BY JOHN STUDER
DES MOINES, Iowa-"For several years now, our Diocesan
Council for Peace and Justice has been following the case
of Mark Curtis," Carol Warren, peace and justice
coordinator of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington, Kentucky,
wrote June 29 to the Iowa State Board of Parole.
"Everything we have seen convinces us that he is innocent
of the charges for which he was convicted.
"However," Warren adds, "We find that Mark Curtis is still in prison, after having served more time than most persons convicted on similar charges. He has not been granted parole, although his prison record is exemplary, and he has many promises of work and support upon his release.
"We believe this situation should be corrected."
The day before, Julia Terrell, Curtis's next door
neighbor in Des Moines in 1988 at the time he was arrested
and framed on charges of rape and burglary, also wrote the
parole board.
"Once again I write in behalf of my friend, Mark Curtis, currently at the State Penitentiary at Ft. Madison, Iowa," Terrell wrote. "His re-entry into society will be successful because of a great support network, a fine family, many friends and supporters in every part of the country," she adds. "Please let him be free to continue his endeavors to make this a better world."
Cees Flinterman, a law professor from Maastricht, Belgium, also wrote the parole board saying, "For a long time I have been concerned about the plight of Mark Curtis who has spent the last seven years in Iowa prisons. Even though Mr. Curtis has met the requirements for release on parole for a number of years, the authorities have refused to let him go. I respectfully urge the Iowa State Board of Parole to free Mr. Curtis and to restore him fully in his fundamental rights and freedom."
The Mark Curtis Defense Committee recently received these letters in response to a new flyer asking supporters of justice to write a letter to the Iowa Parole Board to help Curtis win parole.
"Mark Curtis, a political activist, a member of the Socialist Workers Party, and member of the United Food and Commercial Workers union at the Monfort meatpacking plant in Des Moines, was arrested on March 4, 1988, beaten by the police, and framed up on charges of rape and burglary," the flyer begins. "Curtis has spent the last seven years in Iowa prisons. Prison and parole officials have repeatedly refused to release him on parole and have victimized him for his political activity behind bars.
"Even though Curtis has met the requirements for release on parole under Iowa law for a number of years, the authorities have refused to let him go. Instead they raise new obstacles to his fight for freedom," the flyer continues. "With each passing year, these efforts become rawer, more transparent, and make it clearer that their treatment of Curtis is a product of political prejudice. More and more people are asking, `Why Is Mark Curtis Still in Prison?' "
The flyer details the discriminatory treatment he has received over the last seven years, including being thrown into segregation last fall.
The defense committee asks that letters urging parole for Curtis be addressed to the Iowa State Board of Parole, Capitol Annex, 523 East 12th St., Des Moines, Iowa 50319, and be sent to the Mark Curtis Defense Committee, Box 1048, Des Moines, Iowa 50311.
The committee hopes to gather hundreds of letters from unionists, political activists, and supporters of political rights. The committee plans to organize a delegation to meet with the board on Curtis's behalf in September, and will deliver the letters all together.
Curtis is now due to be released from segregated lockup on August 2. Under prison regulations, Curtis will be taken before a prison hearing to determine whether he will be released back into the general prison or placed in a special status called "close management." Prison rules describe "close management" as a status "for controlling of the intractable inmate who, by his behavior, has identified himself as assaultive, predacious, riotous, or disruptive to the institution." Any prisoner who has been disciplined for more than 60 days, as Curtis has, is automatically screened for "close management."
While this special status is not considered punitive, conditions are similar to lockup. Inmates in close management are kept in the same cells as those in lockup, with only a few additional rights to exercise, telephone use, and other prison "privileges." Prisoners advance out of "close management" at the arbitrary decision of the authorities.
To help with the parole effort, contact the Mark Curtis Defense Committee, at the address listed above.