April Griffin, Tasered While Black, Beaten, and abused ?

Hat Tip to Antoinette over at her new blog, Antoinette's "Point of View," She is reporting on the awful situation of violence against women, in particular as it applies to April Griffin, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Antoinette writes about how "Vice-President Joe Biden's 1994 law for Violence against Women Act does not apply to April Griffin, in Milwaukee" More HERE

April Griffin

This is a case that was started over two years ago. It was reported by Diana Sroka in a local newspaper that, "Two weeks after a Milwaukee County judge awarded sole custody of a 10-month-old boy to his father, the child's mother remains jailed for refusing to reveal the baby's whereabouts. April Griffin, 28, of Milwaukee has been in jail since mid-May for contempt for refusing to tell Circuit Judge Michael D. Guolee where to find the baby, Jesse. More HERE

UPDATE: Time on-line has been following the case saying it is "The case of the missing Milwaukee baby, and the mother who chose eight months of jail over joint custody." News accounts were that the baby, malnourished and with two broken bones, has been found, and the mother, 29-year-old April Griffin, is back in jail, only this time she's facing felony charges that could keep here there for four years or more. Blogtalk Radio host Queen Ifama on Blog Talk Radio has been following the case and reports on the status of the case of April Griffin

The Times reports Griffin attracted a legion of supporters last year with her desperate refusal to accept a judge's order that her son's father be given a chance to share custody. She sent the boy into hiding in May 2007 and showed up at the Milwaukee County courthouse and told District Judge Michael Goulee to go ahead and put her in jail. He did just that and sent deputies searching her family members' homes, threatening to arrest anyone found helping hide the child. But as the months passed, nothing changed. Griffin remained in jail, and her son, Jesse Moses Griffin-Sebuliba, remained missing.

When Goulee released Griffin earlier this year, citing her fast-deteriorating health in jail, he did so with a warning. The child, he said, "will be found. And he will be found with someone, and that someone will be charged with a crime." The patience of the law won out in the end. Last Friday night, Milwaukee police, acting on a tip about the location of 2-year-old Jesse, entered an apartment on North Richards Street. They found the boy in his mother's arms.

It's not clear whether she had been living with her son or was only visiting when police arrived. But when they showed up, officers asked Griffin if the boy she was holding was her missing son. She refused to answer, according to a formal complaint filed by the Milwaukee County District Attorney. "The defendant refused to respond or identify the baby boy," according to an affidavit from Milwaukee police detective Christopher Moews. "As he and other officers engaged Griffin in conversation, she began putting clothes on the boy and stated she was going to leave with the child," the complaint reads. She told the detective, "Don't you [expletive deleted] touch me," and attempted to walk past him. "Don't you [expletive deleted] touch my baby."

Police say Griffin then wrapped her arms about Jesse so tightly that they feared for the toddler's safety. "She pulled the baby into her chest like a bear hug. She then turned away from officers while bending over at the waist, turning her body in an attempt to prevent the officers from taking the child." When another officer stepped in, Griffin began swinging back and forth urgently, causing Jesse to begin to cry and his head to lurch violently back and forth, the complaint reads. "The detective was concerned that the baby would not be able to breathe. Using force, he and another officer were able to get the child away from the defendant." At that point, police say, Griffin reached for her purse, and police used a Taser gun and a pepper-spray-like weapon to subdue her. More HERE

AAPP: Sounds like the police and the courts are on the wrong side of the law on this one. the judge in this case seems to be out of control. What do you think?

More links to the story below. The question remains, who beat the baby, the mother of father?

From the Archive: The April Griffin Case Part 1

From the Archive: The April Griffin Case Part 2

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