Thank you to everyone who has faxed Dianne Feinstein. Sherman's situation
remains of critical concern, and every effort matters. While many of you
have contacted Feinstein or sent letters, we are also collecting signatures
for a version of the letter that will be made public and distributed widely.
In the coming weeks, a Free Sherman website will be up and running. That
site will include the letter with a list of signatures, links to information
and ways to get involved, and other relevant material. In the meantime, if
you would like your name to appear on the PUBLIC letter of support, please
send a message to ahurley@stanford.edu. Group endorsements are also
welcome. Please include your title and/or how you would like to be listed.
You should also include your address and contact information in the event
that signatures need to be verified. A work address is also acceptable.
None of this information will be shared or made public. This is simply to
prevent any false signatures from appearing.
A copy with a preliminary list of signatures is pasted below. You'll notice
that the letter is introduced by a statement of support from Noam Chomsky
and that people such as Howard Zinn and Zack de la Rocha have already
signed.
To add your signature to the letter of support below, please e-mail Adrienne Hurley at ahurley@stanford.edu.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The events reported in the statement below are deeply troubling. Sherman Austin appears to be the victim of a serious miscarriage of justice, and I hope that this matter is pursued quickly, fairly, and justly." Noam Chomsky
We, the undersigned, are united in our opposition to the selective prosecution and imprisonment of Sherman Austin, a twenty year-old African American webmaster and activist. Sherman's sentencing sets a dangerous precedent for the future of our right to express dissent and marks a troubling escalation in the criminalization of critical thinking and the erosion of the very civil liberties and rights our society purports to value.
On September 3, 2003 Sherman Austin surrendered himself to begin a one-year term in federal prison for the contents of a website that was authored by another boy and linked to Sherman's site, www.raisethefist.com, on a free-hosting area Sherman provided there. The other boy's site included a direct link to the "Reclaim Guide," a manual that provides crude instructions on how to build explosives. While this boy has not been charged with any crime, Sherman, who had no part in writing or posting any of the offending material, was prosecuted under a 1997 law sponsored by Dianne Feinstein that makes it illegal to distribute information related to explosives with the intent to use that information in a "federal crime of violence."
Numerous websites feature bomb-making instructions, and while such information is easily accessed via the internet and online bookstores such as amazon.com, Sherman, who has no history of violence and who did not write the "Reclaim Guide," is the first person to be charged under this law. The key element in the case against Sherman hinged on the question of "intent." Because Sherman's site is critical of U.S. government policy, police brutality, globalization, and racism, the prosecution and judge maintained that his politics provided grounds for proving intent.
Senator Feinstein, in a press release issued the day Sherman entered prison, expressed "dismay" that prosecutors had not pursued the "bombmaking" law "aggressively" enough as a "tool in fighting terrorism." We ask, why is it that a nonviolent twenty year-old, someone whom the California Department of Corrections Senior Staff Psychologist determined "does not represent a risk to society whatsoever" and described as "a very, very peaceful, mild-mannered" person, has been sentenced under this law while others who present clear and identifiable threats, such as certain white supremacist and anti-choice organizations, have been permitted to distribute bombmaking information and make direct threats on individuals, clinics, and groups? We contend that the selective prosecution of Sherman Austin had everything to do with his race, his politics, his effectiveness as an internet activist, and his mother's lack of financial resources to mount an aggressive legal defense. We find it significant and telling that the actual author of the site directly linked to the "Reclaim Guide" is the son of affluent and conservative white parents.
We also question the validity of Sherman's plea itself. Sherman, who was eighteen years-old when this case began, was told a "terrorism enhancement" would be applied to his case if he went to trial. This meant that he could have been subjected to an additional 20 years in prison if found guilty. We challenge the notion that a plea made under such circumstances could be truly voluntary. Sherman accepted two plea bargain agreements, one of which the judge rejected, sentencing Sherman to a term longer than what the prosecution suggested.
As is evident in the court transcripts, the decisions of U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson were neither fair nor impartial. He stated that he hoped Sherman's case would serve as a deterrent to other activists and "revolutionaries" and that he wanted to "send a message" by subjecting Sherman to a harsher sentence. As activists, educators, artists, and concerned individuals, we stand together to send a message back to Judge Wilson. We will not be silenced or deterred.
