Another 'Chicken Coming Home to Roost'? Or 'Fowl Play?' Woman Who Escaped From Prison 32 Years Ago is Caught, Faces Reincarceration
AN EXAMPLE OF CRIME-FIGHTING RUN AMUCK? An indictment of America's "wheel of fortune" approach to justice? On the one hand, you have a 53-year-old mother of three
The juxtaposition of these two cases revolving around old crimes starkly illustrates how luck and geography play a part in criminal prosecution and sentencing. Though some desperately cling to the idea that America's courts are "fair and balanced," most know that you better choose the state of your criminal activity carefully. And too bad if you're too poor or too stupid to have an attorney.
The breaking story is about Marie Walsh, a.k.a. Susan LeFevre, who escaped from a Michigan prison in 1976 and who until last week had been living comfortably life as a suburban mom with a big secret. Yet someone knew her story and tipped authorities, and on April 24, she was arrested "outside her home in San Diego's posh Carmel Valley area, wearing a sweat suit and driving a black Lexus SUV," the Associated Press reported. The suburban San Diego mom's arrest has upended her world, which included a husband and three kids. It's been a tremendous shock to us," said Alan Walsh, who described his wife as having "the highest integrity and compassion."
Compare that to the story of Ayers, who disappeared in 1970 and then turned himself in to authorities in 1980. He was never prosecuted for his role in 25 bombings the Weathermen Underground claimed; charges were dropped because of improper surveillance by the FBI. Today Ayers is a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago who remains righteous about his anti-war activities.
The comparison is not to say that Ayers needs to be in jail; he just happens to be a high-profile example of the randomness of America's jurisprudence system. A first-time drug conviction gets a 19-year-older a 20-year sentence in Michigan courts. In a Midwestern federal court, a bomber gets zip.
In a Times 2001 piece, writer Brent Staples explored the entitled psychology of many of the 60s' flower-children-turned-revolutionaries like Ayers."The basis of the transformation was a belief among young white suburbanites that their lives were pale and inauthentic next to the lives of hard-core urban criminals who fashioned themselves as ''revolutionaries'' during the 1960's. But...a substantial number of these children of privilege clearly saw ''the revolution'' as a fashionable game that would be forgiven once timeout was called." He follows that by saying that presumption "worked out" for Ayers, who once described himself as "guilty as hell, free as a bird.'' (FYI, Ayers' disappeared with his now-wife, Bernardine Dohrn, who was also implicated in the bombings; she now teaches law at Northwestern University.)
Which brings us back to Lefevre, a teenager who got tangled in drugs and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Her neighbors in Carmel Valley are rallying around her and argue that reincarcerating her would be the wrong choice. Crabby agrees; It seems if we can take the time to understand the zeal of anti-war fighters, then we ought to be able to forgive a drug crime committed 32 years ago.
Posted May 1, 2008
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