Greetings, I Urge the Bureau of Prisons to File the Appropriate
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To: Charles E. Samuels, Jr. and Warden Letter: Greetings, I urge the Bureau of Prisons to file the appropriate motion for Compassionate Release for Lynne Stewart #53504-054. Lynne Stewart has devoted her life to the oppressed – a constant advocate for the countless many deprived in the United States of their freedom and their rights. Unjustly charged and convicted for the “crime” of providing her client with a fearless defense, the prosecution of Lynne Stewart is an assault upon the basic freedoms of us all. After years of post-conviction freedom, her bail was revoked arbitrarily and her imprisonment ordered, precluding surgery she had scheduled in a major New York hospital. The sinister meaning of the relentless persecution of Lynne Stewart is unmistakably clear. Given her age and precarious health, the ten-year sentence she is serving is a virtual death sentence. Since her imprisonment in the Federal Prison in Carswell, Texas her urgent need for surgery was delayed 18 months – so long, that the operating physician pronounced the condition as “the worst he had seen.” Now, breast cancer, which had been in remission prior to her imprisonment, has reached Stage Four. It has appeared in her lymph nodes, on her shoulder, in her bones and her lungs. Her daughter, a physician, has sounded the alarm: “Under the best of circumstances, Lynne would be in a battle of the most serious consequences with dangerous odds. With cancer and cancer treatment, the complications can be as debilitating and as dangerous as the cancer itself.” In her current setting, where trips to physicians involve attempting to walk with 10 pounds of shackles on her wrists and ankles, with connecting chains, Lynne Stewart has lacked ready access to physicians and specialists under conditions compatible with medical success. It can take weeks to see a medical provider in prison conditions. It can take weeks to report physical changes and learn the results of treatment; and when held in the hospital, Lynne has been shackled wrist and ankle to the bed. This medieval “shackling” has little to do with any appropriate prison control. She is obviously not an escape risk. I join with others to demand abolition of this practice for all prisoners, let alone those facing surgery and the urgent necessity of care and recovery. It amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of human rights. There is immediate remedy available for Lynne Stewart. Under the 1984 Sentencing Act, after a prisoner request, the Bureau of Prisons can file a motion with the Court to reduce sentences “for extraordinary and compelling reasons.” Life threatening illness is foremost among these and Lynne Stewart meets every rational and humane criterion for compassionate release. To misconstrue the gravamen of this compassionate release by conditioning such upon being at death’s door – released, if at all, solely to die – is a cruel mockery converting a prison sentence, wholly undeserved, into a death sentence. The New York Times, in an editorial (2/12), has excoriated the Bureau of Prisons for their restrictive crippling of this program. In a 20-year period, the Bureau released a scant 492 persons – an average of 24 a year out of a population that exceeds 220,000. I join with others to cry out against the bureaucratic murder of Lynne Stewart. I join with others to demand Lynne Stewart’s immediate release to receive urgent medical care in a supportive environment indispensable to the prospect of her survival and call upon the Bureau of Prisons to act immediately. If Lynne’s original sentence of 28 months had not been unreasonably, punitively increased to 10 years, she would be home now — where her medical care would be by her choice and where those who love her best would care for her. Her isolation from this loving care would end. Prevent this cruelty to Lynne Stewart whose lifelong commitment to justice is now a struggle for her life. I urge you to take action and call upon the Bureau of Prisons to act immediately for Lynne Stewart’s Compassionate Release. Comments Name Location Date Comment mehdi najari Victoria, British 2013-03-11 If American people wants to remain free and value their democracy then they Columbia, Canada have to stop their government to act like a fascist state and unjustly prosecute a principled lawyer like Lynne Stewart. She is suffering from cancer and what American government is doing to her is very cruel. Omau Bey Ali ny, NY 2013-03-11 Lynn Stewart has been a Fighter for Human Rights and Justice all of her Legal Professional Life. Her unfair and unjust imprisonment is a result of her being successful in her Dedication to this effort, She must be released from prison for her declining health!! s a NY, NY 2013-03-11 Lynne Stewart received a sentence