A new letter from Bear Lincoln cites talk of a law enforcement plot to
murder him somewhere between the county jail and the courthouse, and to
justify it by a phony "escape" attempt.
The letter also accuses his jailers of keeping a potential witness for his
defense drugged in a jail isolation cell.
The capital murder trial of Bear Lincoln is about to begin July 21 in
Ukiah, California. He is accused of murdering a sheriff's deputy on the
Round Valley Indian Reservation, but he says he and his best friend were
ambushed by deputies in the dark, and deputies killed his friend and shot
at him as a result of mistaken identity. He claims the right of
self-defense. He avoided capture for over four months before turning
himself over to authorities at the law office of noted defense attorney J.
Tony Serra in San Francisco. He and his defense attorneys are subject to a
total gag order imposed by the trial judge.
American Indian Movement Field Director Dennis Banks will speak at a noon
press conference and rally in front of the Mendocino County Courthouse on
July 21.
There will be a "Gathering for Justice" at the Round Valley Indian
Reservation the previous two days, with camping, speakers (including
Dennis Banks), drumming, dancing, music and food. The Gathering begins at
dusk Saturday, July 19, at the Hidden Oaks Campground near the town of
Covelo. Saturday night will feature a full moon, a potluck dinner, and
informal campfire activities. All peaceful people are welcome. The event
will be alcohol and drug free. The main program will take place Sunday,
and there will be a caravan Monday morning to the courthouse.
**LETTER FROM BEAR LINCOLN**
July 1997
As I roamed through the forest day after day, certain circumstances had
come about that caused me to begin to consider turning myself in to face a
jury trial and tell my side or the story. But, due to the fact that the
court has taken away my First Amendment right, which is the freedom of
speech, I've been prohibited from speaking in my own defense or telling my
side of the story. I'm truly thankful that I'll be able to take the stand
and testify on my own behalf. So far that right has not been taken from
me. Then again, I must remember that this is Mendocino County justice, and
anything is possible.
In learning of all the stories being put out to the public by the
Sheriff's Department and the District Attorney's office I became very
upset. I felt compelled to tell my version of the shooting incident. One
of the reasons I turned myself in to face the death penalty was to expose
the Sheriff's Department's racism against the Native Americans. I want to
tell of the deputies lying in wait that night, ambushing and murdering an
innocent man. I had also intended to expose a mass police coverup by
several agencies and a multitude of civil rights violations against
elders, children and many others in the Indian community.
I've been incarcerated in the Mendocino County jail for approximately 22
months. In this amount of time I've seen many injustices inside the jail
and inside the county courthouse.
At this point and time the Sheriff's Department has come to the
realization that their case against me is very weak and that my case just
keeps getting stronger as time goes on. I believe that the law enforcement
community has become very desperate. For the record, I would like to state
some of the latest incidents that some may not be aware of at this time.
In the month of May 1997, I had met a man in the county jail who may be a
potential witness in this case for the defense. He had made statements to
me that he had listened to the entire shooting incident on his base radio
equipment that he has at his home in Ukiah. I set a meeting with my
investigator to determine if any of his statements would be relevant in my
case. Then, about two days after the interview when I got back from court
in the afternoon, this potential witness was locked down in his cell. I
began to ask him what happened to get him locked down. He began to speak
incoherently, and as I observed his behavior it was my conclusion, judging
from the things he spoke of, that he had been heavily drugged.
This man who was perfectly stable for the entire week that we had spoken
to each other was now in a very severe state of paranoia with serious
hallucinations. He was literally slobbering at the mouth. I became alarmed
because I strongly suspected the sheriff department and the medical staff
of drugging him without his knowledge. Later that night he was taken out
of the B-module and placed in an isolation cell where he remained for
about 2 months. The excuse the jail staff used for putting him in
isolation was that he was an escape risk. While the man was in the
isolation cell his food was heavily drugged. That knowledge came from a
Native American man who was also in isolation and mistakenly given the
food tray that was drugged. This Native American brother had stated to me
that when he ate the food he stayed high and hallucinated for 2 days.
