Black Campaign consultant sentenced to 60 days in Maryland Republican Voter Suppression Conspiracy

From [HERE] A campaign consultant was led from court in handcuffs Wednesday, sentenced to 60 days in jail for election fraud conspiracy involving Election Day robocalls that prosecutors said were aimed at keeping black voters from the polls. In comments before the sentence was handed down, Julius Henson, who worked for former Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s campaign during his 2010 rematch with Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley, called his prosecutions in state and federal court a “witch-hunt.”

“This has not been fair,” Henson told Circuit Judge Emanuel Brown. “This has not been justice.” Prosecutors originally asked for a sentence similar to the home detention and community service given to Henson’s co-conspirator, noting that he had shown remorse at sentencing. But after a television interview in which Henson blamed others and implied he was targeted because he is black aired Tuesday night, they asked for a more stringent punishment. (c-ya -bw)

Henson’s attorney, Edward Smith, argued that his client should not be confined or lose his livelihood. He wondered about prosecutors’ initial suggestion of giving Henson a comparable sentence as his co-conspirator, Ehrlich campaign manager Paul Schurick. Schurick was convicted of three additional counts.

Brown told Henson he had used his creative talents to undermine the electoral process and didn’t appear to believe that he had committed a crime.

“There seems to be a culture that suggests anything goes in politics,” Brown said, noting that during the trial the defense had proffered the testimony of another consultant who would say he would have done the same thing Henson did. “That culture must change.”

Brown sentenced Henson to one year in jail with all but 60 days suspended, 300 hours of community service and three years of probation, during which time he is barred from election work in a paid or volunteer capacity.

A Baltimore jury convicted Henson last month of conspiring with Schurick to send the robocalls without an authority line that told listeners who was sending the message, but acquitted him of three other charges. However, Henson, his company and a company employee were also ordered in related federal case to pay the state more than $1 million for Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations.

Henson testified that the calls, which told listeners to “relax” because O’Malley had won, were a counterintuitive attempt to motivate voters in the final hours of the election. He was acquitted of three charges including influencing or attempting to influence a voter’s decision whether to go to the polls through the use of fraud, conspiring with Schurick to do the same and publishing campaign material without an authority line.

Schurick was convicted of all four counts. He received a one-year suspended sentence, 30 days of home detention and 500 hours of community service.

The calls were made in the hours before polls closed on Election Day to about 110,000 Democratic voters in Baltimore and Prince George’s County, two jurisdictions with high percentages of black voters.

Henson testified that he was hired to help the campaign with outreach to the African-American community and he drafted the proposal called the “Schurick Doctrine” after conversations with the campaign manager.

Maryland Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis said the sentences for Henson and Schurick send a message that voter suppression won’t be tolerated.

“Voting is at the heart of our democracy and any effort to restrict voting rights for partisan gain is illegal and morally reprehensible,” she said.

Smith called the sentence and immediate detainment “harsh treatment.” However, Brown denied his request that Henson be allowed to surrender later.

Smith said he would appeal. He said he couldn’t say if he advised his client against speaking his mind to the media and in court, but said courageous people are willing to speak up and face the consequences.

“He doesn’t believe it was a violation of the law,” Smith said. “If you don’t believe you were convicted according to the law and if you believe you are innocent why stand up there and say you are sorry?”

Henson’s comments and lack of an apology or remorse showed that he “just didn’t get it,” State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt said.

He said the sentence will serve as a deterrent, sending the message to political consultants that including authority lines on messages is key to election transparency and violations are a serious matter.

“This is not spitting on the sidewalk,” he said. “This is about the integrity of the election system.”