Archive for February, 2009

Bee is Sick

Friday, February 13th, 2009

Dear Friend of Justice,

I am quite worried about Bee. He has been quite sick for a few days, complicated by severe asthma attacks. He finally saw a doctor this morning. She wanted to hospitalize him on the spot. He finally agreed to go if the medications prescribed for him don’t cause a dramatic improvement over the next couple of days.

Bee has suffered from asthma since childhood. he also suffered a great deal of physical abuse while in prison, causing him a lot of lingereing problems. His shoulder has been bothering him a great deal for a long time. The doctor feels he needs to see an orthopedic surgeon as soon as possible. She also scheduled him for a complete checkup. She told him that his lungs are in terrible shape.

One of the reasons Bee didn’t see a doctor before this is that he had such a terrible time getting health insurance. Once he got it, I bugged him to schedule a physical. But then his partner David became seriously ill and Bee’s focus was taking care of him. Both of them lost a great deal of work because of David’s illness, precipitating their current financial crisis.

The doctor was also skeptical about Bee continuing as a landscaper because of the asthma and his past physical injuries.

If you have Bee’s address, you might want to send him a card. If you don’t, I’d be happy to email it to you. I don’t want to post it in a public place to protect their privacy.

-Bob Chatelle

One year and Counting

Thursday, February 12th, 2009

Dear Friend of Justice,

One year ago today, the Massachusetts Appeals Court held a hearing on DA David Capeless’s motion to deny a new trial to Bernard Baran.

You may wish to review my report on that hearing. I also posted this follow-up comment.

It is unusual for the Appeals Court to take such a long time to issue a decision. There is, however, a huge volume of material to review. One hopes that it is all being thoughtfully read.

When will the Commonwealth’s persecution of this fine young man and his family ever stop?

-Bob Chatelle