In Memory of Derrick
Derrick Sparks was a 25 year old man, who was brutally murdered on April 20, 2007. All of the prosecutor’s comments portrayed Tyrone Johnson as a victim that day, but his own actions brought about this situation…so much misery to those who cared about all of these men. There were so many victims on that day, all brought on by the violence of one man. Derrick was a generous and kind-hearted man who would have given you the shirt off his back. He was engaged and wanted nothing more to put this incarceration behind him, and get home to his fiancee and baby daughter. Now a young single mother must make her way, and this precious 4 year old girl will never know her father..why? How do you explain this to her? Derrick did NOTHING to bring this on..he didn’t even have a chance to defend himself. His murder was well planned unfortunately. Amber, Derrick’s fiancee has always supported Eddie in his fight for freedom. She believes with all of her heart that he did what was necessary to defend himself.
Derrick always supported Amber in her life and she has been unable to fill the void since his death. She works full time, goes to school and is trying to raise her daughter to the best of her abilities. Their entire dream, their whole world was shattered in a matter of minutes. So please know that any funds not used for Eddie’s defense will go towards Amber and Derrick’s daughter, to give her a college education. We can’t ever replace her father, but we are committed to helping them in any way we can.
Please take a minute to look at the victims of this day that were ignored at the trial. Eddie feels very strongly about watching over Amber, just as Derrick wanted him to. He will work hard upon his release to take care of Derrick’s daughter. He is adamant that all proceeds go to legal funds, and then to Neveah…he would not never profit from his best friend’s death. Nobody paid for Derrick’s funeral, and Eddie was forced to pay for Tyrone’s…so take a look at what the prosecution didn’t want you to see…because then you see the monster Tyrone really was and the lives he impacted forever..innocent people that he didn’t know and didn’t know him.
These pictures were used with the consent of Amber C, Derrick’s fiancee…below is a letter from Amber:
Hello. My name is Amber, and this is my daughter Nevaeh. My fiancé and the father of my baby were killed on April 20, 2007, by Tyrone Johnson. They were both inmates at the US prison at Pollock, La.
Derrick was a great great guy, full of love, he had a great heart and always did what he could for others. No matter how much he struggled he wanted everyone else to have the world. Everyone who met Derrick would tell you the same thing. I thing I remember so well…is that he always supported me in every aspect of my life, even if it was something he didn’t like. Derrick was my best friend and the love of my life! He was looking forward to a life with me and his new daughter, who he never got to meet. But now that can’t happen. Why? Because a man he didn’t even know killed him.
I support Eddie Branch in this and ask that you do too. I know that Tyrone attacked him too, but that he was able to stop him in self-defense. Tyrone attacked Derrick by surprise, and slit his throat before he had a chance to defend himself.
Eddie should never have been convicted of manslaughter. It’s clear to me that Eddie was only defending himself, just as you or I would have done if we had had the chance.
The truth is The Bureau of Prisons is largely responsible for this whole incident. Tyrone had a record of 14 assaults against other inmates and against BOP guards. They had him in a maximum security prison at Marion, Illinois, but put him in general population in Pollock when that Marion unit closed. I could not find an attorney to take my case.
Eddie needs a defense fund for his appeal and hopefully his new trial. Please donate what you can for him. He needs to be released. There is no doubt about it, Eddie was wrongly convicted. The Court ordered Eddie to pay for Tyrone Johnson’s funeral. He had life insurance but that is going for his daughter’s college education. But no one is required to pay for Derrick’s funeral or to help his daughter’s education. We are getting by, but it’s not easy without Derrick, who would be out now if he were still alive. I miss him terribly, and now all I can do is tell my daughter about him. She will grow up without a devoted dad.
Eddie has agreed that all money collected that is not used for his Appeal and re-trial (if there is one) will go to support my daughter, something Derrick can no longer do. I do appreciate our friendship and everything Eddie is trying to do to help us.
Thank you for listening to my story. Now please check out the rest of this website.
Amber C-
Eddie’s Letter about Derrick Sparks:
I would first like to send my love and respect to Amber C. and her little girl. This is to tell you all how a good friend of mind was killed only because he was white..that was his crime! This part of the story was hidden from people by the Government since it was not in their political interests to tell how whites were victims of hate crimes in prison. The sad fact in today’s political climate is that attackers are allowed to be turned into victims. The story of my friend Derrick is a story of a good hearted guy who was the type who got along with everyone. He was not some mean spirited type or the type to start trouble…his whole goal was to get back to his family. He talked about them all the time. I would sometimes walk into the cell and find him staring at his family photos and I could see the pain in his eyes. This young man was no gang member and all he did was try to make it until the next day in a racially unbalanced prison where people are forced to live under duress by the BOP policies. We all knew that there had been many racial attacks at USP Pollock on whites so we tried to stay together out of safety reasons.
I can remember when I got to USP Pollock, Derrick (and a few other white inmates) came up to me in Chow Hall and offered me stuff to help me get the basic things needed to live. We do this for all new guys when they show up since you don’t have anything. The whites gave me a helping hand in my time of need just like the other races do for their new guys. I then heard Derrick’s cellie was going home and he moved into my cell so that we would keep the cell secure with someone who would have your back if something went wrong. I would talk to him for hours and hours while we were locked in our cell. I heard the story of his bad choices, his sadness of missing Amber, and how he wished he could make positive changes in his life to raise his family properly. I also the fear of of the madness of how USP Pollock was where we were…so outnumbered. The fear was not that he was scared to fight, it was the fear of not knowing if we would ever get out since you never knew what could happen on a daily basis. That understanding changes you and to live under duress each day causes you to live a life of never knowing what could happen. Then to see in the end you were right to think this way and my friend only died because he was white tears my heart up. When you read the government side, they seem to never want to say why this happened, since it would hinder their political goals. The story of Derrick was turned into a story of how an attacker was a victim by the government’s political goals. The story of Derrick was twisted to hide the truth. I am close friends with Amber C and we have a strong bond since she knows the truth the Government never wanted to tell! In their story, Derrick is cast aside as trash. The Government makes sure I pay for the attacker’s funeral bills ($5000) but no one cared about Derrick’s family. I had to contact Amber C and my family mailed her legal papers on this case so she knew what really happened to her best friend Derrick. No one from the Government had the respect to tell her the truth. I found out why they never told her because if she had known the details, she could have filed a suit for Derrick’s wrongful death. There was a 2 year time limit on this, so the Government did not go out of their way to provide her with information. Just another trick used to hide, twist, manipulate for their own political interests. I sometimes wake up and think about Derrick and it boils my blood that his story was never told, and it hurts my heart to see Amber in so much pain. I see how one man’s actions caused so much grief to so many. The worst slap in the face is how the Government portrayed the attacker as a victim. I would never trust in anything the Government says after watching the story of my life unfold. I want to say thank you to all who take the time to read our story. We truly need your support to fight for justice for everyone involved…and try to give Derrick’s daughter a better life.
