Incompetent Lawyer Disbarred while Client Still Suffers Behind Bars

Accused of a crime you didn’t commit, blamed for a wrong you couldn’t even begin to reconcile. Now imagine being sentenced to death.

Now ask yourself what’s the biggest mistake you can make in that position? In a country bent towards prosecuting you, simply because you’re worth more incarcerated than free, the biggest mistake you can make is allowing the state to assign your legal representation

We all know the fact that state appointed attorneys are crap and they’re overworked, underpaid the completely wrong conditions for handling lives in the balance of freedom. Sadly for many Americans purchasing the services of a good lawyer is not an option and this is a full ride ticket to conviction which is why prisons shouldn’t exist.

In August, KP reached out to me after reading an issue of the NoShackles newsletter I wrote in collaboration with the Millions for Prisoners’ March. He was seeking assistance with finding a platform to share his story and I was honored to be able to do so. Over the next few months we were able to go back and forth about the details of his extreme circumstance, he used his 15 minutes of computer time to send me as much information as he could, beginning our months of dialogue with, “I was sentenced to Death in 2005 in the state of Kansas. By the Grace and Mercy of Our Glorious Creator it was overturned in 2010. I am still fighting for my Freedom.” The more I learned about his case the closer my jaw fell to the floor. 

Due Process mandates that KP be freed due to the grossly ineffective assistance of counsel he received in his capitol murder case over 11 years ago. When he was originally sentenced capitol punishment he spent years on death row before appeal after appeal demanded that the State of Kansas’ Highest Court reverse his sentences and conviction. During his first court appeal his right to prove his innocence was impossible to assert after the death of his alibi witness. This critical witness originally didn’t testify in his first trial due to the fact that the trial attorney advised KP, in his ignorance of the law, that he couldn’t subpoena witnesses from out of state. After years of education he now knew this advice was was completely false. KP’s original attorney,  Dennis Hawver, was later disbarred due to his inexplicably incompetent representation. In addition to misinforming KP about his right to call in an out of state witness to corroborate his alibi, the court also found that Hawver didn’t investigate alibi witnesses or track his client’s cellphone to find his location at the time of the murders. Hawver also argued against KP’s welfare referring to his client as “professional drug dealer” and a “shooter of people,” all of this while wearing a ridiculous Thomas Jefferson costume! Memes post jokes about Hawver as the “Worst. Lawyer. Ever.” failing to recognize that he was actually representing someone, someone’s who’s life while excused from capitol punishment charges still hangs in the balance after 11 years of being grossly misrepresented by an attorney in which the state disbarred four years ago! 

{Slavery prohibited; servitude for conviction of a crime. There shall be no slavery in this state; and no involuntary servitude, except for the punishment of crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.}

{Equal rights. All men are possessed of equal and inalienable natural rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.}

He’s taken time to study the law and has become a much more competent assistant to his own case than that of his original lawyer taking valuable steps toward acquiring his his freedom. Due to the fact that his original attorney failed to do so, August 31st he filed a Habeas Corpus in the Shawnee County District, including his death Penalty argument. A week later the District Court Court responded with his need to pay a $176.00 filing fee. KP’s study of law prepared him with the knowledge that the Federal constitution as well as the State Constitution and the law according to Section 1 article 10. In response he was able to send an “Affidavit of Financial Statement” excusing him from paying the fee. September 23 The clerk of the Shawnee county District Court accepted the “Affidavit of Financial Statement” but responded stating that his paperwork could not be filed due to the lack of a Civil Cover Sheet. He was able to create one send the document back to her. 

