Nebraskans for Justice and the Poindexter/weLanga Case Two of Nebraska's best-known prisoners, Ed has been liberally filched from her performance piece. Poindexter and Mondo Wopashitwe Eyen we Langa Now that I can explain it to others, I have yet to do (formerly David Rice), have been incarcerated for almost so without hearing the same comment — time after time. thirty years forthe bombing death of an Omaha policeman. "Catch 22," people say. "It's Catch 22." This is Both have insisted they never manufactured a bomb, and the 20th century replacement for Dickens' "The law is a never instructed a 16-year-old to make a 911 call to lure ass;" either will do. police to a trap which would kill one policeman and badly So, there sit Mondo and Ed, in the land of the injure another. So much evidence has come to light since free, which constantly points the finger at China, Cuba, their convictions to corroborates their story that Amnesty Iran, etc. What now must we do? International and the Lincoln NAACP have called for their Such injustice hasn't gone completely unnoticed. release, or for a new trial. Almost from the day of their convictions, there have been It is also well to keep in mind that U.S. District people who passionately believed in Ed's and Mondo's Court Judge Warren Urbom overturned Mondo's conviction innocence, supported them, and formed one group or in 1973, finding the prosecution's assertion of probable another to see what could be done to secure their release. cause for searching his house was "not credible." The Yet every effort has led to disappointment, and Ed and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, and in 1974 ordered Mondo remain behind bars. that Mondo either be retried without the illegally obtained Recent developments give some cause to hope. evidence, or released in 90 days. Nebraskans for Justice (NFJ) is a newly formed non-profit When the state appealed, it is important to organization — a merger of Omaha, Lincoln and Scottsbluff understand that the U.S. Supreme Court.did not people who have been working together for the past five overturn the ruling of the lower courts; it ignored them. years or so to GET THEM OUT. Many of these people Without warning, the court reversed their own precedent were veterans, involved since the beginning. Others had of years' standing, and decided that hereafter they would worked with Ed or Mondo in other capacities. Still others not hear Fourth Amendment claims like Mondo's until - a new generation, to whom all this is ancient history - application was first made to the State Supreme Court for are newly committed. a writ of certiorari. NFJ has formed four committees: Grassroots, Mondo complied. He went to the State Supreme chaired by Sr. Gabriel Herbers, is training volunteers to Court to ask forthe required writ. He was told that his time conduct teach-ins and talks to educate the public and recruit had run out to file the writ. This is the reason it is so new people. Grassroots will continue to work with the difficult now to get the case back in court — he didn't file Lincoln Justice Committee, which has been in the forefront the right piece of paper at the right time, because no one of the grassroots effort in Lincoln. was required to do so until after the Supreme Court ruled The Public Information Committee, co-chaired on his case. But because he did not do so, he has no by Andrew Ascherl and Gloria Bartek, will still edit NFJ's standing in the state courts. And he can't ask fo relief quarterly newsletter, Buffalo Chip. Andrew Ascherl issues from the federal courts, because they have ruled that he press releases, conducts press conferences, and maintains must first go to the state courts for a writ. But he cant... contacts with other human rights groups around the country well, you get the picture. (this committee needs more people with expertise in these The case rests there, not because Mondo's areas). defense attorneys failed him, or because Mondo failed to NFJ has funded these efforts through donations pursue his habeas corpus rights, but because the courts made by readers of Buffalo Chip (some of you have been failed Mondo. The country failed him. especially generous, with gifts of $250 or more). But the I believed in our justice system, so it took years newly formed Legal Defense Committee is going to for me to understand in exactly what way Mondo got require considerably more resources than NFJ has spent screwed by that system. It was performance artist Kietryn in the past, so a fund drive will soon be under way. Zychal, who is obsessed with the case and knows more Legal Defense was formed last summer, when about it than almost anybody, who clarified it in a its chair, board member Mary Dickinson, began working in performance piece I saw her do under the apple tree in my cooperation with Mondo's attorney in New York, Lennox back yard a couple of summers ago. The above explanation (cont. on p. 8) IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME; or, New Prison Facilities in Nebraska and Iowa fay Gloria Bartek The media drowns us in details. One minute a justice system are female, compared with 12.8% for movie review, the next a semen-stained dress, then the surrounding states, and 10 to 15% nationally. Because of Jerry Springer Show (he's the man who proves Linda Hunt's low staffing, Nebraska spends $83 per day per juvenile aphorism, "We live in a time when the needs of the vulgar inmate, compared to $128 daily for surrounding states. are being met"). *Jon Morrison, an owner/investor of Young In this sea, this plethora, this tidal wave of drama Management, announced the purchase of a facility in and dreck, it's hard to pick out what's important, and to Geneva, NE, as a privately run home for juvenile figure out what's really happening. delinquents undergoing rehab. Morrison commented that But editing a newsletter about human rights tends many juveniles are now being exported out of state for to focus the mind, so that each item about crime or prisons treatment, which has a negative economic impact on or courts or race on CNN or MSNBC or in the Omaha Nebraska. "We're actually exporting wealth," he said (As World-Herald or The Nation stands out, and a frightening human rights activist Bonnie Kerness has said again and picture takes shape, of a country that mouths human rights again, poor people are nothing but bad employment platitudes while incarcerating more people for non-violent statistics when they're on the street. Incarcerate them, and crimes than any other country has ever done at any time they're gold mines for private prisons, phone companies, in history. Where is the country that produced Eleanor food vendors, and all the other support systems that have Roosevelt, the country that persuaded the governments created such incentives for milking the cash cow). of the world to enact the Universal Declaration of Human *The new Pottawattamie County, IA jail has Rights? That country has lost its way. increased capacity from 43 beds to 288. The jail had a Reading the statistics on capital expenditures for gala fundraiser last summer, before it opened: thrill-seekers prisons and educational facilities is an education in itself. could spend a night in the jail for a modest fee —just like That the former rises while the latter ebbs is a clear a motel. demonstration of the current priorities and attitudes about *Cass County, NE plans a new, 96-bed jail, and a just society. But ask yourself: are we a people so much preservationists are losing the battle to save the old worse than those in other countries that it's necessary to building/which was part of a complex named to the National put more and more of us in jail for longer and longer Register of Historic Places in 1995. The World-Herald sentences? And, even if (God help you) your answer is reporter seemed totally unconcious of irony when he wrote: "yes," then ask yourself: might there be a more "Progress appears to have won out over preservation." constructive, more healing way of addressing the problem? *Hawkins Construction Co. of Omaha submitted Here are some bits and pieces about prison issues the low bid to build the state's prison in Tecumseh, NE. in Nebraska and Iowa, picked up over the past few months The bid was for $61 million and the total price tag will be in the local papers and on StatePaper.com (a great website $74 million. if you're as desperate as Omahans are for a decent, *The Douglas County Board will expand the objective look at the news). county jail, with a $40 million bond issue approved by voters *Chinn Planning, a consulting firm hired by the in November. state to make recommendations on Nebraska's juvenile *State Sen. Curt Bromm of Wahoo may introduce and women's prisons, has recommended a $1.6 million a bill which would allow counties to charge inmates for the per year increase for staff, to provide adequate treatment, use of their jails. It costs Nebraska an estimated $88 million training and education programs. The consulting firm also a year to house prisoners in county jails. recommended expenditures of about $47 million over the *Gov. Johanns is asking Senators in the current next ten years to replace aging buildings and expand session to appropriate funds for two new facilities for boys: facilities.