Lynne Stewart Needs Our Help by Jaan Laaman
My family and friends,
I have VERY serious and important information to share with you, and literally, a life saving request — task to ask of each of you.
My friend, our friend and sister, Lynne Stewart, is dying in a federal prison in Texas. I believe all of you are generally aware that Lynne was convicted under the infamous ‘Patriot Act’, for too vigorously defending her (Court appointed) client, Sheik Omar Rahman. She initially was given a 28 month sentence. The government appealed and her sentence was increased to 10 years. Just before Lynne went to prison, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. While still on bail, she successfully fought the cancer. But now, in the 4th year of her sentence, her cancer has come back and has spread to her lungs and back. She presently has ‘stage 4’ breast cancer.
Lynne is a wonderful person, a 73 year old woman, mother, grandmother, a fierce former Human Rights and criminal lawyer.
Under federal law, the 1984 Sentencing Act, courts can reduce sentences for “extraordinary and compelling” reasons such as terminal illness.
Lynne Stewart must be released from prison so she can get back to good quality, non-prison, healthcare in NY City, where she fought back her initial breast cancer. And back to the support, care and love of her family so she at least has a chance to fight her illness.
Federal law allows for this, but the Bureau of Prisons, and its’ boss the Justice Department, and the President, Barak Obama, must hear the voice of the people, asking and demanding that Lynne Stewart be released. Our voices in the thousands and tens of thousands must and can reach all the way up to the White House.
The task is really simple: PLEASE NOW go to: www.lynnestewart.org and sign the petition asking that she be given medical and compassionate release. THEN PLEASE, pass this information and message on, along with your own thought and note, to EVERYONE on your email/contact lists. Ask each and everyone of your people to also sign the Petition for Lynne Stewart’s Compassionate Release. And ALSO ask all of your friends/contacts to send this message on to everyone on their lists, along with their own request that these people also send the message on to everyone on their respective lists.
This, my friends, is a doable thing. It just takes each of us a little time to sign the petition and send on the message. We can save a life. We can do a good thing. Please, be part of this noble, positive and crucial life saving effort.
Lynne is a long time friend of mine. I love her like a sister, comrade and friend. She needs our help — thanks for doing the right thing.
![Prison Radio is sharing an abbreviated version of a press release covering recent racist incidents at SCI Rockview in PA and the organizing to demand accountability. We are reaching out to people incarcerated at Rockview as well as recently transferred folks, inviting them to call, in hopes of hearing commentaries from them.
Benner Township, PA.-
On November 24th, 2023, imprisoned people at SCI Rockview found two nooses hanging in the CO’s office, displayed visibly for many prisoners to see. When the prisoners asked the staff why the nooses were hung, they were told it was a joke.
By December 4th, prisoners filed a grievance to document what they saw, noting that the hanging of the nooses was “unethical, racially motivated, hateful, [a] deliberate debasement of black inmates" and “unsafe for inmates, staff, [and] the whole prison in general.” In the grievance, they demanded that Sgt. Mosser and CO Richard be fired and investigated for a hate crime, and for CO Kirchner to get therapy. Captain Andrews, the head of security, denied the grievance.
The sergeant and COs are still working in the prison to this day, with no repercussions...
As of March 10th, prisoners have reached out to Pennsylvania officials at the Dept. of Corrections in a letter campaign, sending 100 copies of the grievance. Copies of the letter also were mailed to Governor Shapiro, Senator Fetterman, Senator Street, and various advocacy groups. The demands for relief in the original grievance have now become the platform of demands for this campaign. About 20 of the 100 letters were withheld by the prison.
Activists on the outside are joining forces with prisoners to elevate their demands, flooding the phone lines of DOC offices, assisting with outreach to media, and circulating the stories of prisoners who have found unity in opposition to the facility's virulent institutional racism.
In any other workplace, hanging a noose would be grounds for immediate termination. However, Nicki Paul, the superintendent's assistant and "grievance coordinator" informed the public that they self-investigated their staff and found they did nothing wrong.
Read the full article at i
https://conta.cc/4ayDxlB](https://www.prisonradio.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)