-from Ft. Worth:
Helen Woodson

Congratulations and thanks to Michele Naar-Obed for defending herself against the government's intrusion into her personal life. In 1991, I sued the Dept. of Justice over the terms of supervised release and won in the Washington D.C. District Court. But the government appealed, and in 1993, the circuit court reversed.

All state and federal prisoners released under probation, parole, or supervision are affected, not just resisters or "political prisoners." I have known many "social prisoners" denied release plans which involved association at home or work with family members and friends who had previously been arrested, and parole boards have even demanded that women divorce their husbands! Even people with no arrest records who live with releasees must allow government agents to visit and interview them at will, and children's schools have been contacted. Tens of millions of former prisoners and their families and friends live under these conditions.

There is a qualitative difference between restrictions in prison and upon release. For 15 years, the Bureau of Prisons has disallowed certain of my visitors, removed people from my phone list and withheld mail. There is even an official "Separation Order" between me and my two deceased co-defendants! Obviously, the prison authorities have the physical power to enforce these restrictions, and my consent and cooperation have neither been sought nor expected. That is not true, however, of releasees. Nothing can prevent their contact with others, so when they comply it is with their own cooperation and consent. Prison is akin to slavery; supervised release is voluntary servitude.

There is nothing more sacred than our associations with loved ones. There is nothing more personal than our choice of home. When we give those to the government, we have given it our lives. Its ability to destroy the Earth through nuclear war and pollution is just a physical manifestation of the spiritual power we've already invested in it. Anything gained from this can certainly not be considered freedom. Regardless of her physical location, Michele and her family are truly free.

[Helen Woodson (#03231-045, FMC Carswell - Max, POB 27137, Fort Worth, TX 76127) was imprisoned in November, 1984, for her part in the Silo Pruning Hooks disarmament action at a Missouri nuclear missile silo. She remains in prison as a result of this and subsequent direct actions taken directly after her forced parole in 1993.]