Who's Who

Most of the following profile information applies to the original 1993 Nevers and Budzyn trial as well as both retrials. Information that applies only to the retrials has been specifically noted.   Know who's who in this case!

THE OFFICERS:

larry&nancy.jpg (16393 bytes)LARRY NEVERS:  52 at the time of the incident, white, and a native Detroiter, Larry was a 24 year veteran of the Detroit Police Department with an excellent service record.  He had the highest felony arrest record in his precinct with a 95% conviction rate, and was one of the most highly decorated officers on the 3,000 person Detroit Police Force earning 115 awards and citations including the Michigan Chiefs of Police Citation and Medal.  Larry had only 13 citizen complaints filed against him during his entire career.  NONE were substantiated.  This number includes complaints filed against his various partners over a 24 year period.  Besides the awards and commendations listed below, Larry was nominated "Officer of the Year," for his actions in an incident that occured only 3 days before the Malice Green incident. In this case, Larry talked an armed murderer into giving up his weapon and submitting to arrest.  Larry was within 9 months of retirement at the time of the Malice Green incident.   He has been happily married for 38 years as of 2000 and has one lovely daughter.

List of awards received:

1 "Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police" - Citation and Medal
2 Detroit Police Department Departmental Citations and Medals
2 Life Saving Citations and Medals
4 Chiefs Unit Awards
27 Citations for Bravery
71 Commendations for Outstanding Police Work
1 G.O.P. Chiefs Merit Award
5 Times Officer of the Month - Precinct Level
1 V.F.W. Award
1 Award from the "Michigan Car Dealers Association" for recovering numerous stolen vehicles

Budzyn.jpg (54947 bytes)WALTER BUDZYN: 47 at the time of incident, white, and a native Detroiter, Walter was a 19 year veteran of the Detroit Police Force and a Vietnam Air Force Veteran. During his lengthy career with the Detroit Police Department Walter was disciplined only once, for "leaving his post without permission" when he chose to drive an elderly couple home across the Canadian border to Windsor after their car was stolen at a Tiger baseball game in Detroit.   Walter has been married twice and has one daughter and two grandsons.

List of awards received:

30 commendations for Outstanding Police Work
10 citations for Bravery
1 Lifesaving Award
Named Officer of the Year for his precinct in 1990

 

MALICE GREEN:


1malice small.jpg (13902 bytes)MALICE (FLY) GREEN: Green, black, was 35 at the time of the incident. He was born in Arkansas, moved to Detroit at age 14, worked at Morton Manufacturing Co. in Illinois for 13 years until being fired in 1992 for poor work habits and various other problems. Green was separated from his wife, had two illegitimate children and three step-children. He was a cocaine addict with an arrest record for drugs, drunk driving, spousal abuse, assaulting a police officer and similar offenses.

GREEN’S ARREST RECORD:  (may be incomplete)

Waugegan, IL
3-17-86 Possession of a controlled substance
7-03-89 Fleeing and Eluding, Resisting Arrest, Kicking his way out of a scout car.
9-10-89 Spousal Battery
2-23-90 Spousal Battery, Battery Police, Assaulting a Police Officer

North, IL.
5-16-90 Suspended Driver’s License
Squealing tires due to rapid acceleration
Driving Under the Influence
Failed to obey the lawful command of a police officer. Removed from car with minor force.

THE STREET WITNESSES:

Note: At the time of the incident, most of these eyewitnesses had outstanding  warrants with the Detroit Police Department. These warrants were purposefully removed from the Police computer LEIN file until after the officers were convicted in August of 1993. See the Walter Budzyn Trial Review for more details.  The arrest records listed below were as of the first trial in 1993.

 

2mug small.jpg (11697 bytes) RALPH FLETCHER: 43, black, cocaine addict, unemployed, arrested for 3 felonies since 1975 including 2 drug charges and Breaking and Entering of a Business. Arrested for 2 Misdemeanors since 1975. Convicted felon.

