After the disaster in July 2010, when Judge Koeltl, following the directives of the Second Circuit increased my sentence from 28 months to 10 years, our righteous indignation fueled this appeal.  The government’s argument will center on my testimony at trial and the alleged perjury.  All of those facts were before the Court at the time of the 28 month sentence and were not the basis then of  a double digit sentence.

Our Brief attacks the increased sentence on two different fronts –one on a doctrine of “substantive unreasonableness”  meaning it’s just too much of an increase, five fold — given the circumstances. Secondly, we argued that the only “new” information before the Judge were my statements after my first sentence in October of 2008 and remarks I made on the Courthouse steps before I surrendered to prison.  We contend strongly that this is protected speech under the First Amendment of the Constitution, and cannot be used to increase or as a  basis for sentencing.  (even if they hate it !!!)

The same group of 3 Judges that heard and decided the original appeal will also hear the arguments on the 29th. The government is not asking for more time; they are satisfied with their pound of flesh but it is not likely that this Court will take any action that will help me. The times are askew for prisoners and their lawsuits.

The lawyers that argued in July of 2010 will be on board with the addition of Herald Price Fahringer, an eminent attorney in the First Amendment field (the win in the Larry Flynt Hustler case in the US Supreme Court was his. He was also in the line of fire (no injuries) when the shooting took place.) He will enthusiastically present our case. I will not be present –not unusual once imprisoned.  But my spirit will be there to inspire !!!

Of course, my case has always been government firing  warning shots  to Lawyers, that a vigorous defense, of certain clients, if not conforming to government specifications,  will be punished severely .  This chill effect in these days that we are confronted with Grand Jury investigations and dismantling of Occupations is not something we should contemplate with anything less than alarm.  I have just finished David Gilbert’s book (Love Struggle) and the intercession of lawyers when there are arrests of designated enemies of the “state” are the only  meaningful protection available.

A Large Outpouring of Support in Foley Square and Tom Paine Park and in the Courtroom will signal to these arbiters of “Justice” that attention must be paid, the 99% are watching them with suspicion and tallying up the roads not taken.

My client David Gilbert has recently published a book about his life in the underground etc called Love and Struggle (great title!). The book is Love and Struggle, My life in SDS, the Weather Underground and Beyond by David Gilbert, 2012  published by PM Press, Oakland Ca.  In the Chapter entitled Busted, in detailing the events after Brinks Nyack,  David writes:

Lynne and her youngest daughter Zena, on Lynne’s birthday.

From Lynne:

“So we finally got a date for oral argument in the Circuit. The date is February 29–Leap year day and Sadie Hawkins Day…Anyway that is our auspicious day . I like it for its quirkiness.

I will NOT be there but that I hope a massive turnout will make up for my absence.”

More information soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNNE!

A message from Lynne, received today:

To my friends and supporters, family, comrades and dear ones;

You cannot know how happy I am to be writing this !!  Not with my circumstances but because after about 6 weeks of trying to get medical relief for a painful bladder infection that seemed to affect the rest of my “Lower Plumbing” as well, I have on a new anti biotic that at first glance seems to be working.

Talk about wan and listless, just like a Jane Austen character, I have basically stayed in my bed and slept–not even reading! I am so sorry about all the letters I haven’t answered particularly those from young people who need to know if they should think about going to law school and those in the thick of the movement who want my insight (from afar!).  I hope I will be regaining my energy soon.  We have cancelled all visits for October to resume in November with an introductory “tryout” of Connor Dueno, my great grandson with his mama and grandmama.  Odds are we’ll be keeping him!

In order that my Prison Readers shouldn’t think that I have mellowed (Ha!) I must say that if Amy is to be trusted the Wall Street occupation looks like it has some legs, whether those legs are reformist or radical, we will see.  I don’t think we can look forward to parading out the Banksters and Goldman Sachs to face “Peoples Justice” just yet But …. There seems to be a spark and that gladdens my Heart.

