Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Tamik Kirkland was born in Brooklyn, New York.  At a young age his family moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was raised.  Throughout his life Mr. Kirkland didn't always make the best choices.  On July 2, 2008, he was arrested with two other men and charged with assault with intent to murder, possession of firearms and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.  He was released on cash bond.  After the District Attorney's office discovered that Mr. Kirkland's firearm had nothing to do with the shooting incident, the assault with intent to murder charge was dropped and the Grand Jury indicted him on the firearm and drug charges.

 

While out on bond Mr. Kirkland worked two jobs and went to college.  A short time later he started a few businesses of his own.  One of his businesses was "Ahnesty Records", a record company named after his daughter, Ahnesty (pronounced "Honesty").  He also got into the vending business with "Kirkland's Vending Machines".  Lastly, he started a landscaping company called "All Seasons Landscaping".  He started these businesses prior to serving his sentence for the firearm because he was aware of the difficulties ex-felons face when it comes to gaining employment after they're released.  Mr. Kirkland's goal was to create a better life for himself and his family after his release.

 

On November 19, 2009, Mr. Kirkland pled guilty to the firearm charges with the stipulation that his co-defendant would not do any time for Mr. Kirkland's gun.  Mr. Kirkland was sentenced to two and a half years to four years in state prison.  While in prison he continued to strive for a better life.  He enrolled in, and completed, several correctional programs.  He was also registered at Wachusett Community College, taking a "Green Technology/Energy Efficiency" course.

 

In late March 2011, Mr. Kirkland was in a minimum security facility and was classified to a pre-release facility whenever they had an open bed.  On April 23, 2011, Mr. Kirkland called home to wish his mother a happy birthday and found out that she had just been shot in front of her home.  This damaged him psychologically, and he "walked away" from the facility to return to the city of Springfield to find out what happened to his mother.  There was a huge amount of media coverage regarding his escape, telling the public that he was out with a vengeance over what happened to his mother.  Then, while Mr. Kirkland was still at large, on "escape" status, there was a fatal shooting in a barbershop in his neighborhood, and he was immediately and falsely, accused of being the shooter.  

 

After being shot six times by the police and arrested, Mr. Kirkland spent over two years in solitary confinement ("the hole") fighting those murder charges.  During that time, he enrolled in correspondence courses and passed his paralegal course (at Blackstone Career Institute) with an A+.  This course gave him a better understanding of the justice system and how it works, which is still helping him fight today.

 

Since Mr. Kirkland has been out of solitary confinement, he has had access to the law library, where has been studying the Law and working diligently on his case.  He has also completed/graduated from Barber School and is now a licensed barber in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  

 

In September 2016, Mr. Kirkland filed a motion for new trial, pro se (representing himself).  A few of the issues in the motion are briefly explained on this site.  That motion is still pending and Mr. Kirkland is now represented by an appellate attorney, Merritt Schnipper, who has added a few more very important issues to Mr. Kirkland's motion.

#WrongfulConviction