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N.C. Bureau Of Prisons Ends Youth’s Isolation: Shannon Nyamodi Transferred To Nash County And Tells TPC What Happened Night Of His Arrest

When my home phone rang late afternoon yesterday I looked at the Caller I.D. and noticed that the number was from Ms. Elizabeth Crudup, the mother of Shannon Nyamodi. I had spoken to her earlier in the day regarding her son’s case, and had made phone calls to local media in North Carolina on his behalf. Before I could greet the mother, her voice loudly barked “can you hear me?” She appeared extremely excited and began to introduce me to her son who was also on the line for the call. It was a defining moment culminating this mother’s fears, concerns, and all of the anxiety the Nyamodi family has endured for nearly two years. The youth was a recent high school grad preparing to enter the U.S. Armed Forces, whose life took a spiraling downward turn in August 2012 when he was arrested and subsequently charged with several felonies accusing him of shooting a woman in the face at point blank range. Nyamodi had been at the Franklin County Detention Center awaiting trial for those charges for over a year, when he says that corrections officials at that facility began to treat him harshly, and repeatedly placed him in isolation (segregation).

The timing of his harassment also coincided with a volume of publicity which started to draw national attention to his case. In December of 2013 his mother began to notice that when she went to visit her son at the Franklin County jail, she was often told that she couldn’t see her son, although she had arrived at the facility on his normal visiting days. When Elizabeth Crudup was allowed to see Shannon, he was always accompanied by the warden and one of the sergeants at the jail. The peculiar manner in which the jail conducted his visits caused the mother to speak to him in her native tongue of Swahili. Ms. Crudup says she believed that something was going on but couldn’t quite put her finger on exactly what it was. As time went on her being denied access to her son escalated into being prohibited to see him at all. Shannon stopped calling his family, and he was repeatedly being placed in isolation. In January 2014 Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood drove the mother to the jail and refused to leave until she was allowed to see her son. On that visit the judge had requested to speak with Franklin County Sheriff Jerry Jones, but Jones refused to see him.

Hobgood had met with Elizabeth Crudup in his chambers at the Franklin County courthouse regarding a Writ of Habeas Corpus just hours before he escorted her to the jail. Although Hobgood had denied the habeas, he was concerned about other aspects of her son’s case. The judge had wrongfully ruled that the mother had no legal standing in her son’s criminal case, and couldn’t file legal documents on his behalf because she wasn’t an attorney. TPC has disclosed NCGS 17-5 which details how anyone can present a habeas before the court to challenge the lawful detention of a detainee. Hobgood’s purpose for making certain the mother saw her son was so she could obtain a written request from him expressing his desire for a “speedy trial.” Nyamodi’s case had been ordered taken off of the management docket system by judge Height on February 20, 2013, while allowing the prosecutor’s office wide discretion in determining when the case would move forward, and Hobgood’s gesture was meant to compel Shannon’s attorney to act on his behalf in the case. The only other occasion that Crudup was permitted to visit her son occurred when someone put in a call to sheriff Jerry Jones expressing concern for Shannon’s mental health due to his isolation for such an extended period of time. That was the last time Crudup physically saw her son. She had no contact with him for months, an effort she believes was being conducted to solicit a plea deal from him under duress for the charges. Suddenly she was surprised with a phone call in the wee hours of the morning just a few weeks ago, when some compassionate jail official snuck the youth out of his jail cell and allowed him to call his mom.