I will be 72 on the 8th–the day of the Heroic Guerilla, the day they killed Che.  I still hold strongly to my beliefs, my love of the people and that there will be redemption from the nightmare with which, we are all struggling.  So I wish you all a Happy Birthday and Struggle ON!!

Love Lynne

Human Rights Coalition: Hello. Welcome to THE MOVEMENT Sister Lynne. Thank you for granting me this interview with you. How are your health and spirits, and how are you being treated at FMC Carswell [Federal Prison]?

Lynne Stewart: My health is passable—the usual brushfires of aging, but good. My spirits are always high, especially with the mail I get to encourage me. I am being treated as well as can be expected. I receive heavy scrutiny—all mail, email and phone conversations.

Human Rights Coalition: There are people who aren’t aware of your unlawful confinement and the government’s repression of you for your legal representation of the Muslim blind Sheik. Can you enlighten the people about your situation?

Lynne Stewart: There are two aspects to my “situation,” as you so gallantly described it. First, I was prosecuted for doing what I believe is the duty and work of an attorney—to represent the client zealously and conscientiously. In the case of the original trial (1995) of the blind Sheik, Omar Abdel Rahman, of Egypt, we wanted to keep his name alive so that we could eventually try to negotiate a return for him even if it meant jail in Egypt. In that spirit I made a press release public, and to Reuters, expressing his point of view on a unilateral cease fire then in effect in Egypt. I believed that this was part of salvaging him from the torture of his solitary confinement and also that it was part of the work I had sworn to do. I was tried and found guilty for materially aiding “terrorism.”

Then, after I received a sentence of two-and-one-half-years, as opposed to the 30 years the government wanted, on appeal, the Second Circuit Court sent the case back for the Judge to give me more time. Without much ado, he sentenced me then to ten years, partially based upon on statements I made after the sentencing and before I surrendered in November 2009. That sentencing is currently on appeal and will be argued in the fall in New York City.

Human Rights Coalition: In the people’s eyes, mine included for sure, you are our [s]hero and represent a long line of principled and committed warriors of the struggle. How do you take being a Political Prisoner of the American government?

Lynne Stewart: I believe I am one of an historical progression that maintains the struggle to change the perverted political landscape that is the U.S. It seems that being a political prisoner must be used as a means of focusing people’s attention on the continuing atrocities around them. Nothing seems to be too shocking or corrupt to blast the complacency. Like my client Richard Williams used to say, I might think I hadn’t been doing my utmost if they didn’t believe I was dangerous enough to be locked up!

Human Rights Coalition: In April, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that Political Prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence is unconstitutional. However, I am sure there are forces working behind the scenes within the Criminal Injustice System—like what happened in your case—to manipulate another death penalty outcome on Mumia. What is your opinion of the current news surrounding our brother Mumia?

Lynne Stewart: Mumia’s case is our greatest challenge because he is the best and the brightest, and they know it too. We, the progressive revolutionary movement, and Mumia’s lawyers, must create the strategy that forces the District Attorney to elect to try the death penalty issue. Then we get a chance in public, in court, to clearly present the overwhelming proof of his innocence. The worst thing that could happen is that the DA elects to give him life without parole—a living death that deprives our movement of one of its true leaders. I just hope that the blood thirsty Blue Line forces the issue and holds out for the death penalty so we are in the position to take advantage and advance our cause, and Mumia’s.

Human Rights Coalition: July 4th is widely celebrated as “Independence Day” in America, but the masses of people are experiencing their independence (freedom) taken away by the corporate American government, and by the big banks and mega-corporations that run them. Are the citizens of America truly free, or is their independence a grand illusion?

Lynne Stewart: I re-read Frederick Douglas’ great 4th of July speech every year to just remind myself of how little the ultimate issue has changed from the founding of the nation to today’s alleged “freedom.” Racism is at the core of the empire; and we can never be blinded by all the fireworks in the world.

Human Rights Coalition: Can you describe the difference between Civil Rights and Human Rights?

