We Demand a Fair Trial in the Wrongful Conviction of Kerry Baxter Senior

I am an Activist with Essie Justice Group and the Fair Chance for Housing Campaign and live in Alameda County. I am also the mother of Kerry Baxter Senior who has served almost 20 years of a 66 year to life sentence for a crime he did not commit. He was wrongfully and maliciously charged with and prosecuted for 2nd Degree Murder in 2001 and found guilty in 2003. He was tried by an all white jury in Alameda County Superior Court after all of the black jurors were struck.
It boils down to an issue of race and how we as African Americans are targeted by the Police and the Courts. The Oakland Police Department had a history of abusing black and brown citizens.The Police were on a vendetta against Kerry because he had previously testified in a Court Case against them! In March of 2001 Kerry Baxter Senior was a 31 year old African American male in a long term relationship with the mother of his two sons. He was a member of the Carpenters Union for over 10 years and worked as a Pile Driver. The night of march 30th there was an altercation between Kerry and a 21 year old African American Male which resulted in Kerry being shot at by the young man.
They were down the street almost two blocks from the bar where Kerry had been earlier. When he was shot at he returned fire hitting the younger man in the foot. The younger man ran back towards the bar and took a right turn down MacArthur Blvd., a main thoroughfare. Kerry ran in the opposite direction to his girlfriends sisters house. He believed that the young man and those with him were still shooting at him and was afraid for his life.
Unbeknownst to Kerry and the other young man, a man standing at the bar where Kerry had been earlier was shot. He had come out for a cigarette and was at the side of the bar. Although Kerry and the other young men were almost 2 blocks down the street the Oakland Police said that Kerry's bullet ricocheted almost 2 blocks and hit the man at the bar in the chest killing him. However, that is not what witnesses stated in the reports we gathered after his conviction. The reports state that witnesses saw a Drive by Shooter come down the street and shoot 4 times in the direction of the victim. However, none of these statements made it to Kerry's trial, in which he was tried for everything but the 2nd degree murder he was accused of.
By the time of the trial the other young man was a victim of Kerry's so none of his bad acts made it to the trial. He had been arrested several times after the shooting and each time he was let go under the Blanket Immunity he received. During the trial he testified that he had never fired a gun at Kerry and in fact had Never Fired or held a gun. However, that night he was on probation in another country on a gun charge. The District Attorney and Oakland Police Homicide went to Merced County where the man was on probation and told them they would take custody of him. They moved him to Oakland and paid his rent, gave him spending money, and bailed him out of jail for assault, armed robbery, and burglary.
The Judge presiding over the case knew the victim who had served on a death penalty Jury. The Public Defendant assigned to Kerry was also the one representing the other young man. When Kerry wrote a letter to the court asking for another, "Court Appointed Attorney" they ignored him. He and his mother hired a private attorney who had solicited Kerry while he was awaiting trial. He promised Kerry that he could get him off but did not mention that at the time he was being disbarred. The California Bar Association was in the process of disbarring the Private Attorney throughout the time he was representing Kerry and his licensed was suspended while he was soliciting Kerry.
The attorney was the son of a Judge who was a friend of the Judge overseeing Kerry's trial. He had no interest in freeing Kerry and after accepting money from his mother did not give Kerry a contract saying he represented him. He did not investigation or questioning of witnesses and had no power in the court. The jury in Kerry's case was all white after all of the blacks were excused. Even so they took 4 days to find him guilty after the judge told them to take the Police Word over the defendants.
Kerry has been in the California Prison System since 2003 and is appealing his conviction. The attorney representing him was finally disbarred in 2008, for mismanagement of client funds etc., the same action he committed against Kerry. The DA offered Kerry 40 years under a plea agreement for a crime he did not commit. When he refused they said they would throw the book at him, which they did. The Oakland Tribune printed stories about Kerry that coincided with what the DA was saying. He was tried as a Drug Dealer, unemployed thug, and Gang Member everything except 2nd Degree Murder.