Friends of Justice

Dear Friend of Justice,

I recently posted an entry suggesting that people send a sympathy card to Paul Litchfield, who recently lost his sister. Another sister, Robin, emailed me to add that this coming Friday (December 12th) is also Paul’s birthday. So you may want to send a birthday card as well.

Paul’s address is:

Paul Litchfield
NCCI Gardner
POB 466
Gardner MA 01440

-Bob

Dear Friend of Justice,

Recently I asked for a few people to write to the prisoner that I’ve been calling “Kevin.” But there are a great many people behind bars who need correspondents. (I have a list here:

http://www.bobchatelle.net/please-write-to-a-prisoner/

There are three I would like to mention whom I think would especially benefit from some outside friends.

One is Elsie Oscarson, wrongfully convicted of sexually abusing her own children. You can read about her case here.

Elsie’s address is:

Elsie Oscarson
T80574 (Algon unit)
MCI-Framingham
P. O. Box 9007
Framingham, MA 01704

The other person is Ryan Smith, falsely accused at 13 and sent to prison at 15. (Read his story here.) Ryan is currently scheduled for release in June, when he turns 25. He needs help preparing for this transition. If you’d like to write to Ryan, please email me.

The third person is Paul Litchfield, another innocent person convicted in Berkshire County. You can read Paul’s story here. Last Saturday, Paul’s sister, Patricia, died after a long battle with cancer. It has been very difficult for Paul, not being able to be with his family at this time. You can send a sympathy card or note of condolence to him:

Paul Litchfield W80607 T103A
NCCI Gardner
500 Colony Road
PO Box 466
Gardner, MA 01440

In a couple of weeks, when the holiday season is upon us, I will post a message asking people to send cards to prisoners.

-Bob Chatelle

Dear Friend of Justice,

I just received this from the Tankleff support team:

Today Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office announced it would not retry Marty, citing insufficient evidence to prove his guilt.

For Marty, it’s all over but the paperwork, as Suffolk County Judge Robert Doyle still has to sign off on the AG’s motion to dismiss the charges. That should be done by the end of July.

The mood is collective relief, with Marty celebrating at home with family, friends and supporters.

Hopefully this is the end of Marty’s ordeal, but it’s not the end of the story, and we’ll be following it all on www.MartyTankleff.org and the Marty Tankleff Blog.

Today Marty profusely thanked his family, friends and supporters, and that includes every one of you who took the time to witness what was happening here. Without public opinion and support, he doesn’t make it this far.

Congratulations, Team Tankleff!
__________

It was just over two years ago that Jim D’Entremont and I went down to New York to attend a fundraiser for Marty Tankleff. The day before the event, we received a call from John Swomley telling us that Judge Fecteau had granted Bernard Baran’s new-trial motion.

Attending that fund raiser was bittersweet. Nearly everyone had heard about Bee and they congratulated us on the victory. But Marty and his supporters were still reeling from a nasty decision by the judge who had heard his appeal.

Two years ago today, Bernard Baran was released from prison. And his case still is not resolved. But we are joyous that Marty’s case is resolved, and that he can now get on with his life.

Will this country ever see any meaningful criminal-justice reform so that fine young people like Marty Tankleff, Bernard Baran, and so many others won’t have to spend the best years of their life rotting in dangerous, degrading prisons?

-Bob Chatelle