Lynne Stewart: For me the difference is the same as between the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and the UN Declaration of Human Rights. The Bill delineates the ways that Government may not encroach on our ability to operate freely. It is a prohibition on the Government limiting free speech, religion, the right to bear arms, and the right to free assembly. It delineates the rights within the legal system.

The Declaration guarantees fundamental human entitlements—freedom from hunger, freedom from fear, freedom to choose, freedom to live in an environment that doesn’t kill us, and our children.

We obviously fight for more than the political guarantee to be free of government interference—it is to be able to live an open and generous and contributing life toward the betterment of people on the entire planet.

Human Rights Coalition: Sister Lynne, What are human rights to you? What do you make of the growing human rights movement in the U.S.? And how can people advocate their human rights effectively?

Lynne Stewart: Advocating for human rights must always delineate that our struggle is not one of “self interest.” It is a fight for all of us. This raises the always-troubling question of the recognition that for some this may mean sacrificing their entitlements (i.e. skin privilege, class privilege) to better others’ lives. Nobody wants to give up what they feel that they have achieved legitimately, “within the system.” But without the recognition that one has benefited unfairly by the unwritten “code” that has favored certain groups over others, change cannot occur.

I also believe we have lost the sense that we enjoy the right of self-defense. Everyone is so busy announcing their “peacefulness” and willingness to be a victim for a cause, that we forget that a true measure of one’s seriousness is to defend oneself, and others—to live; Che’s observation that a revolutionary is moved by great feelings of love. This includes not only self-sacrifice but also daring to struggle, daring to win (to quote another hero, Mao).

Human Rights Coalition: What are some of the human rights violations that you see happening in the U.S. today that we, the people, need to eliminate?

Lynne Stewart: The most egregious and obvious violations are occurring in the prison system. Not only the obscenely long sentences but the torture holes of “Special Housing Units.” These are the equivalents of Belsen and Dachau, resulting in living death and mental deterioration. When I think that so many imprisoned without current hope of redress are political prisoners and have been held so for decades, it not only brings tears but also a feeling of grim determination to make it change!

Human Rights Coalition: What are some of America’s foreign human rights violations going on that people may not be aware of?

Lynne Stewart: I personally feel that the deterioration of the African sub Saharan continent and its descent into rapacious capitalism will ultimately translate into unparalleled destruction of people and resources. I include South Africa in this assessment. If the African National Congress (ANC) and Mandela had remained steadfast in the socialist principles that guided their resistance and not given in to the terrible temptations of compromise, greed and power, we might have seen the beginning of a different balance of power. Alas, this was not to be and instead we see the depredation of Africa, by absolutism and the American capitalist paradigm.

Human Rights Coalition: People seem to be oblivious or indifferent to the human rights abuses that occur daily in U.S. prisons against other human beings, women prisoners in particular. Can you shed some light on that human rights issue?

Lynne Stewart: Human rights do not exist in prison. Aside from the obvious violations described above, I see day-to-day a brainwashing that teaches all prisoners that they are less than nothing and not worthy of even the least human or humane considerations. This is reflected in the lack of adequate medical care, the appalling diet, the steady diet of spoon-fed mediocrity—TV (Archie Bunker re-runs), movies, no access to the Web, etc. There is an absence of legal advice or aid inside the walls. Law libraries with books have been eliminated; instead they have a computer program that is so anti-user that even I, an attorney of 30 years, have difficulty navigating it. Their goal is to keep us dumbed-down, docile and estranged.

The outside world is oblivious because they too have been brainwashed into believing that those locked away are less than human—based on differences of race and class. It is most difficult to struggle against the power if you don’t have a belief that the struggle is worth the sacrifice.

Human Rights Coalition: Do you consider the legal practice of sentencing children to life imprisonment without any possibility of release (a de facto death sentence) for homicide, to be a human rights violation?

Lynne Stewart: I am 100 percent opposed to anything that does not have a factor of human redemption or at least of remediation. I guess it is part of a whole belief system. If you are, like I am, committed to “changing” the world it must be ALL of us, who deserve to live in a system that recognizes that terrible psychic and physical damage can be done to human beings, and has a plan to make people, especially children, whole and restore them to our community.

