PERSONAL REQUEST FROM RABBI PALTIEL!
Dear Friend,
On Friday, September 16, 2011, the Eight Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a draconian sentence on Sholom Rubashkin, 27 years in prison, a sentence which is essentially a life sentence for him and his wife and 10 children.
Let us do something to help this fellow Jew and fellow American citizen. We now have a unique opportunity — for the sake of justice — to express our outrage for this sentence and actually make a difference. If it can happen to Sholom Rubashkin it can happen to anyone!
The White House has recently released a new tool to allow people to influence government called "We the People." It is essentially a petition site, and they promise: "If a petition meets the signature threshold, it will be reviewed by the Administration and an official response will be issued. And we'll make sure that the petition is sent to the appropriate policy makers in the Administration."
Please take sixty seconds to sign this petition: CLICK HERE
Thus far, 47 U.S. Congressmen, along with numerous law professors and U.S. Attorneys, have expressed outrage with the way Iowa prosecutors have handled the Rubashkin case from beginning to end. The goal is to accumulate tens of thousands of signatures so the President gets the message that this can no longer be ignored. This case must be investigated for prosecutorial misconduct.
Every U.S. citizen 13 years or older with a valid email address can sign this petition.
1) Click here
2) Click "Create An Account" and fill out form
3) Check your email and click link
4) Click "Sign This Petition"
And please don't forget to spread the word and forward this email to all your contacts!
For more information visit: justiceforsholom.org. Every voice counts. Please add yours!
Thank you and may you be blessed with a happy, healthy and sweet New Year!
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
PS. Below is a list of national legal scholars, starting with six former Attorneys General of the United States, who have spoken out about the severe injustice in the Rubashkin case.
Every voice counts. Please add yours!
"We respectfully urge the Court to note and consider the peculiarity and potentially severe injustice of the applicable sentencing position in this case."
--Nicholas Katzenbach, Attorney General of the United States (1965-66)
--Ramsey Clark, Attorney General of the United States (1967-69)
--Edwin Meese III, Attorney General of the United States (1985-88)
--Richard Thornburgh, Attorney General of the United States (1988-91)
--William Barr, Attorney General of the United States (1991-93)
--Janet Reno, Attorney General of the United States (1993-2001)
(Letter to Federal Judge Linda Reade, April 26, 2010)
"This apparent unfair treatment of Mr. Rubashkin has no place in our justice system, in which we must fiercely protect equal treatment under the law."
--Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) Dec. 23, 2010
(Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder)
"Both the U.S. Attorney's office and the federal judge were able to manipulate the Guidelines based on circumstances under the Government's control, so as to result in an outrageously long and disparate sentence for this man."
--Rep. Steve King (R-IA) Dec. 23, 2010
(Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder)
"It has been discovered that the judge who presided over the case, was herself involved in the planning of the raid and had "weekly' ex-parte meetings with the prosecutors and federal ICE agents prior to the raid...she and the prosecutors did not disclose any of these meetings and her participation to the defense lawyers, as required by law."
--Rep. Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL) Dec. 1, 2010
(Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder)
"...I strongly urge you to initiate a full investigation of the allegations of impropriety and unfairness in the Rubashkin case."
--Rep. Ron Klein (D-FL) Nov. 29, 2010
(Letter To Attorney General Eric Holder)
Prominent Washington attorney Nathan Lewin who appealed the case, decried the sentence as "the most massive injustice I have encountered in 50 years of practicing law".