Feature Archives

2/21 6:10pm Update The execution of Michael Morales has been postponed indefinitely, as the state was unable to comply with mandated changes to the method of execution. Read more

2/21 9:00am update: The planned execution of Michael Morales was delayed until 7:30pm tonight night after two anesthesiologists refused to participate because of ethical concerns. Michael will now be killed with a single dose of the barbiturate sodium pentothal and no anesthesiologists will take part. Updates

Michael Morales was scheduled to be executed by the state of California at 12:01am. On the 20th, Protests and vigils were held at San Quentin in Marin County ( Photos | Video ) in Santa Cruz ( Photos ) and in Redwood City, Palo Alto, Modesto, Fresno, El Cerrito, and Alameda .
Read more about upcoming anti-death penalty events from Death Penalty Focus

Based on their observations from the long, slow death of Stanley "Tookie" Williams and Clarence Ray Allen, Morales' lawyers argued that lethal injections violate the Constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment." It was announced on February 14th that Morales will be put to death with barbiturates alone, or the prison will provide an anesthesiologist or other medical professional to monitor that the prisoner is unconscious before they deliver a fatal dose of a heart-stopping chemical.

Two men were responsible for the 1981 rape and murder of a woman named Terri Winchell. Only Michael Morales, who is Latino, received a sentence of death. In the 25 years since, he has continued to accept responsibility, seek atonement for his actions, and affirm his sincere and unquestioned remorse for the anguish he caused the victim and her family. The jury was misled by an informant, and now even the judge who ruled in Morales's case is opposed to executing Morales. People who are opposed to the death penalty are once again calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to grant clemency to a man who is on death row. Read more

Solidarity with Morales and against the death penalty was expressed in many ways on days leading up to the execution. On Monday, February 20th, a walk for abolition started at 6:45am in San Francisco, and ended at San Quentin State Prison hours later. A press conference against the death penalty was held in San Francisco on Monday, February 13th.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty's Morales Page | State of California's Page about Michael Morales | ACLU NC's Michael Morales Page | Attorneys' 2/7 Reply to DA's Opposition to Clemency Request | Fact Sheet by Stop Executions Ca

Key documents from the ACLU Public Records Act request are available in pdf form.

In response to an ACLU Public Records Act request, the Santa Cruz Police Department has produced over 200 pages relating to their undercover infiltration of a peaceful New's Year's parade group known as Last Night Santa Cruz. Though the documents produced were incomplete in relation to the Public Records Act request, they portray a department with little concern for the privacy rights of peaceful community members and a seeming disdain for the use of diplomacy as an investigation technique. Read more

see also: SCPD Police Spying Scandal - deputy chief leads investigation

For more information on the Santa Cruz Police Department spying on peaceful community groups, see previous SC-IMC coverage: Council votes to continue to do nothing about spying (again) || "Just Us" Action Against SCPD Spying || Police Infiltrate Peaceful Parade Organizers

After 3 weeks of being denied vegan meals, Eric McDavid is now on a hunger strike. Since January 13th, he has been held in the Sacramento County Main Jail and denied vegan food. His family has reported that his health is failing from three weeks of malnourishment. Eric began the hunger strike on January 31st. Despite the efforts of his family, friends, and lawyer he has not been given food he can eat. Supporters are asking that people call the county jail and politely but firmly request that he be given vegan food (food without animal products such as meat, dairy, or eggs) before his health deteriorates further. They say that people should point out that being able to eat is Eric’s human right and vital to his physical and mental well being. Read more

Read more about the Three Auburn Eco-Defense Arrestees

SAN FRANCISCO -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California (ACLU-NC) today filed a federal Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of UC students and groups whose lawful activities may have been monitored by the Pentagon. The move is part of a national ACLU effort to reveal the extent and purpose of Pentagon spying.

“Students should be able to freely express themselves on campus without fear of ending up in a military database,” said Mark Schlosberg, Police Practices Policy Director of the ACLU-NC. “The Department of Defense should act quickly and disclose all information it has collected on these student organizations and their members.”

The ACLU of Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Guardian filed its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on behalf of UC Santa Cruz Students Against War (“SAW”) and UC Berkeley students with Berkeley Stop the War Coalition (“BSTW”). The ACLU is seeking the disclosure of all documents maintained by the Department of Defense on the individuals and groups, as well as information on whether the records have been shared with other government agencies.

The national ACLU filed a similar FOIA request on behalf of the American Friends Service Committee, Veterans for Peace, United for Peace and Justice and Greenpeace. In Georgia, Rhode Island, Maine, and Pennsylvania ACLU affiliates are also seeking Pentagon files on local groups. Read more...

previous coverage: UC Students Demand Answers about Spying Scandal || Students Denounce Pentagon Surveillance of Counter-Recruitment Activities

2/1 Update: Zachary Jenson is in need of funds to pay attorney's fees. Sacramento Prisoner Support is encouraging people to organize benefits.
Recent eco-defense arrestee Lauren Weiner was granted bail on January 26th, but as of January 28th she was still in jail waiting for paperwork to be completed. She will be confined to the counties in New York where she lives and works, her attorney's office in Florida, and the federal court in Sacramento. Codefendants Zachary Jenson and Eric McDavid were denied bail. Eric McDavid's attorney plans to appeal this decision, and has also been trying to get fair treatment such as showers, meals he can eat, and exercise.

