THE INNOCENCE COMMISSION

On July 2nd, 2010, the Florida Supreme Court implemented an Innocence Commission to look into the growing number of false convictions in Florida. The recent nationwide publicity and outrage over the Hollywood Florida Police doing what they called, "Doing a Little Walt Disney on the Evidence" has brought corruption and false convictions to the forefront. Likewise, the same police department altered and falsified video evidence after two Hollywood Police Officers tortured and nearly killed Donald Baker, who was thought to be "homeless scum," according to Officer Francis Hoeflinger of the Hollywood Police Department, who quipped, "We are going to do the city of Hollywood a favor and get you homeless scum off the streets this weekend." Baker was arrested on a $25 warrant, and the police entered into their paperwork that Baker was homeless and unemployed. Both assertions were not correct. On Baker's way home from work as an electrician with All Electric out of Plantation, Florida, and for no reason, Hoeflinger demanded of Baker that he "Show me your Papers," to which Baker objected, and when Baker advised Hoeflinger that he was leaving, Hoeflinger screamed, "Get back here, ass hole, I didn't tell you you could leave." Baker responded that he did not need Hoeflinger's permission to leave and that he, Baker, was going to go home and eat the hot sub sandwiches that he had just purchased from the sub shop. Hoeflinger and another police officer, John Graham, then set about to smash Baker's face into the trunk and hood of the police car. At the station, as shown elsewhere in this site, the torture and beating continued, and Hoeflinger and Graham attempted to murder Baker by smashing his face and head into the concrete floor, over and over, for more than a minute and 14 seconds. Baker was rendered unconscious and spent the next four days in intensive care at Hollywood Memorial Hospital. Cf., Cantor Letter. The surveillance videos at the sally-port gate and the surveillance video from the elevator were immediately destroyed by the police department in order to protect these arrant police officers, and other officers joined in to falsify the surveillance video of the torture and beating [view charging-package video]. How do we know that the Hollywood Police Department altered and falsified the video? [Proof of Alteration] The video expert, David Bawarsky, gave extensive testimony and visual proof that the videos were altered and falsified: [video-expert report] . Judge Gates agreed that the evidence was tainted; he knew that the evidence was false. Notwithstanding, Judge Gates knowingly sentenced an innocent man to serve 5 years in the state penitentiary. The testimony and report of the video expert, David Bawarsky, stood and stands controverted. The State subpoenaed or brought in the State's video expert, Detective Robbie Knapp, to refute the evidence presented by Mr Bawarsky. However, after hearing the testimony of Mr. Bawarsky, Robbie Knapp beat feet out of the courthouse and was never heard from again. The record in this case demonstrates beyond contradiction that, in fact, Mr. Knapp was the Dr. Frankenstein of the falsified video in the first place. Thus, when this case was called upon again to be heard at the habeas proceeding, Mr. Raft caused Mr. Edwards (the former prosecutor, who made the notes in the State Attorney's file and subsequently resigned his position), to falsely testify that Knapp was never considered to be an expert. See, Transcript of 10/19/2007, Page 12, et seq.; Page 30-10; 30-15; 30-18; 34-25; 35-7. But, cf., Page. 28, L. 24, and Tr. 08/24-07 at P. 0006-8. How could Knapp be the State's expert when the City was encouraged to "Do Disney" on the evidence, but became a non-expert, an unsophisticated uniniiate, when his testimony was most necessary at the hearing on habeas corpus? Mr. Raft was using, again, a little Chicanery on the Court. The City called it "Disney," and Raft used Chicanery. Raft wanted to delay this case so that it would never be herd; he suborned the perjury of Torres, lost the evidence, turned his expert into a non-expert, and dictated to the court that he would and is conducting discovery in this case, even though discovery in Rule 3.850 (habeas) proceedings is not allowed. The inquiry should be limited to the record, alone. To the four corners of the petition. Raft knew this, see Tr. 10/19/07, at Page 156, L. 21

Except in Broward County, Florida, under the administration of State Attorney, Michael J. Satz, these corrupt police officers would have been prosecuted and thrown in prison. Because Mr. Satz has a history over the past 30-years of refusing to prosecute those that he considers his "elite," which included police officers, [see proof here], the wealthy and the politically connected, the cops were given immunity for their vicious attacks on Baker and on two other prisoners that were with Baker at that same time, i.e., Dennis shelter, and Angel Castro. In fact, the evidence shows that Mr. Satz directed his assistants to protect the police department and the police officers from civil liability and/or criminal prosecution. Mr. Satz hid exculpatory evidence, and when he detected that evidence of alteration even existed in the hidden exculpatory evidence, he directed his assistant Brad Edwards to join with the City of Hollywood in re-altering the videos to excise the evidence of previous alteration. Edwards complied with Satz' directives, but also made a clandestine entry into the State Attorney's Office and made notations in Mr. Satz' files in order to protect himself. Edwards telephonicly communicated with attorney H. Scott