 

4mug small.jpg (13643 bytes) ROBERT BRYAN (JOE) HOLLINS: 45, black, cocaine addict, convicted felon. Arrested for 4 felonies since 1987 including 2 drug offenses (1 delivery of cocaine) stolen vehicle, and violation of parole.

 

6mug small.jpg (14689 bytes) EMMANUEL BROWN: Black, cocaine addict, convicted felon. Arrested for 9 felonies since 1977 including 5 Illegal Drug arrests Armed Robbery, and carrying a gun in a vehicle.

 

5mug small.jpg (19657 bytes) TERESA (REDBONE) PACE: 35, white, prostitute, cocaine addict, girlfriend of Hollins. Arrested for 15 Misdemeanors since 1989 including Sex Offenses, Indecent and Obscene Conduct and Prostitution.

 

knox-cropped.jpg (4828 bytes) ROBERT KNOX: 30, black, cocaine addict, convicted felon, died in drug related shooting near 23 & Warren between the time of Green's death and the first trial. Arrested for 1 confirmed felony since 1983 - Assault With Intent to Commit Murder. The rest of his criminal record was unavailable.

 

EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS:

ALBINO MARTINEZ: 24, hispanic, EMS technician, Arrested for 1 Felonious Assault in 1994
LEWIS: 24, black, EMS technician
LEE HARDY: 29, black, EMS technician, lengthy disciplinary record with EMS, since fired.  
SCOTT WALSH: White, 22, EMS technician

THE PROSECUTORS:

KYM WORTHY: Black, was an Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor at time of trial and now a judge in the reorganized Wayne County Circuit Court. Has since been treated for mental illness. Worthy was cited for 9 instances of prosecutorial misconduct in another second degree murder case in 1990. This misconduct caused the Michigan Court of Appeals to reverse the conviction in that case. Prosecuted the original case against Budzyn, Nevers, and Lessnau, along with Douglas Baker.

DOUGLAS BAKER: White, Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor. Prosecuted the case along with Kym Worthy. Baker was the lead prosecutor in the retrial of Walter Budzyn.

DONALDSON:  White, Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor prosecuted Walter Budzyn in his retrial along with Douglas Baker.

SHARON MCPHAIL: Black, Secretary/Treasurer of the Detroit NAACP. McPhail was the assistant Wayne County Prosecutor who filed the original charges against the officers, then took a lesser role in order to run for Mayor. McPhail used the theme of racist police brutality and the Green case as part of her mayoral campaign throughout the months between the Green incident in November of 1992 until the mayoral election in November of 1993. Meanwhile, McPhail attended the trial herself, yet concealed the fact that she was a personal acquaintance of Budzyn juror Mrylen Washington, Vice President of the NAACP. McPhail ran for the office of Wayne Country Prosecutor in 2000, but was defeated by Duggan.

THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS:

CAROL STANYAR: White, lead attorney for Walter Budzyn at his 1998 retrial.

JAMES HOWARTH: White, co-council with Carol Stanyer defending Walter Budzyn at his retrial.

MICHAEL BATCHELOR: Black, defense attorney hired by DPOA to represent Walter Budzyn in the 1993 trial. Has since been disbarred.

JOHN GOLDPAUGH: White, defense attorney hired by the DPOA. Represented Larry Nevers at the 1993 trial.

FRED WALKER: White, defense attorney hired by DPOA. Walker was the lawyer on call for the DPOA when the incident occurred. He advised the officers to remain silent when it appeared obvious there was no interest on behalf of the police department to investigate fairly. Ultimately, Walker would represent Officer Robert Lessnau who was tried along with Officers Nevers and Budzyn and was acquitted by Judge Crockett.

NEIL FINK: White, defense attorney who handled Larry Nevers' appeals to the first trial and his retrial.

MARLA MCOWAN: White, co-council to Neil Fink at Larry Nevers' retrial.

