OPINION
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The Chronicle I
Ernest H. Pitt
Publisher Emeritus
1974-2015
617 N. Liberty Street
336-722-8624 I 41 \
www.wschronicle .com
Elaine Pitt Business Manager
Donna Rogers Managing Editor
wali D. Pitt Digital Manager
Our Mission
The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the . ?
residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County
by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth
to power, standing for integrity and
encouraging open communication and
lively debate throughout the community.
What does
Roy Cooper
have to hide?
Attorney General Roy Cooper's office took action
on April 7. The office responded to Kalvin Michael
Smith's motion to the North Carolina Supreme Court
seeking an evidentiary hearing. Smith asserts in his
petition that former Winston-Salem Police
Department police officer Arnita Miles gave a mate
rially false affidavit that the state procured and used
against him. Smith wants a hearing to determine
whether the state obstructed justice.
What did the attorney general's office argue in its
response? For one, that Smith's motion is improper
because he is not on death row.
The attorney general's office claims there is no
N.C. law that allows a defendant to file motions to
vacate or reconsider Motions for Appropriate Relief
orders in trial
court. The office
does acknowl
edge, however,
that the Supreme
Court has author
ity to invoke "its
supervisory
authority" to
change some of
the way it oper
ates.
Why won't
the attorney gen
eral ask the court
to allow the evi
? dentiary hearing
in order to get to
the truth? Does
he have some
thing to hide?
K a 1 v i n
Michael Smith,
44, was convicted Smilh
in 1997 of the
1995 assault of Jill Marker, an assistant manager at
the former Silk Plant Forest store on Silas Creek
Parkway.
The Silk Plant Forest Truth Committee of
Winston-Salem has issued a statement on the opposi
tion to the evidentiary hearing:
"It is deplorable that Attorney General Roy
Cooper has once again opted to defend the wrongful
conviction of Kalvin Michael Smith. In this latest
instance. Cooper filed to oppose a hearing that would
expose how prosecutors created and used against
Kalvin an affidavit they still do not deny is materially
false.
"Relying strictly on legal maneuvers, rather than
the truth, Cooper is willfully defying two meticulous
ly documented, independent reviews that concluded
there is 'no credible evidence' Kalvin was present at
the scene of Jill Marker's brutal beating in 1995.
"Since assuming the case in 2008, Cooper has
borne direct responsibility for the continued violation
of Smith's civil rights and lost freedom - and for any
other crime committed by Jill's assailant, who
remains unaccounted for."
Cooper is running for governor of North Carolina,
The Smith case will remain alive throughout the cam
paign unless he changes his actions toward it.
What will a Governor Cooper do to North
Carolinians as the leader of the state? Will he follow
the lead of the Republicans in the General Assembly
and throw away compassion and reason when look
ing at laws that hurt rather than help those who need
help? Will he rubber-stamp the actions of the
Republicans as the current governor does?
A new attorney general will be chosen in
November. The supporters of Kalvin Michael Smith
should look at the attorney general race arid work to
help the person who can help Smith while keeping
pressure on a wannarbe governor.
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I
AB B ? 1
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Me, myself
and Darryl Hunt
To The Editor:
Not many people in this world
today can honestly say that they actu
ally know someone who has mental
ly, spiritually and physically, walked
in their shoes.
Me, myself, can, with honor, dig
nity and respect, say that I do know
someone who has walked in my
shoes and traveled the same path as I
have, and that person is Mr. Darryl
Eugene Hunt.
For 19 years Darryl Hunt endured
the injustices of racism, wrongful
imprisonment and the mental anguish
of beine
an inno
cent per
s o n
labeled as
one who
commit
ted a
heinous
crime,
while for
19 Vi
years I
myself
have
endured
the same.
O n
December
24, 2003,
D a r r y 1
Hunt was
form n 11 v
Hunt released
from prison,
and as the order by Judge Cromer
was being spoken in Forsyth County
Superior Court freeing Darryl, I was
watching it on television in the prison
day room. While watching, I studied
Darryl's reaction and saw in his eyes
and in the tears racing down his
cheeks the relief and the release of
the many years of frustration, loneli
ness, fear, exhaustion and anxiety.
