June 13, 2023 - Dear Supporter(s)
Hi my name is Simone Harris the Chief Executive Officer of DECIDE an organization created to assure the State of Delaware fairly addresses the long-standing constitutional violations within the criminal justice system. This organization was created by the "People and is for the People." We are in the middle of a lengthy process of handling the legal aspects of DECIDE, consecutively we will begin the creation of policies and procedures to have a fair process for the organization to operate adequately and fairly. On of the most important angles of this process is to establish and adequate method to accept, review and submit criminal cases to the Attorney General's office. This is where we need your help. In the coming weeks we will be sending out a survey for your ideas and input for an effective system to handle this task. If you received this letter directly, you will also receive a copy of the survey. In additiona, it will be posted on the website for your family member and friends to access.
I have received many letters and correspondence and please be assured that all correspondence will be taken into consideration as we move forward with this process. Thank you for your patience and we appreciate your continued support.
Regards,
Simone Harris, CEO
Delaware Citizens Form Innocence Commission to Address Constitutional Violations in the Criminal Justice System
Wilmington, DE - In response to longstanding constitutional violations within the Delaware criminal justice system, the People of the State of Delaware have formed an Innocence Commission to review criminal offenders' convictions and sentences rendered in “the people's name.”
Under the authority of the United States Constitution, the First Amendment guarantees the right of the people to petition the government for redress of grievances. We, the People of the State of Delaware, hereby exercise our right to address the draconian and prejudicial criminal justice system administered by the Delaware Department of Justice.
Despite the fact that the Attorney General's office prosecutes one hundred percent of minority defendants in criminal court, they have employed a low percent of African Americans in the administrative or executive ranks. No other State agency within Delaware that interacts with the minority community in any meaningful way has such a glaring disparity. In allowing this practice to persist, the legislative branch has failed in its oversight of the Department of Justice.
The proposed Citizens' Innocence Commission will review all flawed convictions of individuals imprisoned in the name of “the people,” given the unconstitutional make-up of the Delaware Department of Justice. These flawed convictions include disparity of sentencing, meaning a sentence which exceeds a defendant's natural life, or a de facto life sentence; a conviction based upon the use of jailhouse informants, street snitches, or co-defendants given favorable plea deals in exchange for potentially false testimony; a conviction based upon tainted police investigations and officers who have been allowed to commit perjury in Delaware courts free from fear of prosecution by the Attorney General's Office.
The Citizens' Innocence Commission shall be comprised of citizens of the State of Delaware with no affiliations with the Delaware Judiciary, Legislature, or Executive Branch of the state government. The Commission shall serve as a completely unbiased system of review in addressing incarcerated individuals who are actually innocent or are serving unjust sentences.
All citizens held within Delaware state prison for conviction of a crime under Titles 11 (including § 4209 and§ 4201 §4205 § 4214), 16, or 21, or under Truth-in-Sentencing laws may petition the Citizens' Innocence Commission. The Commission's analysis shall center upon convictions obtained by illegally seized evidence, convictions obtained by use of confidential informants or co-defendants turning State's evidence for a favorable plea deal or lighter sentence for their cooperation, and convictions obtained by use of tainted police evidence and testimony of officers in their case.
In invoking our constitutional right to form an Innocence Commission, we seek to address the systemic failures of the Delaware justice system and ensure that all individuals are treated equally under the law. We urge our elected officials and Judicial officers to take action in regulating the discriminatory Delaware justice system.
Media Contact
Contact Person: Joseph Walls, Chair Person
Email: JoeWalls@veterans.services
Website: www.DECIDEINNOCENCE.com