There are other witnesses that would testify to this fact.
In the latter part of June, an Indian brother from the Round Valley Indian
Reservation came to the county jail and was housed in the B-module with
me. As we were talking of the situation on the reservation he informed me
that the Sheriff's Department has been telling the Indian community that
one day Bear Lincoln will not make it from the county jail to the court
alive. He will be assassinated somewhere between those destinations. My
Indian brother became alarmed for my safety, with good reason. He was
looking out for my welfare, which I appreciate very much. They have kept
their eyes and ears wide open because they suspected that the Sheriff's
Department would eventually try something violent. Tensions have been
building up drastically inside the calaboose.
Then, there is the latest jury tampering by the sheriff's department.
There are other dastardly deeds they've committed that I can not comment
on at the present time, but possibly at a later time. I am keeping a
record of everything that happens which prompts me to state for the
record, I turned myself in willingly and I intend to see this ordeal
through to the end. There will not be an escape attempt on my part. The
jailers could leave all the doors open; I would not leave this jail. I am
committed to this cause. Before I turned myself in to face the death
penalty I had plenty of time to consider just what might happen to me. I
realized that there was a strong possibility that I would be beaten to
death once I arrived at the jail. If my death was to occur under different
circumstances at the hands of the Sheriff's Department all Tuso would have
to do is use the magical word "justifiable," and that would make
everything all right to the public. I will also state for the record that,
I am not suicidal. I have no intentions of hanging myself or committing
any other form of suicide. As a matter of fact, I'm thriving in this
incarcerated state because I am winning the battle against corrupt law
enforcement and their gross racism against my people, the Native
Americans.
If the law enforcement community intends to murder Bear Lincoln, then I am
here. I do not fear these people; whatever they have planned for me I will
face. Should I be assassinated or railroaded in their courts, I intend to
make it all public. I want this case to be in the face of everyone in
Mendocino County. Everyone will have to take a good look at the Mendocino
County Sheriff's Department as well as the District Attorney's office and
come to know their form of operation.
In conclusion, I have yet another experience that I must share with you.
While I was free and roaming through the forest I had prayed for a dream
concerning putting myself into the hands of those that were hunting me,
Tuso and his mighty men. In this dream that I had prayed for, I was
standing somewhere that I was unfamiliar with. There was someone one
standing with me and at my side. The person by my side was pointing to a
group of men. They were officers that were standing over a body that was
lying face down, in a pool of blood. Then, this person at my side spoke
and said, that's you. I observed my lifeless body that apparently suffered
a head shot, judging from the amount of blood.
My dream was over and a few weeks later I arrived in San Francisco to
announce to the world that Leonard Peters and myself were ambushed by the
police and l am here to prove my innocence in a court of law. I could
never let Tuso and his men get away with the cold-blooded murder of my
friend. I felt I had to come forward to tell our version, the true
version, of what took place that night on Little Valley ridge, date April
14, 1995, 9:51 pm
Rest assured, whatever Tuso and his Sheriff's Department has in store for
me, I am here to challenge them with the truth, and defeat them in their
own court of law.
"Bear" Lincoln
peaceful organic vegetable farmer
Write to: Eugene A. "Bear" Lincoln
Mendocino County Jail
951 Low Gap Road
Ukiah, CA 95482
For more information
Albion Monitor online newspaper covers Bear Lincoln case
http://www.monitor.net/monitor/
Bear Lincoln/Round Valley web sites:
http://www.planet-peace.org/round_valley/
http://www.cyborganic.com/people/bear/
http://www.dickshovel.com/beara.html
http://kafka.uvic.ca/vipirg/SISIS/emerg/may08bea.html
E-mail to Bear Lincoln or his defense support team:
bear@cyborganic.net
Contact Lincoln/Peters Defense Alliance
c/o MEC
106 W. Standley St.
Ukiah CA 95482
(707) 468-1660