Protesters gathered outside the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday, calling for an independent and extensive review of all cases handled by a former Detroit detective accused of putting innocent Black men behind bars for two decades.
Demonstrators also urged Prosecutor Kym Worthy to file charges against retired Detective Barbara Simon for allegedly committing perjury and unlawfully detaining suspects and witnesses while working in the homicide division in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The protest was prompted by a two-part Metro Times series that showed how Simon confined young suspects and witnesses to small rooms at police headquarters for hours without a warrant. She also elicited false confessions and witness statements that were later recanted.
Four men have been exonerated so far, and a fifth was released before his murder trial because DNA evidence cleared him.
“We want Barbara Simon locked up,” said Mark Craighead, who was exonerated after spending seven years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. “She repeatedly committed perjury, illegally detained suspects without warrants, and threatened witnesses.”
Craighead falsely confessed to fatally shooting his friend in June 1997 after police detained him without a warrant and refused to let him call an attorney. After spending a night in a rodent-infested jail cell, Craighead was worn down and signed a confession written by Simon, who was known as “the closer” because of her ability to secure convictions.
Protesters chanted, “Free the innocent,” and “No justice, no peace,” while marching outside the new Wayne County Criminal Justice Center in Detroit. They held signs that read, “Kym Worthy is unworthy of your vote,” and, “We want independent investigations.”
They’re urging Worthy to meet with them.
After the protest, Worthy told Metro Times in a statement that she is working on a potential solution.
“I have been working on a monetary way to address this situation,” Worthy said. “I will know more after my budget hearing on September 5th. I should be able to discuss this in more detail after the hearing.”
Among those marching were relatives of Black men still in prison after Simon handled their cases.
Latonya Crump’s brother Damon Smith has been behind bars since Simon interrogated him in 1999 for a murder he insists he didn’t commit. He said Simon was belligerent and threatening and told him he’d be charged with pulling the trigger if he didn’t admit his involvement.
He maintained his innocence, and as a result, he said, he was accused of pulling the trigger. After Smith’s trial, where he was found guilty, Smith’s brother Patrick Roberts, who was a prosecution witness, later recanted in a letter, saying Smith was not involved in the shooting.
“It’s very frustrating to know that he’s locked up for something he didn’t do,” Crump said. “I want a proper investigation. It’s important that everyone who was improperly convicted get a new trial.”
Steve Neavling
Protesters hold up a sign in support of Damon Smith, who has been in prison for 25 years.
Lamarr Monson, who spent 20 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, blames Simon for bungling his investigation in 1996. Like Craighead, Monson had no criminal record, was interrogated for hours by Simon, and was denied access to a phone and a lawyer, according to court records. He was convicted of murder based on a false confession that was later contradicted by evidence that should have been presented at his trial.
Monson, who was exonerated in 2017, said he owes it to the innocent people still in prison to continue fighting for their release.
“This is what humanity is about,” Monson said. “Everyone should be fighting for the innocent people in prison. Barbara Simon set up young Black men to go to jail, and she needs to be held accountable.”
Detroit Police Commissioner Willie Burton said he supports an extensive investigation.
“This tragic case shows why we need effective oversight in Detroit,” Burton said. “We cannot afford to have even one citizen’s rights violated and wrongfully spend even an hour in jail. I will continue to fight on the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners to ensure we eliminate the backlog of citizen complaint reviews and hold the department accountable.”
Also among the protesters was former Detroit Police Commissioner Reginald Crawford, who used a megaphone to call on Worthy to meet with demonstrators.
“Kym Worthy, come down and talk to us,” Crawford said. “Let’s have a conversation. You are stealing the lives of the unlawfully incarcerated.”
Worthy’s office has a Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU), which is tasked with freeing innocent people from prison, but the unit hasn’t worked on cases related to Simon, despite her troubling history.
“This exposes the Conviction Integrity Unit for not having integrity if they are not holding people like Barbara Simon accountable,” Crawford said.
Craighead and other protesters said they don’t plan to stop rallying until a full investigation of Simon’s cases is completed.
“If we don’t speak out, wrongfully convicted people are going to spend the rest of their lives in prison,” Craighead said. “I get calls all the time from people who say they are innocent and in prison because of Barbara Simon.”
