[Peace] Call for help at this week's trial of Patrick Thompson

[Randall Cotton]

Patrick Thompson's 3rd trial starts tomorrow. Patrick is an activist who
started a project to videotape police traffic stops with Martel Miller to
document the racial disparity of policing in our community. Police and the
State's Attorney didn't take kindly to that and charged both Martel and
Patrick with felony eavesdropping in 2004. Between the time Martel was
charged with eavesdropping and Patrick was charged with eavesdropping,
Patrick was also charged with home invasion and criminal sexual abuse,
despite the lack of any witness to the alleged crime or any physical
evidence whatsoever.

The case provides the appearance of orchestrated retaliation for
videotaping police (outstanding unrelated criminal charges against
Patrick's.accuser were dropped by the State's Attorney). But regardless,
the question is whether this man should be convicted and sent to jail for
a crime in which there is no physical evidence against him (as openly
admitted by the prosecution), solely on the word of the alleged victim.
The second trial (which was thrown out due to ineffective legal counsel)
proved that a conviction is possible. Was there a conviction in the 2nd
trial because Patrick is a black man and the accuser is a white woman?.
This case boils down ultimately, in fact, to the question "Can an activist
black man be sent to prison solely on the word of a white woman?". The
history of this case suggests that is entirely possible in Champaign
County.

There is a need for the details of this case to be publicized. Not after
the fact. As it happens. Notetakers are needed to record the day-to-day
developments, which will be reported for the community to monitor and stay
informed so that folks who attend the trial can keep up even if they can't
make every minute of the proceedings (of course, there is also a need for
folks just to attend and be witness to the proceedings without necessarily
taking any notes). Perhaps most importantly, if developments in the case
call for a particularly urgent/massive show of community scrutiny, keeping
everyone up to date will allow that to occur much more easily.

The trial is estimated to last all week. Several folks have stepped
forward to be notetakers, but we need more. If you can attend and take
notes a full morning or afternoon or even just a couple hours somewhere in
the timeslots below, please reply and I can give you details.

Time slots covered so far
Monday afternoon
Tuesday morning
Tuesday afternoon
Wednesday morning
Thursday morning

Time slots needing coverage:
Wednesday afternoon
Thursday afternoon
Friday morning
Friday afternoon

Thanks
R