Good News:  

Hello Everyone:
We are Praising God to the highest - we have some wonderful news to share with all this Christmas.  At his bail hearing on Monday, Dec. 23, Michael Manning was released.  Michael will be home with us on Thursday.  We tried very hard to get him home today so he could spend Christmas day with us but with a short work day this was not possible.  He was released on bail & the necessary paper work could not be processed in time.   We are thankful to God for this blessing & happy to have Michael back home again.   Its our prayer that everyone will one day soon experience the joy we have today. 
WISHING EACH & EVERYONE A VERY BLESSED & MERRY CHRISTMAS.  MAY  GOD ABUNDANTLY BLESS YOU & YOURS IN THIS NEW YEAR.  
http://michaelmanning.homestead.com                                                        Diane & Michael 

DISABLED SON, RAILROADED, DENIED CIVIL RIGHTS, VICTIM - RACIAL PREJUDICE:

Michael Manning is a 31 year old physically disabled, black male, who prior to this unfortunate plight has never experienced any legal problems. Michael does not have a history of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drug use. Since 1996, Michael has been physically disabled due to a severe lower back injury with limited mobility down to his legs. Since the inception of this injury Michael must use a cane to walk. Michael's diagnosis is that of: Multiple, herniated discs with lumbar stenosis.  This injury is a direct result of a work related accident.

On the evening of June 16, 1997, Michael was enroute to purchase fuel for his vehicle & pick me up from work when he was followed and subsequently endured an unexpected knife attack by two men of questionable character who had the advantage of weight, height & physical well being over Michael. In an attempt to shield his upper body from the onslaught of the knife the fingers of Michael's left hand were sliced.

During the ensuing struggle Michael was unable to gain control of the knife, however, his main attacker was stabbed & later died of the wound. Michael was questioned by Detective Thomas Lynott of the Pocono Township Police. After conferring via telephone with the D.A. & ADA Detective Lynott informed Michael that he was not being charged & was being released to go home with his family as it was felt this was a case of self defense. A few days after the incident Michael was asked by Det. Lynott if he knew his attacker by another name because the police were experiencing difficulty in making a positive identification as this person's name was not matching his finger prints. Michael's main attacker had been known to this family for approximately two years as he was the boyfriend of Michael's stepsister. We were limited in our knowledge of his background. He was known to us as Harry Burley. Harry admitted to his girlfriend and to Michael's biological sister that he had been incarcerated in the State of Virginia on drug charges, however, when Michael's attorney requested information on this incarceration from NCIC, no information could be found under that name. The investigation of this case lasted five months during which time Michael was never informed that he was a suspect.

Although it was not requested of him whenever Michael left the state he contacted the detectives to inform him of his whereabouts until we were informed that these calls were not necessary. However, on November 5, 1997, ironically, THE DAY AFTER ELECTION DAY, Michael Manning was unexpectantly arrested. This clear cut case of "self defense" was brought to trial on 9/8/98, by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a murder case.

During this trial Michael & his attorney, Salvatore Vito endured many injustices. The Presiding Judge, Ronald E. Vican showed contempt for Michael's witnesses and attorney. He clearly displayed disbelief of Michael's testimony. During this trial Judge Vican questioned Michael Manning "89 times," doing much damage to his credibility.

The District Attorney of Monroe County, Pa., Mark Pazuhanich, severely twisted the facts of the case and blatantly lied. He informed the jury that Michael did not claim self defense. This misstatement can readily be disproved by the police report taken the night of the attack. He further informed the jury "this defendant failed to prove his innocence." At one point during the trial this DA instructed the jury "TO BRING BACK A VERDICT OR HE WOULD HAVE TO SHARPEN HIS JURY SELECTION SKILLS." During Michael's struggle for his life his main attacker grabbed him about the legs in an attempt to get him down. In an effort to regain his freedom Michael "kicked" his attacker. The Prosecution contended that this "kick" infered MALICE. Inview of the severity & limited physical abilities of Michael's disability this "kick" could not and did not cause bodily injury. The cause of death is recorded as chest wound. Testimony was given that at the time of autopsy no bruised area was evidenced at the wound site. The Prosecution further contended that the wounds to the fingers of Michael's left hand were "self inflicted." Michael Manning, however, is naturally left handed. Testimony was given by this County's Criminal Forensic Pathologist, Dr. I. Mihalikas, the "the wounds to the fingers of Michael Manning's left hand are DEFENSIVE WOUNDS." No defensive wounds were evidenced on the attacker at the time of autopsy. Dr. Mihalikas has over 30 years experience in his field and testifies over 95% of the time on this county's behalf, however, his expert testimony was contradicted by a martial arts expert, who had no previous experience in testifying and whose testimony was based solely on OPINIONS.

The fingerprints found on the knife ARE NOT THOSE OF MICHAEL MANNING. No further investigation was conducted to ascertain the true identity of those fingerprints. The Prosecution further contended that during Michael's struggle for his life he bent over his attacker, stabbed him in the chest and gouged a hole in his head. Testimony was given by an eyewitness that throughout this struggle the accomplice to this attack was standing two feet behind Michael and was also in possession of a weapon which was identified as a bat or pipe type object.

