DEAR PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ,


Seventeen year old Manuel Gonzales was convicted of attempted premeditated murder with a handgun April 11, 2005 in Van Nuys CA. Manuel was sentenced to serve 27years in a CA prison without any possibility of early parole. The 23 year old victim in this case was shot at three times and nicked on top of his shoulder requiring a two hour hospital visit (no stitches ) and was released with pain medication.


Within the first the first few days after this shooting, the victim identified to the police another mans face other than Manuel's in a picture lineup. Forty days later this victim changed his mind and Manuel Gonzales was arrested instead.The prosecutor at Manuel's trial was informed by the presiding judge before the trial began, that she and her witnesses who would be testifying in court were not to ever mention anything relating to gangs or attempting to connect this case to a gang related incident. Unfortunately for Manuel Gonzales the prosecutor never followed the judges orders and Manuel was convicted by a compromised jury in little over one hour of deliberations.


The public defender who represented Manuel at his trial asked the judge more than once to declare a mistrial as soon as it became apparent that his client (Manuel) could no longer receive a fair trial guaranteed him by our constitution. The judge in this trial had to remind the jury that there was no gang related evidence in the case and she had comments stricken from the court records that kept attempting to mislead the jury into believing that this trial was somehow connected to gang activity.


We all know that CA taxpayers finance trials and it would be very tragic for all of us if any of our judges feel forced to allow trial cases to continue with tainted juries due to cost restraints put on them by a lack of state funding.A new trial for Manuel Gonzales would have cost CA taxpayers $6,000 and would have given this 17year old kid his day in court. The sad irony here is that there is over $1,000,000 available to incarcerate Manuel Gonzales for the next 27 years in the CA prisons, while at the same time judges are being forced to pinch pennies and possibly deny new trials when warranted.


My name is Douglas Field and can be reached at 424-247-2013 or at this E mail address: lawyersforpooramericans@yahoo.com
I would greatly appreciate it if you would forward this E mail to Mr. Chavez. It appears that Hugo Chavez and myself might be the only two people who would even take a sincere interest in making sure a poor Mexican American kid even has a opportunity to receive a fair trial in America.

Currently this case is on appeal and needs financial backing for a real lawyer to submit a proper appeal so Manuel could have a new trial.I know with the evidence that was presented in this court case, had Manuel been able to afford a real attorney at his initial trial, he would definitely be a free man today.

Douglas Field
(Letter sent to Mr. Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, on September 22, 2007)


COMMENTS FROM OTHER READERS ARE FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.

Manuel Gonzales in the New Folsom Prison in Northern Califonia