Mason’s Appeal Denied (Dec 16, 2010)

We found out this morning (December 16, 2010) Marie Mason’s appeal for a re-sentencing has been denied by a federal appeals court.

Coming immediately after fellow Green Scare prisoner Eric McDavid’s appeals have been exhausted, it is just another sign that the Obama administration will be not be changing Bush-era policies regarding the witch hunts against environmental and animal rights activists. 

Mason’s family will be deciding on the next course of action. In the meantime, we ask all supporters to drop her a line in prison to boost her spirits.

Marie Mason #04672-061
FMC Carswell
Federal Medical Center
P.O. Box 27137
Fort Worth, TX 76127

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Marie Mason is serving almost 22 years for two acts of environmentally-motivated property destruction in which no one was harmed. This is the longest current sentence of any of the Green Scare prisoners. (The Green Scare is the name given to the recent prosecution of eco-saboteurs and animal liberation activists, in which the government has labeled them as “terrorists” and sought huge sentences.) Mason was turned in by her then-husband, Frank Ambrose, who had secretly spied on activists for years and then filed for divorce the day she was arrested. Mason eventually pled guilty to 14 actions: 13 were claimed by the Earth Liberation Front and one by the Animal Liberation Front. At her sentencing, the judge said she had “violated the marketplace of ideas” and gave her an even longer sentence than the plea bargain stipulated. In August 2010, Mason was transferred to a special wing of Carswell prison, where numerous political prisoners are held and communications are tightly monitored.

For more information, see www.supportmariemason.org