Statement by Reverand Ashiya Odeye of the Justice Reform Coalition
Racial profiling is alive and well in Yolo County. Under DA Jeff Reisig, 80% of all arrests in connection with alleged rapes where people of color who make up only 42% of the population in Yolo County. Under his regime there has been a 52% increase in the number of people of color arrested for rape and a 48% decrease in the number of White people arrested for rape. These statistics are well askew of national statistics. Nationally, since 1993 rape in general has declined 50% with White rapists still in the majority. According to US Justice Department statistics, 52% of all rapists are White. There is a problem here in Yolo County , and now an innocent man's life and family hang in the balance because of it. The case of Ajay Dev is another view into the corrupt and racist Yolo County justice system at the center of which is DA Jeff Reisig and his gang at the Yolo County District Attorney's office.
With no evidence, except the word of the accuser, the DA has chosen to prosecute an innocent man accused of rape simply because of his race, and to pad the Yolo DA's highest in the nation conviction rate. Through blatant lies, the obfuscation of the only factual evidence, and Judge Timothy Fall not allowing the jury to see all the evidence of the defense, an innocent man now faces 378 years in prison for a crime there is no evidence he committed. Judge Fall would not even allow official documentation from the government of the nation of Nepal that would show that the accuser was not only lying but guilty of criminal passport fraud for which she was arrested. It would also show the accuser as a manipulative, not so innocent girl contrary to the picture the DA's office has painted in the press and in court. Judge Fall has set a dangerous precedent here refusing these documents and needs to be called to the floor by the State Department.
Brett Pedroia, a White man, receives 1 year in County Jail after pleading guilty to molesting a 9 year old boy multiple times, where there was physical and other evidence, but Ajay is given 378 years on a weak case with no evidence. As a matter of fact, the evidence that is available exonerates the defendant and directly contradicts the DA's only witness, the accuser. This along with many other instances of impropriety and collusion in the court is why the JRC and the supporters of Ajay Dev, are asking for the appeals court to review this case and release Ajay from incarceration while this happens and his appeal goes through.
This case illustrates most of the problems with the Yolo system of justice we see in our work in Yolo County . This is why the Justice Reform Coalition feels that not only do we need a full Federal investigation of the Yolo County Court system and the conduct of its officers, but we need to have citizen review over all aspects of law enforcement.
