Update on Eric McDavid's Appeal

Eric McDavid is a political prisoner, currently
serving a 20 year sentence in federal prison for
“thought crime.” He was arrested in January 2006
(as part of the government's ongoing "Green
Scare" campaign against environmental and animal
rights activists) after being targeted by an
undercover informant who formulated a crime and
entrapped Eric in it. Eric was targeted by the
state for his political beliefs, and his case is
important for everyone who dares to stand up. He
is currently appealing his conviction and his sentencing.

Eric was arrested (along with Zachary Jenson and
Lauren Weiner) on January 13, 2006, as part of
the government's ongoing Green Scare campaign.
All three were charged with
http://www.supporteric.org/indictment.pdf “Conspiracy
to damage and destroy property by fire and an
explosive.” His arrest was the direct result of a
government informant – known only as
“http://www.supporteric.org/pdfs/elleexhibit.pdf Anna”
- who spent a year and a half drawing him in and
working with the FBI to fabricate a crime and
implicate Eric in it. Anna was paid over $65,000
for her work with the FBI. Eric was imprisoned
for what amounts to thought-crime – no actions
were ever carried out, and Eric was charged with
a single count of “conspiracy” - a powerful legal
tool often used by the state to crush dissent.

Aug. 10, 2010 Infoshop News

Dear friends,

Yesterday, August 9th, oral arguments for Eric's appeal were heard at the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Most of the discussion
focused on the incorrect written response to a question the jurors asked
during deliberations at Eric's trial (the oral answer to a jury question
was the complete opposite from the written answer - the jury reached a
guilty verdict soon after). The presiding judge on the panel seemed
particularly interested in this issue (she wrote a previous decision for
the 9th circuit in which a case was reversed due to an erroneous jury
instruction).

The opening brief in Eric's appeal contained 9 separate arguments.
Yesterday the court focused primarily on one of those. It would be
unfortunate if the court failed to consider these other issues, as they
are all important and speak to the multitude of injustices that occurred
throughout Eric's case (pre-arrest, through trial and sentencing). But
while it is impossible and probably counterproductive to speculate about
any possible outcomes for this appeal, we were encouraged by the panel's
interest in this key issue.

The prosecution, lacking any solid arguments about why this issue was
"harmless error," resorted (as they usually do) to their typical bag of
tricks and lies. We know we probably don't need to go into detail here -
but just keep this in mind if you choose to listen to the arguments.

If you are interested in listening to yesterday's proceedings in their
entirety, they are posted on the 9th Circuit's website at:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/media/view_subpage.php?pk_id=0000005995

Now we begin what could potentially be a very long waiting period. The 9th
Circuit takes, on average, between 6 months to a year to issue a decision
after oral arguments. This will not be an easy wait! Please continue to
write Eric and offer your support. For more information on how to support
(and write!) Eric, please visit the website: http://www.supporteric.org

Yours,
SPS