[Ppnews] Briana Waters update

[Political Prisoner News]

  Repost from Portland Indymedia:
  http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2008/03/373233.shtml

  Briana's Detention Hearing this Weds. / Full update

  This is an update for those who have been following the trial of Briana
  Waters, a wonderful mother and violin teacher from the Bay area who to
  this day maintains her innocence of these charges she was just convicted
  of. We are going to continue doing our best to support her in the ongoing
  legal battle for justice.

  An important update is there is a detention hearing on Wednesday March 12,
  at 1:30 at the Federal courthouse in Tacoma to determine if Briana will be
  allowed to go home and take care of her life in preparation for her
  sentencing on May 30th. We are reminding people to get there early, like
  at 12:30, and people in Olympia will be carpooling from the Grocery Outlet
  Parking Lot at 11:45. Obviously, if she is living at home over the next 3
  months she will be better able to prepare for an appeal, as well as be
  able to take care of her daughter. She and her lawyers are requesting as
  many people as possible to come to show that she is part of a community
  and NOT a flight risk. Though that should be obvious, as she has showed up
  to every court date and hearing in 2 years. Join us then, at 11:45 to get
  a ride up there and show that we are watching the so-called justice system
  at work.

  What happened in Briana's trial on Thursday was very upsetting for those
  of us who hoped that common sense would prevail over fear and lies. It was
  a very emotional and stressful time, knowing that the prosecution had done
  their best to stretch and twist the evidence to their favor, and there was
  also a lot of hope that the jury had seen through their antics.

  The judge decided first that he would accept a partially hung jury, and
  there was a question of whether the jury would be polled on the hung
  counts. I believe both Prosecution and Defense were pushing for this,
  (the prosecution's reasoning being that they would have more info to go on
  when they were deciding whether to re-try Briana on the hung counts).
  Burgess struck out on his own in this one and didn't allow it, so nobody
  knows what the ratio split was in the jury on the other 3 counts.

  The jury was brought in, and the air was dense with anticipation. The
  courtroom was packed, with Briana's supporters and a few media outlets on
  our side, and a collection of FBI agents and other feds, and more media on
  the other side.

  It started to feel surreal, as the jury foreman passed the note to the
  court clerk and she read the guilty verdicts on counts 5 and 7, or Arson
  of a building used in Interstate commerce, and Arson of a building that
  receives Federal funding. These 2 counts are for the same arson of course,
  just various excuses for the Gov't to heap on extra charges. It was a very
  emotional time for those of us who know she is innocent.

  The jury was instructed not to talk to either side's lawyers about the
  case at any point in the future, which seemed very unusual. Defense lawyer
  Bloom argued that they would like to have the ability to determine if the
  jurors had been influenced by the big arson fire in Woodinville on Monday
  morning. They were wanting some idea how much that contaminated the jury,
  with references made in initial news reports of devices and explosives(!)
  found in the unburned houses, worries about Booby-traps(!!), and the
  immediate pinning of those fires on the ELF and the requisite sound bites
  about terrorism.

  Though Bloom argued for the ability to contact the jury later to learn
  this, Burgess wouldn't hear it, for no apparent reason (not unlike many of
  this judge's 'decisions'). Needless to say, there are various groups that
  are concerned about this sort of thing and wish we had more of this kind
  of information.

  One court observer was quoted saying "I thought justice was supposed to be
  blind, not deaf and dumb... "

  At the hearing on Thursday afternoon, Bob Bloom argued eloquently for
  Briana to be released pending her sentencing hearing May 30th, citing the
  character witnesses that had testified to her exemplary life, the fact
  that she was absolutely No flight risk, and no danger to the community. He
  also went over in some detail some of the main appellate issues. The judge
  though, didn't seem to consider any of these points interesting, and
  ordered her detained, though they scheduled the detention hearing for this
  Weds. where his decision could be reversed.

  So, out of all this are many, many grounds for an appeal of the verdict.
  I'm not sure right now of the timeline for this, but we at Olympia Civil
  Liberties and other friends and supporters of Briana will continue to post
  and update people. Please join our low traffic listserve about this case,
  and possibly other Civil Liberties/Green Scare issues, with carpool info,
  etc. by going to www.olycivlib.org.

  The first thing you can do is come to the Detention Hearing at the Tacoma
  Courthouse this Weds. at 1:30pm. We have to arrive early! We will be
  gathering on the Westside of Olympia at 11:45. Please be there!

  Another thing is to write to Briana where she is being held right now. The
  moral support that we can give right now is invaluable. The address is:

  Briana Waters
  36432-086
  FDC - Seatac
  Federal Detention Center
  P.O. Box 13900
  Seattle, WA 98198

  There are a few guidelines for writing to her to keep in mind:
  All letters must have a return address on the envelope.
  Put your name and address on each page of a letter, as it will be opened,
  and she may not get the envelope.
  Written correspondence and drawings may be in pencil, standard ink pen,
  typewritten, or computer generated. No felt pens, markers, crayon, or
  colored pencil, etc.
  Do not discuss her case or anything related to illegal activities. Keep in
  mind that all mail is read by authorities.
  Most facilities will NOT accept stamps or envelopes mailed to prisoners.
  Avoid using white-out, stickers, tape, colored ink or glitter.
  All personal artwork must be in black & white, copied pages can be in
  color. Most facilities do not allow torn pages from books, magazine or
  newspaper clippings. Photocopies, however, are accepted

  And of course, there are many costs that have come up through the course
  of this ordeal. Donations are needed by Briana and her family to continue
  fighting for justice in this upcoming period. If you can, donate through
  Briana's website: www.supportbriana.org Local donations can be arranged
  through Olympia Civil Liberties by emailing us. Thank you!

  We'll see you all on Wednesday!
  Olycivlib




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