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Democrats and Direct Action
I cut my teeth in political organizing around direct action with a long term focus on building a community of resistance. I found it far more energizing than electoral politics, more immediate, and far more fun.
Speaking truth to power and engaging in active non violence shaped who I was. I also engaged in influence campaigns that worked within the system. As a young field organizer in Utah I helped gin up significant opposition to an inadequate wilderness prevention Bill generating thousands of postcards and turning out hundreds of students at a critical public meeting.
That shifted the Utah delegation and the bill was defeated. The next year a bill was passed that includes an additional 1.2 acres of mostly Red Rock desert permanently protected as wilderness. I thought about that 1.2 million acres a lot and how we freed the weed by petition gathering, voter registration, organizing a GOtV and passing the California Compassionate Use Act.
My support of electoral politics further strengthened as a three term City Council Member in Columbia, Missouri I saw a laundry list of progressive accomplishments and good government wins all through campaigning for votes. As I completed The Practical Guide to Building a Better World, I formed a Political Action Committee to support my national level local organizing.
After the inauguration we all witnessed the unconstitutional and illegal invasion of government systems and employee relations by unaccountable billionaire Elon Musk and his high tech goons. A spontaneous movement on Reddit called 50501 for national protests at state capitals.
I was intrigued but unavailable. I hope as also a little shocked by the general reception by Democrats and other activists not wanting to take part because they didn’t know who was organizing it. Folks who shared information were encouraged not to participate because of a lack of permits and no identified organizers and folks speculates it was a setup.
So most of the folks I know stayed home. But not all. I heard reports from Michigan where the crowd was robust and inspiring and I saw news reports on many other protests.
In spite of being 50 states, 50 protests, 1 day a President’s Day protest was called by the same network. In Leavenworth the local Democrats put out a call and on a frigid day 40 or so concerned citizens came out with signs and flags and it was beautiful.
When I got home I enjoyed seeing protest photos from across the country. We think protests need leadership and organization, and both can be helpful to win concrete victories but they are not necessary. During the Vietnam protest era the largest protests happened after the national leadership splintered and went silent. The protests kept growing.
We live in an era of increased suspicion and less and less trust. The more that we can rebuild our ability to organize together on a common cause the more effective we are going to be. The New American Community is embracing and promoting decentralized grassroots movements and we encourage others to do likewise.
We have to be wise. There are agents of chaos and misinformation that drive divisive activities. There are risks to trusting strangers. There are also risks from not trusting others we do not know. The risks of being isolated and powerless and having our cherished institutions destroyed without an effective public outcry.
We need to be wise and structure for safety. Do your homework, withhold judgement, make sure if you go to an action you have an exit plan and support. But please don’t stay at home out of fear. The next big action is the February 28th economic blackout.
I don’t know who is planning it. I know it makes sense. I know I want to do it. I know it’s safe. Now more than ever we need a mass mobilization to protect our democracy and our way of life. When the call to action is just and proper and good I am acting, whether I know who made the call or not.
#FreeKevinBromwell part 2
I have been working to win the freedom of Kevin Bromwell for over six years. Kevin is 65 years old and has served over 35 years for a crime he may not have committed.
I was recently contacted by a falsely convicted by Josh Kezer who served 16 years for a crime he did not commit. Since being freed through the efforts of citizen activism he has spent his time volunteering with the attorney who freed him and a law professor who leads a class in freeing the innocent.
I turned over Kevin’s voluminous files to be scanned and digitized and reviewed to see if there is a case for Kevin’s claims of innocence. The team is reviewing five other cases besides Kevin and will litigate one or two.
Even if Kevin is chosen it will be a long road to dike an appeal and see it through the court process. As a senior, a Geriatric Offender Release Bill would be the quickest path for Kevin’s release. Ex-Offenders over the age of 60 have less than a 1% recidivism rate, they are expensive to house and pose little risk to the community.
SB-438 would only apply to offenders who have served over 30 years. At the end of the post I’ll have suggestions on who to reach out to move SB-438 forward as well as Kevin’s contact information should you write him a letter. Before that I’ll review the facts of Kevin’s claims.
On May 16th, 1988 a terrible crime occurred. A woman was murdered, and her apartment set ablaze during a burglary. Later that night Kevin Bromwell was arrested on an unrelated charge. Kevin had been heavily drinking in the company of numerous witnesses. Three participants in the crime were arrested and they identified Kevin as the murderer, two of them testifying in his trial. All received minimal sentences and served less than five years.
