Letters urgently needed for Jeremy Hammond

Jeremy Hammond, who is being held right here in NYC, has an upcoming sentencing date. In preparation for that, his support crew is urging folks to write letters requesting leniency from the judge. NYC ABC, in turn, are asking you to help Jeremy and his supporters. Historically, pre-sentencing letters have proven to persuade judges’ opinions in that they show how much support someone has and how valuable they are to their communities. Jeremy deserves to be free NOW, so whatever you can do to encourage Judge Preska to do the right thing, please do it. And don’t forget to pack the courtroom on Friday, November 15th, the day on which Jeremy will be sentenced.

From freejeremy.net:
“We are currently collecting letters of support to ask Judge Loretta Preska for leniency in sentencing.

You can find the template below, or you can download it in either Microsoft Word or PDF formats.

The deadline for submitting these letters is October 15, 2013.

Completed letters can be (1) faxed to 347.402.2014, (2) scanned and emailed to sarah at kunstlerlaw dot net, or (3) mailed to:

The Law Office of Susan G. Kellman
25 Eighth Avenue
Brooklyn, New York 11217

Please do not send your letter directly to the Court – it will not be read.

If you have any questions, please call 718.783.8200 or email sarah at kunstlerlaw dot net.

Additionally, attorney Jay Leiderman has offered to assist in the process of collecting letters. For those who wish to remain a bit more anonymous, you can send your letter to:

Jay Leiderman
Law Offices of Jay Leiderman
5740 Ralston Street, Suite #300
Ventura, California 93003

Tel: 805.654.0200, Extension 24
Fax: 805.654.0280
Email: jay@criminal-lawyer.me
Jabber: jayleiderman@jabber.ccc.de
Web: www.jayleiderman.com

If you chose to send a letter to Mr. Leiderman, please note that you must have letter to him by the early morning of October 14th so that he may overnight the letters to Jeremy’s lawyers by the October 15th due date.

For more information about sending letters anonymously via Mr. Leiderman, please see his blog.

Thank you for your continued support!”

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TEMPLATE FOR LETTERS OF SUPPORT FOR JEREMY HAMMOND 

ADDRESS:
Honorable Loretta A. Preska
Chief Judge
Southern District of New York
500 Pearl Street
New York, New York 10007

DATE:

GREETING: Dear Judge Preska:

BODY OF LETTER: Briefly discuss yourself – who you are, your position in work or your role in the community. If you are not personally acquainted with Jeremy, tell the Judge why you are interested in his case. If needed, you can find out more about the case here. State that you are aware that Jeremy has pled guilty to a violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Tell the Judge why you believe he should be treated with compassion.

If you know Jeremy personally, and can offer some personal observations, you will want to mention this in your letter.  It would be helpful to include:

• How you know him and how long you have known him.
• Jeremy’s character and compassion for other people (if possible, include concrete examples of things that he has done for you or others).

If you would like to address the disparate treatment of Jeremy’s co-defendants, or put his case in the context of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”), you may want to mention some of the following points:

• Jeremy’s co-defendants in Ireland will not be prosecuted  and in the United Kingdom, those who are already convicted will not spend more than 16 months in prison.
• The disproportionate sentences associated with the CFAA, or that the protection the CFAA affords to corporations is greater than those it affords to individuals, who may be subjected to surveillance by private corporations such as Stratfor. (For more information on the CFAA, please visit the website of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, https://www.eff.org/issues/cfaa)

Whether you know Jeremy or not, you may want to mention that he had no financial gain from his actions, which he undertook as politically-motivated acts of civil disobedience. Do not try to argue that Jeremy is not guilty or was unfairly convicted. You are asking the Judge for leniency.

Sign the letter and include your return address.

The letter can then be sent according to the instructions at the top of this page.

Remember, please do not send any letters directly to the court, as they will not be read.