[R-G] Fwd: [Auto_sol_friends] Support Parole for US Political Prisoner Robert 'Seth' Hayes! - Letters needed by June 30th 2006

[Anthony Fenton]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Autonomy & Solidarity <auto_sol at tao.ca>
> Date: June 4, 2006 9:02:26 PM PDT (CA)
> To: auto sol friends <auto_sol_friends at masses.tao.ca>
> Subject: [Auto_sol_friends] Support Parole for US Political  
> Prisoner Robert 'Seth' Hayes! - Letters needed by June 30th 2006
>
> Dear friends,
>
> This is an important campaign to free US Political Prisoner Robert  
> Seth Hayes, that we encourage you to support.  Members of A&S have  
> been supporting Seth for the past 6 years or so, and are working on  
> this campaign.  Any help you could provide would be wonderful.
>
> If you email info at sethhayes.org with a personal letter to Seth,  
> sending him greetings or a message of solidarity, we will print out  
> your letter and mail it to him.
>
> In struggle,
>
>
> A&S.
>
>
>
> *please forward widely*
>
> Locked down for more than a lifetime
> Soliciting letters of support for a U.S. political prisoner Robert  
> Seth
> Hayes’s Parole – June 2006
>
> A letter from the Robert Seth Hayes Support Committee -
> www.sethhayes.org | info at sethhayes.org
>
> Robert “Seth” Hayes is a U.S. political prisoner and former member of
> the Black Panther Party who has been imprisoned in New York state for
> more than three decades.  When Seth was convicted in 1974, his  
> sentence
> was 25 years to life. The implicit understanding at the time of his
> sentencing was that Seth would serve 25 years as a minimum, after  
> which
> time he would be eligible for release based on his record and  
> conduct in
> prison.
>
> In July, 2006, Seth will be going before the parole board for the  
> fourth
> time. At each of Seth’s previous parole hearings, he was denied  
> release
> due to the serious nature of the crime he was convicted for and given
> another two years in jail.  The refusal of parole for the serious  
> nature
> of the crime seems contrary to the spirit of the law, for it is
> something that a prisoner can never change, and the giving of  
> parole is
> based upon the prisoner's behavior while behind bars.
>
> Seth is not the only one being subjected to these unfair rules.  
> This has
> become common practice for the New York state parole board, who, by
> denying parole based on the seriousness of the conviction, are defacto
> re-sentencing many prisoners to life in prison without the possibility
> of parole.
>
> Seth’s prison record is exemplary, and if a decision about Seth’s  
> parole
> were to be based on his conduct and personal growth, he would have
> rejoined his family and his community years ago.
>
> Please write a letter to the parole board to let them know that you
> think Seth deserves to be released.  Write your own letter, or use the
> sample letter that has been included in this document.
>
> If you have a personal relationship with Seth, please consider writing
> about this relationship in your letter.  If you work with a community
> organization or union, have a professional job, or are a rock star,
> please consider mentioning this in your letter (or writing on
> letterhead, etc.).
>
> If you decide to personalize your letter, you may choose to include
> information drawn from the short biography also included in this
> package, where some of Seth’s accomplishments are highlighted.
>
> More information about Seth can be found on a web page that has  
> been put
> together by his supporters at www.sethhayes.org
>
> All letters should be mailed or faxed to Seth’s lawyer, Susan  
> Tipograph,
> by no later than June 30th, 2006 as Seth's parole hearing is taking
> place on July 15, 2006. Please send all of your letters to:
>
>
> Susan Tipograph
> Attorney At Law
> 350 Broadway
> New York, NY
> 10013
> fax (212) 625-3939
>
>
>
> Sample Letter
>
> Re: Robert Seth Hayes
> #74A2280
>
> Dear Senior Parole Officer of Wende Correctional Institute,
>
> I am writing on behalf of Robert Hayes who is scheduled to appear  
> before
> the parole board for the fifth time in July of 2006.
>
> Robert Hayes' application for parole was denied when he last appeared
> before the board two years ago. At the time of that appearance, his
> record was excellent. However, since that time his record is
> outstanding. Mr. Hayes has continued to work to help others and  
> improve
> himself. While at Clinton Correctional Facility, he facilitated in the
> HIV  Educators program to assist others as well as becoming a  
> member of
> the Lifer's and Long Termers Organization whose primary goal is to
> educate and instruct newly arriving inmates in adjustment to and
> preparation for final release from incarceration. Since his  
> transfer to
> Wende Correctional Facility, he has coached basketball and  
> participated
> in a local restorative justice project.  These are but a few of his  
> many
> accomplishments over his years of incarceration. I am confident that
> were he to be released, he would be a great asset to the community and
> to society at large.
