BY JEFF MACKLER — UPDATED March 7 — A few minutes ago my dear friend and comrade Ralph Poynter called to say that his lifelong companion, Lynne Stewart, passed away. She was 77, of Irish origin, and a born fighter who unswervingly devoted herself to humanity's cause. Just a few weeks earlier Lynne pledged to meet me in NY … Continue reading Civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart passes away
BY JEFF MACKLER When I visited Lynne Stewart last month at FMC Cars-well in Fort Worth, Texas, she wondered in a dark moment whether the cynicism of the Justice Department and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) might descend to such depths as to deny her the then expected compassionate release. It crossed her mind that … Continue reading Lynne Stewart denied compassionate release
By JEFF MACKLER Civil rights attorney Lynne Stewart, who spent over 30 years defending the poor and oppressed, is confined to a prison cell at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell at Fort Worth, Texas. She has served three years of a 10-year sentence on frame-up charges concerning help she gave to her client, the blind … Continue reading Demand compassionate release for Lynne!
By CHRIS HEDGES (Reprinted from TruthDig.com. Letters from Lynne follow the article, with a petition for her release on medical grounds.) Lynne Stewart, in the vindictive and hysterical world of the war on terror, is one of its martyrs. A 73-year-old lawyer who spent her life defending the poor, the marginalized and the despised, including … Continue reading The Persecution of Lynne Stewart
BY JEFF MACKLER (UPDATED with a new letter from Lynne.) More than two years ago radical attorney and human rights activist Lynne Stewart, now serving the third year of a 10-year prison sentence based on frame-up charges of conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism, was given a clean bill of health following surgery for breast … Continue reading Prison hinders Lynne Stewart’s cancer care
BY JEFF MACKLER On Sept. 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected Lynne Stewart’s appeal for a re-hearing before the entire court. Her original conviction was upheld in 2009 by a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit. The court’s opinion was not unexpected. This was the same court that earlier pressed Federal … Continue reading Court denies re-hearing for Lynne Stewart
By JEFF MACKLEROn Aug. 1, imprisoned radical attorney Lynne Stewart, who is serving a 10-year sentence at a federal medical prison in Carswell, Texas, on frame-up charges of conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism, was sanctioned by prison authorities for 45 days.Stewart’s offense? On behalf of a fellow inmate, Stewart mailed a copy of letter … Continue reading Prison sanctions Lynne Stewart for 45 days
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today confirmed the 2010 decision of Federal District Court Judge John Koeltl to change his 28-month jail sentence for radical attorney and human rights activist, Lynne Stewart, to ten years. The court’s June 28, 2012 decision was not unexpected. Following federal prosecutors’ appeal of what was … Continue reading Court Confirms Ten-Year Sentence for Lynne Stewart
An appeal of Lynne Stewart’s lengthened sentence is set for 8 a.m., Feb. 29, at the federal courthouse at New York’s Foley Square. There will be an all-night rally for Lynne in the square, starting at 7 p.m. Information: (917) 853-9759. After the disaster in July 2010, when Judge Koeltl, following the directives of the … Continue reading Letter from Lynne Stewart
Attorney and political prisoner Lynne Stewart was interviewed by mail by Patricia Vickers, a founding member of the Human Rights Coalition (HRC) of Pennsylvania. Ms. Vickers is the co-founder/editor of The Movement magazine of the HRC. A former 1960s student activist, Ms. Vickers is an eco-feminist whose youngest son, Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall, was a wrongly … Continue reading Interview with political prisoner Lynne Stewart
by Jeff Mackler The WikiLeaks release of a quarter-million secret U.S. diplomatic cables in early December, as well as the earlier WikiLeaks revelations on U.S. mass murder of civilians and other heinous policies in Afghanistan and Iraq, confirm the fact that technological progress in the field of communications dramatically reduces the gap between the commission … Continue reading Harassment of WikiLeaks reflects mounting assault on civil liberties
by Jeff Mackler(Jeff Mackler is the West Coast Director of the Lynne Stewart Defense Committee.)The full force of the U.S. criminal “justice” system came down on innocent political prisoner, 30-year veteran human rights attorney and radical political activist Lynne Stewart today, July 15, 2010. In an obviously pre-prepared one hour and twenty minute technical tour … Continue reading Lynne Stewart sentenced to ten years in prison
by Jeff Mackler The full force of the U.S. criminal “justice” system is today aimed at innocent political prisoner, 30-year human rights attorney and radical political activist Lynne Stewart. On July 15 Federal District Court John Koeltl, who in 2005 sentenced Stewart to 28 months in prison following her frame-up trial and jury conviction on … Continue reading Innocent Lynne Stewart Faces 30-year Jail Sentence
Letter from Lynne StewartDear Sisters and Brothers, Friends and Supporters:Well the moment we all hoped would never come is upon us. Good-bye to a good cup of coffee in the morning, a soft chair, the hugs of grandchildren and the smaller pleasures in life. I must say I am being treated well and that is … Continue reading Letter From Lynne Stewart
by Jeff MacklerThe following article appears in the December issue of Socialist Action newspaper. The Nov. 16 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, to reject radical New York attorney Lynne Stewart’s appeal of her 2005 frame-up conviction on five counts of aiding and abetting terrorism is a legal and political atrocity. The … Continue reading Lynne Stewart jailed; loses appeal Appeals court seeks extended sentence
The following is excerpted from an interview that Lynne Stewart did with Pacifica’s Democracy Now just prior to her imprisonment. She explains key features of her case. LYNNE STEWART: I represented Sheikh Omar at trial—that was in 1995—along with Ramsey Clark and Abdeen Jabara. I was lead trial counsel. He was convicted in September of … Continue reading Lynne Stewart in Her Own Words
[ by Jeff Mackler ]Lynne Stewart in Jail!Protest Lynne Stewart's incarceration!San Francisco Federal Courthouse, 7th and Mission, SFMonday, November 23, 5:00 pmDear Friends of Lynne Stewart,I just got off the phone with Lynne Stewart a few minutes ago, that is, late Wednesday (early Thursday, November 19, New York time). She bravely told me that she … Continue reading Lynne Stewart in Jail!
First Open U.S. National Antiwar Conference:The Challenge Before the U.S. Antiwar Movementby Jeff MacklerThe U.S. war and occupation of Iraq is the central issue in world politics today. The war exposes in bold relief the fundamental contradictions in U.S. and world capitalism. It is, simultaneously, an imperialist war of conquest and a geopolitical war for … Continue reading First Open U.S. National Antiwar Conference
