[Ppnews] Update on Scott DeMuth and Carrie Feldman
Political Prisoner News
ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Wed Mar 3 13:24:15 EST 2010
Dear friends,
Below you will find recent updates on the
situation of Scott DeMuth as well as Carrie
Feldman, along with some ways you can help us get
them justice and secure their freedom.
Mark your calendar for the first week of May,
especially if you live in the Quad Cities area or
nearby parts of Iowa, Chicago, Madison or
Minneapolis. Scott's trial starts on May 3rd. We
are gearing up for a week of court solidarity, as
well as teach-ins and workshops. Hope to see you
there! More information on that coming up soon.
Please contact us if you are interested in organizing with us.
As always, be sure to check out our website for
updates on events such as last week's talk by
Professor David Pellow and Attorney Stu Sugarman
on Grand Juries, State Repression, and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.
Thank you for all your continued support!
Scholars for Academic Justice
<http://scholarsforacademicjustice.org>http://scholarsforacademicjustice.org
<mailto:scholarsforacademicjustice at gmail.com>scholarsforacademicjustice at gmail.com
______________________________________
Scott and Carrie Support Comittee Update 2/28
In this email:
1. Court orders Carrie's court docket unsealed with redactions, denies petition
for re-hearing
2. Scott's motions denied (mostly)
3. Update on Carrie's custody status
4. Donations, please!
5. ACTION ITEM: Call MN congresspeople to demand Carrie’s release
6. March 19: Come dine with us!
7. Call-out for Local Minneapolis Artists! Seeking donations for Scott, Carrie
and Eric McDavid benefit
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. Court orders Carrie's court docket unsealed with redactions, denies petition
for re-hearing
In a partial victory for reporter Sheila Regan, Carrie and the SCSC, the court
has ordered Carrie's court docket unsealed but has given the government 21 days
to propose redactions to the unsealed documents. See Regan's article, here:
<http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/02/26/tcdps-sheila-regan-gets-court-records-opened>http://www.tcdailyplanet.net/news/2010/02/26/tcdps-sheila-regan-gets-court-records-opened,
for more information on the ruling.
Along with this bit of good news, however, comes a big disappointment: Carrie's
petition for a re-hearing has been denied. She and her attorneys are currently
discussing next legal steps.
2. Scott's motions denied (mostly)
Judges Shields and Jarvey have issued orders on
recent motions argued in Scott's case at his
February 23rd hearing. Shields set a deadline of
March 15 for the government to designate expert
witnesses and disclose their written reports; the
defense hasuntil April 5th to do the same. The
court also ordered the government to "to give
notice of its intent to introduce any evidence of
other crimes, wrongs or bad acts" at least 21
days in advance of trial. All other discovery
requests by the defense were denied, some without
prejudice. Jarvey denied the motions to dismiss
the original indictment "as moot without
prejudice to refile," and issued an official
trial order setting the trial start date for May
3 and outlining trial procedures. All three
orders are viewable here:
<http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/resources/legal-documents/scotts-case/>http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/resources/legal-documents/scotts-case/
3. Update on Carrie's custody status
As mentioned previously, Carrie is being held in the disciplinary block at
Dubuque County Jail in Iowa. We've confirmed that she's being held there
because of the incident at Washington County, where two visitors ran up to her
cell window from the parking lot, and for which she was in no way responsible.
Because of Dubuque's visiting policies, Carrie will now only be able to get
visits from immediate family members. In light of her increased isolation and
the recent denial of her petition for a re-hearing, we want to encourage
everyone to take a few minutes to write her and make sure she feels as much
support from the outside as possible. You can write to her at:
Carolyn Feldman
770 Iowa St.
Dubuque, IA 52001
4. Donations, please!
As always, we want to remind supporters that the financial burden of defending
Carrie and Scott is quite high. In addition to the cost of a good legal
defense, the SCSC is also trying to cover the cost of travel whenever necessary
to ensure that Scott and Carrie get as much support in Iowa as possible. Please
consider donating! Info about how to do so is available here:
<http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/what-you-can-do/>http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/what-you-can-do/
