Help Arick over violation of 8th amendment right

 

Hi my name is Diamond and I'm making this GoFund Me on behalf of my spouse, Arick Johnson.

Arick was arrested on September 3, 2021 on the basis of an arrest warrant that found probable cause that Arick had committed terroristic threatening against a judge and lawyer on Facebook. The state has held Arick in Pulaski County jail for 3 months on the strength of this warrant, alone, without formally charging him of committing any crime. Arick and I believe this warrant is invalid because, if in fact, he did write the posts it violates his constitutional 1st Amendment rights ( speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government). Also, Arick shares an account with our oldest son and it has yet to be determined who actually made the posts.

 

Ultimately, the posts came about because Arick was ASSAULTED by his then paid attorney in the judge's courtroom chambers. We have been asking for the video and court transcript every since the incident happened and have been denied our constitutional rights in obtaining it. The Facebook posts that Arick allegedly wrote were saying that a protest would take place at one's home if the video/court transcript wasn't released. This was after asking for the information for 2 whole years...since 2019.

 

We also believe that his long incarceration prior to being charged and the "tolling" of his right to a speedy trial violates his rights under the Sixth Amendment. Finally, Arick's 8th amendment rights are being violated by having an excessive amount of bail of 175000.00. Which 10% of that is 17,500.00.

 

The main priority is getting Arick home with his family. Due to the nature of timing, I delivered our newborn baby at home by myself before the ambulance came on my birthday. Putting my health and the baby's health at risk. Thank goodness everything worked out for the best. This has been very painful because Arick is a very involved husband and father. And he has never missed the birth of our children or been absent from our other children we have together. Not to mention, we're still in the midst of a pandemic and Arick deserves to be at home in a more safe & healthier environment.

 

I have been doing my best to maintain our household/bills, take care of our 5 children on my own, and pay legal counsel fees. Thankfully, the state appointed Arick an attorney in this case. So, not needing finances for legal counsel. Just pray that they will help Arick to prove his innocence. 
After almost 100 days by myself and just having a baby, things are weighing heavy on me.

 

Please help raise this money so that we can bail Arick out. Then, we would like to use our non-profit to begin bailing out those that are innocent.

To ensure that those who have not been convicted of a crime do not sit in jail for months as they await trial simply because they lack the resources needed to post bail.

 

 

Any and all donations will make a difference & will be greatly appreciated!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last message is from the judge that we have been requesting the video/transcript from. IF he knew nothing about this matter, his response wouldn't have been what it was. He would've been shocked at the very least to have just found out that a defendant got ASSAULTED in his courtroom while handcuffed. He basically acknowledged that he knows what I'm talking about and I was looking in the wrong places for it.