Petition for Justice - Help Matthew Smith and Mr. Guice get Justice
Petition for Justice - Help Matthew Smith and Mr. Guice get Justice
The Issue
My name is Matthew Smith. I'm 30 yrs old & I've been incarcerated, since the age of 16, for a crime I did not commit. I was framed by the Harvey Illinois police department, and charged with first-degree-murder in 2012. In 2023 the Illinois Appellate Court reversed my conviction and remanded my case for a new trial after finding 5 significant legal errors which proved the trial court violated my right to due process.
However, recently the Illinois Supreme Court denied me a new trial because they believe the evidence against me, in their words, " is so overwhelming". The same evidence which has been documented in court and police files to be fabricated and tampered with by the Harvey police and Illinois prosecution's office.
On August 11, 2012, I was arrested, in front of the Harvey police station, after a man was shot at the PressBox night club in Harvey, IL. During my trial, I was falsely accused by multiple witnesses of yelling profanity inside the club which started the fight that ultimately led to someone losing their life. These groundless accusations are untrue because I have phone records proving that I was using my cell phone inside the club bathroom at the time of the fight.
The Illinois prosecution's office or Harvey police has never produced any surveillance footage showing me fighting or shooting anyone at the club. you would think they would have an open-and-shut case against me had they presented surveillance footage during trial, right? Did the police destroy the surveillance footage? Illinois night clubs are required to have surveillance cameras as a condition of possessing a liquor license.
It is blatantly apparent that the witnesses, in my case, were manipulated by the Harvey police department. Detective Jason Banks of the Harvey police, after learning from the witnesses that the alleged shooter wore a red shirt, brought me my red shirt from the evidence department and forced me to wear it before conducting the line-up.
Detective Banks made the conscious decision to force me to wear the red shirt after this same shirt had already been bagged, labeled, and submitted to the evidence department for forensic testing. He went a step further and proceded to add line-up fillers that wore white, black and blue shirts only to highlight me.
I have never denied wearing a red shirt to the club that night, but it is the police departments responsibility to do a thorough investigation and to be certain that I was the only person, at the club, who wore a red shirt. As a suspect in custody, I would never, under any circumstance, be given access to their evidence department. Where is the surveillance footage?
The Illinois Supreme Court wants the public to believe that I was clever enough to remove my shirt to disguise my appearance and competent enough to access their evidence department yet foolish enough to voluntarily elect to wear potential evidence for the line-up. The truth is... I was a 16 yr old who didn't have the option to resist the officer's orders without consequences and, at the time, I was unaware of the description of the alleged shooter, so I complied.
Illinois State Police appointed their very own forensic expert, Ms. Mary Wong, to test my hands and clothing for gunshot residue (GSR) and both came back negative for GSR. Through discovery, I learned the prosecution's office doesn't have the murder weapon, my fingerprints, positive GSR test results , or surveillance footage of me committing any crime. This is why, I believe, the appellate court reversed my conviction.
The prosecution's office is also painting the narrative that I was running from justice, but failed to consider that dozens of people, including myself, were running for our safety after hearing gun fire in the night club parking lot. It is unethical to label someone a criminal simply for being a passenger of a vehicle driving away from a dangerous environment.
I am in dire need of assistance in this case and I'm seeking your support as I continue this restless campaign to prove my innocence and rid our criminal justice system of law enforcement misconduct.
People V. Matthew Smith: Supreme Court case #130067 | Appellate Court conviction reversal case # 1-181070
My Case files:
https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/court-of-appeals-first-appellate-district/2023/1-18-1070.html
511
The Issue
My name is Matthew Smith. I'm 30 yrs old & I've been incarcerated, since the age of 16, for a crime I did not commit. I was framed by the Harvey Illinois police department, and charged with first-degree-murder in 2012. In 2023 the Illinois Appellate Court reversed my conviction and remanded my case for a new trial after finding 5 significant legal errors which proved the trial court violated my right to due process.
However, recently the Illinois Supreme Court denied me a new trial because they believe the evidence against me, in their words, " is so overwhelming". The same evidence which has been documented in court and police files to be fabricated and tampered with by the Harvey police and Illinois prosecution's office.
On August 11, 2012, I was arrested, in front of the Harvey police station, after a man was shot at the PressBox night club in Harvey, IL. During my trial, I was falsely accused by multiple witnesses of yelling profanity inside the club which started the fight that ultimately led to someone losing their life. These groundless accusations are untrue because I have phone records proving that I was using my cell phone inside the club bathroom at the time of the fight.
The Illinois prosecution's office or Harvey police has never produced any surveillance footage showing me fighting or shooting anyone at the club. you would think they would have an open-and-shut case against me had they presented surveillance footage during trial, right? Did the police destroy the surveillance footage? Illinois night clubs are required to have surveillance cameras as a condition of possessing a liquor license.
It is blatantly apparent that the witnesses, in my case, were manipulated by the Harvey police department. Detective Jason Banks of the Harvey police, after learning from the witnesses that the alleged shooter wore a red shirt, brought me my red shirt from the evidence department and forced me to wear it before conducting the line-up.
Detective Banks made the conscious decision to force me to wear the red shirt after this same shirt had already been bagged, labeled, and submitted to the evidence department for forensic testing. He went a step further and proceded to add line-up fillers that wore white, black and blue shirts only to highlight me.
I have never denied wearing a red shirt to the club that night, but it is the police departments responsibility to do a thorough investigation and to be certain that I was the only person, at the club, who wore a red shirt. As a suspect in custody, I would never, under any circumstance, be given access to their evidence department. Where is the surveillance footage?
The Illinois Supreme Court wants the public to believe that I was clever enough to remove my shirt to disguise my appearance and competent enough to access their evidence department yet foolish enough to voluntarily elect to wear potential evidence for the line-up. The truth is... I was a 16 yr old who didn't have the option to resist the officer's orders without consequences and, at the time, I was unaware of the description of the alleged shooter, so I complied.
Illinois State Police appointed their very own forensic expert, Ms. Mary Wong, to test my hands and clothing for gunshot residue (GSR) and both came back negative for GSR. Through discovery, I learned the prosecution's office doesn't have the murder weapon, my fingerprints, positive GSR test results , or surveillance footage of me committing any crime. This is why, I believe, the appellate court reversed my conviction.
The prosecution's office is also painting the narrative that I was running from justice, but failed to consider that dozens of people, including myself, were running for our safety after hearing gun fire in the night club parking lot. It is unethical to label someone a criminal simply for being a passenger of a vehicle driving away from a dangerous environment.
I am in dire need of assistance in this case and I'm seeking your support as I continue this restless campaign to prove my innocence and rid our criminal justice system of law enforcement misconduct.
People V. Matthew Smith: Supreme Court case #130067 | Appellate Court conviction reversal case # 1-181070
My Case files:
https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/court-of-appeals-first-appellate-district/2023/1-18-1070.html
511
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Petition created on January 1, 2026