Families and exonerated persons protest against former Detroit detective accused of misconduct and miscarriage of justice

On Wednesday, protesters gathered outside the Wayne County District Attorney's Office demanding an independent and comprehensive review of all cases of a former Detroit police detective accused of putting innocent black people behind bars for two decades.

Protesters also called on District Attorney 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 unit in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The protest was triggered by a two-part Metro times Series that showed Simon locking young suspects and witnesses in small rooms at police headquarters for hours without a warrant, and extracting false confessions and testimony that was later retracted.

Four men have so far been exonerated and a fifth was released before his murder trial because DNA evidence exonerated him.

“We want Barbara Simon locked up,” said Mark Craighead, who was acquitted after seven years in prison for a murder he did not commit. “She has repeatedly committed perjury, illegally detained suspects without warrants and threatened witnesses.”

Craighead falsely confessed to shooting his friend in June 1997 after police arrested him without a warrant and forbade him from calling a lawyer. After spending a night in a rodent-infested jail cell, Craighead was exhausted and signed a confession written by Simon, who was known as “the Closer” for her ability to secure convictions.

As they marched outside the new Wayne County Criminal Justice Center in Detroit, protesters chanted “Free the innocent” and “No justice, no peace.” They held signs that read, “Kym Worthy is not worth your vote” and “We want an independent investigation.”

They urge Worthy to meet with them.

After the protest, Worthy said Metro times in a statement that it was working on a possible solution.

“I have been working on a monetary solution to this situation,” Worthy said. “I will know more after my budget hearing on Sept. 5. I should be able to talk about it in more detail after that.”

Among those marching were relatives of black men who were still in prison after Simon took over their cases.

Latonya Crump's brother, Damon Smith, has been behind bars since Simon's interrogation in 1999. He insists he did not commit the murder. He said Simon was aggressive and threatening and told him he would be charged with committing the murder if he did not admit his involvement.

He maintained his innocence and was therefore, he said, accused of pulling the trigger. After Smith's trial, in which he was found guilty, Smith's brother Patrick Roberts, who appeared as a witness for the prosecution, later recanted his testimony in a letter and said Smith was not involved in the shooting.

“It's very frustrating to know he's incarcerated for something he didn't do,” Crump said. “I want a proper investigation. It's important that anyone who's wrongfully convicted gets a new trial.”

Steve Neavling

Protesters hold a sign in support of Damon Smith, who has been in prison for 25 years.

Lamarr Monson, who served 20 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, blames Simon for botching his 1996 investigation. Like Craighead, Monson had no criminal record, was interrogated for hours by Simon and denied access to a phone and a lawyer, court records show. He was convicted of murder based on a false confession that was later refuted by evidence that should have been presented at his trial.

Monson, who was rehabilitated in 2017, said he owes it to the innocent people still in prison to continue fighting for their release.

“This is humanity,” Monson said. “Everyone should fight for the innocent people in prison. Barbara Simon put young black men in prison and she needs to be held accountable for that.”

Detroit Police Chief Willie Burton said he supports a full investigation.

“This tragic case shows why we need effective oversight in Detroit,” Burton said. “We cannot afford to have a single citizen have their rights violated and wrongfully spend even an hour in jail. I will continue to fight on the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners to clear the backlog of citizen complaint reviews and hold the police department accountable.”

Among the protesters was former Detroit Police Chief Reginald Crawford, who used a megaphone to call on Worthy to meet with the protesters.

“Kym Worthy, come down and talk to us,” Crawford said. “Let's talk. You are stealing the lives of the wrongfully imprisoned.”

Worthy's office has a Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) tasked with freeing innocent people from prison, but despite Simon's troubling past, the unit has not worked on any cases related to her.

“This exposes the lack of integrity of the Conviction Integrity Unit in failing to hold people like Barbara Simon accountable,” Crawford said.

Craighead and other protesters said they do not plan to stop their rallies until a full investigation into Simon's cases is completed.

“If we don't speak out, wrongfully convicted people will spend the rest of their lives in prison,” Craighead said. “I get calls all the time from people saying they are innocent and are in prison because of Barbara Simon.”