JUST WEEKS BEFORE ANTICIPATED RELEASE
by Sharon Rondeau
(Mar. 28, 2015) — On Friday, Pat Parsons, wife of Tennessee state inmate Mike Parsons, informed The Post & Email that her husband was unexpectedly moved to a prison in Henning, TN on Tuesday reportedly for a hearing in a Tipton County courtroom on Monday, March 30.
The Parsonses reside in Tipton County, where they have a farm and where Mike had hoped to serve in a public capacity to purge what he described as systemic government corruption.
Tipton County is one of five counties in Tennessee’s 25th Judicial District in the southwestern part of the state.
Parsons was incarcerated in February of last year after county officials alleged that he violated conditions of his parole from a previous imprisonment which Parsons claims resulted from a corrupt judiciary. Parsons was expecting to be released from prison in May following a parole board’s refusal in November to overturn the revocation of his parole associated with his rearrest and set him free.
The Post & Email has reported on systemic corruption in the Tennessee courts for nearly six years which has been entrenched for nearly a century, if not longer, and sent untold thousands of people to jails and prisons without constitutional due process.
Prior to his first imprisonment, Parsons had hosted a radio show, operated a home improvement business, volunteered in the Civil Air Patrol, and run for the position of county executive in August 2006. His then-opponent, Jeff Huffman, now holds the position. In returns on Election Day evening, Parsons had held a significant lead over Huffman as reported by a local television station.
The following day Parsons was reported to have lost. According to Pat Parsons, “Tipton County Election Commission claimed that they had reported the results incorrectly. Mike tried, but never got the (I don’t remember the technical term) ‘electronic cards’ held for evidence of tampering.”
According to Mike Parsons, “…evidence proving fraud in the tabulation of the vote of the 2006 General Election for Tipton County and other relevant fact [sic] were willfully removed from the record by the trial court. This intentional alteration of the record amounts [sic] a criminal act…”
Parsons then filed a lawsuit against Huffman, the Tipton County Election Commission, and James Sneed, the commission chairman, challenging the election results. A trial court dismissed the suit on November 21, 2006 on several grounds, and an appellate court upheld the lower court’s decision in February 2008.
In late September 2007, a man named Barry Laxton arrived unprovoked on the Parsonses’ farm and fired numerous shots, several of which killed one of their dogs. Parsons and his wife were reportedly placed in grave danger by Laxton’s actions. Laxton was not charged with a crime despite nearly killing Mrs. Parsons and murdering their dog, Brandi, for no apparent reason.
Parsons attempted a citizen’s arrest on Laxton on the spot but was instead ordered arrested by Judge William Peeler. A Tipton County grand jury later indicted Parsons on aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, and other charges. By way of reports from numerous Tennesseans, The Post and email has demonstrated that grand juries and trial juries in Tennessee are manipulated by criminal court judges.
Sheriffs’ departments, prosecutors, defense attorneys, court clerks and other government personnel work with the judges in a racketeering scheme designed to incarcerate as many citizens as possible in a prisoners-for-profit operation.
Parsons reported corruption within the grand jury and the trial jury which convicted him of the assault and theft charges. Consequently, he spent approximately 2 1/2 years in state prison. While placed under arrest again in February of last year, Parsons was asked by an unidentified government official, “Are you going to run for county executive again?”
In an email, Pat Parsons told us:
I just wanted to let you know that they moved Mike to the Turney Center Industrial Complex in Only, TN on Tuesday. He came in from his work day painting bleachers and they told him to pack up his things. After arriving at Only, they would not let him take a shower to remove paint and paint thinner. He when [sic[ to the clinic and they agreed that he had chemical burns from the paint thinner.
His Mom just called to tell me that they will be moving him to Henning today. He was not safe there before.
Mike has been told that a court date in Tipton County has prompted all this.
Mrs. Parsons said that she did not know if her husband knew about the court date before he was moved. “By doing this, they give him no chance to prepare for anything,” she told us.
On Saturday, Mrs. Parsons directed us to an article at The Covington Leader which listed her husband as one of 75 Tipton County citizens indicted by a grand jury this month. “Michael Wayne Parsons” is indicated as having been charged with two counts of “felony possession of a weapon.” Since Parsons has been incarcerated for more than a year, The Post & Email discerns that the charges arise from the February 11, 2014 arrest of Parsons at his farm when county officials claimed he was in possession of firearms registered to and belonging to his wife.
During his latest imprisonment, in his own defense, Parsons has pointed to several court cases which raise the issue of “possession” vs. “ownership.” In her affidavit, Mrs. Parsons cited a Tennessee law which states:
(3) For purposes of this section, a person does not possess a firearm, including, but not limited to, firearms registered under the National Firearms Act, compiled in 26 U.S.C. § 5801 et seq., if the firearm is in a safe or similar container that is securely locked and to which the respondent does not have the combination, keys or other means of normal access.
Mike Parsons cited the same law with commentary about how he believes it applied to his situation.
In a sworn affidavit, Mrs. Parsons stated that her firearms, kept for her own protection when her husband is away, were maintained in a locked safe outside of her home to which her husband did not possess a key or combination.
The Tennessee courts have used the grand jury and trial jury processes to brand numerous citizens convicted felons, resulting in the revocation of their ability to personally own firearms.
A local newspaper article featuring Parsons’ latest arrest describes the raid on his farm for allegedly mistreating animals made by a local PETA chapter and the firearms found on the property but does not report that the latter were registered to Mrs. Parsons.
The Parsonses were exonerated of all allegations of animal cruelty.
Monday’s hearing begins at 9:00 a.m. CDT, after which Parsons will likely be relocated back to TCIC, the prison in which he was previously housed located in Only, TN. Parsons is reportedly being kept in solitary confinement while at Henning.