Crudup writes her son daily because it’s the only manner in which she could communicate with him to offer support and hope that he would eventually prevail from the charges he face. During her last call she had with him, she discovered that Franklin County jail officials had not been giving him his mail. Those communications she had been sending him contained vital information to aid in his defense, and to inform him of legal proceedings she was conducting on his behalf. Crudup had consistently attempted to ascertain why Shannon was being denied visits, only to be told when she inquired that Shannon wasn’t allowed to see anyone. Shannon Nyamodi doesn’t have a pending court date in the management docket system at all, with no final disposition of his case, and is essentially serving a sentence of infinity without a conviction. His case has raised serious concern for his constitutional rights in what many followers of his case see as severe human rights violations. His plight has garnered national attention from various spectrums of the legal community such as Harvard Law, and other local Law Schools. The Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network Charlotte office has been actively working to free Nyamodi. A volume of advocates, bloggers, and concerned citizens from around the country, and Canada have continuously made calls and wrote letters to local, state, and federal agencies in North Carolina to bring attention to his story. It’s widely believed that Shannon Nyamodi’s treatment while being detained at the Franklin County Detention Center is a direct result of pressure from the public around the country. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigations reportedly has an open case file on Shannon Nyamodi’s case which originated from a criminal complaint surrounding his potential unlawful detention.

The U.S. Constitution affords all citizens a right to a speedy trial and due process under the law. The 6th and 14th amendments were designed to insure that states pay respect to a defendant’s right to speedy prosecution and a fair public trial, and to prevent a citizen from languishing in prison for infinity. Shannon’s case at least, establishes that the criminal justice process is working in glaring contrast, while he sits in a North Carolina jail cell with no indication as to when he’ll have his day in court. While Shannon’s case appears to stand out as a poster child for complete injustice by the North Carolina courts, public outcry has continuously called for state politicians at the very apex of North Carolina’s leadership to act on his behalf, which includes Attorney General Roy Coopers’s office, and the Governor. Some cynics have declared that the prosecutors must have evidence against Shannon Nyamodi for them to continuously hold him, but if such evidence exist, it has never been made public. The official record file at the County Clerk’s office is extremely problematic for state prosecutors and the police who brought charges against this young defendant. Legal professionals from around the country who have seen some of the critical documents in the case file, believe that no probable cause ever existed to justify an arrest warrant for Shannon Nyamodi from the very start.

However, through all of the advocacy that has developed for Shannon’s plight outside of the state of North Carolina, some dynamic appears to be working behind the scenes. During the early afternoon on yesterday an order was executed, moving Shannon Nyamodi from the custody of the Franklin County Sheriff Department, and transferring him to a facility in Nash County North Carolina. The move came as such a surprise that the warden of the Franklin County Detention Center wasn’t even aware of the ordered transfer until deputies from Nash County arrived at the facility with body attachment documents (a writ) giving Nash County officials authority over Shannon Nyamodi’s physical custody. According to Shannon, who told TPC that the order was issued by the North Carolina State Bureau of Prisons, also advised that he had been writing a volume of people, including the BOP requesting a transfer from Franklin County because of the harsh treatment that he was enduring while in their custody. Supporters who just became aware of the move are skeptical and believe that Shannon’s sudden transfer may be a tactic being utilized by politicians bidding for post in this upcoming elections in May. The state Attorney General, District Attorneys, and the Franklin County Sheriff who have been contacted directly regarding Shannon’s case, are all up for reelection and one of those entities may be responsible for Shannon’s transfer in an effort to bolster their campaign bid.

At any rate, Shannon was freed from the harsh isolation conditions that he was reportedly subjected to for over a year. While on the phone with Shannon and his mom, I could sense the sheer joy that the family had overcome a very horrific ordeal. Elizabeth Crudup continuously blew kisses at her son, telling him that she loved him, and that she would continue to fight for him to regain his freedom. Her son’s voice was firm, articulate, and he spoke with humility describing how despite all that corrections officials had done to him, he never lashed out, never used profanity or became disrespectful. Shannon said he just continued to write hoping that the good people in the justice system would eventually hear his plea for help. Shannon appeared to be pleased with his current detention facility and was excited that he would have the freedom to have movement around his housing area. He said that he was being placed in a housing pod (a dorm), which mean that he would now be afforded normal privileges like using the phone, and having visits from his family which is something he was prohibited from having in Franklin County. His lines of communication with his greatest supporters have now been reestablished and he is prepared to finally prove his innocence, he said.

