On May 30, Struggle-La Lucha sat down with Baltimore Peoples Power Assembly activist, Miss Van Green. She has been fighting to free her husband, Duryea, who is currently serving an unjust prison sentence for a crime he did not commit. That interview is published below.
Lev Koufax: Can you tell us about your husband, Duryea Green?
Van Green: Duryea Green is my husband. He has been in prison here in Maryland since 2003. This has been quite the journey. Duryea was sentenced to 45 years in prison for two attempted murder charges. The sentence ended up being 20 years per attempted murder charge, and the other five came from some gun-related charges.
The evidence against my husband was essentially that he was a Black man who was around the O’Donnell Heights neighborhood when the shooting happened. The prosecutor and judge both made biased statements at the trial. I also had to deal with corrupt defense lawyers. I hired two different lawyers. Both took my money and did not meet their end of the bargain. One has been disbarred since.
LK: Could you talk about the experience you and your family went through when Duryea was arrested and put through trial?
VG: I remember the night of the shooting like it was yesterday. My husband and I were planning a night out with friends. As we were getting to leave, a police sergeant, James Lloyd, arrived at our home in East Baltimore and asked for a “Darrell Green.” That isn’t my husband’s name.
Sergeant Lloyd would return to our home multiple times with the incorrect name or information about my husband. The next time he came to our home, he asked for Derek Green. Again, not my husband’s name. Eventually, Lloyd and the cops returned with a warrant. The warrant still had an incorrect name.
The day they came with a warrant, it was early in the morning. Duryea was at work, and I was getting ready to take my sons to school. Sergeant Lloyd ordered myself and my two sons handcuffed. I insisted I needed to take my sons to school, and the police had no right to act like this. They agreed to take my sons to school, but only if they were handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser. This was a humiliating experience for my two young boys.
We returned to the house where James Lloyd handcuffed me and searched the house. James Lloyd refused to discuss the charges with me. Later that day, they placed me in the back of their cruiser to go arrest my husband. This was all against my will. When they arrested my husband in front of my eyes, they did it under the wrong name and without informing him of the charges.
LK: And Duryea has been in jail or prison since?
VG: Yes. This nightmare has gone on for 22 years. We are going to keep fighting to free Duryea and all prisoners. But it has been a long 22 years.
LK: Can you talk about James Lloyd a bit?
VG: He is a notoriously violent and corrupt police sergeant. He harassed my family and traumatized my sons forever. A few years ago, he was fired from his job after he kidnapped a contractor at gunpoint. Before that, he was involved with the corrupt Gun Trace Task Force. He was also assigned to investigate the death of Sean Suiter – the police officer who was shot and killed the evening before he was set to testify about the GTTF to the FBI. Many in the community believe that the Baltimore police murdered Suiter to silence him. It’s entirely possible Lloyd was involved. We informed the Baltimore police of his conduct during the investigation into my husband. They ignored us.
LK: Has Duryea been treated well in prison? If not, how so?
VG: Like most prisoners, Duryea has not been treated well in prison. My husband has several serious medical conditions, including autoimmune disorders and cancer. Duryea rarely gets the treatment he needs. He is only taken to an outside hospital when he faces a life-threatening complication. There is no preventive care at all for any of the prisoners across the state. It’s near impossible to consistently get the correct medication. The prison health care system is fundamentally broken. Prisons are just cages for the poor.
LK: When did you become involved with the Peoples Power Assembly about your husband’s case?
VG: I became a member of PPA in 2020. We have worked since then to free my husband and all prisoners. We demonstrate. We canvass. We have been on multiple different local radio stations. I have also organized letter campaigns supporting Duryea. We struggle any way we can to bring light to the prisoners’ struggle and to my husband’s case.
LK: What would you like to see happen with your husband’s case and all the prisoners of the racist U.S. prison system?
VG: Duryea needs to be freed now. We don’t care if it comes from Governor Moore or State’s Attorney Ivan Bates. Both have claimed to support addressing issues of racism in the justice system. Both have failed. My husband and many others, most of whom are Black, need to be unlocked from their cages and treated like people.
Myself and the PPA want to see an end to the racist U.S. police and prison system. We want people back in their communities with their families. We want people to have union jobs and health care – not prison sentences. We struggle to free my husband Duryea, but also to end the broader racist system.
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