In view of this testimony & the documented fact of Michael's disability the scenario painted by the Prosectuion is very difficult to imagine and quite absurd. Testimony was given by the accomplice to this attack that they followed Michael into the gas station. Testimony was also given by another eyewitness to this attack that Michael Manning was not the aggressor. The accomplice to this attack was a friend & co-worker of the main attacker. He is a well known drug dealer in the area and well known to the Court of Monroe County, Pa. Having previously lied in another police matter this accomplice is certified by the State as a "certified liar," however, he was allowed to "testify" at the trial of Michael Manning. Moreover, at the time of this attack the accomplice was on parole.

Michael Manning's race and color played a major and very negative role with his jury, which was "hand picked," as it was a jury composed completely of "non-peers," who tended to believe all black men are violent and unbelievable.

On September 15, 1998, Michael Manning was unjustly and very dishonestly convicted of third degree murder. A conviction that is TOTALLY AND ABSOLUTELY "UNSUPPORTED" BY ANY FACTS, EVIDENCE OR TESTIMONIES HEARD AT THIS TRIAL. On November 13, 1998, Michael Manning was unjustly sentenced to a prison term of 12-30 years for a crime he absolutely did not commit.

This conviction was appealed at the Superior Court of Pennsylvania by Attorney Vito. On 8/10/99, Michael Manning's appeal was denied. In reading the Denial Letter it is curious to see that the issues beneficial to the defense of Michael Manning were "papered over." Attorney Vito appealed to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. On 12/30/99, Michael appeal was denied.

PENNSYLVANIA SUPREME COURT CASE LAWS STATE:

( 1 ) "If the person is not the initial aggressor he has no duty to retreat and has the right to mount a defense that will hopefully preserve his life."

( 2 ) "It is the assailant, not the victim, who picks the time, place and circumstances of the attack."

Michael Manning is the "true victim" of this attack. He is the one that was followed and endured a life threatening knife attack. It is curious to wonder HOW DID THE "VICTIM" BECOME THE "CRIMINAL"???????

Racial prejudice is still surrounding this case. It has been brought to our attention that at an unrelated proceeding, where the defendant, another black man claimed self defense, Judge Vican made a racial remark and invoked the name of Michael Manning. In part, Judge Vican's racial remark was: "I SUSPECT THIS GOES BACK TO THE CULTURAL THING." He then invoked Michael Manning's name and spoke of the case. In speaking of Judge Vican it is noteworthy to mention that he also suffers with a disability as he walks with a decided limp. Moreover, his wife is a well known, local physical therapist. In view of these facts it is difficult to believe Judge Vican would not be aware of the limitations and severity of Michael's disability. During this trial Michael was requested by his attorney to demonstrate his walking ability to the court. At this time derogatory remarks were made by the D.A. concerning Michael's disability.

In view of the GROSS TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE Michael Manning as well as his entire family is enduring, we have and are continuing to contact all organizations, agencies, etc., whose concerns lie in civil/human & constitutional rights, medical/physical issues, wrongful convictions as well as prosecutorial/judicial misconduct to bring much needed exposure to this BLATANT MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE... Reverend Jesse Jackson's organization - Rainbow Push Coalition is aware and involved in this case. A letter of support was submitted to the Honorable Tom Ridge concerning this matter.

A website has been established which tells of the unfortunate plight Michael Manning is enduring. It can be viewed at:

<http://michaelmanning.homestead.com/index.html> This site hosts the newspaper articles concerning the trial, a poll and online petition which can be viewed & signed.

This website is also linked to many organizations, such as: Truth In Justice, International Bannister Foundation, writeAwrong, Jeff Dicks Medical Coalition, The Injustice Line, The Black World Today, Pennsylvania Prison Society, Prison Network News, Citizens United Against the Death Penalty (wrongful convictions section), as well as numerous other organizations.

UPDATE: On August 10, 2000, a Post Conviction Relief Petition was initiated by Attorneys Thomas Sundmaker & Jeffrey Velander of Stroudsburg, Pa. In October, 2000, the attorneys met with Judge Vican to request that he recuse himself from the case. Judge Vican honored this request. Judge Peter O'Brien will now be the presiding judge.

An Evidentiary Hearing is sceduled for April 5, 2001.

Prior to the Hearing Attorneys Velander & Sundmaker informed us that it was their opinion that the conviction would not be overturned in this county. Judge Peter O'Brien presided over the Evidentiary Hearing of April 5, 2001. Witnessing the Hearing it was our consensus that the Hearing went favorably for Michael as Judge O'Brien overruled every objection raised by the

On May 22, 2001, Judge O'Brien handed down his decision denying Michael his relief.

We will now appeal this decision at the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.

