[Images: Two photographs. One showing a profile picture, in shadow, of Patricia Spottedcrow, a Native woman. The second shows Patricia Spotted crow wearing a gray prison uniform, at the front of a line with a lot of other women holding papers, standing against a wall by a window marked “Property”. To the side a large, light skinned arm with a thumb up appears.]
Reach Out To A Woman Who Needs Support
If you haven’t heard already, the woman pictured here is named Patricia Spottedcrow. She sold $30 worth of marijuana in the state of Oklahoma and was sentenced to 12 years in prison with no probation by a judge (Pritchett) who retired a month after her sentencing.
Judge Pritchett had seen several cases worse than Patricia’s yet, her sentencing was much harsher on her. One case in particular, a woman (wife of a deputy) was arrested for hiding marijuana in her underwear. She apologized to the judge and served not a single day in jail.
Patricia had never been arrested for anything before and this was her first arrest & conviction. 12 years for 30 dollars worth of marijuana with no probation.
Now, most of you know that this is pretty horrendous. Sentencing a mother of four children to prison for 12 years completely hurts the children and ruins the lives of all involved.
Her kids are being taken care of by her mother now but they cannot afford to visit her.
This means Patricia is extremely isolated in prison. Her one year old doesn’t even recognize her anymore.
Studies have shown that prisoner’s mental health relies on support from outside of prison. Prison as many of you should know, is not the healthiest place to be. It is isolating, confining and can be a scary place to be. Especially for 12 years without probation.
Take five minutes of your time and write a letter to Patricia about anything. Support, your day (like a penpal), a poem, anything to keep her company. Send your e-mail to : marijuanaprisoner@gmail.com
-Put her name in the subject line. -1,000 words or less. -Text only. -Remember prison guards/officials will be reading through it as well.
More information about this project here.
News article and video about her case here.
A reblog with some action. Will be doing this.
“Kingfisher County Judge Susie Pritchett handed down the sentence last year about a month before she retired in late 2010.
There is a new judge on the case now, Judge Robert Davis.
Davis was scheduled to meet Spottedcrow in person on Thursday.
Several groups including the NAACP planned to attend the hearing.
However, several days before the hearing, Judge Davis issued an order with his ruling instead of allowing Spottedcrow to appear before him in court.
Davis modified the sentence from 12 years in prison to eight.
Spottecrow’s attorney, Josh Welch, said, “Nobody understands why this woman is serving this long of a sentence for this type of crime. Look at other states; you can commit this same crime and it’s not illegal. That’s insane. She sold $30 of marijuana for gas money and food money for her family. It’s stupid. It’s wrong. But you don’t go to prison for eight or 12 years for that. You shouldn’t go to prison period.”
While Patricia Spottedcrow has been in prison, several state groups have come forward in her support.
One group out of Tulsa organized an online petition with 27,000 signatures from Oklahomans who would like to see Spottedcrow released.
If you’d like to sign the petition, click here.” via
(via hotsietotsy)
11:52 PM on Thursday 26th January 2012 with 2,800 notes and Comments
