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- We are devastated by the Jury’s verdict today. It has been clear from
- day one that Cecily has not received a fair and open trial. The job of
- a judge during a jury trial isn't to guide the verdict to fit his
- opinion. Judge Zweibel, who consistently suppressed evidence, has
- demonstrated his clear bias by consistently siding with the
- prosecution. In addition to suppressing evidence, he imposed a gag
- order on Cecily’s lawyers, which is a clear violation of their 1st
- Amendment Rights, and placed the burden of proof on the defense, not
- the prosecution. He is rightly known as ‘a prosecutor in robes’.
- Beyond Judge Zweibel, it is disgusting to see vast resources from
- taxpayers wasted for over two years to prosecute Cecily. Manhattan DA
- Cy Vance has refused to drop this case, pursuing maximum charges
- against Cecily while ignoring police violence and misconduct. This is
- unfortunately not isolated to Cecily’s case but is indicative of a
- system concerned not with justice but with the unrelenting harassment
- of dissenters and the powerless.
- In the two years awaiting trial, Cecily was never offered anything
- less than a felony charge, a charge that would stay with her for the
- rest of her life. While awaiting a trial, Cecily has lived in limbo
- for two years, not knowing what her future would be, forced to re-live
- her trauma every one of those days. Beyond the sexual assault and
- physical injuries she sustained, Cecily suffered PTSD and has had
- difficulty finishing her master’s degree and continuing her work as a
- union organizer and activist.
- Despite the chilling precedent this verdict puts forth for activists,
- we will not be deterred from seeking social and economic justice, as
- evidenced in the courtroom today. Though we’ve held our tongues
- throughout this trial as Cecily was personally attacked and degraded,
- we could not stand silent today in the face of such a gross
- miscarriage of justice. The people had to speak truth to power today
- by standing up and will continue to do so as long as this justice
- system continues to punish the 99% and protect the 1%.
- As journalist Chris Hedges said in a recent article, “The corporate
- state, which has proved utterly incapable of addressing the grievances
- and injustices endured by the underclass, is extremely nervous about
- the mass movements that have swept the country in recent years. And if
- protests erupt again—as I think they will—the state hopes it will have
- neutralized much of the potential leadership. Being an activist in
- peaceful mass protest is the only real “crime” McMillan has
- committed.”
- We recognize that, as poorly as Cecily has been treated these past two
- years, she was lucky enough to have an amazing support system
- comprised of representation from the National Lawyer’s Guild and
- Mutant Legal, as well as significant financial help from supporters of
- Occupy Wall Street and a team of ten who tirelessly worked to bring
- her case to light and support her through this trying time. It’s
- harrowing to imagine how many unfortunate people encounter this system
- without the resources Cecily had, though we know countless innocent
- people are forced to plea to felonies and ruin their lives every day
- in this building.
- We will be fighting this unjust verdict in the court of appeals.
- Cecily’s lawyers are optimistic, given the circumstances of the case
- and the gross bias demonstrated throughout, that we can win on appeal.
- Thank you all for your ongoing support throughout this trial. We know
- that many share our outrage at this verdict, if you would like to get
- involved in jail support, please visitjusticeforcecily.com to learn
- more about how to best support Cecily.
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