Shannon went on to briefly described for TPC the events of the night which led up to his arrest. He stated that after the shooting victim had been transported, he was sitting in the Young family’s yard (where the victim ran for help) when a black police sedan pulled up, and a police officer approached him stating, “you might as well confess and tell us the truth about what happened.” Shannon said that he told the officer who had a jewish name (Heinrich), that “I already told you guys what happened. Mind you, I am the one who called the police and escorted them to where she was.” He said he was told to come with the police for questioning and “the next thing I know, I am being processed for the shooting,” Shannon said. TPC has already reported in a previous article that Detective Heinrich of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations is the police official who executed a search warrant on the Facebook accounts of Shannon Nyamodi and his co-defendant in this case, after a police informant implicated Shannon, by stating that he and the victim’s daughter conspired to kill and rob her mother while communicating via Facebook text. Detective Heinrich’s official sworn document which he executed on August 27, 2012, reveals that no records were seized as a result of the search warrant. Since police have always alleged that a conspiracy had transpired between Shannon and the girl, Heinrich’s discovery is extremely exculpatory for Shannon Nyamodi, but the detective didn’t submit his findings to the courts until nearly ninety days after he learned that the police informant’s information was false. Heinrich knew that Shannon hadn’t communicated in a conspiracy on Facebook a full week prior to Shannon’s indictment on October 4, 2012. The cops knew this kid was innocent, did nothing about it, and allowed the prosecutor’s office to charge him for this horrible crime anyway. For now he has been removed from torturous conditions at the Franklin County Detention Center, but Shannon Nyamodi still has a tremendous upheaval on the road to regain his freedom. May God be with him and his family.

To Be Continued ..

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m David Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

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When my home phone rang late afternoon yesterday I looked at the Caller I.D. and noticed that the number was from Ms. Elizabeth Crudup, the mother of Shannon Nyamodi. I had spoken to her earlier in the day regarding her son’s case, and had made phone calls to local media in North Carolina on his behalf. Before I could greet the mother, her voice loudly barked “can you hear me?” She appeared extremely excited and began to introduce me to her son who was also on the line for the call. It was a defining moment culminating this mother’s fears, concerns, and all of the anxiety the Nyamodi family has endured for nearly two years. The youth was a recent high school grad preparing to enter the U.S. Armed Forces, whose life took a spiraling downward turn in August 2012 when he was arrested and subsequently charged with several felonies accusing him of shooting a woman in the face at point blank range. Nyamodi had been at the Franklin County Detention Center awaiting trial for those charges for over a year, when he says that corrections officials at that facility began to treat him harshly, and repeatedly placed him in isolation (segregation).

The timing of his harassment also coincided with a volume of publicity which started to draw national attention to his case. In December of 2013 his mother began to notice that when she went to visit her son at the Franklin County jail, she was often told that she couldn’t see her son, although she had arrived at the facility on his normal visiting days. When Elizabeth Crudup was allowed to see Shannon, he was always accompanied by the warden and one of the sergeants at the jail. The peculiar manner in which the jail conducted his visits caused the mother to speak to him in her native tongue of Swahili. Ms. Crudup says she believed that something was going on but couldn’t quite put her finger on exactly what it was. As time went on her being denied access to her son escalated into being prohibited to see him at all. Shannon stopped calling his family, and he was repeatedly being placed in isolation. In January 2014 Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood drove the mother to the jail and refused to leave until she was allowed to see her son. On that visit the judge had requested to speak with Franklin County Sheriff Jerry Jones, but Jones refused to see him.

