Assemblymember Dr Shirley Weber Discusses Reform-a-nation Campaign/Docuseries on Injustice & Wrongful Convictions as "Racial Justice Bill" is Introduced By Assemblymember Ash Kalra
San Diego office of pioneering California Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber, a diverse panel of activists (including college students, prominent community leaders, attorneys, filmmakers, actresses, and exonerees) discussed prison reform, prosecutorial misconduct, and wrongful convictions, such the Anand Jon Alexander case.
Panelist Amy Povah-Ralston, who was granted clemency after serving 9 years in federal prison during the Clinton era and was instrumental in launching reality star Kim Kardashian into clemency work, explained “The sentence [Anand] received is so disproportionate to a normal case with the same allegations. He was convicted on very, very thin evidence. 59 years to life is madness for a first offense with someone…This really seems like this was racially charged with a lot of motive behind it.”
American Justice Alliance attorney Timothy Milner
who is handling Mr. Alexander’s commutation, has tried almost a hundred jury trials in 40 years of practice and usually tends to shy away from scandalous sex cases, but explained to ASM Weber that this was an exceptional case. “This man is innocent. He also had one of the worst trials that I’ve seen…Juror misconduct gets declared as Juror No.12 actually gets convicted of juror misconduct before the Anand Jon trial is over – that should be an automatic mistrial,” but instead, a 59 year to life sentence was imposed.
The prosecutors racial inflammation went beyond the wrongful conviction as Anand Jon
was also the victim of a racial hate crime by a white supremacist gang in prison when he was stabbed multiple times in the face from behind, suffering grave bodily injury. He has initiated a strong lawsuit against the prison/CDCR.
Another panelist who urged commutation for Anand Jon was panelist Victoria Olango, a Ugandan refugee, whose brother Alfred Olongo was shot and killed by the police four years ago. Dr. Weber recommended teaming up with the new wave of progressive prosecutors and fellow political members, such as Senator Nancy Skinner, and Assembly Member Ash Karla who recently introduced AB 2200, the Racial Justice Act on Wednesday, March 11, 2020.
Rajendra Vora, a prominent Beverly Hills community leader added:
“There is so much prosecutorial misconduct and racial prejudice that led to his wrongful conviction.” Hailing from a prominent diplomatic family in Columbia, Mariana Fernandez de Cordoba, a successful actress and activist, became involved because “I think Anand’s case is about race, it’s about a trial that was completely biased on moral grounds, on social grounds, racial and a lot of xenophobia”
The recent sweeping changes by Governor Newsom are highly relevant because he emphasized “It’s a racist system. You cannot deny that. It’s a system that is perpetuating inequality. It’s a system that I cannot in good conscience support.” Similarly, Ash Karla, a former public defender and a brown man of south asian origin himself stated “you cannot deny that, it is a system that is perpetuating inequality. I have seen racial discrimination first hand in the court system. I have seen too many brown and black faces, young men, that question not just the system but ultimately themselves, what their role in society is, and whether they’ve been left behind.”
The American Justice Alliance human rights organization has an influential team on this case, including numerous law firms and volunteers nationwide, such as exoneree Obie Anthony (Exonerated Nation), former Republican Assemblymember Bill Duplissea, former Democratic Senate Leader John Burton, and Washington D.C. based powerhouse attorney, Bart Fisher, have taken up this case pro bono. The author of AB 1909, then Assemblymember Patty Lopez wrote a letter on behalf of Anand Jon’s commutation, as she found the police misconduct and withholding of favorable evidence “utterly shocking.”
1 Dr. Weber, who is African American, is one of the leading women in California politics who is no stranger to racism. She has been instrumental to several bills that have led to curb prosecutors and police abuse of power, use of deadly force, AB 1513: Racial Profiling Clean-Up, AB 2988: Evidence Retention as well as The Restorative Justice Act AB 2590.
2 An award winning rising star in the fashion industry (www.anandjon.org) known launching the "it girls" (like Ivanka Trump, Paris & Nicky Hilton, Amanda and Lydia Hearst, Michelle Rodriguez) Anand Jon had just gotten wall street funding when he was accused of sexual misconduct & assault by a group of women. "If you were a wannabe, he was the perfect tailcoat to ride on" said the New York Times (Sharon Waxman Thewrap.com founder) https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/fashion/15anand.html. Following a racially tainted controversial trial in Los Angeles full of highly dubious circumstances, of one count of rape and several counts of lesser sexual offenses. Although there were "no assault related injuries" on anyone and he had no history of violence, Anand Jon was sentenced to a draconian 59 years to life in prison. As part of the panelists exonerees Marvin Mutch, Obie Anthony of www.exoneratednation.org and Jeffrey Deskovic, researched the case and supported commutation. Deskovic, told the Davis Vanguard, "Anand Jon's case is fraught with prosecutorial misconduct and bad lawyering. It is no wonder he was wrongfully convicted." https://finance.yahoo.com/news/keynote-speaker-jefferey-deskovic-discuss-153000271.html
3 https://pagesix.com/2020/01/18/incarcerated-designer-anand-jon-alexander-stabbed-in-the-face-by-fellow-inmate/?fbclid=IwAR18ecmHj7FI9dVGXR5U2SNblwevj3lFAX-e-R2r_TZ8PNEY3XYEpJDBw6w
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/convicted-fashion-designer-sues-donovan-state-prison-after-attack-behind-bars
4 https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/article241072236.html
https://www.davisvanguard.org/2020/03/racial-justice-act-introduced-in-legislature-to-end-racial-disparities-in-the-criminal-justice-system/
https://www.davisvanguard.org/2020/03/anand-jons-path-to-freedom-a-san-diego-meeting-with-assemblymember-weber/
5 http://www.indiajournal.com/met/activists-call-to-release-designer-anand-jon
https://politictalks.com/24-7-politic-press-release/california-welcomes-reform-a-nation-campaign-to-reverse-wrongful-convictions-and-ucla-law-schools-call-to-end-mass-incarceration/
https://www.indiawest.com/news/global_indian/international-innovators-panel-takes-on-case-of-anand-jon-others/article_2e119f96-e2c2-11e8-be52-2f958b25e732.html
