January/February
2004
Free
Free: The Case of Jeff Luers
By Dylan Kay
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Jeff Luers. Photo courtesy Friends
of Jeff Luers |
You can judge my actions, but you can’t judge
my heart. It cannot be said that I am unfeeling and uncaring. My heart
is filled with love and compassion. I fight to protect life, all life,
not to take it. —from Jeff Luers’s sentencing statement,
June 11, 2001
Back in June 2000, a young activist named Jeff Luers, known to his friends
as ‘Free,’ set fire with friend Craig Marshall to three
Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) at Romania Chevrolet car lot in Eugene,
Oregon, using simple milk jugs of gasoline, incense sticks and matches.
Instead of receiving a three year sentence and fading into the background,
Jeff was slapped with a 22.5 year sentence—which was not only
longer than his lifetime at that point, but is one usually reserved
for the most heinous of crimes like rape and murder, not acts of property
destruction.
Jeff’s sentence has been criticized for its length, given that
in Oregon, most arsonists receive sentences of 50 to 96 months; Jeff
got over 230. As I write this, I read that Jeff’s trial judge
recently sentenced a 21 year-old to just three years for throwing a
molotov cocktail into a school. Jeff’s case has received international
prominence in the environmental and social justice movements due to
his severe sentence and has prompted the question, “why would
someone burn three SUVs?”
Their stated purpose was to raise awareness about global warming and
the role that SUVs play in that process. Both activists took measures
to make sure that no one would be injured as a result of their action.
In fact, the location was scouted for months beforehand. An arson specialist
later confirmed that the action did not pose any threat to people based
on its size and distance from any fuel source.
What Happened?
Shortly after the incident Jeff was arrested by the same police who
had been following him and Craig all night. Six undercover police cars
had followed them from the time they left the warehouse until just before
the fire (when the police apparently lost sight of them). Jeff and Craig
were then arrested, charged with multiple arson charges. A few days
later, they were accused of an attempted arson at Tyree Oil—a
gas facility located in the Whitaker neighborhood, home to many activists
that reside in Eugene. Although there was no proof of their involvement
at Tyree Oil—there were fingerprints that did not match those
of Jeff or Craig—with shady evidence, the state managed to secure
a warrant and searched Jeff’s residence. The most damning evidence
they found was a pair of metal cutters that they alleged matched a hole
cut in the Tyree Oil fence.
Overall, Jeff and Craig were faced with 13 serious charges, including
first degree arson, attempted arson, possession and manufacture of a
destructive device and criminal mischief.
The Trial
The trial, which started after they had spent a year in Lane County
Jail, was a farce from the very beginning. Articles in the local media
marginalized them as troublemakers and highlighted previous arrests.
Supporters were stopped on their way to the trial by local police and
threatened with noise violations. Jeff’s judge denied almost every
motion made by his lawyer, including that to separate the Romania car
lot case from the Tyree Oil case, allowing the state to portray them
as serial arsonists and a menace to the community. Had the cases been
separated, the flimsy circumstantial evidence for the Tyree case would
never have stood up. Motions to sever the defendants from each other
were similarly denied.
From the prosecutor’s actions, it seemed that Jeff was a trophy
conviction—one that would deter future actions and allay criticism
of Oregon’s inability to solve cases of property destruction by
the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). Since 1996, over 200 actions against
animal industries, logging, mining and biotechnology have been claimed
by the ELF or ALF (Animal Liberation Front), causing hundreds of millions
of dollars in damage to these companies—cases that are still unsolved.
The action taken by Jeff and Craig however was not claimed by the ELF
and they have stringently denied involvement in the group. Nonetheless,
the prosecutor seemed to be driven by the need for a major conviction.
Five days into the trial, Jeff’s lawyer Ken Morrow died unexpectedly,
causing a hold-up in the trial. A day later, Jeff’s codefendant
Craig Marshall pled guilty to conspiracy to commit first degree arson
and possession of a destructive device. He was sentenced to five years
and five months (his release date is December 2004). After some legal
wrangling, Jeff hired Craig’s lawyer and proceeded on with the
case.
Three days into Jeff’s trial, unknown individuals torched 36 SUVs
at the same car lot that Jeff and Craig had set fire to a year earlier,
and released a statement that the act was in solidarity with both defendants
and criticized car culture. Many felt that this tainted Jeff’s
chance of a fair and unbiased trial and perhaps for that reason, Jeff
chose to have a judge decide on his innocence or guilt instead of a
jury.
After five days of trial, Judge Lyle Velure found Jeff guilty of 11
of 13 charges. Because of Oregon’s mandatory minimum sentencing
guideline, Jeff received a seven year mandatory sentence for each car
burned as well as charges of possession of incendiary devices and attempted
arson—totaling 22 years and eight months.
