kwayera performed muscle strengthening exercises on his son; this included, but was not limited to, applying pressure to the abdominal area. It was these exercises that ultimately contributed to the death of his five month old son. His youthful incompetency at parenting was what led to the death of his child, not that he was a cold-hearted murderer. Losing a child as a result of his own actions is something Kwayera has lived with, and will have to live with, everyday, regardless of his place of residence.

The Forensic Pathologist of Madison County, Illinois, who made the determination of the baby's cause of death, had been terminated by previous employers a minimum of two times for misdiagnosing autopsies. Shortly after Kwayera's incarceration, this same forensic pathologist was forced to resign her position with Madison County, IL (the county in which Kwayera's and his girlfriend's son's autopsy was performed) for misdiagnosing the autopsy of a two year-old. During Kwayera's trial, it was her report that fueled the State's Attorney’s pursuit of first-degree murder charges against him.

The charge of Involuntary Manslaughter was never an option for the State's Attorney. The fundamental difference between involuntary manslaughter and first-degree murder is the mental state that accompanies the conduct resulting in the victim's death. A defendant commits first degree murder when he kills without lawful justification and knows that his act creates a strong probability of death or great bodily harm. First-degree murder shows intent to kill. In contrast, a defendant commits involuntary manslaughter when he performs acts that are likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another, and performs these acts recklessly. The key word here is recklessly... there was no intent to kill. Kwayera never expressed any intention of killing his son, nor was this so-called intent ever illustrated or proven during the trial leading to his first-degree murder conviction and sentencing. Involuntary manslaughter, however, is a Class 2 Felony, with the maximum sentence in the state of Illinois being 14 years, and the minimum being three years.

Kwayera's hired attorney, inarguably, provided ineffective counsel. His attorney argued diminished capacity, but never called one expert witness to testify on behalf of his client (i.e. pathologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, etc.). Furthermore, Kwayera's attorney never called one single character witness to testify on his behalf; however, he instead, placed Kwayera on the witness stand, as the sole “witness” testifying in his defense, for examination with full knowledge that Kwayera was in no mental state to testify and that doing so would not be in his own best interest, legally, mentally, or emotionally.

The prosecution argued the cause of Kwayera's son's death was blunt trauma to the abdomen, with a contributing factor being a contusion to his head, allegedly caused on the same day. The contusion was in fact present, but it had occurred days prior to the death of his son, when he had fallen off of a chair at the home. That discoloration on the baby's forehead had been documented at the time in a photograph taken by the family. Kwayera provided his attorney with the dated photograph, which clearly highlighted the fact that the contusion had been pre-existing; however, Kwayera's attorney failed to argue the point or admit the photograph as evidence.

After an arduous and discouraging five-day trial, Kwayera K. Jackson was sentenced to 40-years in prison under the Truth-in-Sentencing Legislation, with no possibility of earning good-time credit towards his sentence or being paroled. How fair is it that he is now spending the rest of his life in prison for a terribly reckless mistake he made as an ignorant and unconscious adolescent father?

Kwayera's lawyer never appealed the 40-year sentence, sighting that it would be a waste of time as the appeal would go before the same judge who had sentenced him. This poor legal advice annihilated his direct appeal. The state used it against him, pointing out that he should have appealed the sentence prior to the direct appeal. As a result his direct appeal was denied. Kwayera virtually had no legal representation.

Since his incarceration, 12 years ago, Kwayera has become a prolific writer and is striving to become a published author. Educational opportunities in Illinois maximum security prisons have become exceedingly limited; despite this fact Kwayera has utilized his time seeking out his own educational endeavors. He has studied and mastered spirituality, philosophy, science, astronomy, meditation, world history, politics, religion, economics, and paralegal. He has used this experience to self educate and grow as a man and as a human being. Kwayera offers love, compassion, and assistance to all who encounter him.

Kwayera has a well-developed website which he will use to create his own financial security through book sales; and, speaking engagements, and youth empowerment seminars across the nation once he obtains his freedom.

Currently, Kwayera has obtained a competent attorney and the support of the John Howard Association of Illinois. Kwayera's loving family, supportive friends, and a host of well-wishers across the globe, are all anxiously awaiting his release.


http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41767.html