The Sunny Center

Yoga with Sunny and Amicus tinyurl.com/ommmicus Join Sunny in an online yoga class on Monday, June 21 at 7:30 pm GMT (2:30 pm EDT) for an hour of relaxing and restorative meditation and yoga! We are celebrating International Yoga Day and supporting those on death row in the U.S. A minimum donation of 5 to support Amicus and their great work, is suggested, but all are welcome to sign up!

Stunned and saddened to learn that Corey Walker who was wrongfully imprisoned for 25 years before reluctantly taking a NOLO Contender plea rather than continuin...g the legal fight, which would have cost him another 2-3 years, suddenly passed away a couple of days ago. Corey had been in Las Vegas with his wife, hanging out with Exoneree Anthony Wright (25 yrs) and his spouse. He flew back to NY and just after getting off the plane, died of a heart attack. Corey supported criminal justice reform work, attending various events for Pennsylvania It Could Happen To You, in support of automatic expungements for exonerees (bill was passed), compensation for exonerees( PA is 1 of 14 states that does not have any; support currently being built for same), and independent oversight of prosecutors. Briefly, his story: Corey and Lorenzo Johnson were NY residents wrongfully convicted of murder in PA. Lorenzo was released after 16 1/2 years after the Federal Court of Appeals ruled there had been legally insufficient evidence, but just 4 months later the US Supreme Court reinstated the conviction, and I drove him back to prison to resume a life without parole sentence. The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation joined a 5 way collaboration to free Lorenzo, while Lorenzo helped Corey obtain representation. Approximately 3 years later it was uncovered that the sole witness against both men had been an alternative suspect, and that the motive witness had a undisclosed familial relationship with the lead detective's mother, and 200 pages of Brady material had not been disclosed. Challenges to both convictions were filed. It took Lorenzo another 2 years to get a court hearing. But the PA Attorney General's office- then the since disgraced Kathleen Kane's office, threatened to appeal and keep fighting rather than conceding, while offering a NOLO Contender plea that would release him in a couple of days. Lorenzo took the deal so he could spend some time with his elderly Mother, who as it turned out would pass away after approximately 7 months. Corey continued to challenge his conviction on the same grounds, but again the PA Attorney General refused to concede while threatening to appeal. Corey reluctantly took a NOLO Contender plea, because continuing the fight would have meant another 2-3 years in prison. This article gives more details: https://www.pennlive.com/.../reluctantly-accepted-plea... Both men had filed pardon applications with PA Gov Wolf's office, seeking to have their names cleared. That speaks volumes as to the innocence of both men. Reflections as I sit here stunned: At rallies for Lorenzo that the Foundation participated in, which were organized by Tasha Williams (currently running for Judicial office in Dauphin County), there were also people attending in support of Corey, holding up "Free Corey Walker" signs. The maddening tactics of the PA Attorney General's office in this case, and of other DA Offices in other wrongful conviction cases around the country when it is obvious that at a minimum a conviction should be overturned, is simply incomprehensible. The terrible consequences are palpable: Out of the 45 years in the world that Corey lived, 25 of them were spent wrongfully imprisoned. He only had 2 years of freedom before passing away. He passed away without ever having his name cleared. Corey unselfishly spent what turned out to be a limited amount of his life after he was released from wrongful imprisonment engaging in some criminal justice reform. A testament to Corey's strength: whenever I spoke or interacted with him, he was humble, soft spoken, and frequently smiled, despite the enormity of what he went through. The picture he used for his FB profile photo, is representative of that (1st photo). 2nd photo: a nice photo of Corey by the water. 3rd photo: Corey in attendance of a Summit that Pennsylvania It Could Happen To You held in Harrisburg, which Corey and Lorenzo traveled to from NY in order attend and support, arriving by train after they had car trouble on the day of the event. Rest in Peace Corey. I empathize with you, I am sad for you. I feel grateful that I was exonerated, because I know many people such as yourself did not get to be. We will continue on with criminal justice reform work. See more

Great work, Greg Hampikian and all.

A little surprise in the polytunnel this week! . We've slowly been gaining the trust of a pregnant feral cat who sits at the edge of our garden. A few days ago, she gave birth nearby, and soon afterward she moved them into the safety of the polytunnel. They are sheltered and safe! . #kittens #kittensofinstagram #feralcats #gardeninglife #catsofireland #polytunnelgardening #careforothers #healingjourney