Freedom for the Reels Brothers!: December 2014

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Christmas Card Campaign kicks off!

Please send a SUPPORTIVE Christmas card THIS WEEK to the Reels brothers who have not been outside in almost four years. Please show your support for two brothers who have been jailed on a trespassing charge and are fighting for land which has been in their family for nearly 100 years.

Melvin Davis and LiCurtis Reels

Carteret County Jail

P.O. Box 239

Beaufort, NORTH CAROLINA 28516

Peaceful March in Beaufort, NC: Request Release of the Reels Brothers!

http://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_1e692bac-8896-11e4-974e-33f61012ffa2.html

Sunday, December 14, 2014

March for the Reels Brothers!

Saturday, December 20, 2014 at 12:00 noon
Beaufort Court House, 318 Craven Street
Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
(Date Correction)

Let's come together to release Melvin Davis and LiCurtis Reels who have been imprisoned for nearly 4 years on a Contempt of Court charge. They have not been outside during their incarceration. They are being held in a jail which is designed for short-term confinement, and we are not sure if they are receiving proper medical treatment. This property dispute is complicated, their well-being is not. We ask that they be released with ankle monitors! Please join us!

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Marching for Freedom! Join us!

http://www.carolinacoastonline.com/news_times/article_251b9e30-7b03-11e4-bef5-efb9aea14f3a.html

Brothers make stand for Family Home

Imagine being in jail for since March 17, 2011 with little prospect of release. Your crime? Refusing to vacate land which you believe has been in your family for 60 years. Melvin Davis and LiCurtis Reels are convinced a development firm illegally seized their land by misusing the Torrens Act. They are being held for contempt of court and are incarcerated in Beaufort, NC.

The Reels Family believe their land was taken from them through the misuse of the Torrens Act. Gertrude Reels' grandfather Elijah Reels bought the land in 1911, but lost it to back taxes in 1944. So, his son, Mitchell Reels, bought the land from the county [in 1944].

When Mitchell Reels died in 1970, leaving no will, his heirs, including daughter Gertrude, believed the land was theirs. Two of Gertrude's sons, Melvin Davis and Licurtis Reels, built houses on the land.

Then, Mitchell Reels' brother, Shedrick Reels from New Jersey, came in to the picture. He presented a deed to the land saying his dad, Elijah Reels, wanted him to have it. The deed was dated 1950 – six years after Eljah lost the land and Mitchell purchased it.

In 1978, the Reels family hired a local attorney to represent them against the claim by Shedrick. They won the case. The court ruled that 1944 deed was the legitimate claim.

In 1979, a Torrens Act certificate was obtained from Shedrick, who had no legal claim to the land. The certificate stated that the Reels have no objection to giving the a parcel of land to the developers.

The Torrens Act is used when land is in dispute. During such an action, all the heirs to the land should be notified, and a new claim is registered to the new owner. None of the Reels family in Merrimon were notified. Eventually, this parcel was purchased by the Adam Creek Associates.

Melvin Davis and Licurtis Reels were incarcerated when they refused to destroy their homes and leave the land after the courts ruled that Adams Creek Associates legally owns it. The family has continued to fight this ruling.