Human Rights Coalition: In Pennsylvania, being debated is whether sentencing child offenders to life imprisonment without parole should simply be “reformed” by leaving the legal practice intact and simply give the child offender a sentence of life with parole eligibility or should the legal practice be abolished entirely and a new sentencing scheme be developed for child offenders instead? What is your position on the matter—reform or abolish it?

Lynne Stewart: Your question really asks if “reform” is possible within an inhumane system? This is an issue revolutionaries have wrestled with always. Do we give the starving a crust of bread or leave them hungry to make the greater change. I, like Rosa Luxemburg, always made it my practice to minister to immediate primary needs but also to render the explanation for their predicament in political terms and with political (group action) solutions. At least in that way, the baby was no longer starving for milk and there might be a spark ignited for the next confrontation with the oppressor.

In the strict context of your question, we do need to struggle to save people from the most inhumane punishments. However, until we resolve the burning questions of race and class, we must not forget that these are palliative, Band-Aids on a hemorrhage.

Human Rights Coalition: What do you say about the illusion of democracy in America that the people are now witnessing from the domestic austerity program that the federal and state governments are imposing on the American people?

Lynne Stewart: Our job is how to smash the myth of America and we haven’t really figured out as a movement how to blast our way past the sentimentality the media foists on us. We used to believe that if people knew the “truth,” this would shake their faith and move us toward change; or alternatively, if their personal shoe pinched, they would act in self-interest. Now people seem to know only fear and rely on the myths of Big Brother government to assuage them. Our job is to keep on struggling, keep on raising the contradictions, create an atmosphere where we the people are ungovernable.

Human Rights Coalition: Any final comments for the movement out there, Sister Lynne?

Lynne Stewart: In this struggle, once you enlist, it is for life. There are no guarantees and you will be disappointed. But you will also be uplifted when there are victories and enriched by friendship and dedication of the comrades. Most importantly, you can look in the mirror every morning and be at one with the person there because you made the difficult choice and decided to fight for the people against the evil empires. It is the best way to live and I have been on the lines for fifty-plus years, living it.

Human Rights Coalition—Philadelphia
c/o Lava Space
4134 Lancaster Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
921-3491
www.hrcoalition.org
email: info at hrcoalition.org

The Imperial Excess
Certainly the remembrance of August 6 of Hiroshima is of dual bitterness this year.  Bitter for the same reasons as years past ==the arrogance of the United States in the taking of human life, wholesale–a massacre.  (no accident that the Japanese were the WW II enemy of color.) And the aftermath of destroyed genetics–babies deformed, the elderly wasting away for years and years.

And people did fight back then and some are still imprisoned for that resistance.  I send greetings and respect to my brother, and yours–Hoshino Fumiaki.

This year it was all exacerbated by the Natural Causes that revealed that Japan is modelling itself on the post-war ideal of rapacious U.S. capitalism and has exhibited the same disregard for human life by unleashing the same inhumane nuclear nightmare in Fukushima, the disaster cousin of Hiroshima.

People world wide have a right to have their governments protect them from ultra venal individual self interest, whether in Chernobyl, Bhopal, West Virginia or Japan.  We must fight back for the sake of Mother Nature and the generations yet unborn–the innocents. Onward!!

Love Struggle
Lynne Stewart, Prisoner

The letter was written by Matef and Diane, who I met through my political prisoner client Richard Williams (dec) and who visited him in Lompoc and attended his Memorial in Vermont.  Needless to say, I am most honored by this–by the Source and also by the company I’m in.  Forward Ever.

Lynne

Life flows on as do the love and struggle necessary to make a better world for this little guy and all the righteous people !

Lynne Stewart
Ralph Poynter

Carswell Federal Prison, Fort Worth, Texas 2011
L to R : Virginia Gernes Lynne Stewart & Maury Knight
Virginia ” Ginny” Gernes is Lynne’s close personal friend (since 1955)
Maury Knight is Lynne’s friend & colleague since thier Rutgers Law School Days (1974)