First we want to thank everyone who has expressed interest in supporting recently arrested Eco defense organizer Marie Mason. Below you will find the an overview of what we know as well as the latest updates about Marie’s case and current situation and ways you can help support Marie. A listserv has been established to keep supporters updated. To subscribe send an email to:
freemarie-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
Send Marie your letters of support!
MARIE MASON #134001
Butler County Sheriff’s Office & Correctional Complex
705 Hanover Street
Hamilton, Ohio 45011
If you send Marie a letter and it gets returned to you, please let us know about it so we can add any other restrictions to the guideline list. When writing please use your common sense; don’t write about anything that is likely to get a prisoner in trouble in any way. Avoid discussing any details of her case and/or any potential charges against her.
Please do NOT send in any books/zines to Marie yet. We are in the process of getting a system going for her to receive books. If you would like her to receive books we would prefer you donate money. We will be releasing a list of books Marie would like in the very near future.
When writing Marie, Do NOT ever write “legal mail” or anything implying that you are an attorney unless you are.
Complete jail mail rules can be found here
UPDATE
We were able to briefly speak with Marie Monday night (3/10/0 
and that is when we found out she was in the Butler County Jail and was promptly placed on suicide watch on arrival. We were able to assure her that her daughter was safe (her 16 year daughter was at Marie’s home when the FBI, Homeland Security, and local Police served a search warrant and detained her for over an hour), that her pets were being looked after and several other personal affairs would be attended to.
Several of us drove to the Butler County jail the next day (3/10/0 with the intention of putting money in Marie’s commissary account. Apparently prisoners with the first letter of their last name k-z can only get visitors Thursdays and Sundays. To make things more difficult the prisoner must add visitors names
to a pre-approval list prior to the visit and prisoners are only able to update their visitors list once every 30 days. We quickly wrote Marie a letter detailing all this and that we had deposited funds into her commissary account as well as a list of friends #s she can call collect at any time and dropped it off at the post office a few blocks from the jail in hopes she would get the letter before visiting day.
We got a call from Marie’s Mother (3/12/0 today who had received a collect call from Marie. Marie told her that she needed funds to obtain vegan food as well socks and basic toiletries in prison. She asked her mother to contact us to and request we put money in her jail commissary account. This news was frustrating to us as we had already driven up to the Butler County Jail and deposited ample money in her account and was told she would be given a receipt of its deposit detailing her current balance and she would have access to it by 3pm of the day of deposit. Since we have not heard from her since Monday we assume she has not gotten our letter with all the contacts yet and that as of 2pm today had not been given access to the funds we placed in her commissary account. The last thing we want is Marie to feel alone during all this. We will be driving up to the Butler County jail tomorrow in hopes of seeing her and at
the least depositing more money into her commissary account. We will keep everyone posted.
How you can help
1. We are currently collecting funds for Marie’s legal defense. One lawyer told us it will likely cost between $20,000 – $60,000 to represent a case like this. Its important we begin our fund raising immediately. We are in the process of setting up a website (freemarie.org coming soon) where folks will be able to use PayPal to donate direct but until then ask folks to send funds in the form of a check or money order made out to “Books for Prisoners”. Please put in the notes section Marie and/or include a letter detailing that the enclosed funds are for Marie Masons defense.
We are grateful to have been contacted by an anonymous donor who will match dollar for dollar up to $1000 for Marie’s legal defense fund. This offer is good up until April 15.
2.We are looking for artists who are willing to donate their talent and time to the cause.
3. If you know of any activist attorneys in the Grand Rapids, MI area please pass along their contact info ASAP.
4.Write Marie! Mail will be a life line for her during these troubling times.
Its all about the Struggle,
Got Your Back
Friends of Marie Mason
P.O. Box 19065
Cincinnati, OH 45219
freemarie@riseup.net