iS THiS wHat Minnesota nice is all about ? Ask your DFL candidates and leaders why is our state prosecuting dissent ? Isn't Minneapolis having their convention this weekend? What a great place to ask many candidates, especially Susan Gaerner this question.
*****
The following is taken from SupportJesseJames.wordpress.com, and was written by Jesse in earlier this year:
Jesse James Forrey is a friend, a brother, a musician and artist, writer, student, and teacher. He spends his time helping raise the children in his life, playing the banjo, taking and offering community classes, and volunteering his time to help create healthy communities. Jesse, 27, was arrested at the RNC protests of last September in the Twin Cities and is fighting a felony charge, facing up to five years in jail. He is from Santa Cruz, California and courageously waits to return to his home and family. He has hired a private attorney to help him through trial and needs all the support he can get. For more information visit
http://www.supportjessejames.wordpress.com and
http://rncaftermath.org .
I have been in the Twin Cities for eight months now. Eight months. I had planned on being here for one week, but following my arrest in September I have been forced to stay here until my case is closed. I have been found guilty of no crime, yet I have been away from my home for so long, away from my three year old friend Autumn whom I have helped raise. How do I compensate for missing these months of her life? I can not get them back, and I can only try to explain to her that I would be with her if I could.
I was conditionally released from the Ramsey County Law Enforcement Center after five days in jail on $2,500 bail. The prosecution asked for $10,000 and the judge offered $7,500 or $2,500 with conditions. A bond was not available because I do not live in Minnesota, nor do I have any immediate family in the area, and my financial means are very modest. Some friends gathered their money together and I accepted their conditions: I was to check-in weekly with “Project Remand”, and could not leave the metropolitan area without permission. I have been given a place to stay with friends here, as well as the warm clothes needed to survive this, my first, freezing winter, and all things considered have been getting by. But not a day, not a single day in the last six months have I not thought about the West Coast, my friends and my family. The struggle inside of me to accept that I can not be with them, the distance and sadness has made this one of the hardest times of my life. And I have done nothing wrong. I am not even accused of hurting anyone, yet my life has been irrevocably altered.
Throughout this I have thought about those whose lives are wrapped up in this Criminal “Justice” System and my heart skips. It goes out to the families whose parents never come home at night, or whose unarmed son is shot to death in public by the police, it goes out to the woman who begged the judge to release the temporary restraining order on her husband so he could come home and help her take care of their two kids only to be turned down because the case was still pending. My heart has broken in these past eight months. But I choose to let it be broken open so that I can feel what is happening in this world.
I can not change most of what I see and hear. I can not make “correctional facilities” humane or healthy. I can not stop immigration or deportation. I can not stop people being labeled as terrorists because they opened a community center. But I can treat people with respect and communicate honestly.
I would be with you right now if I were from a wealthier family. I would have paid bail in full, hired a private attorney from the start and gotten on with my case and my life. But instead I am here in Minnesota, waiting. I am on “trial call”, a system in which I am put on a list and wait until it is my turn to go to trial. When my time comes I get a call from my lawyer and have two hours to show up in court. Some folks have been on call for over a year. It is just not okay to put someone through that. The pressure of waiting for trial is really intense, there is a lot of anxiety. I can not hold down a steady job because I may have to leave at any time. So I volunteer my time, and work when I can get it and I support others going through this with me.
I have recently hired a private attorney without the immediate means to pay her. She seems really great and treats me with care and compassion. She already has pro-bono cases and will accept whatever payments I can make. Together I have faith that we can win in trial. I am not supposed to discuss the specifics of my case but I will say that I am not in as bad of a shape as some. One RNC arrestee has been given additional charges as he fights his case, four felonies to be exact, and was recently threatened with more if he didn’t take the plea agreement offered to him. The judge in my case is Paulette Flynn, notorious for her high bail amounts and long jail sentences. She recently sentenced my friend to sixty days for a crime that a different judge gave another RNC arrestee only probation and a fine.
I know that you too can not individually change any of this. And that you too probably have dreams and wishes and pains that you would like to affect. It is my hope that we can share this with each other, in a way that is enabling and inspiring. I suppose that is what this is about: sharing our lives in an inspiring way. Support.
You can help me by contributing towards my legal costs, which has the dual effect of easing some of my mental and emotional weight through the lightening of my financial load, and contributing to the healthy relationship between me and my lawyer. Simply by reading or listening to this you are engaging in support through communication. Please talk about what what I have said has brought up for you and share it with those around. There are things we can not ignore, and there is so much we have to gain.
Though I have been isolated and intimidated, I am not giving up. I maintain my innocence and will fight for it, just as I hope you would. Though I am being punished without being convicted of a crime, I am not punishing myself and am working to ease the troubles of others I meet. Though the State would have me be an outlaw and outcast, I meet people face to face and treat them as I would my brother. Who we are is defined by how we act and react to the world, just as the world is defined by how we act. I chose one of health and compassion.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
Jesse James Forrey
http://supportjessejames.wordpress.com**************************************************************************************************
The RNC of 2008 is a fading past for most of the country, and much of import has happened since last Fall. Just as there are many folks beginning their fight against the State for the happenings of last January, there are a number of friends still caught up in the web of Oppression in Minnesota. The RNC 8 have had their Terrorism enhancements dropped but are left with potential jail time for conspiracy charges (
http://rnc8.org ), Dave Mahoney is facing over 20 years in prison for six bogus felony charges (terroristic threats for pointing a finger?! -
http://helpdavemahoney.blogspot.com /), and local Santa Cruz citizen Jesse Forrey is still stuck living in Minneapolis awaiting trial. This is just a reminder that folks in the Twin Cities and all over are still dealing with the aftermath of the RNC and an offering of sentiments from a local Bay Area community member who is fighting to come home.
There are a few small ways you can help:
* Call and email Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner. Be polite but firm in telling her that you won’t rest while she continues to pursue bogus charges, until she lets Jesse go home: office — (651) 266-3222, RCA co.ramsey.mn.us; campaign — (612) 978-8625, info susangaertner.co
* Please take a moment and Sign the petition demanding Jesse be released from his legal exile in Minnesota -
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/supportjessejames
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