5. ACTION ITEM!: Call MN congress people and demand Carrie's release.
Carrie's mom has written a letter to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Senators Al
Franken and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) explaining
Carrie's case and asking that they work for her release. Read it here:
<http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/carriesletter.pdf>http://davenportgrandjury.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/carriesletter.pdf,
and
call them to voice your support for Carrie and her release:
Keith Ellison: 612-522-1212 (in MN) or 202-225-4755 (in DC)
Al Franken: 651-221-1016 (in MN) or 202-224-5641 (in DC)
Amy Klobuchar: 612-727-5220 (in MN) or 202-224-3244 (in DC)
6. March 19: Come dine with us!
March 19th from 6:30-8pm the Scott and Carrie Support Committee is offering a
FREE COMMUNITY MEAL at the Powderhorn Park
Neighborhood Association building: 821 East 35th street in Minneapolis.
7. Feb.23 Press Statement following Scott's Motions Hearing
Davenport, IA -- This morning, over a dozen
supporters from Minneapolis and the Quad Cities
joined Scott in the Federal Courthouse in
Davenport for his arraignment for the new
indictment that was issued last week. There was
also a hearing on numerous discovery-related
motions for his upcoming trial. Scott’s attorney,
Michael Deutsch, argued that the prosecution has
failed to produce the discovery that the defense
is entitled to under the rules. Judge Shields
took the arguments under advisement and is
expected to issue a ruling within the next few days.
As we’ve shared with you before, Scott’s defense
team filed a motion to dismiss the original
indictment, arguing that it failed to meet the
basic requirements for an indictment. The
indictment gave no indication as to what the
prosecution alleges Scott actually did, and
provided an overly vague time frame for the
alleged crime. In an apparent affirmation of this
defense argument, US Attorney Cliff Cronk filed a
superseding indictment last week.
The new indictment, however, appears to be
fatally flawed in itself—it still fails to
provide any indication as to what Scott is
alleged to have done to conspire under the AETA.
Responding to defense motions, Cronk backpedaled
on an earlier strategy to prosecute Scott for his
constitutionally protected free speech and
associations: “This case has nothing to do with
political association
this conspiracy continues
as long as alf [sic] continues to break into labs
and free animals across the country,” Cronk said in open court.
Seeing that the statute of limitations has
expired for the Spence Lab break-in specifically,
the prosecution appears to now justify Scott’s
charges by arguing that the scope of the crime in
question extends indefinitely, as long as
activists claim actions under the banner of Animal Liberation Front.
8. Call-out for Local Minneapolis Artists! Seeking donations for Scott, Carrie
and Eric McDavid benefit
Explosive Expressions Minneapolis: Supporting Earth Warriors Through Art
Purity Bakery Building Art Gallery
Saturday April 24th, 2010
6PM to 10PM
*Auction starts at 6 PM and ends at 9 PM
Calling all painters, shanty-makers, photographers, sculptors, people who make
art out of condom wrappers/newspapers/lipstick/bicycle tubes oh my!, knitters,
sewers, welders, metal-workers, and artists of all other flavors! The Scott and
Carrie Support Committee is asking all local Minneapolis artists who support
the fight for justice to DONATE works of art to a night of Explosive
Expressions Minneapolis: Supporting Earth Warriors Through Art.
On Saturday April 24th, at the Purity Bakery Building Art Gallery, we will be
having an Art Exhibition and Auction to help support our comrades Carrie
Feldman and Scott DeMuth, two Minneapolis activists who were unjustly taken
hostage by the state in November 2009, and Eric McDavid, who has been
imprisoned since 2006 and is currently facing almost 20 years in prison for a
crime that never happened.
Help be part of the creative resistance against state repression and send
questions and/or the following details to
<mailto:explosiveexpressionsmpls at riseup.net>explosiveexpressionsmpls at riseup.net
by April 1st, 2010:
-Name
-Contact information
-Starting bid on the auction item
-A description of the piece you are donating
-When the item can be picked up or dropped off
*Any items being dropped off or mailed can be sent to this address:
Explosive Expressions Mpls. c/o Leigh
1909 Elliot Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55405
For more information on Scott's and Carrie's cases and to find out other ways
of supporting them, please visit:
<http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com>http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com.
For more information on Eric's case and ways to support him, please visit:
<http://www.supporteric.org>http://www.supporteric.org.
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863-9977
www.Freedomarchives.org
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