The Middle Passage

February 2020

"Oppressed People are forced to come to grips with
immediate problems which have a philosophical status
and are relevant to all people.”

On December 13, 1994 things became real in my life,
impacting the entire state of Indiana and the Indiana
Department of Corrections. Officer Phillip Curry was
stabbed at the Indiana State Prison and moments later,
he died from two stab wounds. One was to his heart
and the other struck his neck.

By this time, | had been in prison since 1987. On the
night of the stabbing, myself and several other Black
prisoners were rounded up. When | refused to give a
statement, | was transferred to the Maximum Control
Complex. On January 31, 1995, | was read a warrant
for murder one for capital murder inflicted upon Officer
Phillip Curry.

The Preliminary Investigation

The investigation was lead by Chief Prison
investigator, Karl Swihart and involved several others.
They were also assisted by the Indiana State Police:
The night they came after me, they confiscated all of my
clothes. The officers were all wanting me dead. They
were drenched in Phillip Curry’s blood.

Karl Swihart gathered multiple statements from
prison informants, who were encouraged and given
incentives to place me at the scene. One statement by
Alonzo Deadwilder, claimed he saw me actually arguing
with Curry and then stabbing him. The other statement
came from another informant named Anthony Jackson,
who said he disposed of a weapon that landed in front
of his cell door. Yet, he was never charged for
allegedly disposing a potential murder weapon.

When a high profile case such as this occurs inside a
prison environment, the prison investigator's primary
objective is to solve the case by any means necessary.
This is done even at the expense of using "false
testimony” by opportunistic prisoners, trying to go
home early. This was the case here. Information was
provided identifying me as the guy who stabbed Officer
Phillip Curry. This is how | became the primary
suspect, allowing Chief Investigator Swihart to build
and manufacture his findings into a formal charge.
There were no statements on the night of the killing by
fellow officers claiming to have witnessed the attack,
now being charged against me, Leonard McQuay.

There were DNA samples tested from my clothes. If |
stabbed this officer and blood was everywhere, why

, then was there no blood consistent with the officer on
my jacket, hooded sweatshirt, gym shoes, etc.? One
smeared drop of blood was planted on my left side of
my bluejeans cuff of my pants.

Karl Swihart and other officers working the scene
that night all had blood on them. The officers who
assisted in carrying Curry to his feet, say he collapsed
on the second tier and they said he wasn't going to
make it. They also claimed, being very desperate, that
Curry said "Khalfani stabbed me!" This bit of
"evidence" was concocted by prison investigators to
insure a conviction in court against me.

Prolonging Trial Dates

From 1994 through 2001, | had a lot of appearances
in court and a host of postponements, continuances,
etc. We were granted a change of venue from the La
Porte County Court to St. Joseph County Court in South
Bend, Indiana. Prior to my trial date becoming official,
the Public Defender, Attorney C. Price, who was
assigned to my case, took a job in the same office as
those prosecuting me for murder.

On March 27, 2001, my trial for murder began. | was
forced to wear an electric shock box attached to my
kidney on the left side for seven straight days, while my
trial lasted. The judge allowed the prosecutors to
introduce 3 - 5 knives as evidence, none of which had
any connection to the stab wounds suffered by Curry.
This was done to heavily influence the jury. This tactic
is known as an evidentiary harpoon. Not one prisoner
came to court to testify against me. In fact, the two
“informants” provided me with recantations, saying
they were paid to say | did it. Others who provided
them damning statements, did so out of fear of
becoming targets of Karl Swihart.

There was a bloody thumb print found on my light
switch, planted by officers or Karl Swihart, during his
investigation. This print belonged to neither me nor
Officer Phillip Curry. That means it could have
belonged to the actual person who killed this officer.
They never even considered the possibility of another
suspect. They wanted meto fall for this case. | was
sentenced to sixty years, shortly after being found
quilty on April 20, 2001. Now, | 've done 19 years on the
60-year sentence, leaving me to serve 11 more years.

The Rise and Fall of Investigator Karl Swihart

Karl Swihart was the Indiana State prison's shining
star intelligence officer, for years. My case pushed his
profile out into the forefront. Inside his investigative
reports, he outlined several theories as to why this
murder occurred.

One theory was it was because of the execution (the
chair) of Gregory Resnover, aka Ajamu Nassor, by the
state on December 7, 1994. He was most definitely,
one of my comrades. The second theory was that this
officer dated my sister and beat her up, 5o | retaliated
against him, due to his actions.
Karl Swihart once had Officer Phillip Curry up for
trafficking drugs into the facility. Once the prison came
off its 6-10 months of lockdown, the word was he took
prisoners out of a large amount of drugs and money.

In 1995-1996, Karl Swihart was transferred to
another prison (Westville). While here, he became
engrossed in his own scandal. He was fired for using
and taking drugs from the confiscated evidence. He
was also giving drugs to prisoners to sell for him at
Westville Correctional Facility. If they refused, he
would have them transferred far from their home or
simply set them up on bogus charges. Recently, |
received a news clipping which can be confirmed by
googling his name, that Karl Swihart committed
suicide. Now, many of his cases are being re-opened.

I'm waiting on a packet via the Freedom of
Information Act, allowing for public access of his
complete file on me and this case. It will show how he
manufactured "evidence” to secure a conviction. Now,
itis time for me and USto undo this injustice. | never
killed anyone, let alone this officer, Phillip Curry. The
time of my vindication and liberation is now!

The Middle Passage

This is my Middle Passage. I'm at the tail end of my
time and | am ready for my release from prison. There
can be no going backwards. Since 1994; | have not
relented in my fight. They have never killed my thirst
and idea of freedom, justice and equality. When we
collectively fight, we win.

Power and Peace! (The Struggle Continues)

South Chicago Leonard McQuay #874304

ABC Zine Distro Bro. Khalfani Malik Khaldun
Publisher & Distributor P:0. Box 1111 6215

oo, Box 791 Carliste, Indiana 47838

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