that was time limited, but without compassionate release her sentence becomes a death sentence. Tony Greenstein Brighton, United 2013-03-11 It is an outrage to convict someone's lawyer for defending a client. That is what Kingdom the 'free' society of the United States is in practice. Jeanie Shaterian Berkeley, CA 2013-03-11 This is a matter of simple decency. Given Lynne Stewart's medical condition, imposition of a ten-year sentence amounted to sentencing her to death. A lawyer sentence to death for conscientiously representing a client---what a sad emblem of American justice! Donald Goddard New York, NY 2013-03-11 Might might be wrong? Juanita thomas New York, NY 2013-03-11 Humanitarian Reasons!!!!!!!!!!! Bonnie Weinstein San Francisco, CA 2013-03-11 Lynne is innocent of any crime. She was only doing her best to defend her client. This is not justice, her incarceration is a crime! Roger McClanahan Staten Island, N.YC, NY 2013-03-11 She has been a spokesperson for many who no one else would defend. I feel she has been sentenced unjustly. tom cunningham Ks, KS 2013-03-11 She is a political prisoner, not a criminal! Les Levidow London, AK 2013-03-11 Defenders of civil liberties should be celebrated and honoured, not punished. sheila hamanaka New York, NY 2013-03-11 Lynne Stewart has dedicated her life to helping others. Common decency demands compassionate release of one of the world's leading defenders of civil liberties. Sanda Everette San Mateo, CA 2013-03-11 Her treatment is criminal....I feel great sadness for her unjust incarceration. Has our country sunk this low? Russell Dale New York, NY 2013-03-11 Free Lynne Stewart and ALL political prisoners! Julia Livingston Bloomington, IN 2013-03-11 It's a matter of respect. Bill Koehnlein New York, NY 2013-03-11 In the interests of justice this great fighter for positive social change and a fair and caring society *must* be giveen her freedom immediately. Maggie Phair Van Nuys, CA 2013-03-11 I am a citizen. Not in my name should anyone be punished for being sick or defending another human being. Mary Adams Rochester, NY 2013-03-11 In the interest of justice release Lynne Stewart now. Stephen Lendman Chicago, IL 2013-03-11 Freeing Lynne reflects much more than about her. It's about democratic values, rule of law principles and justice denied so many in America. Lynne deserves praise, not prison. Free her now. Name Location Date Comment Chris Brandt New York, NY 2013-03-11 Our government, in several recent cases, has been pursuing excessive and vindictive sentences for "crimes" that are not really crimes at all. As gl;ad as I am that Bush and Cheney are gone, Obama's "Justice" Dept. has been downright mean, especially in the cases of Stewart and Manning. It is time for this to stop - we are on a slippery slope toward just the kind of tyranny our Founders struggled to free us from. Carole Seligman S.F., CA 2013-03-11 Lynne has done nothing wrong. Nothing deserving punishment. Jailing the lawyers means that our rights to legal representation are gone. Free her now. Carol Thompson Chateaugay, NY 2013-03-11 The original case against Lynne in the 1990s was dismissed. Her subsequent prosecution was nothing more than the Bush administration's frantic search for scapegoats following 9/11, which, to its shame, the Obama administration continued. This entire case is a travesty and an indelible black mark on the U.S. "justice" system. Andrea Bauer Seattle, WA 2013-03-11 Lynne Stewart has done nothing except to uphold the principles of the legal system as they exist ideally and exercise her right to free speech. Let her get the care she needs -- release her! Eileen Joy Cincinnati, OH 2013-03-11 A shameful black mark on our justice system and the complete lack of compassion and disregard for civil liberties is stunning. Vicki Legion San Francisco, CA 2013-03-11 I have heard Lynne Stewart speak, and think she is a courageous and principled human rights advocate who should not have been imprisoned in the first instance. This travesty of justice must be ended. Larry Pinkney Mullica Hill, NJ 2013-03-11 Lynne Stewart is the people's lawyer and her dedication, in both word and deed, to the needs of everyday struggling people represents the very best of the human condition. Notwithstanding her unjust imprisonment, at bare minimum, it is time (indeed past time) for her to be released on compassionate / medical grounds so that she can seriously and adequately address the life- threatening cancer that she is enduring. No sane, just, decent, or humane authority could, in good conscience, keep her imprisoned! Larry Pinkney Black Activist Writers Guild Tom Siracuse New York, NY 2013-03-11 I believe that the government's imprisonment and treatment of Lynne Stewart is unconstitutional amounting to illegal interference in client-lawyer privilege as well as cruel and unusual treatment of Lynne herself.