[YellowBike] justice for jason as the courthouse 1/15 2pm!

[lpk05 at hampshire.edu]

> PRE-TRIAL HEARING FOR JASON VASSELL
> THURSDAY JANUARY 15TH 2PM
> NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
>
> <http://www.justiceforjason.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/jasonvassellphoto.jpg>
> Pre-Trial Hearing for Jason Vassell:
> Thursday, January 15th at 2 pm
> at the Northampton District Court
>
> It's been nearly a year since Jason Vassell was violently attacked and then
> unjustly charged. Based on the clear evidence of racism in the actions of
> the police and the prosecution, Jason's defense has prepared a motion for
> dismissal <http://www.justiceforjason.org/motion> of all charges (for more
> information, see below).
>
> In this motion, Jason's lawyers outline the whole history of the case, from
> the hateful attack on Jason last February to the racist mishandling of the
> case by UMass police. This is our chance to show the judge that we will not
> stand for this racist, discriminatory case continuing, and to demand that
> the court hear our motion to dismiss.
>
> This is a crucial moment in our campaign, as we bring Jason's injustice to
> a
> broader stage.  As this campaign gains regional and national attention,
> your
> support is needed now more than ever. We must continue to apply pressure on
> the judge and the DA in this case -- that is why we need you on Thursday!
>
> Please join us at the courthouse on Thursday (1/15) at
> 2 pm in solidarity with Jason Vassell.
>
> <http://www.justiceforjason.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/jasonvassellphoto.jpg>
>
> If you need a ride, do not hesitate to contact us at
> justiceforjason at gmail.com and we'll find you wheels.  Also, please
> encourage
> your friends to *sign the
> petition*<http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/J4JDismissalofcharges/index.html>
> *.*  We would like to double the petition signatures by February 3rd, the
> date of our next demonstration. Lastly, don't forget to join the Justice
> for
> Jason facebook
> group<http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=8053969667&ref=ts,>
> and RSVP for
> the hearing on the facebook event
> page<http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=60427990029>.
>
>
> Check out our UPDATED website at www.justiceforjason.org.
> In solidarity,
>  The Committee for Justice for Jason Vassell
>
> *What will happen at the hearing?*
> On Monday, December 29th, Jason Vassell's defense submitted a motion to
> dismiss Vassell's indictment, No. 08-56, "on the ground that the defendant
> has been selectively prosecuted because of his race, in violation of the
> rights guaranteed him by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United
> States Constitution and Articles I and XII of the Massachusetts Declaration
> of Rights."
>
> The motion and a 50+ page memorandum in support of the motion were one of
> the topics discussed at Vassell's pretrial hearing on December 31st.
> January
> 15, 2009 will be the hearing on the Motion to Dismiss Charges, Subpoena for
> Bosse and Bowes' School Records, and more.  After the hearing there will be
> a press conference at First Churches to announce upcoming events in support
> of Jason Vassell and to discuss the events of the day.
>
> *Case Background *
>
>    On February 3, 2008 Jason Vassell was the victim of a racist hate crime.
> Since then he has been further victimized by a racist prosecution. We, a
> coalition of community organizations, students and faculty, seek solidarity
> in challenging this racist prosecution.
>      Early on the morning of February 3, 2008, Jason, an African American
> student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, was in his dormitory.
> Two intoxicated white men, Jonathan Bowes and Jonathan Bosse, approached
> Jason's dormitory window repeatedly referring to him as a "nigger" and
> breaking in the window. They then forced their way into the dormitory lobby
> where they assaulted Jason, breaking his nose and giving him a concussion.
> Under this continuing assault Jason was forced to defend himself with a
> pocketknife, injuring his assailants.
>
>      As a result of defending himself against this unprovoked assault
> Jason,
> the victim of the  attack, was charged with two counts of aggravated
> assault
> with a dangerous weapon. These charges carry a possible thirty year prison
> sentence. One of the perpetrators, Jonathan Bowes, was charged only with
> misdemeanors carrying a maximum eighteen month sentence. The other,
> Jonathan
> Bosse, was not charged at all.
>
>      It was disturbing enough that Jason Vassell was subjected to a severe
> physical attack and an assault on his spirit. What we have subsequently
> witnessed has been an even more shameful violation both of Jason's rights
> and of the community's values of justice and equality, irrespective of
> race.
> We have watched the Northwestern District Attorney's office march forward
> with no apparent regard for the potentially explosive racial implications
> of
> this case. The question here is one of justice and fairness; one of making
> a
> decision that is right. It is a question of justice for Jason and, equally
> important, of whether the interests and well being of the community are
> being served by this prosecution. It is not a question of whether criminal
> charges can be brought, but rather, whether they should be brought and
> against whom.
>
>      Faced with a case in which the violent and racist motivations of
> Jason's white attackers were clear, the District Attorney has chosen to
> pursue excessive charges against a young black victim with no criminal
> record and an exemplary academic and personal reputation. Concurrently, the
> DA has also chosen to pursue minor charges against only one of his two
> white
> attackers, both of whom have a reputation for racial bias. One of the
> assailants, John Bowes, has been previously arrested for racist violence.
> The District Attorney's decision to prosecute a black man and slap the
> wrists of two white men is yet another example of the long history of
> racist
> prosecutions that plague our country's legal legacy. *Therefore, we stand
> as
> a community united for true justice, demanding that the District Attorney
> drop all charges against Jason Vassell. *
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