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October 2, 2025 at 3:14 am #10822
Kris Marker
KeymasterRobert Blankenship’s case is a textbook example of wrongful indictment, the result of fraudulent legal maneuvers and ignored procedural rights.
I am in prison on four charges I was never charged with—a clear case of wrongful indictment. I was arrested and held without bond on two felony and two misdemeanor warrants, from July to December 2012 without due process. This is because the witness, in defiance of multiple subpoenas, refused to appear. The court caused intentional unnecessary delay by refusing to allow a hearing or missing a bench warrant—another example of wrongful indictment procedure.
Fraud in the Preliminary Hearing Led to Wrongful Indictment
In December, I was told by my attorney that if I waived preliminary on one charge, the Commonwealth would nolle prosequi the other felony and misdemeanors. This was done on agreement in JDR Court on December 18, 2012. It was fraud to avoid finding probable cause by denial of preliminary hearing, as I was immediately indicted on all four charges in Circuit Court—all part of a wrongful indictment scheme.
Virginia case law and statute, as well as most states and federal law, make it very clear that once a charge has been nolle prosequi, it’s as if it never existed, or was never charged. Any person under arrest on a charge of felony has a right to a preliminary hearing; a prosecutor can’t seek or bring back an indictment before preliminary is held or waived.
If a charge is nolle prosequi, it affords that person the same statutory rights as a person who was never charged to begin with. The only way a prosecutor can then seek an indictment is to bring a new charge. If all of a person’s charges are nolle prosequi, and the person is at liberty, then a prosecutor may seek a direct indictment with a required capias.
Procedural Abuse That Created My Wrongful Indictment
In my case, three charges were nolle prosequi. I was under arrest on one felony warrant, but I was indicted on all four warrants without the charges being recharged—a textbook wrongful indictment. This was the Commonwealth employing a procedure it could not lawfully adopt, which is solid grounds to vacate a judgement as void ab initio.
In 2025, while pursuing other legal documents, I found proof buried in a JDR Court file that, only two days after the waiver of preliminary on the felony warrant, my lawyer falsified a legal, Court Clerk-stamped invoice to fraudulently depict that the one felony warrant was also nolle prosequi when, in fact, it was not.
This was done to enable the Commonwealth to fraudulently proceed as if it was a direct indictment; but without the capias, as with an active felony warrant on file, the capias would expose the fraud—another layer of wrongful indictment.
Attorney Participation in Fraud
On December 18, 2012, I signed to waive preliminary on one felony warrant; yet my lawyer was reappointed January 11, 2013—eight days after my indictment on three charges I was never charged with.
Virginia Supreme Court Rule (1.16(c)(d)) makes plain that a lawyer can’t cease representation without following procedural code. The only action that would have necessitated reappointment would have been if all charges were nolle prosequi. As I still had an active felony warrant, the unnecessary reappointment was only done to perpetuate the pretense of a direct indictment. This proves the fraud on the invoice was intentional—and that my attorney knowingly participated in the wrongful indictment.
Extrinsic fraud is well-defined through case law, with examples including a lawyer pretending to represent a client and conniving at the client’s defeat. This too is solid grounds to vacate a judgement as void ab initio in a wrongful indictment context.
The main point is: Get your court file. If improper procedure or extrinsic fraud is discovered, these can be impeached in any court at any time. There are no time limitations.
My Ongoing Legal Battle
As I write this, an independent action pursuant to Virginia Code (8.01-428(C) – (D)) is filed in the Tazewell Circuit Court in Tazewell, Virginia. Any incarcerated person may request of the courts the warrants, affidavit of probable cause, criminal complaints, and indictments. If there are no affidavits of probable cause, the warrant is void. Warrants not stamped by procedure are void. There are hundreds of points that can be filed back in the court without the threat of being time barred.
Due to the extent of the discovered fraud, I am contacting every group possible. I would like to build a law that every incarcerated person must be given copies of the court and case files to stop fraud and prevent wrongful indictment.
I hope (pray) I get out of prison. In the meantime, check out my book, Actual Innocence: A True Story of American Injustice. I am a member of PEN America for my essay What If…breathe.
Enjoy this story? Check out Uncivil Commitment: How the DOC Can Keep You Past Your Sentence
The post My Fight Against Wrongful Indictment first appeared on Prison Writers.
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