THE JUDGES:

JUDGE GEORGE W. CROCKETT III: 54, black, life NAACP member, Recorder’s Court judge since 1977, worked for his father’s law firm and others, was supervising attorney for Detroit’s Neighborhood Legal Services Centers and Chief Deputy Defender for the Legal Aid and Defender Association. History of mental illness, divorced, one son, diagnosed as an "acute psychotic paranoid depressive," must take daily lithium medication and keep weekly psychiatrist appointments.  Crockett's father was Mayor Coleman Young's personal attorney. Crockett was recently accused of beating his ex-girlfriend and holding her against her wishes: August 14, 2000 - Woman Accuses Judge

CHIEF JUDGE DALTON ROBERSON: Black, holds Michigan record for the highest number of convictions overturned on appeal. Refused to grant a change of venue despite massive negative pre-trial publicity. Rather than allowing the trial judge to be chosen by blind draw as is customary, Roberson selected Crockett from among three Recorder’s Court judges who asked to hear the case: George Crockett, Delphine Curtis, and Vera Massey Jones. Roberson was recently deemed one of America's four worst judges by Reader's Digest (July 1999). Click here for Pete Waldmeir's , Detroit News article on Roberson: June 18, 1999 - Detroit jurist retires as one of Reader's Digest's four worst judges

JUDGE VERA MASSEY JONES: Black, Jones became the new Chief Judge of Detroit Recorder's Court after Roberson (and after the first trial). Jones was one of the three judges who requested to hear the original case. When Trial Judge Crockett was told that the Malcolm X film had been shown to both juries, he deferred the mistrial decision to Chief Judge Roberson who in turn deferred to Judge Jones. Jones declared there would be no mistrial. NOTE: Judge Vera Massey Jones was responsible for hand selecting Judge Jackson to preside over Walter Budzyn's retrial.

JUDGE THOMAS E. JACKSON: Black, Jackson is a former Detroit Recorder's Court Judge. He was hand selected by Chief Judge Vera Massey Jones to preside over Walter Budzyn’s retrial.

JUDGE ULYSISS BOYKIN: Black, hand selected to preside over Larry Nevers retrial.

NEVERS’ 1993 JURY:

6 black women, 4 black men
1 white woman, 1 white man
Jury foreman was a black man

Note: After Nevers’ conviction, and prior to his sentencing, one male juror wrote a lengthy letter to Judge Crockett asking him to give Nevers’ a light sentence so that "his conscience wouldn’t bother him". This juror explained that the prosecution had not met the three basic requirements for a legal second degree murder conviction. They had not proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, they had not proven that Officer Nevers had not acted in self defense, and they had not proven intent to kill or do great bodily harm.


BUDZYN’S 1993 JURY:

8 Black women, 3 black men
1 white man
Foreman was a black woman

KARL DAVID KEFFER: 34, Sales representative. Mr. Keffer was the only white juror on the Budzyn jury. Immediately after the verdict was announced, Keffer went on TV and radio news broadcasts saying that he was coerced into voting guilty by the other racially motivated jurors.

MYRLEN WASHINGTON: 57, black, Vice-President of the Detroit NAACP, held an appointed position with the Mayor’s office. During jury voir dere, Washington failed to reveal her affiliation with the NAACP, although this organization had been extremely active in efforts against the officers. The NAACP had conducting public protests and rallies against the officers and paid for Green’s funeral. When Washington was asked if she worked with any lawyers, she failed to reveal that she was closely associated with her fellow NAACP board member Sharon McPhail, the prosecuting attorney who filed the original charges agaist the officers. Another fellow NAACP board member of Washington’s was JoAnn Watson, who berated the officers daily on her Detroit area radio talk show. Washington passed out "McPhail for Mayor" literature to her fellow jurors and from them recruited several new members for the NAACP. It was Washington who told her fellow jurors the FALSE information that Walter Budzyn had once been a member of the police unit STRESS, perceived by many black Detroiters to have been racist and brutal to blacks.

The next link in consecutive order is What Really Killed Malice Green?.

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