[Ppnews] Update on/from Daniel McGowan

[Political Prisoner News]

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Hi all,

Daniel has been getting settled into FCI 
Sandstone and has made a number of calls to 
friends and family. He's back on his 300 phone 
minutes a month and is able to start responding 
to letters, although he may not be able to 
respond to every single person. Daniel's job (all 
federal prisoners must work for the prison) is a 
clerical position in the psychology department. 
He starts it this week. He's been playing "pickle 
ball" (not quite sure what that is) and has been 
eating a lot better than at previous locations. 
We're relieved to hear he's doing OK, getting 
into a routine, and passing his time.
Daniel's latest "blog" entry is pasted below. You 
can also see past entries here: 
<http://www.supportdaniel.org/prisonlife/blog.html>http://www.supportdaniel.org/prisonlife/blog.html. 
We're working on getting a real blog on the website soon.


September 18, 2007

Whew, so I finally made to FCI Sandstone — a low 
security prison in northern Minnesota and my home 
for the next couple of years. It’s been a rough 
couple of weeks — 2 flights, 2 long days in a 
bus, 11 days in the hole and not having a clue 
when I would be moved. Transit in the federal 
prison system is disorienting and frustrating but 
I’m here now and things are starting to 
normalize. Big thanks to everyone who wrote me in 
Oklahoma, Terre Haute, and Oxford — the letters 
are starting to catch up with me this week. I am 
way behind on correspondence and at times feel like I will be for a while.

How to describe Sandstone. Well, it has fences 
and barbed wire but it's not Oz! The first couple 
of days here were tough — trying to figure out 
what to do, where to go, how to do mundane things 
that others know already. With some help, I’m 
adjusting and each day gets easier by far. I hear 
once you learn how everything works, the boredom 
sets in but I’m doing all I can to keep busy by 
reading, preparing for my master’s program, running and signing up for classes.

I want to thank everyone who came out for the 
September 1st benefit in Brooklyn, NY that was 
held to help me pay for tuition. From what I 
heard, it was a lot of fun and really successful 
— I can’t wait to see the photos.

Finally, I want to ask you for your participation 
in this year’s Leonard Peltier Annual Holiday Toy 
Drive for the children of the 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Ridge_Reservation>Pine 
Ridge reservation in South Dakota. This project 
has gone on for years and I’m happy to be part of 
it this year in a supporting capacity. My support 
crew will be creating a registry of toys that 
will make it simple for you to buy a toy or two 
for the Native children on the Pine Ridge 
reservation. I’m honored to be working on a 
project initiated by Native political prisoner 
<http://www.leonardpeltier.net/theman.htm>Leonard 
Peltier and run by the Leonard Peltier Defense 
Committee — true allies in the struggle for 
political prisoners and environmental protection. 
Please participate as much as you can to make a 
real difference in the lives of these children 
who live on one of the poorest reservations in 
the nation and also by lending your support to 
the struggle to free Leonard Peltier. Check 
<http://www.supportdaniel.org/>www.supportdaniel.org 
and 
<http://www.leonardpeltier.net/>www.leonardpeltier.net 
for more information in the near future.

Thanks for all the letters and support!
Daniel

<http://www.supportdaniel.org/prisonlife/091807.html>http://www.supportdaniel.org/prisonlife/091807.html


<http://www.supportdaniel.org>Daniel McGowan is 
an environmental and social justice activist. He 
was charged in federal court on many counts of 
arson, property destruction and conspiracy, all 
relating to two incidents in Oregon in 2001. 
Until recently, Daniel was offered two choices by 
the government: cooperate by informing on other 
people, or go to trial and face life in prison. 
His only real option was to plead not guilty 
until he could reach a resolution of the case 
that permitted him to honor his principles. As a 
result of months of litigation and negotiation, 
Daniel was able to admit to his role in these two 
incidents, while not implicating or identifying 
any other people who might have been involved. He 
was sentenced to 7 years in prison on June 4, 
2007 and began serving his time on July 2, 2007.



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