Kevin has maintained his innocence for the 32 years he has served after being convicted and sentenced for 30 years to be served consecutively for Second-Degree Murder, First-Degree Burglary and First-Degree Arson. Kevin Bromwell (#181047) who is now 60 will not be eligible for parole for another 62 years.
Kevin’s attorney refused to call exculpatory witnesses and conceded his presence at the crime scene against Kevin’s expressed wishes. She did not challenge the serious issues with evidence tampering and police brutality. Kevin lost his appeal regarding ineffective assistance of trial counsel when his attorney at the time presented no evidence. Kevin has been filing habeas corpus petitions pro se which have all been dismissed without prejudice.
There are six key facts that demonstrate there is not reasonable confidence in Kevin Bromwell’s conviction:
- A new witness proves Kevin Bromwell is innocent. The enclosed affidavit of Lewis Watkins, who as a boy witnessed the crime, swears that Kevin was not there. This affidavit is new evidence.
- Kevin’s clothing was taken by police back to the crime scene. When initially arrested, no blood of any consequence was noted on his clothing except a small amount on his right shoe from a fight earlier in the day. Subsequently the clothing was taken back to the crime scene by the police and then later when trial counsel examined the clothing it was covered in blood.
- Kevin had no stolen items on his person when arrested. As substantiated by police reports, there were no stolen items on Kevin’s person on the first police report when he was arrested. However, subsequent police reports mention stolen items that were on his person when arrested. The items mysteriously appear as part of the State’s case.
- Kevin was in no shape to commit the crime. Kevin had received an SSI check that day and had no need to commit burglary. As many witnesses will testify, Kevin was so intoxicated that night that he was staggering drunk and could barely walk much less commit a crime.
- The victim’s door was not kicked in as testified by witnesses against Kevin. Two of the individuals involved in the crime knew the victim and Kevin did not. The Fire Marshall’s report stated the door was in the unlocked position and not kicked in.
- Kevin had an alibi which trial counsel refused to use. Trial counsel’s strategy was to admit guilt and go for a conviction on a lesser charge then first-degree murder. Kevin wanted to maintain his innocence and go for a not guilty verdict at his trial. Trial counsel refused to do so.
If you live in Missouri you can find out who your Representative is at this link: https://house.mo.gov/FrontPageMobile.aspx Write them and ask them to sponsor SB-438 to save tax payer dollars by releasing those over 65 who have served at least 30 years. You can also write your Senator: https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup/Default
Folks anywhere can reach out to the Senate Majority Leader and request SB-238 be given a hearing: https://www.senate.mo.gov/Senators/Member/18
To write Kevin:
Kevin Bromwell #181047
3D-266
South Central Correctional Center
255 West Highway 32Licking, MO 65542
Free Kevin Bromwell #
Update: Governor Parson reviewed Kevin Bromwell’s petition for clemency and it was denied. Kevin’s best chance is a Geriatric Offender Release Bill. Ex-Offenders over the age of 60 have less than a 1% recidivism rate.
Returning geriatric prisoners who have served over 30 years both ensures strong justice for victims and saves tax dollars by reserving prison cells and their tremendous expense for only those who need them. Geriatric prisoners have high medical costs and with an aging prison population they are increasingly becoming nursing homes.
Senator Washington has pre-filed SB 438. Missouri residents please reach out to your Representative and Senator and encourage them to also sponsor SB 438.
For a little more than a year I have been working to help free Kevin Bromwell. Kevin has served 32 years for a crime I do not believe he committed. Below is the content of a letter I wrote to Missouri Governor Mike Parson. The letter explains my long history with the Bromwell family and why I believe Kevin should have his sentence commuted. At the bottom of this post I will include the Governor’s office contact information. Kevin’s request for clemency has gone unresponded for over five years. My repeated communications with the Governor’s office have been ignored. We will need a groundswell of support to give Kevin’s clemency request a fair hearing. I will also include Kevin’s address in case anyone cares to write him. He is bored shitless and could use more outside contact. If you could share this information widely in any format I would appreciate it. I know Kevin would as well.
December 2, 2019
Dear Governor Parson or his designee,
I am writing in support of a clemency request for a commutation of sentence for Mr. Kevin Bromwell #181047. Mr. Bromwell’s brother Reese is a constituent of mine who requested my assistance in advocating for his brother’s release. Kevin has served 32 years of 3 consecutive 30-year sentences for second degree homicide, burglary and arson. Irregularities in the case, the number of years already served and the pressing need of his family for his speedy release compel me to make this urgent request.