In his sentencing statement, Jeff spoke about the many precautions both
he and Craig took before the action: I took every precaution to ensure
that no one would be injured by this fire. If I thought for any reason
that anyone—responding firefighters or police officers—would
be injured, I never would have set this fire. It was not my intention
to hurt anyone or place anyone at risk.
Campaign to ‘Free Free’
Although faced with a tremendous sentence and major obstacles like his
distance from his home in Eugene and being moved around from prison
to prison, Jeff has been remarkably active in the first three years
of his imprisonment. He is working toward a degree in sociology as well
as taking paralegal classes, and many of his writings and artwork have
been published, including an op-ed piece on the concept of eco-terrorism
in the statewide newspaper, The Oregonian.
He also addressed the Congressional Hearings on ‘Eco-terror’
held in February 2002—a hearing that reminded some of Senator
Joe McCarthy’s House of Un-American Affairs Committee political
witch hunts of the 1950s. In those hearings, Congressmen Scott McInnis
(representing the district near Vail, Colorado—home of the biggest
ELF action ever, the 1998 burning of the Vail ski resort which was set
to expand into a wilderness area) taunted former ELF press officer,
Craig Rosebraugh, asking if he wanted to “waste away in prison
for the next two decades like Jeff Luers.”
Jeff’s appeal was filed in January 2002 and the state government
recently responded with its own brief, which calls Jeff a terrorist
five times. Emboldened by a reactionary 9/11 climate, the prosecution
as well as ‘property rights groups’ (like the Center for
the Defense of Free Enterprise) have dropped the word ‘eco’
and now labels activists like Jeff ‘terrorists,’ equating
them to al-Qaeda members. Advocates for Jeff’s freedom hope the
case will go to court within a year but it is impossible to tell. Promising
developments in Jeff’s case are a letter released by the Eugene
Human Rights Commission in June 2003, which argues that Jeff’s
sentence is disproportionately long in comparison to those of people
who commit violent crimes; it also urges him to utilize the appeal process
and seek a reduced sentence.
This is a pivotal case for activists nationwide because it is setting
the tone for how actions in defense of the Earth that injure no people
will be viewed by the public and punished by the state. Prior to Jeff’s
case, activists getting arrested for actions like arson or liberating
animals could expect sentences of about five years or so. Jeff’s
sentence is a radical departure from that model and goes hand in hand
with the manner in which these actions are described by the government
and media. What was once ‘direct action’ has been transformed
into ‘eco-terrorism,’ and now we are seeing more often simply
the term ‘terrorism’ being used. Legislators on the state
and federal levels are pushing for strong anti-terrorism legislation,
and are drafting the bills in such a way that actions like Jeff’s
are included and punished severely—which also serves as a deterrent
for future actions. Over and over, letters printed in areas in which
actions occur are stating that they are one and the same with the terrorism
of groups like al-Qaeda. If we want to get anywhere, we are going to
have to combat this misrepresentation of our actions and not allow people
that get arrested and imprisoned to fade away and be forgotten.
On June 12, 2003 supporters of Jeff in Eugene, Oregon had a ‘Free
Free’ march (ending with 12 arrests). Supporters in Melbourne,
Australia conducted a picket for Jeff outside the American embassy and
activists in Moscow, Russia are embarking on a postcard campaign as
well. Plans are being discussed for an international day of action and
solidarity for Jeff this summer with protests as well as celebrations
all over the country and the world.
What you can do to help Jeff
All that I ask is that you believe the sincerity of my words, that you
believe that my actions, whether or not you consider them to be misguided,
stem from the love I have in my heart.—from Jeff’s sentencing
statement.
Jeff’s case is currently in appeal and his lawyer and the state
will trade briefs before going to court again; Jeff intends to appeal
his case as many times as necessary. This case is tremendously expensive
and requires a lot of community support.
To donate money to Jeff’s appeal, click ‘make a donation’
on his website www.freefreenow.org
or send a check/money order made out to ‘Free’s Defense
Network’ to POB 3, Eugene, OR 97440. Donations can also be made
to his commissary account for stamps, pens, envelopes, etc. You can
write Jeff directly at: Jeffrey Luers, #13797671, OSP, 2605 State Street,
Salem, OR 97310.
You can also form a local support group for Jeff as part of his decentralized
defense network. Groups coordinate through Jeff, and can hold benefits,
put donation jars at the local bookstore or have letter-writing days
to Oregon newspapers or the Governor. For more ideas, visit: www.freefreenow.org.
Dylan Kay is an organizer with Friends of Jeff
Luers and has been involved in the campaign to free Jeff since his arrest.
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