New motion could free K. Smith J
BY CASH MICHAELS
FOR THE CHRON1CLH
The supporters of
Kalvin Michael Smith
maintain that he is innocent
of the 1995 brutal beating
of an assistant manager of
the former Silk Plant
Forest store. Smith, 45,
was convicted for assault
with a deadly weapon with
intent to kill and armed
robbery, and after a contro
versial Winston-Salem
Police investigation, sen
tenced to up to 29 years in
prison for the crime.
He has spent over 19
years in custody thus far
for a crime he insists he
didn't do.
But Smith's current
attorney, former U.S.
Attorney Walton Holton,
filed a supplemental
motion for appropriate
relief in Forsyth County
Superior Court last Friday,
seeking tq have Kalvin
Smith released from prison
immediately based on time
served for the alleged
assault, and should not
serve further time on the
armed robbery conviction.
"The defendant has
now served the full sen
tence of imprisonment
imposed in the assault
case," the motion states,
noting that this is the latest
in a series of motions since
July 1999 which were all
previously denied.
Holton contends in the
motion that regarding the
robbery conviction, "...the
court was not presented
and failed to consider miti
gating factors justifying a
sentence in the presump
tive or mitigating range."
The motion then refers
back to an April 2008
motion that claimed "inef
fective assistance of coun
sel" based on a case law
standard of '...whether a
counsel's performance fell
below a reasonably objec
tive standard causing prej
udice to the defendant."
Case law, Holton main
tained in the supplemental
motion, made clear that the
defendant is entitled to a
resentencing "...when mit
igating factors are not
properly presented for con
sideration by the court at a
sentencing hearing." Thus,
the motion continued,
Smith's original trial attor
ney allegedly failed to
present a proper defense by
not introducing important
mitigating facts like an
impressive work history
since age 16; commend
able personal history, in
addition to strong family
support from his mother,
father and sister among
others, that constitutionally
should have been consid
ered by the trial judge dur
ing sentencing.
The only mitigating
factor considered by the
trial judge was a letter from
the jail in which Smith had
ben held for trial, stating
that he "impressed an
instructor" there while
being held in custody.
Under proper consider
ation, the trial judge could
have sentenced Smith to a
maximum of nine years in
prison.
In 2008, Forsyth
County prosecutors
declared a conflict of inter
est in the case. Since then
the Attorney General office
of Roy Cooper, who was
running for governor, has
handled it. For nearly a
decade, the Silk Plant
Forest Truth Committee
has been advocating for
Smith's release, saying that
he was wrongly convicted.
The committee as well as
supporters at both
Winston-Salem State
University and . Wake
Fore$t University, and the
N.C. NAACP have urged
Cooper, including holding
rallies outside his office, to
join Smith's defense to
petition for a new trial, say
ing that a thorough review
of the case by law enforce
ment experts (including a
former FBI agent) revealed
"sloppy" investigative
police work.
Cooper refused.
In recent months, the
Ministers' Conference of
Winston-Salem and
Vicinity (MCWSV), stu
dents from local colleges
and universities, and count
less other organizations
have joined the fight to
prove Smith's innocence.
During a short discus
sion over the phone earlier
this week MCWSV presi
dent Bishop Todd Fulton
said he was excited that the
courts have decided to take
another look at the case.
"This is exciting
news," Pulton said. "Now
we just have to wait and
see what happens."
Holton's office told The
Chronicle at press time
Tuesday that no new hear
ing date or time had been
established. According to
published reports, a hear
ing was originally sched
uled for 2 p.m. Monday,
but for some leason did not
take place. However a
hearing is expected some
time this week, meaning
that if Holton's motion is
granted, Kalvin Smith
could be released as soon
as this week. That would
still enable him to pursue
proving his innocence and
clearing his name, but this
time from the outside of
prison walls.
Earlier this year, the
state Supreme Court dis
missed Kalvin Smith's
appeal.
For more information
on the trial, visit The
Chronicle's website or to
view complete documents
from the trial, visit the
city's official website at
www.cityofws.org. Be sure
to type Silk Plan Forest
Report Documents into the
search bar.
Chronicle reporter
Tevin Stinson contributed
to this report.
Smith
Local NAACP sets Nov. 22
as election date for new officers
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
NAACP will have election of Winston
Salem Branch officers and at-large mem
bers of the executive committee on Nov.
22 from 12-6 pjn. at 4130 Oak Ridge
Drive.
The membership meeting will be held
at 7 p.m., when the winners will be
announced.
To vote in the branch election, one
must be a member in good standing of the
branch 30 days prior to election.
A form of identification is required to
vote and membership must be verified.
The pastor of Exodus Baptist Church,
Rev. Alvin Carlisle, has announced he will
be putting his name in the hat to become
the next president of the local NAACP
branch.
Isaac "Ike" Howard is the current pres
ident of the branch.
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