Lynne Stewart is a political prisoner in the United States. Lynne is an attorney, a grandmother, a breast cancer survivor. On last week's Law and Disorder Radio, an hour long program that airs Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EST on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosted by attorneys Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights) topics addressed include political prisoner Lynne Stewart.
Michael S. Smith: Michael, we sorely miss our friend Lynne Stewart who's in prison serving a really unjust ten year sentence. And, of course, as we've reminded our listeners over the last few weeks, Lynne has taken ill again. And there's a petition for her and I know you want to talk about it and get as many active because we want to get Lynne out of prison on a compassionate release. So tell our listeners how they can help and what the situation is now for Lynne.
Michael Ratner: Well we're going to link to how you can sign the petition. Lynne's got Stage IV Cancer as a lot of you know. That is, her initial cancer which was in remission when they put her in prison three years ago is now in full bloom. It's spread to her bones. It's spread to her legs. It's spread to her lungs. It's spread to her lymph nodes. And it really is fatal. We all want to get her out and get her some better medical care that she can get. She's in a seven person cell down in Fort Worth, Texas. Get her up to New York, better medical care and be surrounded by her family and friends. And in order to do that, the Bureau of Prisons, the people with the key have to make a motion to Judge Kotel to ask that she be given a compassionate release. It's possible. You can get that. They don't do it very often. But with all the friends and supporters that Lynne has, we're hopeful that we can accomplish that. 6,000 people have signed the petition so far. And I want to read you what Lynne said in thank you to these people -- two of them were Dick Gregory and Desmond Tutu and I'll read you something that Tutu said also. But here's this from Lynne: "I want you individually to know how grateful and happy it makes me to have your support. It's uplifting to say the least. And after a lifetime of organizing, it proves once again that the People can rise. The acknowledgment 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 -- Terrorism. 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." Pete Seeger wrote her back and said, "Lynne Stewart should be out of jail." And he signed the postcard "Old Pete Seeger" accompanied by a drawing of a banjo. Bishop Desmond Tutu, this was his esprit de corps. He said, "It is devastating. Totally unbelievable. In this democracy, the only superpower? I am sad. I will sign praying God's blessing on your reference. Desmond Tutu." Let's hope Lynne gets out on compassionate release while she's still able to at least be part of her community. And if you'll go to Law and Disorder.org, we'll put the link where you can sign the petition. And if you'll grab a pencil, I'll give you the name and address of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons because a well-aimed letter at him is not going to hurt. His name is:
Charles E. Samuels Jr.
Federal Bureau of Prisons
320 First Street, NW
Washington, DC 20534
Please send a letter. Go to Law and Disorder.org -- our website -- sign the petition. We'll be updating you every week on how Lynne is doing.