Efrén's Leatherwork Available in Lansing This Saturday

The Peace Education Center is having i's annual Alternative Holiday Sale this Saturday, November 14, 2009 from 9 AM to 5 PM. It will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 855 Grove Street, East Lansing, MI.

The Alternative Holiday Sale gives the Greater Lansing community the opportunity to meet and shop with others in the peace and justice community while supporting small personal businesses, nonprofit groups, and fair trade cooperatives. It is a tradition that combines holiday shopping with a true spirit of community.

There will be organic homemade treats and lunches for sale, as well as hot coffee and cocoa. Vendors will include woodworkers, crafts, clothing, soaps and candles, photographs, and much more.

Additionally, this year there will also be a table with handcrafted leather items that Efrén personally made himself. We will also have Free Efrén postcards available for distribution and one-page flyers. You are invited to stop by if you are in the area and spend time at the Free Efrén table to express your support and learn about all the latest updates.

Efrén Appears on Ebling and You Radio Show

Yesterday afternoon, Monday, October 26, 2009, Jack Ebling, AM 1320 WILS Lansing radio show host, interviewed Efrén on his show, Ebling and You.

Jack and Efrén discussed a recent article published on AlterNet.org titled "4 Prisoners Facing Executions or Serving Extreme Jail Sentences Who Very Well May Be Innocent" by Liliana Segura, which featured Efrén's case.

They also discussed another article recently featured in The Michigan Messenger titled "Drug cases dismissed following pleas by corrupt narcotics cops" by Eartha Jane Melzer. This article was about 40 wrongful convictions dismissed in Berrien County (the county Efrén was convicted in) by Chief Prosecutor Arthur Cotter as a result of two police officers who have pleaded guilty to federal charges that they made up evidence, conducted illegal searches and wrongfully arrested people.

Click the play button on the left side of the flash player below to listen to Jack's exclusive interview with Efrén.



A special thanks to our friend Jack Ebling for his continued support, and for helping us keep the injustice surrounding Efrén's wrongful incarceration in the public eye.

Biographical Information

Jack Ebling, host of "Ebling and You" and co-host of "Jack and Tom" on WILS, is a broadcaster and writer who has covered high school, college, and pro sports for nearly 30 years. He has been named Michigan Sportswriter of the Year three times and was inducted into the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Jack spent more than 24 years at the Lansing State Journal as a beat writer and columnist before moving to talk radio, television, and freelance writing. He has also been a contributor to Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, Basketball Times, and Street & Smith’s College Football and College Basketball.

While Jack's background has been largely sports, on Ebling and You, Jack tackles an array of topics and talks with daily with political, business, entertainment and sports newsmakers in Lansing, in Michigan and around the nation.

Efrén Appears on Ebling and You Radio Show

Yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, August 9, 2009, Jack Ebling, AM 1320 WILS Lansing radio show host, interviewed Efrén on his show, Ebling and You.

Jack and Efrén discussed a recent speech he gave to youth in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) encouraging peace between police and youth in the city, how Efrén remains so positive despite enduring 20 years of wrongful imprisonment, his work promoting the graduation of high school Xicana/Latina students, among other things.

Click the play button on the left side of the flash player below to listen to Jack's exclusive interview with Efrén.



A special thanks to our friend Jack Ebling for his continued support, and for helping us keep the injustice surrounding Efrén's wrongful incarceration in the public eye.

Biographical Information

Jack Ebling, host of "Ebling and You" and co-host of "Jack and Tom" on WILS, is a broadcaster and writer who has covered high school, college, and pro sports for nearly 30 years. He has been named Michigan Sportswriter of the Year three times and was inducted into the Greater Lansing Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

Jack spent more than 24 years at the Lansing State Journal as a beat writer and columnist before moving to talk radio, television, and freelance writing. He has also been a contributor to Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, Basketball Times, and Street & Smith’s College Football and College Basketball.

While Jack's background has been largely sports, on Ebling and You, Jack tackles an array of topics and talks with daily with political, business, entertainment and sports newsmakers in Lansing, in Michigan and around the nation.

Contact Us Via New Google Voice Number

You can now contact us using our new Google Voice number.

If you would like to call and leave a comment, make a suggestion, request additional information about Efrén's case, or learn how you can assist our campaign to free him, you can leave us a voice mail message by calling our Google Voice number at 269-849-9056.

If you would like to speak to a member of Efrén's family, or a member of The Injustice Must End (TIME) Committee to Free Efrén Paredes, Jr., please state what you would like to discuss and leave your name, phone number, and the best time to return your call.  This will help us determine the best person to respond to your request.

