PLEASE HELP RAISE AWARENESS OF THIS UNJUST "RE-INCARCERATION" OF A KNOWINGLY INNOCENT MAN

Detroit Free Press Article on Arthur Bell's case (2 part story): http://www.freep.com/article/20121112/NEWS01/311120058/2-decades-after-murder-conviction-newly-uncovered-evidence-may-clear-Arthur-Bell-s-name

The complete case document can be viewed here: http://www.mied.uscourts.gov/Opinions/tarnowpdf/Bellopinion.pdf

 

Arthur Bell was released from the State of Michigan Department of Corrections under habeas corpus relief due to evidence that supported his claim of actual INNOCENCE in 2011 (after serving 22+ years). In 2013, Arthur Bell was remanded to the State of Michigan Department of Corrections because the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed with Judge Tarnow's decision which released Arthur Bell in 2011. We cannot allow subjectivity or a disagreement amongst judges to ruin a man's life. There is NO evidence linking Arthur Bell to this crime. Please review Judge Tarnow's statement and the CRITICAL pieces of evidence supporting Arthur Bell's innocence below:

 

Upon releasing Arthur Bell in 2011, Judge Tarnow issued the following statement which can be found in the complete court document:

"The Court finds that Bell’s rights under Brady v. Maryland, were violated and that
he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that the state court’s findings to the
contrary were an unreasonable application of Brady and Strickland v. Washington.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the petition for a writ of habeas corpus is
CONDITIONALLY GRANTED. Because the Court concludes that the Brady and
ineffective assistance of counsel claims are each sufficient to warrant habeas corpus
relief, the Court need not address Bell’s remaining claims.

In this case, one witness implicated Bell as the shooter. Many other pieces of
evidence, those presented and not presented, would have supported a finding that Bell
was not the shooter. The Court will not repeat its discussion of the many pieces of
evidence implicating Chilly Will, not Bell, as the shooter as those already have been
addressed at length. The Court finds in light of all of that evidence, the testimony of two alibi witnesses, coupled with Matthews’ testimony is sufficient to undermine the Court’s confidence in Bell’s conviction and the state court’s holding to the contrary is an unreasonable application of Strickland. 

 

The search for Arthur Bell's homicide file

 

1994: Sgt. William Rice denies Arthur Bell’s Freedom of Information Act request for his case file from the Detroit Police Department homicide section, saying the file can’t be located.

April 2008: Appellate attorney James Gerometta gets a 50-page file through the Michigan attorney general. Gerometta requests a new search because known documents from a police lineup are not included.

July 2008: Lineup documents are turned over.

October 2008: U.S. District Judge Tarnow orders police to turn over “all reports, file jackets and other notations of any kind” in one week.

November 2008: Armed with a federal court order, Gerometta gets two accordion files with about 350 pages from the homicide section’s new headquarters on Grand River. Many of the documents point to another man known as Chilly Will as the third killer, not Arthur Bell. The files are in disarray and include material from other murder cases

November 2012:  Sgt. William Rice will stand trial in Circuit Court on charges related to 18 crimes, including operating a criminal enterprise, drug dealing, drug possession and mortgage fraud. Evidence shows Sgt. William Rice has a "history" of losing homicide files and lying on the witness stand to influence the outcome of trials.

Please review the CRITICAL EVIDENCE below