Hobgood had met with Elizabeth Crudup in his chambers at the Franklin County courthouse regarding a Writ of Habeas Corpus just hours before he escorted her to the jail. Although Hobgood had denied the habeas, he was concerned about other aspects of her son’s case. The judge had wrongfully ruled that the mother had no legal standing in her son’s criminal case, and couldn’t file legal documents on his behalf because she wasn’t an attorney. TPC has disclosed NCGS 17-5 which details how anyone can present a habeas before the court to challenge the lawful detention of a detainee. Hobgood’s purpose for making certain the mother saw her son was so she could obtain a written request from him expressing his desire for a “speedy trial.” Nyamodi’s case had been ordered taken off of the management docket system by judge Height on February 20, 2013, while allowing the prosecutor’s office wide discretion in determining when the case would move forward, and Hobgood’s gesture was meant to compel Shannon’s attorney to act on his behalf in the case. The only other occasion that Crudup was permitted to visit her son occurred when someone put in a call to sheriff Jerry Jones expressing concern for Shannon’s mental health due to his isolation for such an extended period of time. That was the last time Crudup physically saw her son. She had no contact with him for months, an effort she believes was being conducted to solicit a plea deal from him under duress for the charges. Suddenly she was surprised with a phone call in the wee hours of the morning just a few weeks ago, when some compassionate jail official snuck the youth out of his jail cell and allowed him to call his mom.

Crudup writes her son daily because it’s the only manner in which she could communicate with him to offer support and hope that he would eventually prevail from the charges he face. During her last call she had with him, she discovered that Franklin County jail officials had not been giving him his mail. Those communications she had been sending him contained vital information to aid in his defense, and to inform him of legal proceedings she was conducting on his behalf. Crudup had consistently attempted to ascertain why Shannon was being denied visits, only to be told when she inquired that Shannon wasn’t allowed to see anyone. Shannon Nyamodi doesn’t have a pending court date in the management docket system at all, with no final disposition of his case, and is essentially serving a sentence of infinity without a conviction. His case has raised serious concern for his constitutional rights in what many followers of his case see as severe human rights violations. His plight has garnered national attention from various spectrums of the legal community such as Harvard Law, and other local Law Schools. The Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network Charlotte office has been actively working to free Nyamodi. A volume of advocates, bloggers, and concerned citizens from around the country, and Canada have continuously made calls and wrote letters to local, state, and federal agencies in North Carolina to bring attention to his story. It’s widely believed that Shannon Nyamodi’s treatment while being detained at the Franklin County Detention Center is a direct result of pressure from the public around the country. Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigations reportedly has an open case file on Shannon Nyamodi’s case which originated from a criminal complaint surrounding his potential unlawful detention.

The U.S. Constitution affords all citizens a right to a speedy trial and due process under the law. The 6th and 14th amendments were designed to insure that states pay respect to a defendant’s right to speedy prosecution and a fair public trial, and to prevent a citizen from languishing in prison for infinity. Shannon’s case at least, establishes that the criminal justice process is working in glaring contrast, while he sits in a North Carolina jail cell with no indication as to when he’ll have his day in court. While Shannon’s case appears to stand out as a poster child for complete injustice by the North Carolina courts, public outcry has continuously called for state politicians at the very apex of North Carolina’s leadership to act on his behalf, which includes Attorney General Roy Coopers’s office, and the Governor. Some cynics have declared that the prosecutors must have evidence against Shannon Nyamodi for them to continuously hold him, but if such evidence exist, it has never been made public. The official record file at the County Clerk’s office is extremely problematic for state prosecutors and the police who brought charges against this young defendant. Legal professionals from around the country who have seen some of the critical documents in the case file, believe that no probable cause ever existed to justify an arrest warrant for Shannon Nyamodi from the very start.

