Please Join Me In Contributing to Julie Amero's Legal Defense Fund

Updates below the fold

Updates: Friday February 23, 2007: Andrew Kantor writing in USA Today: Police, School Get Failing Grade in Amero Case:

Julie Amero was a victim of a school that couldn't be bothered to protect its computers, of a prosecutor without the technology background to understand what he was doing, a police "expert" who was not, and a jury misled by all of them. "Miscarriage of justice" doesn't begin to describe it

Friday February 23, 2007: Regina  Lynn writing in Wired News: Protect the Children from Porn

What message does this witch hunt send to students? That if you scream and huff and puff, you can get your way -- and a spot on national television -- even when you haven't made the most basic attempts to verify the assumptions on which you base your accusations?

More updates: Friday February 23, 2007: I'm handing off the Julie Amero updates baton to DrumsNWhistles, because she is on it like white on rice.  She feels very passionate about this case and has researched the facts in detail .

Julie Amero is the substitute teacher in the Norwich, Connecticut school district who was the victim of a porn popup storm on poorly maintained school computers.  Never mind the facts; Ms. Amero was railroaded--found guilty of four counts of risk of injury to a minor, or impairing the morals of a child.  She faces a sentence of up to 40 years in prison.  The case, from beginning to end, was a travesty of justice.  Ms. Amero was the victim of malware and the incompetence of the school district's IT department.

(My  original post, and some interesting comments, here; interview with Julie Amero here)

From Casting Out Nines, I find that Amero has a legal defense fund, and a blog, (http://julieamer.blogspot.com/index.html) Wes Volle, Julie's husband, writes:

Julie and I can’t afford to fight this battle on our own. Our expenses have been in excess of $20,000 to date. That may not sound like a lot to many people, but when you consider it is almost twice what she made substitute teaching in one year it puts it in perspective.

Please contribute as much as you can.

Teacher  Eric Hoefler wrote:

If this trial stands, how can we ever use technology without a constant fear plaguing us?

Update: there's a second blog, called State v. Amero: A Miscarriage of Justice (http://blog.state-v-amero.com/)

 

See what Jon's Network has to say.

Mamacita of Scheiss Weekly is heartbroken, and is asking readers to contribute to Amero's defense.

Ed Brayton of Dispatches from the Culture Wars is asking his readers to contribute to Amero's defense.

Eric Hoefler of Sicheii Yazhi is asking readers to contribute to Amero's defense.

Joanne Jacobs joins me and Casting Out Nines in asking readers to contribute to Amero's defense.

Mr Lawrence (of Get Lost, Mr. Chips) is on the job.  (He's a substitute, too).

Grant Robertson at The Download Squad wrote,

Now it's your turn. Take 5 minutes out of your day and do what you can to keep Julie Amero from serving jail-time for falling victim to malware! Think for one minute about the last time you answered a ridiculously simple computer question for a computer-noob relative, and of how a concept so simple for you was so mind boggling for them. Your five minutes meant a lot, didn't it? In this case, that same five minutes could save Julie Amero from jail.

Connecticut Board of Pardon and Parole
(203) 805-6605

Chairman Gregory Everett
Rowland Government Center
55 West Main Street, Suite 520
Waterbury, Connecticut 06702

You can email Chairman Gregory Everett at greg.everett@po.state.ct.us

Texas Malahini is in, but hasn't blogged about it.  She's a modest sort.

Majikthise writes about the Legal Defense Fund

Jay Allen, who writes at The Zero Boss, says the Amero case is another instance of zero tolerance gone amuck, and asks for donations to Amero's legal defense fund.

DrumsNWhistles says she will donate a buck for every comment and link, and WOW the folks really get the ball rolling.

Mocha Mamma sends folks to DrumsNWhistles.

A Gaggle of Girls sends folks to DrumsNWhistles

Don't Gel Too Soon sends folks to DrumsNWhistles

Holding The Mirror To My Soul sends folks to DrumsNWhistles

Sand Gets In My Eyes, an expat blogger in Saudia Arabia, sends folks to DrumsNWhistles, and says of Amero's conviction:

I don't know about you, but that sounds a lot more like something that would happen here in Saudi Arabia than in the United States of America. The muttawa are big on "impairing morals" issues; are notorious for censorship of both internet content and access; and love to scapegoat rather than deal with the root issue of problems. Apparently so do the US courts.

ChicksWithSticks asks her readers to donate to Amero.

Mia Myself and I asks her readers to donate, and sends folks to DrumsNWhistles

 

Scout's Swag sends folks to DrumsNWhistles and holds a lottery on her own site.  You must comment to win:

If you donate money to her defense fund (go here), even if it’s only $1.00 leave me a comment and I will put your name into a drawing for a gift certificate for $25.00 to Scout’s Swag. You can also get your name put in by posting about it on your blog. If you do both, I’ll put your name in twice. Just leave me a comment/pingback and let me know. I will keep comments open for 48 hours. You have until Thursday, February 22nd at 8:00am MST to do this.

Psychomom'S pace asks her readers to donate, and links back to Scout's Swag

Lotus Knits asks her readers to donate to Julie Amero's defense fund

Kniterations tells the story, and sends readers back to Scout's Swag.

Spinning Athena asks her readers to donate to the defense fund.

Knittin' and Lovin' It is incensed, tells her readers to donate, and links back to Scout's Swag

She Walks Handsomely tells her readers about Julie Amero, and sends her readers back to Scout's Swag.

The Curly Knitter is outraged, and tells her readers to donate

 

Comments

[Karoli]

Hi Liz,

Thanks for the tip on this. For the next 48 hours I will contribute $1 in excess of the contribution I've already made to her defense fund for everyone who contributes and leaves a comment on my post here.

I also left an appeal on Robert Scoble's blog to bring this out on the A list again (It's been blogged but I don't think anyone really believes this is happening and that she faces the very real possibility of long-term imprisonment)

[Mamacita]

I've posted about this on my blog. I have no money, but I can do that much.

[Liz Ditz]

Mamacita's blog. She wrote a heartfelt plea:

Please Help; This Could Happen To Any Of Us, And Has

Dear God in Heaven, when will it all end? When a loving and competent teacher, or a sub like Julie, is accused of unspeakable things because other people misused a computer, when administration sees only the result and doesn't really care about the cause, what are we coming to?

I can tell you the answer to that. The end.

We are coming to the end.

I am too upset to write. For now, I'm just going to sit here and pray.

For Julie, and all the other teachers I know who have been persecuted for things that were not their fault, and for the children who suffer in the long run because so many administrators are "too busy" or "too old" or "whatever" to study in-depth what someone can do with a computer, and who would rather just blame the teacher than learn.

Thank you, Mamacita

[Liz Ditz]

Julie Amero just sent me a thank-you note for my contribution. Wouldn't you like to get one, too?

[Karoli]

I received a thank-you note, too. I've also decided to open things up a bit more -- any comment and/or trackback on my post above will mean another $1 to her defense fund from me, as long as it's posted in the next 48 hours. No contributions from commenters are necessary, but they are of course hoped for.

[Reg Adkins]

I must be missing something here. I have been "hijacked" several times.
1. a.You shut down immediately.
b. If you can't shut down (ie loop) you unplug.
2.You report the incident to you media services (or supervisor).
3. Are there any details that indicate she did, or did not, take these steps?