Rebecca Whitby faces trumped up charges

by Sharon Danann
Lucasville Uprising Freedom Network
Peoples Fightback Center


When we were last in court in support of Rebecca Whitby, she was given a continuance with a pre-trial in mid-Feb. and a trial date in late Feb. Amazingly, a misdemeanor assault charge came seemingly out of nowhere and was abruptly scheduled for trial this coming Friday, 1/29/10. The time as before is 9:00 am and the place as before is the 19th floor of the Justice Center, 1200 Ontario at Lakeside, Cleveland.

As you recall, the charges Rebecca is facing all stem from a horrifically brutal incident last April in which the younger Rebecca was beaten by police in her own home and finally tasered into seizures and unconsciousness in the police car. Her mother, also named Rebecca Whitby, used her body to try to shield her daughter from some of the blows. The Grand Jury found nothing to charge them with. However, immediately after the family filed a report with the Police Dept.'s Office of Professional Standards, a warrant was issued for the younger Rebecca's arrest. This is a clear case of "You will not hold us accountable" on the part of the police. It is about the fact that the family said, "This was wrong." The Whitbys today, any of us tomorrow.

At the last hearing Judge Stuart Friedman made a series of biased comments about "community activists" in an effort to divide the family and intimidate the supporters. The family is not divided and we are not intimidated. We will be there in strength on Friday and at all future hearings.