I have known Reese Bromwell for many years. I spent a 10-year career with Phoenix Programs, Columbia’s premier substance use disorder treatment center as a counselor, manager and ultimately executive director. Reese is a person in long term recovery from alcohol and because of my position shared details of his growing up with child abuse and neglect in an unstable family in inner-city St. Louis. Reese and most of his siblings had abused drugs and alcohol and had ongoing legal trouble. Reese got into recovery at Phoenix and had a desire to return and tell his story.
I further learned about Reese’s family and his character when Reese’s sister Tina was released from prison. Tina’s home plan brought her to live with Reese and he was a great support to Tina as she had adjustment issues from long term incarceration and trauma recovery. She found employment and worked for several years with stability until becoming disabled.
My relationship with the Bromwell’s deepened when another brother Donnie broke his neck in an accident could not care for himself and was trapped in a nursing home. I worked with the family to secure disabled housing so the three adult siblings could live together and support one another. I helped Donnie come to terms with becoming a quadriplegic and the family provided his home care. I came to admire this family who had come through so much adversity with a fierce desire to take care of each other and be successful.
After Donnie passed away of natural causes Reese told me about his brother Kevin and requested my assistance. I agreed to look into the situation and see if there was anything I could do. I spoke to Kevin by phone and made a trip to Licking Missouri to visit Kevin in the South Central Correctional Center.
I heard Kevin’s story and it had the ring of truth. I am a Certified Co-Occurring Disorders Professional through the Missouri Credentialing Board and have long experience with criminal justice involved individuals. I administered Phoenix Programs primary re-entry programming for many years and have worked with countless offenders and ex-offenders. Kevin struck me as sincere and his story plausible. I do not believe that Kevin poses a threat to society.
I have reviewed affidavits and records that are part of the clemency petition. I have been corresponding with Kevin and speaking with him regularly on the phone. I have come to know another sibling Pastor Larry Booth. Pastor Booth is also convinced of his brother’s innocence and has confirmed the facts of the matter as told to me by Kevin. A brief summary of the facts are as follows:
On May 16th, 1988 a terrible crime occurred. A woman was murdered, and her apartment set ablaze during a burglary. Later that night Kevin Bromwell was arrested on an unrelated charge. Kevin had been heavily drinking in the company of numerous witnesses. Three participants in the crime were arrested and they identified Kevin as the murderer, two of them testifying in his trial. All received minimal sentences and served less than five years.
Kevin has maintained his innocence for the 32 years he has served after being convicted and sentenced for 30 years to be served consecutively for Second-Degree Murder, First-Degree Burglary and First-Degree Arson. Kevin Bromwell (#181047) who is now 60 will not be eligible for parole for another 62 years.
Kevin’s attorney refused to call exculpatory witnesses and conceded his presence at the crime scene against Kevin’s expressed wishes. She did not challenge the serious issues with evidence tampering and police brutality. Kevin lost his appeal regarding ineffective assistance of trial counsel when his attorney at the time presented no evidence. Kevin has been filing habeas corpus petitions pro se which have all been dismissed without prejudice.
We are requesting a close examination of Kevin Bromwell’s clemency petition to the governor. He filed an Amended Application for Executive Clemency on 2/25/2018. He has a brother and a sister who are in poor health who requested assistance so that they might spend some time with their brother outside of prison. Kevin has made the best use of his time possible and has completed self-improvement classes and works hard on the prison garden.
There are six key facts that demonstrate there is not reasonable confidence in Kevin Bromwell’s conviction:
- A new witness proves Kevin Bromwell is innocent. The enclosed affidavit of Lewis Watkins, who as a boy witnessed the crime, swears that Kevin was not there. This affidavit is new evidence.
- Kevin’s clothing was taken by police back to the crime scene. When initially arrested, no blood of any consequence was noted on his clothing except a small amount on his right shoe from a fight earlier in the day. Subsequently the clothing was taken back to the crime scene by the police and then later when trial counsel examined the clothing it was covered in blood.
- Kevin had no stolen items on his person when arrested. As substantiated by police reports, there were no stolen items on Kevin’s person on the first police report when he was arrested. However, subsequent police reports mention stolen items that were on his person when arrested. The items mysteriously appear as part of the State’s case.
- Kevin was in no shape to commit the crime. Kevin had received an SSI check that day and had no need to commit burglary. As many witnesses will testify, Kevin was so intoxicated that night that he was staggering drunk and could barely walk much less commit a crime.
- The victim’s door was not kicked in as testified by witnesses against Kevin. Two of the individuals involved in the crime knew the victim and Kevin did not. The Fire Marshall’s report stated the door was in the unlocked position and not kicked in.
