Friday, August 7, 2009

Support Stevie Lowe!

from panagioti

An Appeal for Barley Barber and an Appellate Bond for Stevie Lynn Lowe:

On July 23, 2009, Stevie Lynn Lowe went to trial for her actions to
defend and save Barley Barber Swamp. Stevie faced the charges of
trespassing into Barley Barber and for resisting arrest when she swam
through the swamp, climbed a tall Swamp Maple and locked herself to
the tree. At 3705 Megawatts, FPL’s Martin County Power Plant, which
sits adjacent to Barley Barber is killing the wetlands through
hydrologic disruption and pollution.

The Jury found Stevie no guilty of trespassing. Neither the State nor
FPL could prove that the energy giant owns Barley Barber. This was a
major victory. However, the charge of resisting arrest without
violence, a misdemeanor, stuck. The Judge presiding over the case
sentenced Stevie, who has no prior record, to 90 days in jail and a
year probation for that single charge which rarely stands on its own.
This excessive sentencing is an obvious attempt to stifle dissent.
We still need to raise approximately $5000 more to get Stevie out on a
$10,000 appellate bond while we proceed to appeal several aspects of
the case. The money raised for bond will eventually come back to us
after the appeal process and will we used for future organizing and
legal support for direct action in the swamps.

We are still working to raise the $10,000 for her appellate bond. We
just spoke to her this morning, today is her 14th day inside Martin
County Jail. She is in an over-crowded unit, forced to sleep in the
common area. She has still not received a room and is experiencing
sleep deprivation. She says there are 18 women in a unit designed to
hold only 10 and the showers have been going out of order. She also
says she has submitted a request for vegetarian food which is not
being processed, and has not been able to get healthy meals, according
to her spiritual beliefs.. Please give the jail a call and let them
know she has support on the outside. PLEASE STAY POLITE and FOCUSED.
Our suggested message to the jail administration is this:

"I have been informed that an inmate named Stevie Lowe is in an
over-crowed housing unit and is being denied food consistent with her
spiritual beliefs."

Call the Martin County Jail at (772) 220-7200.. They may ask you for
your name and phone number and if you would like to have a call back
regarding this matter. If you are not willing to do that, we suggest
you

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Write Stevie letters at:

Stevie Lowe
Martin County Jail
800 SE Monterey Road Stuart, Florida 34994

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Please donate money:
-via PayPal at www.EvergladesEarthFirst.org

-For more details and media links on Stevie's case:
http://pbcec.blogspot.com/2009/07/appellate-bond-set-at-10000-for-fpl.html

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