Baltimore — Two representatives of the Baltimore Peoples Assembly,
the Rev. Cortly “CD” Witherspoon of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference and Sharon Black, an organizer for the All Peoples Congress,
have refused a plea deal to do 10 hours of community service. The two
activists were arrested for trespass on Aug. 6 at the Unity March to
Stop Police Terror and for Jobs and Recreation Centers. Their trial is
now set for Oct. 4.
Witherspoon and Black marched with about 100 other people at the Aug.
6 march from East Baltimore to City Hall. Participants included victims
and families of police abuse and killings, community activists
advocating for jobs and recreation centers, and other groups, including
the Occupy movement.
At City Hall, the two activists, acting on behalf of the Baltimore
Peoples Assembly, entered the building to present Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake a letter outlining what was voted on by the 142
representatives who attended the June 30 Peoples Assembly. The letter
detailed a call for community control of police; the firing and adequate
charging of police who have shot, killed or brutalized community
members; and other key issues, including providing jobs and keeping
recreation centers and fire stations open.
Black and Witherspoon requested a meeting with the mayor and asked
for someone from her office to meet with them regarding these emergency
issues or to agree to an expedited meeting date, considering that
recreation centers were to close at the end of the week and that the
problem of police terror is acute.
As a result, both organizers were charged with trespass, taken to
Central Booking and jailed until they saw a court commissioner the
following day. Supporters meanwhile continued to rally outside City
Hall.
Both Witherspoon and Black assert that they are innocent, which is
why they refused to plead guilty or to accept a plea deal. Their
charging documents state that they were on the property of the mayor and
City Council. Both see it as ironic since “City Hall is the property of
the people.”
Black and Witherspoon’s refusal to take a plea deal was met with
cheers from the group that had gathered in their support for this
preliminary court appearance.
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