My son, Tony Burden was falsely accused and prosecuted maliciously. He was accused of being a gang member and for helping assault a young man. This young man lied when he was asked who assaulted him. He named one of his assailant as being my son. He later went to the District Attorney's Officer to tell the truth. The prosecuting attorney held him guarded in her office while she came in the court room and asked the Judge to order me and my daughter to stay away from her witness because we were "threatening him." The day of trial 3 witnesses that witness the fight said under oath that my son was not one of the "2" young men that fought with this person. The victim himself recanted his  story because in his own words, "he was now under oath and he's telling the truth that my son was not one of the young men that assaulted him nor was my son anywhere around."  The prosecutor added a THIRD person, so my son could be involved. One of the young men that were also charged and that took ownership into being the one who fought with this person also told the jury that my son WAS NOT INVOLVED. THERE WERE 6 PEOPLE THAT CLEARED MY SON. The 6th person being my son's girlfriend Mom. She testified my son and her daughter had just went to the store for her. And they were back within 20 minutes or so. And Tony hadn't been in no fight. Out of fear of losing this case the Prosecuting Attorney GOT ON THE WITNESS STAND HERSELF AND TOLD THE JURY HER WITNESS WAS AFRAID OF ME AND MY DAUGHTER AND THAT THE STATE HAD USED HIM BEFORE AND HE WAS RELIABLE. IF he was so reliable then when he wrote in his affidavit that he was threaten of being locked up if he changed his story, and that he was held in the prosecutors office against his will, so he couldn't appear in court for a bond hearing for my son, is also the truth!!  The jury found my son guilty and the State gave him 20 years. The State asked the Judge to give him 56. And he was charged on 5 counts of gang charges. Why 5 I do not know. I don't think they know.  This was Tony's 1st criminal case. He's been locked up 3 years this month. And yes I hired another attorney out of Atlanta by the name of Teri Thompson to defend my son in his appeal.  I hired her 2 weeks after he was given those 20 years. And since then the DA's involved has resigned and are working in another city in Georgia. And the young man that did do the right thing in the end by telling the TRUTH only received a fractured noise! My son was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and 5 gang activity charges. His pictures on his Facebook page with his friends was one of the means they used to say he was a gang member.

I have kept my community aware of my Tony's case. I even created him a FB page called Justice for Tony. It was all I could do to keep myself together and to not let my family down. So it appears Troup County has once again named a individual of being a gang member when he is not. Troup County will keep violating black young men until we come together. I'm not condoning doing wrong. If you do the crime then do the time. But I am condoning falsely accusing a young black male for something he did not do. It's not blacks and whites who are being fasley accused, it's just our black sons, nephews, brothers, uncles ,cousins and father's. Three years was a long time to look away and say that's her problem. It was Tony then, today it's someone else and tomorrow it will be another black male unless we come together. Lord if only you guys knew my fight. It didn't just start here, it ended here. I can write a book and it will sell.