For additional information I am attaching a copy of the most recent article that appeared in our local newspaper (The Pocono Record) on May 26, 2001, that speaks of Michael's denial. Michael's case will be the topic of discussion on a Danish television program "Domino"/ "TV-bandvaerkstedet" This program aired in Denmark on June 14, 2001. More recently, Leroy Moore, Founder & Executive Director of Disability Advocates Minority Organization, based in San Francisco, California viewed Michael's website & became involved. An article concerning Michael's case appeared in the September 5, 2001, issue of San Francisco Bay View weekly newspaper. This article can be viewed online at DAMO's website: www.poormagazine.org <http://www.poormagazine.org> In the "Illin & Chillin" section, under the subheading "Fighting to stay alive."

More recently Leroy Moore asked Michael to write him & give his thoughts & feelings about the injustice he's enduring. Michael's letter can be read at the above website under the heading "God bless you my brother." To read Michael's thoughts see the "Fair Deal for Justice Campaign for Michael Manning page created by the organization From Tears to Hope at: www.fromtearstohope.org <http://www.fromtearstohope.org>

Michael Manning is yet another young, decent, law abiding, black male who has most definitely been RAILROADED. If you wish to discuss this matter further please do not hesitate to contact: Attorney Salvatore Vito. He can be reached at:

570-424-8890 or by mail at: 45 North Seventh Street Stroudsburg, Pa. 18360

I can be contacted by email at: mannfam@pnpa.net </ym/Compose?To=mannfam@pnpa.net>

It is ironical that a travesty of justice such as this is taking place in the historical state of Pennsylvania, birthplace of our AMERICAN DEMOCRACY. A man defended his life and he is the one that is now being unjustly punished for a crime he absolutely did not commit. If this is what the American Judicial System has come to then I respectfully say God bless everyone because a situation such as the one Michael Manning encountered could happen to any one of us at any given time. .

Thanking you in advance for any considerations given this urgent request for support and/or assistance in this BLATANT TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE MICHAEL MANNING IS ENDURING. May God richly bless each & everyone that reads this letter.

Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Diane C. Manning,

Mother of Michael

cc: Salvatore P.J. Vito, Esq.

Hello Everyone:
Sorry that its been a while since you've heard from me. As you know Michael's conviction was overturned on September 10, however, we are still enduring some struggles & he is still incarcerated.  To update you, I'll share that the DA petitioned Superior Court for reargument. His petition for reargument was deniedby Superior Court.  He is now petitioning Supreme Court for reargument.  As for the status of Michael's bail hearing, we are awaiting word from the judge as he is in possession of the bail hearing request.  As soon as we receive word of a date I'll send out a post.  Below is a letter written by a family member  to the editor of our local paper (Pocono Record) about Michael's case.   We are asking anyone who wishes to send your comments to the editor to give support to the letter below. We were hoping that by this time Michael would be home with us, but that is not the case. We're hoping the hearing will be scheduled soon & we'll be blessed by having Michael home with us for Christmas.  All updates of this case are posted on the website.  Please keep Michael in prayer that he will continue to maintain his strength & faith as we continue to battle for his justice & freedom.  Thanks for the time & attention you give this message & a thank you in advance to those who voice their opinion of this continuing INjustice.  Blessings to all.
 http://michaelmanning.homestead.com
letters@poconorecord.com   (editor's email)                    Diane Manning & Michael  (Pa)  

                     LETTER TO THE EDITOR


Justice for Manning
Editor, the Record:
The shame of Pennsylvania: It's been weeks and Michael Manning is still in prison, even though his third-degree murder charge was overturned by a majority vote of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The grounds were prosecutorial misconduct, a heavy blow to District Attorney Mark Pazuhanich and Judge Ronald E. Vican. 

Michael, who is legally disabled, was sentenced to 12 to 30 years for what boils down to defending his life from two physically able men. Please visit the Web site michaelmanning.homestead.com to provide balance to the D.A.'s response.

Why is this D.A. going after Michael with such vengeance? Why isn't he pursuing those who really commit sins against society, not a disabled black man who was only defending his life! Michael was even denied his basic right of a trial by his peers, unless you consider an all white jury a black man's peers, and a judge who interrupted his testimony over 80 times.

The Michael Manning case is the shame of Pennsylvania. National attention needs to focus the doings of D.A. Mark Pazuhanich and Judge Vican, to former Governor Thomas Ridge (who when informed about this travesty by a letter sent from Rainbow Push Coalition declined to become involved). Now head of our Homeland Security, Mr. Ridge needs to see who really needs defending in our homeland and not brush such cases as Michael Manning under the political rug. It is time for this abuse of an innocent man to end!

I challenge you the readers and the Pocono Record to speak up for what is right and question why is the D.A. bent on vengeance upon Michael Manning?

Is there some connection, some tie to other players involved?


This will be brought out into the light and all will know the shame of Pennsylvania.
KEITH-CORDELL ROBINSON

Seattle, Wash.

E-Mail a Letter to the Editor
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Site Map