Appeal for Solidarity from Brandon Baxter (Cleveland 4)

Greetings,

Please consider echoing my appeal for solidarity.

I’d like to start by thanking everyone for their solidarity to this point. I’ve lived far more comfortably and with greater support than most others in prison. To be blunt, your constant insistence that I never feel forgotten has literally saved my life. I know that if early on I had not had that reassurance I would have committed suicide. So, thank you all for carrying me, kicking and screaming, throughout this.

Today I come to you with a dire need. When I pled guilty to the charges made against me I did so out of fear and ignorance. Since then I’ve grown wiser and educated myself in the law. My appeals are exhausted, and thus I am in the process of filing a 2255 writ of post conviction relief on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel, which I know as a matter of fact I will win. This will remand my case back to court for trial, and I intend to fight.

I will not fight though with a puppet of the state representing me against the state. I’ve learned my lesson in trusting public defenders and court appointed attorneys. This time around I will need a hired lawyer.

This request is for two specific forms of solidarity: The time and commitment of a trustworthy lawyer bent on social justice, and for funds for a defense. I have no set figure at the moment, but imagine it to be significant. More details can be found through my support committee once figures are developed.

What we will be fighting for is pivotal. The immediate goal is physical freedom from prison – which otherwise would last another 5-6 years – and a life time of federal supervised release (probation). The long term goal is to set legal precedence which can be utilized by others in prison under similar circumstances, currently and to come, to obtain their freedom, as well as to prevent similar episodes in the future. This goal will be much more difficult to achieve, but is far from impossible. The final goal will be financial retribution for the costs of the defense itself, and for the time I’ve currently spent incarcerated, along with the psychological toll that incarceration has taken upon me. If obtained, these funds will be dedicated to reimburse all of those who have supported the Cleveland 4 to this point, and to future prisoner support endeavors.

To get in contact with my support committee go to:
www.cleveland4solidarity.org, or email: cleveland4letters@gmail.com

In Love & Rage,
Brandon Baxter
January 14, 2015