Those were the same feelings and
emotions that I have yet to be able to
release.
Through Darryl Hunt, a part of
me had been freed along with him,
because when he spoke about wrong
ful convictions, it was me speaking
also. When Darryl spoke of injustice
and inequality occurring within what
he always called the "Forsyth County
Hall of Injustice," it was me speak
ing, and when Darryl Hunt passed
away, a part of me also went to the
other side.
Words cannot even attempt to
explain the feelings of being incar
cerated for a crime you know you did
not commit, and like Darryl once
stated after being denied justice him
self by the courts, "Every time 1 get
denied or tuned down by the courts, I
feel like I'm being discarded by the
system."
I myself often wonder why
nobody within the justice system will
step up to the plate and do what's
right when it comes to my own
wrongful conviction, but then again
I'll think about something Darryl
said back in 2014, more than 10 years
after his release. He stated, "I could
never understand why the courts
turned me down, but now that I've
been out and working with the sys
tem on the local level and national
level, I get it. It's the political will of
someone who wants to be in power."
As one who has been wrongfully
imprisoned myself for almost two
decades, I can and must tell the world
that when politics and money super
sede justice and the right thing to do,
everyone should be frightened. From
my own experience, I can assure you
that being wrongfully imprisoned
leaves a scar that no form of surgery
can make go away. Only seeing jus
tice prevail against injustice and
equality prevail over inequality can
help heal the nasty scars of being
accused.
Darryl Hunt came home and wit
nessed the same injustice that was
done to him over 30 years earlier still
rearing its ugly head in Forsyth
County and that drove him to fight
even harder against it.
1 met Darryl Hunt in the summer
of 2002 at Salisbury Correctional
Institute and we talked for two whole
days. But while still in the midst of
fighting for his own freedom, Darryl
took the time to embrace me and
promised me that if and when he ever
?gained his freedom, he would reach
back and extend his hand to me and
that's what he did. Darryl was a man
of his word and for that I salute him.
If anything, we should all have
learned the true meanings of uncon
ditional love, caring, forgiveness and
peace from Darryl Eugene Hunt.
I place Darryl Hunt in the catego
ry of one of the true drum majors for
justice, but Darryl was not only a
drum major, he played all the instru
ments in the band.
Kalvin Michael Smith-El
Forsyth Correctional Center
Wake Forest
University
Faculty adopt
resolutionAgainst
HB2
To The Editor:
"The faculty of Wake Forest
College at Wake Forest University
oppose North Carolina House Bill 2,
enacted on March 23,2016, which
is contrary to our University-wide
commitment to diversity and inclu
sion. The law specifically prevents
cities from legally protecting sexual
and gender minorities from discrimi
nation, while also preventing trans
gender people from accessing public
restrooms safely. The faculty believe
that the bill will negatively affect
our current LGBTQ faculty, admin
istrators and students and their
friends and family and may nega
tively affect recruitment of faculty,
administrators and students. In addi
tion, as the law prohibits K-12 pub
lic schools and publicly-funded uni
versities and colleges in North
Carolina from having multi-stall,
multi-sex bathrooms, it could jeop
ardize federal funding for the
schools attended by many of our
family members, friends and neigh
bors. Thus, we urge our local gov
ernment officials to take an active
stand against the law, and we urge
the North Carolina General
Assembly and the Governor to
repeal House Bill 2."
The resolution is the latest show
of support for the LGBTQ commu
nity and demonstration of Wake
Forest's commitment to inclusivity
and diversity everywhere.
On March 24, more than 200
Wake Forest students, faculty, staff
and alumni gathered for a moment
of solidarity on the steps of Wait
Cljapel hosted by the Wake Forest's
LGBTQ Center. On March 25, Wake
Forest University issued an official
statement in response to HB 2:
"Wake Forest University's com
mitment to diversity Ind inclusion
remains unwavering and our non
discrimination statement includes
protection for gender identity and
sexual orientation. The new law
does not apply to private institutions
and will not impact Wake Forest's
employment practices, educational
programs or campus activities in any
way. Wake Forest underscores its
commitment to creating an inclusive
environment for all members of the
University community as well as
visitors to our campus."
Faculty, Undergraduate College
Wake Forest University
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