Many of us have published, recorded, performed, or presented work that is critical of U.S. foreign policy, domestic examples of social injustice, and the effects of globalization. Some of us have made statements that could provide even more compelling grounds for applying the standard of "intent" invoked in Sherman's case had we offered free-hosting website space that the author of the "Reclaim Guide" could have used. Because Sherman is now serving time in federal prison for having expressed opinions not unlike our own, we feel compelled to speak out lest we be next.
Two days after entering prison, Sherman was moved into isolation because of death threats made by white supremacist groups. Thanks to numerous calls, faxes, and letters sent to prison officials, Sherman has now been transferred, but his safety in prison remains a concern. In the words of the Department of Corrections Psychologist, Sherman "is likely to become a victim by virtue of his youth, slight build and naiveté. He is totally unprepared to defend himself in such a setting. He is more likely to become brutalized by the experience than to learn from it."
We support the efforts underway to challenge the terms of Sherman's plea and probation, and we demand that prison and government officials ensure the safety of Sherman Austin while he remains in custody.
Tarnel Abbott
Richmond, CA
Michael Albert
Z Magazine and Znet
Kevin Akin
Congressional Candidate
44th Congressional District of California
Peace and Freedom Party
Anarchist Action, Australia
Australian RTF Chapter
Blake Anthony
Irvine, CA
Jim Ausman
San Francisco, CA
Antonio Austin
artist and writer
Los Angeles, CA
Melanie Austin
Englewood, New Jersey
Rachel Austin
graphic artist
Los Angeles, CA
Shermane Austin, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Computer Science
Medgar Evers College
The City University of New York
Elena Banales
Retired LaborWorker, Cake Designer
Guadalupe Banales
Environmentalist and Artist
Monica Banales
College Student
Shaymus Banks
Student
Sandra Barbosa
Bloomington, CA
Samir Bitar
Performance Artist/Writer
Brooklyn, NY
Gay Block
Photographer
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Linda Boigon
Teacher
Valley Village, CA
Blase Bonpane, Ph.D.
Director, Office of the Americas
Chris Burnett
LA Indymedia
Los Angeles, CA
Mat Callahan
Musician, author
Margaret B. Carey
Attorney at Law
Denver, CO
Willard Carpenter, Instructor
Social Sciences Dept.
City College of San Francisco
John Chionis
Sedona, AZ
Wei-min Brian Chiu, Ph.D.
United Auto Workers
Los Angeles, CA
Alison Chubb, Ph.D.
Biologist and videographer
Redwood City, CA
Schaun Clark
Customer Service Rep.
Compton,CA
Kimberly Claytor
Teacher
Costa Mesa, CA
Paul t Cobbin
aka Captain Wardrobe
artist
UK
Wendy Cohen
Writer/Editor
Los Angeles, CA
Compassion for Farm Animals
San Diego, CA
Michael Covents
Bettendorf, IA
Kate Crosier
San Jose, CA
Kathleen Crume
School Administrator
Roy Culver
writer
Athens, Greece
Soula Culver
Richmond, CA
Vika Culver
sculptor
Athens, Greece
Karin Dalesky
Grad student, Interdisciplinary Studies
University of Washington, Tacoma
Rev. Pondurenga Das
Berkeley, CA
Nicholas De Genova
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Latina/o Studies
Columbia University
Zack de la Rocha
Jesus Diaz
Vancouver, WA
Frank Dorrell
Publisher of Addicted to War
Jim Douglas
Davis, CA
B.R. Dupuis
Activist
Seattle, WA
Jane Fehlberg
UCB/PMB/PGEC
Albany, CA
Folk This!
Zackariah Moore Fosdyck
Metamora,Illinois
Ken Freeland
Houston Coalition for Justice Not War
Houston, TX
Cameron Frost
Victoria, Australia
James Fujii
Associate Professor of Japanese Literature
University of California, Irvine
Donald Herman Collins Gallegos
Riverside, CA
Melissa Garrett
San Diego, CA
Professor Ann Fagan Ginger
Berkeley, California
Paul George
Director, Peninsula Peace and Justice Center
Palo Alto, CA
Warren M. Gold, M.D.
Professor of Medicine
University of California San Francisco
Luis Fernando Gomez
Human Rights Activist
Alexandria, Va
Chantel C. Guidry
Lawrence, KS
Jamie Hagen-Holt
San Diego, CA
Paul Hagen-Holt
San Diego, CA
Darlene Heinz
Registered Nurse
Kansas City, MO
Megan Herrington
Everett, MA
Tomoyuki Hoshino
Novelist
Japan
Theodore Harris
artist
Philadelphia, PA
Patricia Hartz, Ph.D.