Hecker, Esq., from the State Attorney's office on that Saturday and advised Hecker that he felt that Satz intended to "hold him out" to take responsibility for this malicious prosecution, and further advised as to the notations being made in the State Attorney's files. Thus we had altered and falsified evidence contrived by the City of Hollywood, with the willful, albeit baleful, acquiescence of the Mayor and the City Commission, who refused and continue to refuse to take any remedial action in this case; we have the State Attorney protecting and actively representing the corrupt police department and the corrupt police officers what falsified records, altered and falsified videos, testified falsely, falsified their reports, and so on, and so on. Because of other reasons addressed elsewhere in the Coram Vobis portion of this web site, the case managed to traverse the appeal process with the court of appeal affirming without prejudice to Baker's right to seek relief by way of habeas corpus. On October 6, 2006 the habeas petition was filed. The State, knowing that this was a false conviction and malicious prosecution, delayed the case using dilatory tactics until July of 2007, when Baker sought a writ of Mandamus with the court of appeal. The Court of Appeal, 4th District, Ordered Judge Michael Gates to set an immediate hearing; to allow the State 10-days to Answer the Petition; and to allow Baker 10-days to reply to the State's Answer. Judge Gates met with the State Attorney's agents and decided that the case could best be resolved allowing only the State to have a position. Judge Gates rejected the directive of the court of appeal to give Baker 10-days to Reply and adopted the State's Answer as "the Order of His Court." Baker was not allowed to respond. Baker filed his suggestion of disqualification as to Judge Gates, which was also ignored, ex parte. Judge Gates demeanor demonstrates that he will accept dictation from the state, but will listen naught from the defendant. There is no need to reiterate the facts and circumstances relative to Mr. Satz putting his 16" Gun against the lowly pro se habeas litigant, Baker. Scott Raft, the second in command at the SAO, and the Prosecutor of the Year for 2007, was the only person that Satz had sufficient confidence in his corruption to direct him to suborn the perjury of Baker's former counsel, Madeleine Torres, and to cause her to testify falsely against her own client, Baker. Just so the reader does not wrongfully assume that there is no evidence that Torres perjured her testimony against her own client (which is the most unethical and despicable act that an attorney can do, and which requires disbarment immediately), I offer the letter of habeas counsel Melissa Minsk Donoho, to whom Ms. Torres confessed her malpractice less than 24 hours before she took the stand and testified falsely against Baker at the behest of Mr. Raft. This letter, as noted elsewhere in this site, was addressed to Howard Finkelstein the elected public defender for whom Torres was employed, and to Diane Cuddihy, Esq., Mr. Finkelstein's second-in-command, and who was present when Torres confessed her malpractice, and who was also present when Torres took the stand and lied her ass off. The Question is, "Why would Torres perjure her testimony after having confessed the truth less than 24 hours earlier? The truth is that, unless she was promised immunity, there is no way that she would have perjured her testimony against her own client. Her boss, Finkelstein, knows of her perjury; still, she is still under his employ. Certainly, Mr. Satz knows that she lied under oath, and, still, he has not prosecuted her. Now, we know why he has not prosecuted Raft, and that is because Raft was acting at the direction of Satz when he suborned the perjury of Torres, and the perjury of Brad Edwards. Raft was working at the direction of Mr. Satz when he falsely represented to the habeas court that he had lost the exculpatory evidence in this case, and with Torres also testifying that she lost Baker's entire file, well, how can one obtain justice when this type of conspiracy exists to seal the courthouse doors against you. The "lost evidence transcript" is readable at the link. The most despicable act . . . one of the most despicable acts . . . was that Raft promised the habeas judge that if there was any evidence of alteration, he would ask that "the conviction be undone." [Tr. 08-29-07] at. P. 0003-4. THEN, HE LOSES THE MOST FALSIFIED VIDEO, and was able to get by with that hoax/chicanery, because Ms. Torres also lost the exculpatory video, at P. 0052-10, et seq. Coincidence? If you believe that, I've got a bridge, somewhere, that I want to sell you. So it is that the Supreme Court has had enough of the chicanery, falsified evidence, corruption, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, perjury, secreting evidence, spoliation of Brady Material, and so on, and so on. The Innocence Panel is long overdue, and hopefully, some corrupt prosecutors, corrupt police officers, corrupt police agencies, corrupt public defenders, and the like might be brought to justice, as they should be brought to justice in the Baker case. The annals of jurisprudence mark not an instance where corruption has so infected a case (by virtue of seeking to cover up illegal conduct having come before), that there is no ability to find anything other than corruption and incompetence. I want to personally thank the new Chief Judge of the Florida Supreme Court for implementing the innocence panel/commission, and I would suggest that the panel be expanded John McNamara johnmcnamara@terrorisminblue.com [Link to Order]