1) BREAKING: Judge Orders 'Compassionate Release' Of Jailed Former Civil Rights Lawyer: Special coverage of People's Lawyer Lynne Stewart's
compassionate release from prison at 9pm tonight on WBAI/NY 99.5FM and http://www.wbai.org
2) Message from Lynne Stewart on learning of the Justice Department application
3) Message from United National Antiwar Coalition on the imminent release of Lynne Stewart
Judge Orders 'Compassionate Release' Of Jailed Former Civil Rights Lawyer
December 31, 2013 5:05 PM
A federal judge in Manhattan ordered a "compassionate release" Tuesday from prison for a dying former civil rights lawyer.
The U.S. government requested the release earlier in the day for Lynne Stewart, who was convicted in a terrorism case from prison. Prosecutors say Stewart, 74, suffers from recurrent stage-four breast cancer. She was not scheduled to be released until August 2018.
U.S. District Judge John Koeltl had said he could not release her early without a recommendation for from prison authorities. The director of the Bureau of Prisons made the request through Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York…..
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A MESSAGE FROM LYNNE:
12/31/12 3:24 pm
My Dears:
Well, the impossible takes a little longer !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We learned this morning that the US Attorney's office has made the motion for my compassionate
release and that the Order was on Judge Koeltl's desk. Since on the last go-round he stated in Court that he would treat it "favorably", we are now just waiting expectantly.
The wonderful thing is that Ralph is here in Ft Worth for a visit and will bring me back to NYC with him. We don't know when but the rules state that the warden has 2 days to let me go after he receives the order so it could be as early as Friday or a few days more. Whatever it is, I can't stop crying tears of Joy !! I can't stop thinking of all the marvelous people worldwide who made this happen ..you know because each of you played an integral role. My daughter Z is already lining up Sloan Kettering and we will have to see if there is a probation qualification attached to the Order and how it will affect me. After that Ralph will start making arrangements to rent Yankee Stadium for the Welcome Home… Smile
So If this reaches you before midnight tonight raise a glass of bubbly to the joy of all of us that the old girl is OUT !!
Love Struggle,
Lynne
From: <mailto:unac-request@lists.riseup.net>unac-request@lists.riseup.net
Sent: Tuesday, December 31, 2013 5:30 PM
To: <mailto:unac@lists.riseup.net>unac@lists.riseup.net
Subject: [unac] FINALLY! Feds Asks Judge to Release Lynne Stewart
(please forward widely)
Dear Friends of Lynne Stewart,
Lynne Stewart could be/should be free today!
I just got off the phone with Betty Davis, a central leader of Lynne Stewart's New York Defense Committee. Two hours ago today, December 31, at 1:30 PM New York time, Lynne's attorney Bob Boyle, called to say that the Bureau of Prisons at long last requested that Judge John Koeltl grant Lynne compassionate release and timed served. If Koeltl follows through with his previous statements in court that if the BOP makes such a recommendation he would be inclined to approve it post haste, Lynne could be released as early as today.
It may be that even if Koeltl is out of town for the holidays, he could grant the order electronically.
Meanwhile, Lynne's husband, Ralph Poynter, is on route to see Lynne at FMC Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas. Lynne may be released into Ralph's loving care and off she goes to live free in New York at the home of loving family. To date prison medical experts predict that Lynne's Stage 4 breast cancer may allow her some 12-18 months to live.
But the world famous Sloan Kettering Hospital has pledged to take charge of Lynne's care immediately where they will do the best possible to retard this metastasized cancer and extend her life, hopefully, even longer.
What a wonderful moment this New Year's eve could be, assuming that all goes well.
A million thanks to everyone who joined the national and international effort to press the BOP to grant compassionate release. We have always believed in Lynne's total innocence and fought against the malicious 10-year sentence imposed on her for forcefully representing her client, the blind sheik Omar Abdel Rachman, an Egyptian cleric who was similarly a victim of a U.S. government frame-up on terrorism charges.
Lynne was originally convicted on charges of conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism stemming from her release of a press statement on behalf of Rachman. This alleged violation of a government issued Special Administrator Measure (SAM), even if valid, usually carries with it the most minor of punishments – perhaps a letter of reprimand from a government official and a ban on attorney-client visits for a few months. In Lynne's case Judge Koeltl, who originally sentenced her to 28 months in prison in 2005, extended the sentence to 10 years after federal prosecutors appealed to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that 28 months was too lenient.
Lynne should not have served a single day in prison. Having made that clear, her freedom, within minutes perhaps, will be nevertheless be our collective victory. Having her home, safe and in the loving care of family and friends is the best that we could have hoped for in these very difficult times when civil liberties are being trashed as never before in recent memory. Lynne's release did not come easy, Literally tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people everyone demanded it, repeatedly calling, writing and emailing the BOP and Justice Department head Eric Holder.
We celebrate this tragic victory and wish everyone well for a fighting New Year, where we must all continue the battle for justice for all political prisoners and all who suffer the plagues of oppression that the U.S. government spreads around the world.
In solidarity,
Jeff Mackler, West Coast Coordinator, Lynne Steward Defense Committee
Director, Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
<tel:510-268-9429>510-268-9429
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