>
> There is no question that the crime for which Mr. Hayes was convicted
> was a serious crime. However, he has shown remorse and takes full
> responsibility for his acts. I am sure that you will agree that after
> serving almost 33 years Mr. Hayes’ release at this time would not so
> deprecate the seriousness of the crime so as to undermine respect for
> the law. Moreover, if you examine all of the factors that are used to
> predict whether person is most likely to recidivate, those factors
> indicate that Mr. Hayes will not engage in any criminal activity. His
> disciplinary history during his incarceration indicates that he obeys
> the rules in prison; he has a supportive network of family and friends
> on the outside available to assist him in his reintegration back into
> society and he had an extensive work history prior to being  
> incarcerated
> in addition to obtaining marketable skills in prison that will help  
> him
> to obtain employment. Nothing is gained by his continued  
> incarceration,
> and much is lost, as he has much to offer the community upon his  
> release.
>
> By the time that Mr. Hayes appears before the parole board, he will be
> 58 years old – more than 30 years older and considerably wiser than  
> the
> man who was charged with committing the crime. He is a compassionate,
> caring individual and deserves a second chance. Please grant Mr. Hayes
> parole and give him that second chance.
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
> _____________________
>
>
> Biography
>
> Robert Seth Hayes was born in Harlem, New York in October 1948.  His
> father, John Franklin Hayes, was the child of sharecroppers and  
> came to
> New York City from South Carolina; his mother, Francine Washington
> Hayes, moved to New York from Pittsburgh.  Both of Mr. Hayes’ parents
> worked for the U.S. Postal Service, trying to provide a better life  
> for
> Seth and his four brothers and sisters.  They also instilled in their
> children the desire to work for the betterment of their community.   
> Seth
> writes, “My mother  taught me to visualize family universally, not
> individually.”  Seth’s father was a World War II veteran and a  
> member of
> the United Negro Improvement Association, the Black Nationalist
> organization founded by Marcus Garvey.
>
> Growing up in New York City, first in Harlem, later in the Bronx and
> Queens, Mr. Hayes saw one Black neighborhood after another suffering
> from neglect, despair, anger and defeat. During 1950s and 1960s  
> with the
> growing rise of the civil rights and Black power movements Seth  
> recalls
> witnessing over the years a birth of hope and determination to  
> overcome
> these conditions.
>
> After his schooling in New York City, Mr. Hayes worked as a  
> psychiatric
> aide at Creedmoor Hospital.  He was drafted into the U.S. Army and  
> sent
> to Vietnam.  He saw combat, was wounded and awarded the Purple Heart,
> National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the
> Vietnam Campaign Medal.
>
> In the armed forces, Seth underwent a change of consciousness.  After
> the death of Martin Luther King Junior in 1968, Seth’s troop was  
> ordered
> to patrol the city streets with fixed bayonets to put down the
> rebellions resulting from Dr. King’s assassination.  “It was the  
> saddest
> day of my life,” Seth remembers, “and I could never identify again  
> with
> the aims of the armed forces or the government.”
>
> Upon returning to the United States from Vietnam, Seth was swept up in
> the Black Liberation movement and joined the Black Panther Party.  He
> worked in the free breakfast for children program and began dedicating
> his life to the betterment of Black people.  His knowledge of the
> effects of racism on the Black community convinced him that the Black
> Panthers’ program of community service ad community self-defense was
> what was needed.  His work, like that of so many others, was disrupted
> by COINTELPRO.  Fearing further attacks, he went underground,  
> believing
> it to be the only way to protect the work of the Black Panther  
> Party and
> the Black movement in general.
>
> Robert Seth Hayes had two children prior to his arrest and  
> imprisonment,
> and he has remained closely involved their lives and upbringing,  
> despite
> the difficulties presented by his long incarceration.  His son,  
> Chunga,
> lives and works in Atlanta.  His daughter, Crystal, herself mother of
> 14-year-old Myaisha, is a student at the Smith College graduate school
> of social work in Western Massachusetts.  Seth calls his family “the
> loves of my life.”  He describes his relationship with Crystal this  
> way,
> “She has had the most intense impact on my life, always questioning,
> full of joy and insight, grasping lessons and maintaining her own
> dreams.  She has kept me striving always to expand my knowledge and
> illuminate my principles, as I struggle to stay abreast of her
> questioning mind.”
>
> Seth has been diagnosed with Type II diabetes and Hepatitis C.  He has
> been extremely ill and had great difficulty procuring the necessary
> healthcare and has needed the help of his lawyers and some state
> political leaders in order to get adequate treatment.
>
> While in prison, Seth continues to work for the betterment of the
> community in which he lives.  He has participated in programs with the
> NAACP, the Jaycees and other organizations and has worked as a
> librarian, pre-release advisor and AIDS counselor. Whenever  
> possible, he
> has taken college courses. He is also a longtime advisor and
> collaborator in the annual “Certain Days” Political Prisoner calendar
> project. He is dedicated to continuing to work for social justice when
> he gets out of prison. At Wende correctional facility where he is
> currently incarcerated, Seth is working to put together a "lifers
> program" to help rehabilitate prisoners and prepare them to reenter  
> the
> community. Seth also coaches basketball and works on assisting a local
> restorative justice project taking place in Buffalo.
>
> For more information about Seth, please check out www.sethhayes.org or
> e-mail info at sethhayes.org.
>
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