And now:"S.I.S.I.S." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
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-------Forwarded message-----
Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 16:31:19 -0500
From: "Irma L. Muniz" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Ramsey Muniz Defense Committee News
Please distribute widely.
STATUS OF RAMSEY MUNIZ
Ramsey Muniz, a political prisoner from Corpus Christi,
Texas, remains in solitary confinement in Leavenworth,
Kansas. He and other Mexicanos have been kept in
torturous conditions since December 10, 1998. When we
ask the Bureau of Prisons for a reason, they merely say
that it is due to an ongoing investigation.
NEW FLYER
Enclosed is a new flyer regarding the case of Ramsey
Muniz. The information includes the complete story of
a false scenario created in 1994 by DEA agents in Dallas,
Texas, in order to capture Ramsey again.
Captured in 1994
Ramsey Muniz, a leader during the Chicano Civil Rights
Movement, is a political prisoner serving a life sentence
on false charges. In March of 1994, Muniz was on business
trips in Houston and Dallas. He worked as a legal assistant
and was meeting potential clients for different attorneys.
Muņiz did not drive long distances alone, due to health
reasons. On this trip he traveled with Juan Gonzales of
Mathis, Texas.
One of the clients that Muniz met with was Donacio Medina,
of Durango, Mexico. Medina needed the help of an attorney
to transfer two incarcerated brothers to prisons in Mexico.
On March 11, 1994, Medina asked Juan Gonzales and Ramsey
Muņiz for a ride to the airport. On their way there, he
asked Muņiz to move his car to another motel, where he
planned to retrieve it later. Muniz did not have a vehicle,
so he agreed to help move Medina's car - - a vehicle which
he had never been in before.
As Muniz was parking Medina's car, he realized that he
was being followed by the law. He parked the car then
quickly walked, searching for a telephone to call an
attorney. As he walked, a police car whisked past him,
as in pursuit. At this point Muniz nervously attempted
to disassociate himself from the car he had just been
asked to move. Walking toward a telephone, he placed
the car keys in his sock, to avoid giving them to the
law enforcement. He never made it to the telephone.
He was surrounded by police and DEA agents, even though
they had no legal reason to have stopped him. They
searched him, and found the car keys. Later, they
searched the car and found what they already knew was
there.
DEA agent Kimberly Elliott of Dallas, Texas, signed
an affidavit which stated the reasons why they went
after Muniz. The affidavit contained false statements.
Elliott stated that motel employees had contacted the
DEA because of suspicious behavior on the part of
Ramsey Muniz. This behavior consisted of his making
phone calls from the lobby when he could have used his
room instead. Elliott further stated that Muniz used a
false name when he checked into the motel.
The three motel employees were brought in to testify
at the trial, and their testimony was consistent. None
of them had contacted the DEA, none had said that Muniz
had acted suspiciously, and it was proven that Muniz had
used his own name when he checked into the motel.
We later discovered that the government was actually in
pursuit of Donacio Medina, because he (and NOT Muniz)
had made an illegal drug deal with them. They kept this information from
the jury, however. The government did
not want for the jury to know about Donacio Medina so
that they could instead blame Ramsey Muniz. The DEA's
wrongdoing is further compounded by the fact that they
let Donacio Medina go free, even though he was the one
they had been pursuing.
Muniz's fingerprints were nowhere to be found on the
car that Medina had asked him to move. The government
would not reveal whose fingerprints were on the contraband.
We later learned that Juan Gonzales was the one who had
rented the car for Donacio Medina. Gonzales, the
co-defendant, did not take the witness stand.
Ramsey Muniz, Juan Gonzales, and Donacio Medina had
met at an Owens Restaurant, to discuss legal assistance
for Medina's brothers. DEA agent Eli Chavez claims
to have heard a phrase during this meeting - the only
phrase that he could hear during a 30-minute conversation.
He claims that Medina said, "No los conozco muy bien,
pero vamos hacer un trato a las diez." This one statement,
not even made by Muniz, was the only evidence that the
government produced to indict Muniz. They claimed that
Medina made this statement, yet Medina was allowed him
to go free!
The only evidence, which could have shown that Medina
was staying in a different motel from Muniz, was not
allowed in the trial. The custodian of records was
properly subpoenaed for this information, but he refused
to show. The defense asked the judge to enforce the
subpoena. The judge refused, saying that it might
confuse the jury.
The prosecutors withheld information until the last
part of the trial, making it too late for the defense
to make use of it. They made no apologies for this
misconduct.
Persecuted from the Beginning
At the heart of his political career in 1976,
Ramsey Muniz was indicted on drug conspiracy charges.
Knowing that the establishment was out to get him, he
left for Mexico only to be caught, tortured, and returned
to the U.S. for prosecution. Houston Attorney Dick
DeGuerin stated, "The evidence was either non-existent
or from a very unreliable source. There were a couple
of people who were given immunity in order to testify,
and it was just an effort to get Ramsey!" Muniz pleaded
guilty to federal drug charges, and disassociated himself
>from members of the Raza Unida Party, knowing that they
were also government targets. Muniz was indicted in
Corpus Christi and San Antonio for the same crime, making
it count twice.
Muniz's sentence was far greater than sentences normally
given. He served his time in the harshest prisons
throughout the country. He was later released to face
continuing stalking and persecution by the DEA. In
Houston, Muniz was followed by the DEA, and accused
of drug possession for contraband found not in his
possession, but in a client's apartment. The charges
were dropped due to an illegal search, and a parole
violation was given.
Status of the Case
The trial was in Sherman, Texas, which is in the
Eastern District. It was lost, appealed to the Fifth
Circuit Court of Appeals, and to the Supreme Court.
All courts denied the appeal. A §2255 was filed in
October of 1997, and it was denied by the Eastern
District. It was forwarded to the Fifth Circuit
Court of Appeals, and we await their response. All
appellate work has been filed Pro Se.
How You Can Help
* Organize a Ramsey Muniz Defense Committee in your area.
Contact us for additional information.
* Write or telephone senators and congressmen. Ask that
they call for a congressional investigation.
Solomon P. Ortiz
United States Congressman
3649 Leopard Street
Corpus Christi, TX 78408
(361) 883-5868 fax: 884-9201
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
10440 N. Central Expwy. Ste.1160
Dallas, TX 75231
(214) 767-0577 fax:(202)224-0776
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Edward Kennedy
United States Senator
2400 J.F.K. Federal Building
Boston, MA 02203
(617) 565-3170 fax:(617)565-3183
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
* Send donations:
Advocates of Justice
5403 Everhart Rd. #216
Corpus Christi, TX 78411-4895
(361) 992-4488
"Even though I'm caged and confined in the underground
dungeons of this oppressor, my soul is free. The more
I read, study and examine our ancient sacred spiritual
historia, the more I'm totally convinced that we, the
Mexikas, will never be defeated again."
Ramsey R. Muniz - Tezcatlipoca
http://home.earthlink.net/~aou
++++FREE RAMSEY MUNIZ++++
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