Mitchell Wilborn is a beloved father to children aged 21 and 10, step-children aged 21 and 19, and grandbabies aged 2 and 1. He is serving a 20-year sentence following a conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Mitchell's conviction stems from two confidential informants, so-called "best friends" who, in return for leniency, both wore a wire and told lies to convict him of an alleged conspiracy spanning more than 10 years.

To make matters worse, Mitchell hired a lawyer who charged his family $20,000 to defend him in his post-conviction efforts. That lawyer essentially promised Mitchell that, due to improprieties of his conviction, he would be home in no more than 18 months. That was all a sham. The claims that that lawyer pressed in the United States District Court were precluded by circuit precedent (having been previously decided negatively to another defendant) and/or had been waived in the plea agreement. This means that there was absolutely no chance that they could win in court. See Wilborn v. United States, Nos. 4:13-cv-8050-VEH; 4:11-cr-0470-VEH-HGD, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93530 (N.D. Ala. July 10, 2014). Many of these documents can be made available for anyone interested in reviewing them.

Mitchell, while not a model of perfection, is a kindhearted, generous, magnanimous person who would give you the shirt off his back. He was made an example of in his prosecution even though he had only a minor criminal history with prior convictions for simple drug possession which, under federal law, qualify as "prior drug felonies." These enhanced his sentence considerably.

His initial lawyer promised him that, by taking a plea, he was facing no more than time-served. This was a blatant lie that could not be accomplished due to his prior drug convictions.

The post-conviction lawyer, who essentially stole his $20,000, never even contacted the initial lawyer, never obtained any discovery materials--outside of what little Mitchell possessed--and never did any investigation into his claims. All this while pressuring Mitchell and his family to sell personal property to pay his fee; otherwise, he claimed Mitchell would "rot" in jail.

Mitchell has filed legal malpractice claims against both lawyers in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Those suits remain pending. However, Alabama law, under the Alabama Legal Services Liability Act, requires Mitchell to come forward with an "expert witness" who opines that his lawyers breached the Alabama legal standards of care. See San Francisco Residence Club, Inc. v. Baswell-Guthrie, 897 F.Supp.2d 1122, 1194-95 (N.D. Ala. 2012)(citing McDowell v. Burford, 646 So.2d 1327, 1328 (Ala. 1994)); Wachovia Bank, N.A., v. Jones, Morrison & Womack, P.C., 42 So.3d 667, 679 (Ala. 2009); Tonsmeire v. AmSouth Bank, 659 So.2d 601, 605 (Ala. 1995).

We have sought out the expert assistance of Dennis W. Hartley of Colorado Springs, Colorado; Mark I. Harrison of Phoenix, Arizona; and Scott Harwell of Mobile, Alabama. Mr. Harrison has enlisted the aid of his partner, Larry Hammond, who founded the Justice Project of Arizona, to help us locate other potential experts, as needed. However, expert witnesses are not cheap. They charge between $200/hour and $600/hour. Messrs. Hartley and Harrison have agreed to lower their fees in this instance, but, still anticipate upwards of $20,000 to get these cases to trial.

Please sign our petition and help to support the legal fund if you care about justice in America and eliminating corrupt and sham lawyers.

A STATEMENT FROM MITCHELL:

I hope to convince you to take a minute to look into my case, and that you will sign & circulate this petition to support me, a fellow who has been torn away from his family & friends and missed out on the birth of his two grandsons. I have a ninth grade education and these lawyers preyed on my lack of education in convincing me first to plead guilty and then to hire them to get me out of prison.

As a primary care parent, I raised my son to be better than what I have been. I had been clean and sober for a number of years when my friend was hit by a truck and died in my arms at the scene--just yards from my driveway; which led me to relapse. Despite my shortcomings, my family has been very supportive of me. My son's second child will be born in January and I hope to be part of it.

I realize that I have made poor decisions in my life, but that fact alone does not justify what these lawyers have done to me and my family.

Because of my lack of education, my friend, roommate, and fellow inmate, who wishes to remain anonymous, has benevolently assisted me at every turn. He is the driving force behind this campaign. He truly cares about me and my plight--a rare and extraordinary find in a place like this. He recruited Dennis Hartley, who was his lawyer and has agreed to assist me based on my friend's assurances of my worthiness, to be the expert witness in both cases.

While I hope that you do not have to ever deal with the legal system, particularly the federal system, people should be aware of the sham lawyers that are out there who simply promise you the world--knowing full well that they cannot deliver it.

I want people to understand that I do not view our justice system, the Judge, U.S. Attorney, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, or officers in this case as enemies. I know they are simply doing their job. I hold no contempt for them. As a man and a citizen, I truly want to be a benefit to this cause of eradicating shyster lawyers. I want to help develop solutions. I believe that everyone would benefit from further truthful education and tolerance when it comes to the judicial system. If they knew the truth and the facts, I do not believe they would put us in prison for such lengthy sentences.