|
Sam Smolen at Attica State Correctional Facility in
2006
Sam and Parents
before the nightmare
Why am I still in prison despite being offered the opportunity
for release?
Although I have been
imprisoned for 22 years, I continues to maintain my innocence and still hope to prove my innocence of the
original charges.
Poor Health. During
my
incarceration, I have developed serious medical problems, for which the New
York State prison system has consistently provided inadequate medical
care.
If I accepted release
under the current circumstances, I would free, but indigent, and would
have no medical coverage. I can't accept release until
I can leave
prison with the assurance I'll be able to obtain proper care on the
outside.
How you can support
my struggle, if you would be so kind:
|
June 30, 2007:
More Abuse in Attica Segregated Housing Unit
Through
his one remaining contact with the outside world, Sam advises that he
has been the target of more abuse by guards in the Segregated
Housing Unit (SHU). As a result, Sam is weak, depressed and alone. The
details of the recent incidents will be posted soon.
Sam Stays Sane by Writing
One of the
ways Sam has stayed sane through the years has been by writing. Today,
we are adding a new page with two of Sam's
poems. More of his writings will be added over time.
May 2007 Update:
Sam Now Being Held in Solitary
Supporters Convinced Attica Guards Trump Up Charges to Silence Him!
As a result of trumped-up
misbehavior reports filed by staff at Attica recently, Sam is being held in segregation
(solitary confinement) with no mail privileges except for family
members. Right now he's in the hole for 6 months (until September 2007),
but there are new charges pending that could keep him there for another
year past September!
It's clear to his
supporters that these misbehavior reports, including a current charge
that Sam had a shank (weapon) are obvious acts of retaliation by the
administration and staff for publishing this site, for seeking justice,
and for exposing the brutality of the prison system. It is a
blatant effort to punish him and silence his cries for justice.
Sam has been fighting to
prove his innocence most of his adult life. He has several civil rights
suit appeals pending. He is a life-long pacifist. The idea that he would
jeopardize his ability to pursue his innocence and release by making or
having a shank is ridiculous. Look at the picture at left. Sam is a frail,
sick, weak man who couldn't use a shank if someone put one in his hand.
February 2007 Update:
Recent Abuse and Retaliation Suffered by Sam
for Asserting His Civil Rights
Read Sam's
February 12, 2007 letter to Governor
Spitzer. He requests an investigation into abuses and retaliation he
has suffered at the hands of Attica prison guards and an Assistant State
Attorney General.
He also pleads with the
Governor to institute various prison reforms rejected by the previous
administration, including ending the Parole System, and that the
Governor investigate the general level of violence and
brutality suffered by inmates at Attica State C.F.
|
I am
an innocent prisoner. I was unjustly convicted as a result of official misconduct.
Before
my
incarceration, I was a community activist for my neighborhood and a
prisoner rights activist. I was a frequent commentator on the inhumane
conditions in New York State prisons on WBAI-FM in the '70s and early
'80s.
I was
"mysteriously" shot and wounded after a such a WBAI-FM appearance. The
police never identified a suspect or made an arrest. I suspect my
efforts to improve prisoner conditions prejudiced the investigators
against finding my attacker.
I believe that my determined
efforts as an advocate for prison reform were a motive behind
the frames
the Bronx and Westchester County District Attorney's Offices constructed
around me.
"I’ve read a lot of
cases over the last 20 years, but I’ve found none where there existed
the amount of exculpatory evidence and official misconduct as exists in my cases."
My first defense attorney cooperated with the
prosecution in framing me when I would not plead guilty to a lesser
charge. He was a former Westchester District Attorney who had
investigated my case for the District Attorney's Office. This
fact was been hidden from me until the attorney's cooperation in framing
me became obvious, at which point I fired him.
A judge sympathetic to the
prosecution was imported from Essex County for my trial because the
sitting trial judges in Westchester County at that time would not try
the case, believing I was innocent.
In my case in The Bronx,
the detectives coached the victim
illegally on three separate occasions to make the identification,
even though there were inconsistencies in his statements about the
perpetrator's appearance. The victim's father, who had also seen the
perpetrator, did not identify me.
|
