Lynne Stewart from Carswell Medical Prison: ’I believe in fighting back’

Lynne Stewart

The following open letter from political prisoner Lynne Stewart was sent on Feb. 29.

My dear friends, supporters, comrades!

My purpose here is to rally all of us to the continuation of struggle, of resistance. I am committed to all the unfinished freedom business that still confronts us — much more difficult and contentious than supporting me. I'm easy — the righteousness of my situation, the extreme overreaching of the government and the obvious effects on the way in which lawyers and particularly movement lawyers carry out their obligations to their clients; our issues — free speech from the courthouse steps which we assumed was and is included in the First Amendment; our repugnance at the changing of the ground rules after the game is afoot when the higher court directs the lower court judge to increase the sentence and he complies five times over.

We are demanding that the court acknowledge the wrongfulness of my 10-year sentence as it is based on a foundation of sand. Of course, we also know that courts are capable of creating rock out of sand just as they can create "persons" out of corporations! With that understanding, while hoping for the best, we need to commit ourselves to all the ongoing issues — Bradley Manning and Wikileaks; the obscene vaudevillian charade of democracy that is the current presidential election; the cause of our political prisoners — Leonard, Mumia, Sundiata, Jaan, Brianna, Dr. Dhafir and all the prisoners on death row and those being tortured and killed worldwide and in solitary confinement; the right to choose for women steadily being eroded by elderly men interested in controlling younger women. You know the causes, we fight every day in every way and we are committed. We are not sunshine soldiers or summer patriots. The misery we fight against is caused by a super-terror, the USA 1%, intent on keeping people mentally subjugated by convincing them that they need to surrender in fear to the government .

I believe in fighting back — it's liberating, and you meet the finest people who have also enlisted. A movement has to be a living, growing organism dedicated to change that "moves"! We will move and we will reclaim our beloved country from those who would blind and subjugate our people. Onward ever, backward never !!!!!

Lynne Stewart