Petition to Gov. Granholm Supporting Release of Efrén Paredes, Jr. on Change.Org Web Site

Please sign the new petition to Gov. Granholm supporting Efrén's release that has been created on the Change.org web site. You are welcome to edit the letter and include additional personal thoughts and feelings which is highly encouraged. It will only take you a few brief moments to complete the process.

Once you sign the letter please forward the campaign to others and ask them to do the same. You are encouraged to to share this note on your wall to help spread the word as well. The petition appears below.

According to the Change.org web site:

"Today as citizens of the world, we face a daunting array of social and environmental problems ranging from health care and education to global warming and economic inequality. For each of these issues, whether local or global in scope, there are millions of people who care passionately about working for change but lack the information and opportunities necessary to translate their interest into effective action.

Change.org aims to address this need by serving as the central platform informing and empowering movements for social change around the most important issues of our time."

We can not underscore enough the urgency of this very important call to action. Efrén's life and future are depending on our collective efforts. Thank you for your continued support, and please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

or, Create a Petition

Change.org

Freedom March for Wrongful Convictions

Organizers hosted the Freedom March for Wrongful Convictions ("FMWC") on the steps of the capitol in Lansing, Michigan on Saturday, June 27, 2009. It was part of a coordinated multi-state effort to raise awareness of wrongful convictions and cast a spotlight on the need for criminal justice reform.

Representatives from the Innocence Project, Amnesty International, Peace Education Center, and other organizations were in attendance. WLNS-TV 6 News, WILX-TV 10 News, and the Lansing State Journal were present to report about the gathering.

Walter Swift, a recently exonerated former prisoner who was released after serving 27 years of incarceration, spoke at the event and discussed his struggle to prove his innocence.

In November 1982, Walter was wrongly convicted of rape and sentenced to 55 years' imprisonment. Convicted at the age of 21 on the basis of evidence that has been discredited, Walter nonetheless languished behind bars for almost 27 years for a crime he did not commit.

Ten years ago his case came to the attention of the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic founded in New York in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld. "Evidence shows that the victim's eyewitness identification was tragically wrong", says Olga Akselrod, an Innocence Project attorney.

After a decade of investigation and campaigning by the Innocence Project, Walter was exonerated in April 2008. "Walter Swift has been fully exonerated after spending most of his adult life in prison", said Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck.

After the event Efrén spoke with Walter Swift via telephone. Walter conveyed to Efrén that he will begin mentioning his campaign for freedom when he discusses wrongful convictions and the need for reform in the criminal justice system as he travels across the state.

Members of The Injustice Must End (TIME) Committee from both the Lansing and Detroit areas were also present to express support for Efrén and the event. One member of the Lansing TIME Committee spoke at the event on Efrén's behalf, and a member of the Detroit TIME Committee was interviewed by WLNX-TV 6.

The event was a success. Organizers of the event and those in attendance will work together to continue building on their efforts and plan for an even larger gathering next year. Educating the public about the facts surrounding wrongful convictions is a very important step in creating meaningful reform in a system that has ignored human rights and the rule of law for far too long.

Wrongful Convictions Facts

There have been 240 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.
• The first DNA exoneration took place in 1989. Exonerations have been won in 34 states; since 2000, there have been 171 exonerations.
• 17 of the 240 people exonerated through DNA served time on death row.
• The average length of time served by exonerees is 12 years. The total number of years served is approximately 2,982.
Facts Source: http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/351.php

Efrén Appears on Thousand Kites National Radio Broadcast

Efrén appeared on the Thousand Kites national radio broadcast June 4, 2009 to discuss his wrongful conviction and the subject of juvenile life without parole sentencing in the USA. He spoke to Thousand Kites six months to the day after his December 4, 2008 public hearing.

Efrén discussed the issue of juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) sentences, the state legislation pending in Michigan to abolish these sentences, and the upcoming U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing in Congress to consider legislation to abolish the practice as well.

Click on the following link to visit the page where you can hear Efrén's interview: http://tinyurl.com/nffawq.

Thousand Kites is a national dialogue project addressing the criminal justice system. By being involved with Kites you will become part of a national movement to use the power of art to reform our criminal justice system and to talk about human rights in the United States. Using video, theater, radio, and the web as tools, you can bring people together to support organizing efforts and share experiences with the criminal justice system.

To learn more about Thousand Kites and how you can support its mission, please visit http://www.thousandkites.org. A special thanks to Julia Taylor for arranging the interview.