A month after sending the cover sheet to the Affidavit of Financial Statement to his Habeas Corpus, the State still had not responded. KP followed up with an “Additional Letter of Authority” which cites their requirement to respond as expeditiously as possible to contesting the lawfulness of one’s incarceration, KP reminded me of his frustration, “These people know these things yet due in part to the fact that they know that no one is speaking up on my behalf from the outside and asking the right questions to those in the position to rectify and order my immediate release then they will continue to do what they are doing now” On October 30 the District Court Judge Anderson denied his Writ of Habeas Corpus citing a failure to identify any acts and or omissions by his former attorney that were prejudicial or that would have lead to a favorable outcome on my behalf. Again my jaw dropped, he continues to press on. He’s currently working on an appeal to this denial having already sent a Notice of Appeal and completed Docketing Statement. He must wait to file stamp certified copies of the other required documents necessary to docket the appeal in the Kansas Supreme Court. As he trudges forward at snail speed through the process he encounters many obstacles due to his incarceration from delayed mail, waiting for certified stamps and filing paperwork to waive fees, these are the many reasons why an incarcerated individual should not be representing themselves, but KP in his strength and determination has found a way to do so adequately, “I received the Stamp-filed Copy of my Habeas Corpus this morning and it indicates that it was filed on August 30, 2017 @ 3:59 p.m. yet according to the letter from it says September 25, 2017 so as expected it always some type of game with these people. Nevertheless is evidence of the fact that the Affidavit Of Financial Statement really does work in order to avoid the filing fee of $195.00.”

Although ’s been able to do a lot of work on his own in furthering his case he is desperately in need of professional legal assistance from someone who has the time and skill. KP suffers from PTSD as a result of being on Death Row and as a result of both of his youngest brothers being murdered 20 years ago, incidents of young men murdered in his local area bring flashbacks and hard memories to his mind. KP finds strength by engrossing himself in the studies of both law and religion, using his acquired skills to help others to educate themselves.

Recently there was a development in a case dear to his heart that’s reignited the hope in his release. A childhood friend of his, Lamonte McIntyre, was just released  in Kansas after serving 23 yrs for a double homicide that the State of Kansas knew that he was innocent of beginning with McIntyre’s preliminary hearing held in 1994. KP and McIntyre met in Wyandotte County Jail during which McIntyre told KP about the testimony of the woman that claimed his innocence, admitting on the stand that he was not the individual who committed the crime, “This is the type of manifest injustice that we go through in this State and others when we don’t have a voice and or anyone to stand up for us. So All Praise be to the Father of the Universe for his release after all this time. It gives me hope and encouragement.” KP told me.

Like in McIntyre’s case KP didn’t get a fair trial. Due Process morphed into just another process to due, and it was done horribly. Dennis Hawver of Ozawkie, spent only 200 hours preparing for the case, which the court called “appallingly low for a death penalty defense and even more stunning when all but 60 of those hours, as Hawver testified, were spent in trial.” KP has filed a number of motions that seek to have the retrial dismissed. He has also challenged the death penalty and other aspects of the case. His knowledge of the legal system has grown tremulously after filing motion after motion (as noted above) KP shared his frustration with me in his process, “The Clerk of the Appellate (Kansas Supreme) Court refused to docket my appeal citing that I need to use a civil docketing statement form so I wrote and asked the Clerk of the District Court for one and she said that she doesn’t provide or furnish them and to ask the clerk of the Appellate Court. This is so frustrating that I am having trouble breathing. These people know that they have permanently violated my Constitutionally-Secured Right to Due Process and continue to do everything they can to keep me in here.” This is a huge part of the reason why men like KP are in desperate need to have a voice on the outside who not only has an understanding of the law but who also has a passion for their cases and has the time and interest in aiding men like him similar situations, he continues, “They continue to play games and beat around the bush in order to distract, confuse, and otherwise impede upon my efforts to obtain my release”.

KP is an incredible man, he has gained an impressive amount of knowledge on navigating the legal process of appeal and capital punishment and also has a passion for assisting others in similar situations behind the wall. He’s founded The Marvelous Light Due Process Foundation managed by himself and Darrell Muhammad-El  in order to accept donations for and establish funding for those who cannot afford to make copies and send documents via certified Mail which is very important in this line of work. Many incarcerated individuals lose important documents for lack of being able to afford send their mail certified. KP also regularly attends law library in the evening to help others with their legal situations.In addition to his passion for law he’s also an amazing song writer with a beautiful voice. A few years ago KP did an interview with the Topeka Capital Journal performing a self written song, “Appreciate” published on CJOnline’s Youtube channel, I’ve listened to is a few times while writing this piece. Please enjoy his gift of singing and songwriting below:

In Solidarity” – Peace King Phillip