YOU Wednesday Watch On InjustIce YOU

Bill Bastuk Jeffrey Deskovic

Editor

Dannielle Hille

IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!

President ICH/Y

Communications Coordinator

18 July 2012
vol. 2/No 60

What Is Going On In Indiana?

In an article published in the Sunday July 15, 2012 edition of The Guardian, one of the United Kingdoms leading news journals, New York reporter Ed Pilkington writes about apparent efforts of Indianapolis, Indiana prosecutors to silence a defense counsel and her client in a case of alleged murder. The following are excerpts from The Guardian report on this baffling case; The defendant 35 year old Bei Bei Shuai is charged with murder and attempted foeticide after she attempted to kill herself by eating rat poison while eight months pregnant. Bei Bei Shuais lawyer Linda Pence has filed papers with the Indiana courts in which she alleges that state prosecutors are trying to intimidate and seek to silence the defendant and her counsel. She also accuses the authorities of attempting to block her from building up the fighting fund that would be essential if they are to mount an effective defence. Last month the state of Indiana lodged a motion with the courts in Indianapolis calling for Pence to be admonished for content contained in emails the defense lawyer circulated asking for financial help in creating a fund for Shuai. The defendant was held in jail for more than a year and faces a murder trial related to the death of her baby, Angel, who died three days after she was delivered by emergency Caesarian. The case is believed to be the first in 200 years of Indiana history in which a woman is being prosecuted for murder over a suicide attempt while pregnant. Womens groups around the country have warned that it could set a precedent in which the actions of a pregnant woman are criminalized. On Friday, Shuai turned down an offer from the prosecutors in which she would plea guilty to attempted foeticide, carrying a sentence of up to 20 years in prison in return for the murder charge being dropped. The move to have Shuais lawyer admonished has rung warning bells among criminal defense lawyers across the US. Richard Kammen, a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said that it was hard to fathom their thinking and what they want to get out of this. For more information on this case and a copy of the entire article click HERE Please visit our website at: www.itcouldhappen2you.org and link us to your organization or personal website. Also dont forget to like us on Facebook (Click Here) to view our page.
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Officers- Bill Bastuk- Founder Roseanne Corrigan- Vice President Steering Committee- Paul LaBarber- Art Directions, Etc. Alice Green- Center for Law and Justice Melanie Trimble- NYCLU Gabriel Sayegh- Drug Policy Alliance NY Lisa Schreibersdorf- Brooklyn Defender Services Don Thompson- ETKS Defense Pam Booker- Prison Families of NY Jeffrey Deskovic- The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation For Justice David Kaczynski- New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty