News
February 2006
Updates on Zachary Jenson, Eric McDavid and Lauren Weiner
Zachary Jenson
Zachary Jenson's motion to reopen bail was denied. He is hiring a private
attorney and desperately needs funds to pay her. He wants to thank
everyone for the books he has been receiving and he says the letters he ís
getting are what keeps him going. The prisoners are only allowed to have 5
books in their cell at a time and Zachary has reached his limit. If he
accumulates more than 5, the guards will take away all his books and he
will lose his book privileges. For this reason he is requesting that
people stop sending him books for the time being. He will let us know if
he needs more in the future. He asks that people continue to send him
letters. Remember, when writing prisoners please do not discuss their
case, issues related to their charges or what is being written in the news
about them. If you would like to organize a benefit for Zachary or donate
money to his defense fund you can make out a check/money order to
"Sacramento Defense Fund" (please use this name or we will not be able to
cash the check/money order) and send it to:
Sacramento Prisoner Support
PO Box 163126
Sacramento, CA 95816
Or pay through by credit card if you have a paypal account by going to
paypal.com and sending money to sacprisonersupport[at]riseup[dot]net
Write Zachary at:
JENSON, ZACHARY X-4198632 7E213A
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Eric McDavid
Eric has been allowed to go to the commissary and purchase some vegan food but he is still not getting regular vegan meals. He is no longer fasting but remains in poor health. He still wants vegan meals. He was visited by a jail nutritionist who recommended that he be given two vegan protein
shakes per day. In order for Eric to receive the shakes, a doctor must okay the nutritionist's recommendation and affirm that they are necessary for Eric's health. The nutrionist's recommendation is important progress, but he still has not yet received the shakes. We are asking that you continue to call and write the jail requesting that Eric McDavid be given vegan food (especially the shakes
recommended by the nutritionist). The food that he buys from commissary is enough to keep him alive but not enough to keep him healthy. He needs regular substantial nourishment from vegan sources. The jail tends to lie about what food he is getting, what he is saying and his health. What they
say to you is not important. What is important is that you make your request known to them. We will send out an alert as soon as we know that Eric is getting food that is acceptable to him. At this time Eric is not
getting most of his books or mail. If he has not written you back he may not have received your letter. Please continue to write him. He loves to receive letters. Apparently the jail does not accept hardcover books and will send a whole order back if there is a hardcover book in it. Eric is especially interested in henry Miller, Franz Kafka and collections of short stories. Please see mailing regulations below. Remember when writing prisoners please do not discuss their case, issues related to their
charges or what is being written in the news about them. For updates on Eric McDavid visit his website at www.supporteric.org
Write Eric at:
MCDAVID, ERIC X-2972521 4W114A
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Lauren Weiner
Lauren Weiner was ordered released on January 31st on $1.2 million bail and returned to New York state in her mother's custody. She is not allowed to travel outside the two counties in New York that her family lives in except to see her lawyer and go to court. She has been released on a
Vaccaro Bond which requires that she not just appear in court, but that she comply with all the conditions of her release or the bond will be forfeited. She has 11 special conditions of release. Most of them are
fairly typical such as drug testing, not owning firearms or the requirement to work or go to school. Condition 8 begins with the standard requirement that she not contact her co-defendants except through her attorney. Then it goes on to say "Ms. Weiner shall not have contact with any person, group, association or engage in environmental issues or advocacy". It is unclear at this time what the implications are of this blatantly political and disturbingly vague provision. We have had no
contact with Lauren Weiner since our original visit with her in jail and she has not responded to any of our letters.
Contact the jail about vegan food for Eric McDavid (x-reference # 2972521):
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916.874.6752
916.874.8984 fax
Sheriff Lou Blanas
916.874.7146
916.874.5332 fax
sheriff@sacsheriff.com
SACRAMENTO COUNTY MAIN JAIL RULES FOR CORRESPONDENCE
Instructions from http://www.sacsheriff.com on correspondence with inmates:
Inmate Mail and Correspondence Information
Correspondence:
ALL correspondence, including money orders, must have a return name and
address and be addressed in the following manner:
Inmateís Name, X-Reference number, Housing Location
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Example:
Doe, John X-1234567 6W303
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Books, Newspapers and subscriptions:
Due to the large population of inmates in custody, you must include the inmateís reference number and housing location on all items mailed to the Main Jail. The Jail will not accept books, newspapers or magazines mailed from a book store or an individual. Books, newspapers and magazines will
ONLY be accepted directly from the publisher or through online services (Amazon, Barnes and Noble,etc.) on behalf of the inmate. Any material that appears to be obscene or tends to incite murder, arson, riot, racism or otherwise compromises the security of the facility will not be accepted.
The following is a sample of unacceptable items which will be returned to the sender:
- Stationery/Stamps
- Polaroid Pictures
- Photos larger than a standard 35mm size (4x6)
- Stickers on the inside or outside of the envelope/letter
- Any items not listed which may compromise the security of the facility
ALL unacceptable or improperly addressed inmate mail will be returned to
sender.