However, through all of the advocacy that has developed for Shannon’s plight outside of the state of North Carolina, some dynamic appears to be working behind the scenes. During the early afternoon on yesterday an order was executed, moving Shannon Nyamodi from the custody of the Franklin County Sheriff Department, and transferring him to a facility in Nash County North Carolina. The move came as such a surprise that the warden of the Franklin County Detention Center wasn’t even aware of the ordered transfer until deputies from Nash County arrived at the facility with body attachment documents (a writ) giving Nash County officials authority over Shannon Nyamodi’s physical custody. According to Shannon, who told TPC that the order was issued by the North Carolina State Bureau of Prisons, also advised that he had been writing a volume of people, including the BOP requesting a transfer from Franklin County because of the harsh treatment that he was enduring while in their custody. Supporters who just became aware of the move are skeptical and believe that Shannon’s sudden transfer may be a tactic being utilized by politicians bidding for post in this upcoming elections in May. The state Attorney General, District Attorneys, and the Franklin County Sheriff who have been contacted directly regarding Shannon’s case, are all up for reelection and one of those entities may be responsible for Shannon’s transfer in an effort to bolster their campaign bid.

At any rate, Shannon was freed from the harsh isolation conditions that he was reportedly subjected to for over a year. While on the phone with Shannon and his mom, I could sense the sheer joy that the family had overcome a very horrific ordeal. Elizabeth Crudup continuously blew kisses at her son, telling him that she loved him, and that she would continue to fight for him to regain his freedom. Her son’s voice was firm, articulate, and he spoke with humility describing how despite all that corrections officials had done to him, he never lashed out, never used profanity or became disrespectful. Shannon said he just continued to write hoping that the good people in the justice system would eventually hear his plea for help. Shannon appeared to be pleased with his current detention facility and was excited that he would have the freedom to have movement around his housing area. He said that he was being placed in a housing pod (a dorm), which mean that he would now be afforded normal privileges like using the phone, and having visits from his family which is something he was prohibited from having in Franklin County. His lines of communication with his greatest supporters have now been reestablished and he is prepared to finally prove his innocence, he said.

Shannon went on to briefly described for TPC the events of the night which led up to his arrest. He stated that after the shooting victim had been transported, he was sitting in the Young family’s yard (where the victim ran for help) when a black police sedan pulled up, and a police officer approached him stating, “you might as well confess and tell us the truth about what happened.” Shannon said that he told the officer who had a jewish name (Heinrich), that “I already told you guys what happened. Mind you, I am the one who called the police and escorted them to where she was.” He said he was told to come with the police for questioning and “the next thing I know, I am being processed for the shooting,” Shannon said. TPC has already reported in a previous article that Detective Heinrich of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations is the police official who executed a search warrant on the Facebook accounts of Shannon Nyamodi and his co-defendant in this case, after a police informant implicated Shannon, by stating that he and the victim’s daughter conspired to kill and rob her mother while communicating via Facebook text. Detective Heinrich’s official sworn document which he executed on August 27, 2012, reveals that no records were seized as a result of the search warrant. Since police have always alleged that a conspiracy had transpired between Shannon and the girl, Heinrich’s discovery is extremely exculpatory for Shannon Nyamodi, but the detective didn’t submit his findings to the courts until nearly ninety days after he learned that the police informant’s information was false. Heinrich knew that Shannon hadn’t communicated in a conspiracy on Facebook a full week prior to Shannon’s indictment on October 4, 2012. The cops knew this kid was innocent, did nothing about it, and allowed the prosecutor’s office to charge him for this horrible crime anyway. For now he has been removed from torturous conditions at the Franklin County Detention Center, but Shannon Nyamodi still has a tremendous upheaval on the road to regain his freedom. May God be with him and his family.

To Be Continued ..

 

 

The People’s Champion

I’m David Adams

David Adams

A Self proclaimed geek, Sympathizer for the homeless, Social Change Advocate, Crime Blogger, Promoter of Awareness for Missing and Exploited Children, and a mobile technology enthusiast. A recognized Journalist and Human Interest Writer championing the plight of the masses whom are without a voice of their own.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:
TwitterFacebookLinkedInGoogle Plus

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N.C. Bureau Of Prisons Ends Youth’s Isolation: Shannon Nyamodi Transferred To Nash County And Tells TPC What Happened Night Of His Arrest | The People’s Champion
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