James Dutschke and the Never Ending Ricin Saga

Well, it’s 2016 and what would a new year be with out more drama coming out of the 2013 James Everett Dutschke frame job of Paul Kevin Curtis?

Boring I tell you!

Let’s recap shall we…April of 2013 myself and Lady Liberty broke the story of the arrest of Mississippi Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis regarding ricin laced letters sent to President Obama, Senator Wicker of Mississippi, and other state officials. Ultimately, Curtis was released, and it came to light that James Everett Dutschke, (also an Elvis impersonator) had staged an elaborate frame job on Mr. Curtis. We also had Dutschke in our sights as well. Over the last two and half years there has been trials, convictions, lawsuits and even further frame attempts by Mr. Dutschke. If you are unfamiliar with this case, just click here to review the history.

Now on to the new developments in this very strange saga.

In 2014 James Everett Dutschke plead guilty to the manufacturing and mailing of Ricin incurring a 300 month sentence to the super-max prison in Florence, Colorado. According to Mississippi’s Djournal he is asking once again asking for his conviction be overturned, stating his innocence. Previous attempts and appeals have been dismissed.

Dutschke, a former Tupelo martial arts instructor and political candidate, asks the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn dismissal of earlier conviction appeals in the Northern District of Mississippi. Most lately he appeals U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock’s decision to deny him a public-paid attorney to make the appeals.

The article went on to say

In a five-page, hand-written document filed Monday, Dutschke insists his request was not “frivolous” because he is “without any legal counsel or guidance” to properly proceed in the courts.

Paul Kevin Curtis, the individual wrong accused for the initial crime, is filing his second lawsuit against the Federal Government and other entities. He has filed suit against Mr. Dutschke as well. As you can imagine his life has changed dramatically since 2013, and he is still seeking damages against the Federal Authorities specifically against FBI, US Attorney’s office, the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security regarding violations of his civil rights. The first lawsuit filed in 2015 was dismissed due to inability to serve defendants the filing. The new lawsuit has the following information according to the DJournal

Curtis is suing the U.S. Government, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and former U.S. Prosecutor John Marshall Alexander, who was criminal chief for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oxford when Curtis was accused of the crime. There may be other defendants as the case progresses, his attorneys say in a legal document filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Northern Mississippi.

So the new year begins and the drama continues. We will update as more information comes out on this never-ending saga.

For further reading on this case see the following links