August 2nd, 2013
7/25/13
To All:
By Now we will have filed papers which take us back into Federal Court in New York City to request that Judge Koeltl overturn the barbaric decision by the Bureau of Prisons and allow me to leave this empty loveless Prison and go home to People and Places familiar and beloved. I certainly am sick enough–even my oncologist revised her prognosis down to 18 months now. However, my spirit remains undaunted and when I compare myself to other far worse off than I am–the Guantanamo and Pelican Bay prisoners, Marie Mason, Afra Siddiqui, Hugo Yogi Pinell, those under death Penalty like Kevin Cooper, the remaining Angola 2, Ruchel Magee and my fellow New Yorkers Jalil, Sekou, Herman, Seth, David, Abdul –let me stop before I choke up here… I know we MUST win my fight and the struggle for all other political prisoners to be freed. And then we must struggle for all to be free in this country.
How much can we, the People, take? Their austerity is barbaric cruelty with food stamps gone and public housing unavailable, permanently. How long can the 1% continue to rule and the corporations call the shots? There is so much wrong but we are not allowed to despair since we have been given sight in this land of the blind and hopeless and heartless, So, that said, let’s once again get out there as often as needs be–for all the causes, for all the humanity. for the future. Forward, ever Forward !!
Lynne

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IMMEDIATE UPDATE ON THE COURT HEARING CONCERNING LYNNE STEWART

August 2nd, 2013
Update on Lynne Stewart’s court hearing 7/31/13
Ten minutes ago the hearing today before Judge John Koetl concluded. The following is a synopsis of what transpired as reported in a telephone call with Ralph Poynter:
Lynne Stewart’s attorneys filed an emergency Motion (2255) with Judge Koetl seeking Lynne’s “immediate conditional release” pending consideration of the legal issues presented in their brief.
The judge asked why they chose to exhaust their one time right to an emergency motion. The Defense response was that Lynne Stewart is terminally ill. The luxury of time is not available to her or her counsel. An expeditious response from the Court is imperative in the face of her medical condition and in the light of the Bureau of Prisons’ unwarranted denial of her application for compassionate release and protracted delays that could be expected if she submitted another application.
The Prosecution, acting for the Justice Department of Barack Obama, asserted that the Judge has no standing because there is no motion for Compassionate Release before him from Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Charles E. Samuels, Jr. as specified in the 1984 Sentencing Act.
The Defense presented a Brief which documents that the Federal Bureau of Prisons had violated separation of powers as the 1984 Congressional Statute assigns to the Court the right to modify a prison sentence in light of facts not available at the time of trial, notably those pertaining to terminal illness. “The BOP has implemented its own interpretation and refused to notify the sentencing judge of objectively ‘extraordinary and compelling circumstances,’ including but not limited to imminent death, unless, in its own judgment, a motion should be granted. Between 2000 and 2008, on average, 21.3 motions were filed each year. In about 24% of those motions, the prisoner died before the district court ever had a chance to rule on the motion.”
“Lynne Stewart is dying,” wrote her attorneys. She does not want to die in prison or become another statistic of someone who dies while the Bureau of Prisons delays its reconsideration of another application for compassionate release that she plans to file soon.
Judge Koetl gave a directive to the Federal Attorney to set out its case by next Tuesday and also to explain why the Bureau of Prisons has refused to disclose or release the records that provide the basis for its denial of Lynne Stewart’s recent application for compassionate release.
Lynne Stewart’s defense attorneys will have one day to answer before the next hearing scheduled for Thursday, August 8 at 2 p.m.
Judge Koetl has the authority to mandate immediate conditional release to Lynne Stewart.

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Photo from NLG-San Francisco Rally for Lynne

August 2nd, 2013

A great turnout in San Francisco! NLG attorney and national Executive Vice President Nadia Kayyali (right) speaks to the crowd.

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San Francisco Rally for Lynne Stewart August 1st

July 23rd, 2013

Rally to Free Lynne Stewart

Free Lynne Stewart Now!
Rally in Support of Activist lawyer and Guild Member Lynne Stewart
Thursday, August 1, Noon
Federal Building
7th & Mission in San Francisco
Send a message to Bureau of Prisons Director Charles E. Samuels Jr. that he must reverse his decision.
Link for this event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/150549631807513/
Long-time National Lawyers Guild member and activist lawyer Lynne Stewart needs our help and she needs it now! The Federal Bureau of Prisons has denied Lynne Stewart’s application for compassionate release, despite recommendations in favor from the warden at her facility, the Regional Office Director, and vetting of Stewart’s release plans by the Federal Probation Office in New York.
Lynne Stewart’s condition is deteriorating rapidly. Medical treatment to arrest the cancer that is metastasizing in her body has been halted because she is too weak to receive it. She remains in isolation, as her white blood cell count is so low that she is at risk for generalized infection.
For over 30 years, Lynne Stewart devoted her life to the oppressed – a constant advocate for the countless many deprived in the United States of their freedom and their rights. She, herself, was targeted and prosecuted because she defended vigorously her unpopular clients – people the U.S. government sought to execute, disappear, and demonize. Read the rest of this entry »

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