May 8th, 2007 Prison Dispatch from Jeff “Free” Luers

Hello my friends. I apologize for my absence lately. The last few months have been hectic and busy for me, as I’m sure you can imagine. My appeal was decided in my favor. I have been working to get the lowest sentence possible. And while I can’t comment on that at this time, I can report some new developments.

In the last couple of weeks, Judge Velure, my trial and sentencing judge, has announced his intention to retire July 1^st. Velure, who has made no secret of his dislike for me, will no longer be able to re-sentence me when I go back to court. This will hopefully help to level the playing field for my attorneys.

Additionally, my appellate attorney has filed a motion for reconsideration on the facts of my case. I am not challenging the courts opinion only their statement of facts. In particular, I am asking them to change their facts about the Tyree case (attempted arson of an oil tanker) to be consistent with the trial evidence.

The purpose for this request is to aid me in post-conviction relief, where I anticipate a successful challenge of the evidence used to convict me of the attempted arson.

For those not familiar with this aspect of my case, I was convicted of two counts of attempted arson and two counts of possession and manufacture of a destructive device and this contributed to nearly six years of my 22 years and eight months sentence.

The evidence used to convict me was circumstantial evidence linked to a community warehouse, kept unlocked, that was rented by a friend and I. The only finger prints found at the Tyree site did not match me or my codefendant, and recent developments have hinted of the possibility that forensic evidence was doctored.

While at present I am focused on re-sentencing and the possibility of being released as early as this year, I continue to work toward my goal of a just world. Recently, a friend and I have begun to co-author a book on climate change and social change, and I am pursuing the possibility of going to school for a degree in environmental science, either after my release, from prison, or a combination of the two.

I am excited about my eventual release which worse case scenario should not be more than 4-5 years away. Though I hope and pray it will be much sooner.

I look forward to my own personal future as well as being able to contribute more on the activist front, and I am deeply excited about the possibility of finally meeting many of my long time supporters.

As June 9^th, the International Day of Solidarity approaches, I hope many of you will remember that our struggle is far from over. The last of those convicted for ELF actions will be sentenced and imprisoned by the 9^th. Our friends from SHAC are already serving out their sentences. Our recently arrested allies from the Black Panther Party are awaiting their fate after being charged with the killing of an Oakland police officer from 30 years ago.

All around us the struggle for earth, animal and human liberation continues. It is our voices and our actions that keeps these struggles alive. And it is our silence that allows oppression to continue. Come this June be loud, be visible, and determined.

- Jeff “Free” Luers

Write to:

Jeff Luers

#13797671

Oregon State Prison

2605 State Street

Salem, Oregon 97310

www.freefreenow.org