Humanities
University of California, Irvine
Carl Henriksson
Solidarity Organization Twiga
Sweden
Julie Hoigaard, Ph.D.
Social Science
University of California, Irvine
Sophia Hronopoulos
Obirin University
Tokyo, Japan
Adrienne Carey Hurley, Ph.D.
Stanford Institute for International Studies
Dave Ijams
Richmond, CA
Ramsey Kanaan
AK Press
Erich Keefe
legal worker
Berkeley, CA
Brandon Kikuyama
Mission Viejo, CA
Janet Kobren
Oakland, CA
Sarah Kotzamani
artist
Berkeley, CA
Keith Lampe
Cha-am, Thailand
Lawrence Anarchist Black Cross
Lawrence, KS
Thomas Leavitt
Santa Cruz, CA
Roger Linn
Roger Linn Designs
Josh Lofthouse
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Timmy Lu
Baldwin Park, CA
Christine Lynch
Lawrence, MA
John Martin
Palo Alto, CA
Stephen A. Martin
Fort Madison, Iowa
Adam Marx
Hopkins, Minnesota
Robert T McQuaid
Ontario, Canada
Peggy Miller
activist, craftsperson, and reporter
Richard Moreno
President, Not In Our Name (Mt. SAC) Student Alliance
Leuren Moret
Citizen Scientist
President, Scientists for Indigenous People
Berkeley, California
Liv Murphy
Santa Fe, NM
Chizuco Naito
Tokyo University
Japan
Futoshi Nakagawa
Tokyo, Japan
Nicholas Napolitano
Granada Hills, CA
Anahita New (U.K. National)
Bangkok, Thailand
Laro Nicol
Activist and father
Devin O'Keefe
Richmond, CA
Guy Oosterhoff
Sydney, Australia
Ozomatli
Jody Paulson
Fort Wayne, IN
George Peabody
Editor, Molokai Advertiser-News
Kaunakakai, Molokai, HI
Joe Peacock
Hampton, GA
Monika Penner
BC, Canada
Csaba Polony
Editor, Left Curve
James Pratt
Richmond, CA
Edessa Ramos
poet, writer, theater artist
Zurich, Switzerland
Amy Ray
Indigo Girls
David Remer
Frankfurt, Germany
Revolution Summer
San Diego, CA
Jennifer Martin Ruggiero
Teacher of Computer Science & Imaging
Stephen Ruoss, M.D.
Associate Professor
Stanford Medical School
Rob Santucci
High Bridge, NJ
Emily Saliers
Indigo Girls
Al Sary
Mountain View, CA
Fiona Searson
Assistant in Nursing
Australia
Steven Slap
anti-racist activist
Lake Pleasant, MA
Michael Slate
writer, Revolutionary Worker newspaper
host, Beneath the Surface, KPFK Radio, Los Angeles
Ashley Smith
Flushing, MI
Carolyn Spidle
Santa Fe, NM
Brian Squadrilli
Huntington Beach, CA
Starhawk
author and international activist
Jeffrey G Strahl
Berkeley, CA
Samina F. Sundas
Palo Alto, CA
Sue Supriano
Berkeley, CA
Colin M. Sword
CEO & Chairman
Delta Engineering Corporation
Bruce Tanner
San Jose, CA
David Torres
Labor Worker
Susana Torres
Human Resource Support
Linda Tran
Stanford, CA
Serena Turley
Co-editor, The G-Spot
Arizona State University
Alissa Van Nort
Civil Servant
Berkeley, CA
Deirdre Visser
Artist and teacher
San Francisco, CA
Megan Wallis
Los Angeles, CA
Professor Dana Ward
Executive Director
International Society of Political Psychology
Pitzer College
Claremont, CA
Jonathan Weiner
San Francisco, CA
Heidi Werntz
Activist, Photojournalist, and Law Student
Los Angeles, CA
Susan Whitmyre
Long Beach, CA
Carla Williams
writer and artist
Oakland, CA
Cynthia (Cindy) Williams
Political Activist, Stained Glass/Mosaic Artist
Brittney Willis
Nashville, TN
Deborah Willis-Kennedy
Professor of Photography & Imaging
Tisch School of the Arts
New York University
Steve Withers
Electoral Reform Coalition
Wellington, New Zealand
Gordon Wright
Berkeley, CA
Armando Yañez
San Jose, CA
A. Daniel Yavuzkurt
Student, Penn State University
Melissa Yang
Dayton, Ohio
Howard Zinn