- Kevin had an alibi which trial counsel refused to use. Trial counsel’s strategy was to admit guilt and go for a conviction on a lesser charge then first-degree murder. Kevin wanted to maintain his innocence and go for a not guilty verdict at his trial. Trial counsel refused to do so.
Kevin has been filing appeals and habeas corpus petitions pro se. He has exhausted his appeals and his habeas corpus petitions have thus far been rejected without prejudice. There is no evidence they have been given serious consideration.
A commutation of sentence would be most appropriate because it would allow a quick unification of the family. Both Reese and Tina Bromwell have COPD. Reese has been off work for weeks and Tina is disabled. The siblings would serve as both recovery supports for Kevin and could use his assistance. I would pledge my own efforts to support Kevin Bromwell’s transition to the community. I would provide case management support to link him with needed services and assist him in finding full time employment.
With all of the time that has passed since this crime has been committed we may never know definitively what happened that night and who was involved. We do know that Kevin Bromwell has served 32 years for the crime while the other participants were given probation. By running the three-year sentences concurrently an acknowledgement of the trial irregularities can be acknowledged without a risk to public safety. Kevin has strong family and community supports. Please consider this modest request to help a family that has survived much hardship by pulling together and taking care of each other.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Trapp, MA, CCDP
Second Ward City Council Member, City of Columbia
Principal, AAAAChange, LLC (4-A-Change)
Here is a link to the Governor’s office for respectful requests for Kevin’s clemency petition to be granted, or at least considered thoughtfully with an examination of the evidence. https://governor.mo.gov/contact-us
His contact info is:
Office of Governor Michael L. Parson
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-3222
Fax: (573) 751-1495
To write Kevin:
Kevin Bromwell #181047
3D-266
South Central Correctional Center
255 West Highway 32
Licking, MO 65542
political self censor
I wrote a post yesterday and didn’t post it. Am I self censoring now that I am semi-officially pursuing a seat on the Columbia City Council. No, of course not. I am self censoring for quality. I want to have an interesting blog and I wrote a brief happenings of the day, which was kind of charming I think and then launched into laying out a platform. Getting messaged by the Trib asking for a call when I file my papers generated some pressure to get organized about my political agenda. I had dashed off a Facebook comment on that and used it as an outline. It was crappy and boring and hard to write and not up to what I want to do with the blog.
I get a lot of compliments on the style. I want it to just flow. I want my life to be like that to [too?]. Except for the number those words have stymied me my whole life except for brief periods when it just seems so obvious I’ve wondered how I’ve spent most of my life not knowing.
So what’s been going on. Pretty busy. Yesterday was my late night so I ran some errands in the morning. I sent back all the stuff I accidentally carried away from Michigan and also accrued my first campaign expense by getting some petitions copied in case I get some help on the signature gathering. That is going well and I am over half way to my 75 and I feel like the quality is good.
I tried a little Wednesday morning but a block of Garth showed me why canvassing is done in the evenings and weekends. A block of nobody homes and one wild eyed older woman barely holding a pit bull back shouting some unintelligible name was not home. Getting off at 8, well if I was doing it for a living I would go out until 9:00, later if I was in the flow or desperate. As a hobbyist I like the 5:30-8:00. Even moving towards 8 it feels late. Certainly couldn’t raise the gumption to go out and do it after a long day of work.
Today I met with some folks after work and had dinner at Agave. It was a pretty free form question and answer about the recent city controversies. I was familiar with all of them so reading the paper every day since I moved here has been a good thing. Not counting the opinions of the guy from the Third Ward and the Canadian I won the support of 2 out of 3. It would have been a feat but doable to have caught all three and I learned a lot in the exchange.
Keeping it free form and just try to answer the questions seems like might be a better way then to elucidate talking points and try to work them in. I know I’m sick of the worst excesses of that mentality and maybe being its antithesis is a strength. Its hard for me to want to be political.
I worked on a political campaign and got very turned off by politics. I didn’t like only telling the piece of the truth that helped you win. I didn’t like that narrow focus of a political win and the gamesmanship of it just felt wrong and dirty. I won’t use people or even look at everyone from the lens of what can they do for me.
After dinner I gathered more signatures. Nothing that funny. Leslie Lane is full of characters. I see how I ended up here, I fit right in. Most folks are real nice. The scared ones though, the ones who won’t come to their door, the one who locked their car when they saw me walking up the street, it really breaks my heart. I wish I had a way to tell them there is no need for fear, we can trust each other, we’re all in this together.
Multiconstruct 
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