The "CS" (confidential source or "confidential snitch") in this case has been identified by her former friends and acquaintances as a young woman named Anna. Her actions are described in legal documents relating to this case. Read more from Portland Indymedia.

Support needed: Zachary Jenson and Eric McDavid follow vegetarian and vegan diets, respectively, but need phone calls to the jail to demand that they be given food that they can eat. They also want better treatment in terms of access to showers and exercise. They would both like to receive letters and books. Read more In addition, Sacramento Prisoner Support is asking for people who have met the CS to contact them at sacprisonersupport[at]riseup[dot]net.

Read more about court dates up to January 26th | More about the arrests | Criminal Complaint against Lauren, Zachary, and Eric | Indybay's Past Coverage of the Auburn Arrestees | Bombs and Shields

Santa Cruz, CA - Members of Students Against War (SAW) met with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) Chancellor Denice Denton and other senior officials Tuesday to discuss the Pentagon spying scandal and the future of free speech on the UCSC campus.

In December of 2005, a 400-page document obtained by MSNBC revealed, amongst many things, that the Pentagon spied on 10 peaceful college protests. UC Santa Cruz’s counter-recruitment protest of April 5, 2005, organized by SAW, was the only one of these ‘incidents’ labeled both “credible” and a “threat.” It was also the only college-related ‘incident’ to be spied on by the Army’s 902nd Military Intelligence Group.

In the Tuesday meeting between students and administrators, the foremost of the concerns addressed was the possible university involvement in undercover surveillance of student activities. SAW presented the administrators with a 34-page document detailing many of the suspected incidents of covert surveillance, intimidation and first amendment violations that students had experienced on campus in the past year. Incidents ranged from police infiltration of protests and meetings to students being singled out due to their political activity. To verify these allegations, students proposed that the UCSC Administration conduct an internal investigation of campus and local officials that may have been divulging students’ personal information or releasing information on political activity to local or federal authorities. The students also sought the support of the administration in any follow-up actions.

Furthermore, SAW reiterated a request for the Administration to join the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights (FAIR), currently involved in the FAIR v. Rumsfeld case, which would overturn the controversial Solomon Amendment – a law that limits the University’s ability to prevent discrimination by mandating military recruitment on campus at the risk of losing federal funding. By limiting Universities’ options, the law restricts important 1st Amendment rights.

Chancellor Denton promised to follow up on all the issues presented, which SAW members pledged to ensure.

“UC Santa Cruz has long been a bastion of freedom of speech and campus activism and we are hopeful that the administration will do everything in their power to keep it that way,“ said second-year student, Kot Hordyński, who was present at the meeting.

previous coverage: Students Denounce Pentagon Surveillance of Counter-Recruitment Activities

On Friday, January 20th, the Justice Department announced that 11 individuals were being charged in a 65 count indictment handed down by a Eugene, Oregon grand jury. The indictment charged the individuals with a series of arsons, sabotage and vandalism that were claimed by the Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front, between 1996 and 2001. The FBI has called these actions terrorism. The indictment includes further charges against some recent arrestees.

The 11 people listed in the indictment are Joseph Dibee, Chelsea Dawn Gerlach, Sarah Kendall Harvey, Daniel Mc Gowan, Stanislaus Gregory Meyerhoff, Josephine Sunshine Overaker, Jonathan Mark Christopher Paul, Rebecca Rubin, Suzanne Savoie, Darren Todd Thurston, and Kevin Tubbs. Several of these people are not in custody, but Portland Indymedia reports that Jonathan Paul and Suzanne Savoie were arrested last week. On January 25th, Daniel McGowan was released into the custody of his sister. He will be required to live with his sister, wear an electronic monitor, and report weekly to pretrial supervisors in New York. Some five additional unnamed sources are mentioned in the indictment.

The indictments were announced the week that a tape from Osama Bin Laden was released. Bin Laden promised a continued campaign of violence against the United States. The close proximity of the announcement regarding the indictments caused many to wonder if this was a diversionary tactic meant to draw attention away from the FBI’s failure in the international terrorism arena and to distract the public from the current debate regarding illegal wire taps being perpetrated by the government. Read more

The government says that this alleged cell, which supposedly called itself "the family," was involved in more than 15 incidents across five states, included arsons or attempted arsons at U.S. Forest Service Ranger Stations, animal holding facilities, lumber companies and timber farms, the Vail Ski Resort, and the Eugene, Oregon Police Department.

Support websites: Daniel McGowan | Chelsea Dawn Gerlach | Darren Thurston | Kevin Tubbs

War of the Trees-an analysis of the FBI's Green Scare | Summary: Environmental and Anarchist Witch-hunt under way | Bombs and Shields Article | Portland Indymedia's Prisons and Prisoners Page | US Indymedia Ecoprisoners.org | Earth Liberation Prisoners Support Network