UPDATE: Deborah Peagler

As I type this, people are rallying in Los Angeles to advocate Deborah Peagler's release. Peagler has served 27 years in prison and was finally found suitable for release on July 10 by the California Board of Parole Hearings.

And yet she's still in jail.

In three days — by Friday — Governor Schwarzenegger must decide whether to allow her release or deny Deborah her freedom.

And so Debbie's supporters rally. They are right now standing outside of the Los Angeles Office of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

They hope to put pressure on the governor so that when he decides what to do with the parole board's suggestions, he chooses to release the woman who has spent nearly three decades of her life in prison for her connection to the murder of her husband — a man who abused her, forced her into prostitution and molested her daughter. Evidence of this abuse was never presented in court when Deborah was sentenced. Had it been included in the trial, it's likely she would have served fewer than six years in prison, if any time at all.

I have written about Debbie twice. First, in 2007, I wrote about her crusading lawyer, Joshua Safran, an Orthodox Jew who has worked on the case for seven years. I wrote about her again in April of this year, shortly after Deborah was diagnosed with lung cancer. Doctors have predicted that she will not live to see 2010.

If you want to support Peagler's release, call or write to the governor and urge him to allow Peagler to spend her final days with her family outside of the prison walls.

Contact the Governor here or by writing to him at:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160

For more information, check http://www.freedebbie.org.

Comments

Be the first to comment!

Leave a Comment

In order to post a comment, you must first log in.
Are you looking for user registration? Or have you forgotten your password?