How many of you reading this are aware that there are people locked away in prisons for crimes they did not commit? I guess I knew, but never imagined I would be one of them.
Hi. My name is Kurtis and when I was 19 I was captured after three of my “friends” assaulted a man, who subsequently died nearly one month later. I was prosecuted along with the others, but refused to cooperate. I was charged with ‘capital murder’ narrowly avoiding the death penalty, although it was uncontested that I didn’t know about the assault, was not present at the scene of the crime and could not have prevented it.
I refused to cooperate with authorities and was unwilling to say what they wanted me to say. Because I exercised my rights guaranteed by law, this angered those who are paid to enforce the the law. They wanted to use me as a tool to destroy a legal political movement they despised. My three “friends” (the actual perpetrators of the crime) on the other hand, were ready to cooperate in exchange for lenient sentences. Indeed, one of my co-defendants, who was literally caught red handed, has already been released from any further incarceration.
Using a little known law of “accomplice liability” and misapplying a gang/hate statute; combined with some governmental deceit and back-room deals, I was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. What I endeavor to do with this website is to provide you with documents proving my innocence, and once you are convinced of this injustice I encourage you to get involved.
I am currently working on two petitions: one is a clemency petition 1 and the other is a petition 2 drafted for the free world of stout hearted conscientious Americans to sign; so that when presented to the Washington State Governor it will persuade him to grant me clemency.
You will see declarations from the former lead prosecutor 3 on my case who spoke out against the travesty of justice I suffered and actually sued the Prosecutor’s Office; she won the lawsuit and was awarded more than $3 million dollars. However, I never saw any judicial relief from my circumstances.
You will see trial transcripts of the testimony of two disinterested eye witnesses 4 who testified that I was not a party to the crime.
You will see the discrepancies 5 in my co-defendant’s testimony that differs from the pre-trial proffer of proof.
You will see statements from the prosecutors 6 before trial, saying I was equally guilty in contradiction to post trial statements to the media, saying I was not equally guilty.
You will see the State’s expert witness 7 admit that the boots I was wearing (at the time of the incident), tested negative for blood from the victim; which would have been impossible if I was standing at the victim’s head while he was being beaten with a baseball bat by the perpetrators.
You will see hand written letters 8 between my co-defendants, which were seized by the State, conspiring to place the blame on me so that they could get plea bargain deals.
You will see where the female co-defendant (before she got the deal), admitted in a private letter 9 that I was the only innocent co-defendant.
I will also provide you with all of the appeals 10 that have been submitted, all of which have been denied. You may be wondering why they were denied if I am so obviously innocent. The reasons are many, none of which are complicated. The government never wants to admit that they made a mistake (even if they’ve ruined someone’s life) and in my case I am the victim of government. Let me reiterate that I had a prosecutor who came out against the Prosecutor’s Office, saying I was improperly prosecuted and that the office engaged in “prosecutorial misconduct.” This is a can of worms they’d rather not open 11.
Because of this, Washington State saw fit to banish me from their jurisdiction in 2005 and I have been in forced exile 12 ever since; having been detained by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. What does this mean for my appeals? It means that appealing my case is nearly impossible. The Feds do not possess or provide a Washington State law library (RCW – Revised Codes of Washington). So by virtue of being denied proper law materials, the ability to fight my wrongful conviction is crippled and neutralized. I have been denied access to the RCW’s throughout my entire appeal process, so it is no wonder I have lost all my appeals.
Ask yourself: how can anyone overcome such a blatant travesty of justice under these conditions?
Throughout all of this I have been kept in Maximum Security prisons. Most of it in “the hole” under the harshest of systematic policies sanctioned by the government. But for the grace of God, I would have lost my mind, I would have a bitter heart, I would have thrown in the towel, giving up all hope.
In spite of my adverse circumstances and hellish environment I ever remain steadfast in my faith, that truth shall prevail. Maybe your visit to this website and reading my appeal to your sense of justice, if you could walk in my shoes for just a moment of reflection, then maybe you can make the truth a matter of vindication and freedom and reality.
I’ve used these many years wisely. I’m no professor with a portfolio of academic credentials, but I have successfully completed courses 13 in Adult Continued Education, Theology and Koine Greek. I’ve published articles on topics of prison reform and religion and have become a proficient artist 14 in illustration and graphics.
Please review my website; your valuable time is most appreciated. I am now 30 years old. I have been stripped from my family and friends since I was 19. It is time that someone says, “enough!” A grave injustice has been done. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you; and if it were you, wouldn’t you hope that there’s still a few good people out there who have the courage to say, “NO, not on my watch!” Thank you for your time thus far and I pray that my appeal to you is heard and acted upon.
Sincerely, Kurtis
- As you can see from this letter (pending because they sent the wrong info re. PA rather than WA state from the National Clemency Project, representation is going to cost $1500. This is a large sum of money for someone in my shoes. What we have done here is set up an easy way for you to support the effort to FREE KURTIS MONSCHKE by donating financially to this fund. Each donation will be documented in real time on the website; and there will be an automatic shut-off function that will prevent any further donations once the $1500 is reached. This is meant to reassure you that our intentions are honorable and not none penny will be misused. I hope you will donate for this worth cause, and thank you for your conscientious good will. (back)
- This should be a link to a petition set up on change.org . This petition should be written to encourage the WA governor to grant muy clemancy petition. I will write this. (back)
- In the Personal Restraint Petition you have, is a declaration from Barbara Corey (back)
- I will be sending you actual trial testimony shortly (back)
- I will be sending you a copy of co-def. “offer of proof” and her trial testimony. I would like to show both doc’s side by side, and lines going to each other where discrepancies are or something similar so people can see the lies. (back)
- Tacoma News Tribune article, Wed. Sept 8, 2004, section B, pp. 1-2, 4. I am trying to locate the other that says I am most responsible. (back)
- I will be sending shortly. (back)
- I will be sending shortly. (back)
- I will be sending shortly. (back)
- My attorney is sending you my recent petition for certiorari, which was just denied. This was my last appeal. All I have left is clemency now. She will be sending all my other appeals as well. (back)
- Should link to Declaration of Barbara Corey again. (back)
- Soon I plan to send you documentation of my forced exile. (back)
- I am sending some of my certificates; this is not all, I will send the rest asap (back)
- email to Bert for Kurtis’ artwork, pending (back)
Recent Comments