A Just Cause

Is Colorado Media Racist or Just Covering for the Government? Asks Advocacy Group A Just Cause

Colorado Media Still Ignores IRP6 Case After Washington Post Publishes Article On Miscarriage Of Justice, Says A Just Cause

 

Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/12/2016 --On July 5, 2016, the Washington Post published an article about former federal appeals judge H. Lee Sarokin's continuing 2-year effort to help free six imprisoned African-American technology executives known on the Internet as the IRP6, who were convicted in a federal court in Denver, Colorado in 2011. The IRP6, David A. Banks, Kendrick Barnes, Gary L. Walker, Clinton A. Stewart, David A. Zirpolo and Demetrius K. Harper are executives of the IRP Solutions Corporation in Colorado Springs, Colorado which developed criminal investigations and intelligence software after 9/11 to help law enforcement collaborate and share information.

The Washington Post discusses how Denver-based federal prosecutor Matthew T. Kirsch argued that IRP Solutions, which built up $5 million in debt, was a scam. However, Sarokin, who immersed himself into the facts of the case and the backgrounds of the six men, said that the government presented the case on the basis that their software was a scam when "all of the proof in the case goes the opposite way." Sarokin also told the Post that the prosecution was based on an "appeal to racism rather than reason." The IRP6 were prosecuted and imprisoned for "failing to pay corporate debt," Sarokin said in the Huffington Post years prior to speaking to the Washington Post. Sarokin was not alone in his analysis. The Washington Post reported on a letter from the Denver head of the FBI that stated the debt with a staffing company was a matter best handled "civilly" and prior to raiding IRP Solutions in 2005, the FBI received a letter from the former head of the Denver Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Gary Hillbery, who was an independent contractor with IRP, which stated that IRP had a "viable" product and appeared to be moving forward to acquire government contracts.

"For years, AJC has repeatedly sent this information and much more, including press releases to various news organizations in Colorado Springs and Denver," says Lamont Banks, Executive Director of A Just Cause, "but they just refuse to report or ask a single question about the government's misconduct in this case." "We were told under no circumstances were they going to report on the IRP6 case or Judge Sarokin's findings," adds Banks.

"Public protests of nearly 100 people were conducted at news stations in Denver, outside the federal courthouse, and in front U.S. Senator Michael Bennett's office and not one news organization would provide coverage even after being contacted," says Banks. "The evidence of misconduct is so overwhelming that Kirsch and his boss, U.S. Attorney John Walsh, refused to respond for comment to the Washington Post," says Banks. "It certainly makes one question whether the Colorado media is protecting the reputations of government officials or ignoring the story because the case concerns black men whose lives they deem worthless," ponders Banks

"The IRP6 have languished in prison for 4 years with their wives and children suffering, while inarguable evidence exists that Kirsch lied to a grand jury that IRP and their software was a scam, trial judge Christine M. Arguello violated their 5th Amendment right by forcing them to testify against their will, the transcript of Arguello's coercion is concealed or destroyed, and their 6th Amendment right to present witnesses in their favor was violated when Kirsch and Arguello excluded expert witnesses when the law did not permit it," says Banks. The violations of law concerning the constitutional violations are subject of a judicial complaint (http://bit.ly/1Titch5) filed on May 3, 2016 with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"The unprecedented involvement of Judge Sarokin lends great credibility to the allegations of misconduct and certainly warrants reporting on as the Washington Post article shows," says Banks. "Judge Sarokin would not risk his reputation speaking about the wrongful-conviction and for the first time in his career, petitioning the President of the United States for clemency on behalf of these defendants unless he was sure about their innocence and the mishandling of the case," adds Banks. "I am 100% certain Colorado news organizations know about the government's wrong-doing, but their membership in the "good old boy" network caused them to look the other way," concludes Banks.

Contact Information:
Lamont Banks
A Just Cause, 855-529-4252 extension 710
http://www.a-justcause.com