Come Together

“Come Together” is title of a Beatles song from their 1969 album Abbey Road. Great album, one of their best, but this posting isn’t about the Beatles or that song. I’ve been thinking about what to post next. My original plan was to put up a long piece I’ve written on my views of neo-conservative politics and compare it to traditional conservative viewpoints. I can’t seem to bring myself to put that up, instead I’m going to write yet another collection of words about – (drum roll, please) Susan LeFevre.

“What??? Yet again??? Surely you must be capable of thinking of something else????”

Yes, Susan LeFevre again. And I do think about other things. I’m actually pretty busy with a lot of activities, but I see this as something important and I want to see it through. I never intended this to be a blog dedicate to Susan LeFevre. For the time being, it is turning into that. I hope it won’t have to be for much longer.

I could go into the usual tirade of why she has been sentenced unjustly:

- Sitting in car, not primary defendant
- Denial of proper legal representation
- Lies told by court system thirty years ago
- Harsh undeserved sentence
- The news is misinformed and doesn’t care about the facts
- Etc, etc. – BLAH, BLAH, BLAH

YAWN – you’ve heard it all. I’ve gone into my views of the legal aspects (as I understand from a layman’s point of view), the moral point of view and just about every argument I could think of. I’ve posted on just about every comment section of Michigan and San Diego online newspapers. Chances are pretty good anyone interested in the case has drawn their own conclusion and nothing more that I can say is going to change anyone’s mind.

I’ve managed to anger some past associates. “Why,” they ask, “would you spend your time defending an individual?” I’ve been involved with several people working on removing the juvenile justice system in California and Florida from the adult system. They have pointed out to me it is useless to concentrate on individuals.

“You’re losing prospective and becoming too involved in a single case. You need to be detached from your subjects,” one informed me. “It is a mistake to become overly invested in a single person, when the goal is to bring about reforms in the system.”

It is true. I realize that. I’ve become emotionally occupied in the LeFevre case. I’ve never met the woman, but I now take the setbacks very hard.

Another example; for more than a year I’ve maintained close correspondence with another person (can’t mention names here because this is an ongoing case) that is now on trial facing a potential life sentence. The original intent was to interview her about her prospective on having a sentence reversed by Federal Appeals Court after twelve years in prison. Instead, as I got to know her, I began to care.

True, I have lost my detachment.

True, I have inserted myself into things that most likely aren’t any of my concern. That is because I do care.

I’d be better off not caring. I’ve talked to mothers whose children now reside within the prison system. I heard the stories. The corruption, the punishments of withholding food and medicine. Women forced to sleep on bare metal for a week or more for some minor infraction of the rules. I heard a tale of a husband picked up in the middle of the night to be sent back to prison after 25 years of being a law abiding citizen but still considered a fugitive, to spent six years back in prison. It isn’t rewarding being involved in this. Victories are few and action takes a long time. Most people on the outside either don’t care or don’t want to know.

It not like I have any reason to care. I’ve never been arrested. No relatives in prison. I got involved by needing to learn more for a project I was working on. What I learned, I didn’t like and wanted to do something. I wound up caring.

There isn’t much I can do for the young woman about to go on trial with a potential life sentence. I’m not a lawyer; I can’t raise her defense. I can’t even work on raising public awareness of the case; it wouldn’t work in her favor. All I can do is offer moral support and hope her family manages to raise enough money for a competent attorney this time out. She didn’t get that the first time and it cost her twelve years of her life.

For Susan LeFevre, I believe there are things I can do to help, even if it is in a small way. She was sent to prison for years for being part of a minor offense. It was unjust and it is more unjust now. She has sympathy and supporters. She has a good defense. Maybe that is enough.

However, in my own modest way, I want to convince other supporters to write letters of support to Judge William A. Crane. Posting comments on news sites has been played out. It isn’t enough. I could post on every news site in Michigan and California and it wouldn’t produce much. Not anymore.

What we as supporters of Susan LeFevre need to do is COME TOGETHER as an organized group and have a solid plan. This has worked in getting state legislatures to listen on juvenile justice issues. It could help to convince a judge that there is wide spread support for freeing Susan LeFevre.

For those of you, who read this and want to support LeFevre, please contact me at beatnik1209@gmail.com. I'm proposing that we set up a group, communicate in a coordinated way and take action to help. I have some ideas and I want to hear others. If someone else want to lead this, great! I’m not doing this for anything other than to see her get back home.

Free Susan LeFevre