On Monday, December 29th, Jason Vassell’s defense submitted a motion to dismiss Vassell’s indictment, No. 08-56, “on the ground that the defendant has been selectively prosecuted because of his race, in violation of the rights guaranteed him by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Articles I and XII of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights.”
Amherst defense lawyer David P. Hoose details what he sees as false assumptions and deliberate omissions made by the police officers and prosecutors who developed the case against Vassell. “Unfortunately, racism is the only plausible explanation for the criminal charges now pending,” Hoose writes. Additionally, evidence is cited showing the histories of race-related violence of both of Jason’s attackers and the document outlines exactly how selective prosecution has been carried out.
The motion and a 50+ page memorandum in support of the motion were one of the topics discussed at Vassell’s pretrial hearing on December 31, 2008 and will be heard in full at Jason’s Pre-trial hearing on January 15th, 2009.
The motion is further evidence of a racist prosecution that has already taken away a year of his lifeand threatens to take away 30 more!.
PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO READ THE FULL MOTION TO DISMISS:
