Lynne speaks with Noelle Hanrahan of PrisonRadio (pre-incarceration).

Audio Clip 1 – Lynne Interview Clip with Noelle Hanrahan (mp3)

Audio Clip 2 – Lynne Quotes Fredrick Douglas (mp3)

Audio Clip 3 – Lynne Quotes William O. Douglas (mp3)

We’re at over 14,000 signers! The list below is the first 12,500 but we’ll update with more names as soon as possible.

VIEW PETITION SIGNATURES (PDF)
(as of April 30, 2013)

VIEW COMMENTS FROM PEOPLE IN SUPPORT OF LYNNE! (PDF)

Lynne Stewart sends her appreciation to petition signatories:
I want you, individually, to know how gratifying and happy it makes me to have your support. It is uplifting, to say the least, and after a lifetime of organizing it proves once again that the People can rise.

The acknowledgement of the life-political, and solutions brought about by group unity and support, is important to all of us. Equally, so is the courage to sign on to a demand for a person whom the Government has branded with the “T” word — Terrorist.  Understanding that the attack on me is a subterfuge for an attack on all lawyers who advocate without fear of Government displeasure, with intellectual honesty guided by their knowledge and their client’s desire for his or her case, I hope our effort can be a crack in the American bastion.  Thank you. Lynne

03/20/13 Federal Medical Center, Carswell

Health Bulletin from Lynne May 2013

I wanted everyone to be aware of the latest state of the metastasis of my cancer, as revealed by the most recent PET scan.  While the lymph nodes and scapula have shown great improvement in size and density following chemo, the cancer in my lungs has not appreciably changed.  It is still Stage 4. Since I am now finished with the four chemo treatments that are considered safe, there will need to be a new course of treatment.

As you all know, I am determined to fight fight fight and one day walk out of Prison—soon.  Right now, I am finding myself very weary, needing frequent naps.  Worse,  I am affected by the Chemo brain which takes a toll on my memory and my ability to task and multi task.  As most of you would agree, nothing can be as cruel as that which affects mental ability.  Nonetheless, I am trying — I have lost appetite (hence the pounds shed –some earlier and not due to cancer but to Jail) and, of course, my hair.  Now that the chemo has ended, I hope that my energy level will pick up and I will be able to resume my writing and correspondence.

Meanwhile, it is more important than ever that we keep up the pressure on the Bureau of Prisons and that they do not snatch victory and turn it into defeat.  We are waiting for an inspection by the Probation Department in New York, of my sons’s home where I intend to be cared for in Brooklyn.  Then the motion by the Washington BOP to Judge Koeltl and his decision. None of this will happen unless we keep up the pressure.  Together we all have accomplished much (See comment on “More Releases of Ailing Prisoners” NYT 5/2/13)  But we have miles to go before we sleep  and I must say when I return to my bed after a slight exertion, I am mighty happy to sigh and fall in !! Bring me home !!

You can support Lynne by attending the following events:

1.–Rally, Wed. May 8,  5-8pm–Times Square, NYC.

2.–Rally, Thurs. May  9, 7- 10pm–80 St. Mark’s Theatre-St. Mark’s Place at 1st Av, NYC

IMPACT OF NUMBERS –Diverse and Impassioned – From Lynne

After experiencing a great happiness as I learned that our request for my compassionate release had been approved had been recommended, I truly felt a resounding depth of joy when I read in the New York Times that the Bureau of Prisons’ Inspector General has recommended “More Releases of Ailing Prisoners…”   NYT May 2,2013. Of course, my gratitude to the many people who signed on the petition and wrote is unbounded BUT as a lifelong advocate, if my case can budge the bureaucracy to unfreeze the safety valve for the dangerously ill who are confined in these prisons without hope of release, that is a much greater victory to me and all of us.

Carswell is the only womens’ prison hospital in the Federal System and is replete with tragedy.  While not going into detail, let me just say that there now seems to be a crack in the wall because of the reaction of all of you to the call to aid me in the hour of need.  That answer is reverberating and may well serve not only me but countless others who are ill and not so fortunate as I.  This is what I want as my Legacy — to make it better for others who may not be able to rally as I was able to.

Lynne Stewart. May 4, 2013

RELEASE LYNNE STEWART from WE WILL NOT BE SILENT on Vimeo.

May 1, 2013

Mr. Charles E. Samuels, Jr., Director
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534

Re:  Lynne Irene Stewart, #53504-054 Compassionate Release

Dear Director Samuels:

The National Lawyers Guild – New York City Chapter is writing to support “Compassionate Release” for Ms. Lynne Irene Stewart, #53504-054, who is currently serving a ten year sentence at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas.  Ms. Stewart has Stage Four breast cancer.  The cancer has now spread to her lymph nodes, shoulder, bones and lungs.

Ms. Stewart’s daughter, who is a physician, has publicly stated, “Under the best 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.”

Ms. Stewart has been a long-term member of the NLG-NYC Chapter and is a cherished friend and colleague to many of us. Our chapter cares deeply for Ms. Stewart and is very concerned about the desperate state of her health.

Under 18 USC §3582 (c) (1) (A) (i), a sentencing court, on motion of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, may reduce the term of imprisonment of an inmate sentenced under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. Lynne Stewart’s case satisfies each of the statute’s requirements.  She has a terminal disease, she has a viable release plan and she is not a threat to the safety of the community.   The NLG-NYC strongly urges you to file this motion without any further delay.

We look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Thank you.

Yours truly,

Garrett Wright, President
National Lawyers Guild – New York City Chapter

STATEMENT FROM LYNNE STEWART & RALPH POYNTER  RE:  HER COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
4/28/13:  5:55pm: CARSWELL FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTER

A worldwide Embrace to all of the thousands of People who helped Me !  As my hero said, we are motivated by great feelings of love and compassion and I am fortunate to be the beneficiary, this time around.

To savor this victory, you all should know that the Carswell Prison authorities kept telling me ” It can’t be done”. You don’t qualify. Why bother?  Wait till you are closer to death!   To all of them I replied that I have been fighting battles like this all my life and I would never quit. Then I had this white blood cell setback, making me super-vulnerable and was quarantined for a week.  I was relieved on Friday to learn that indeed “the children had shouted” and the walls ” Did come a-tumblin’ down “    I must say that I was in a state of bliss.   Not Just to Win but to accomplish it in the time honored method , … we will organize the People and you dare not ignore us !!

I owe an enormous debt to so many.  This is the one we had to win where the medical decision was made that compassionate release was warranted.  That cannot be trifled with BUT…  we who have been out here struggling from the fifties onward know that the Government is masterful at Co-optation at snatching victory and making it defeat.  Please do not think that my struggle is WON.  We have this fabulous win but we still have the DC National Bureau of Prisons (if there ever was a time to hold Obama’s feet to the fire, this is it) and then their forwarding of the case to the Judge in New York for a final decision (Yes, the same one that increased my original sentence from 28 months to 10 years !)  So please, please, please do not let us rest on our laurels.  Until my feet are planted like the Tree that grows in Brooklyn, and I am among my family, friends, and comrades and plunged back into the struggle once more, we must continue.  Fight On!!