Support Nan Hui Jo
K.F.
Dear Eclipse Rising supporters:
I wanted to raise your awareness about Nan Hui Jo and encourage you to join the #StandWithNanHui campaign.
Some background: (from http://www.kaceda.org/standwithnanhui-campaign/ - please see for more details on how to take action)
Nan-Hui Jo is a single Korean mother and survivor of domestic violence. Due to her attempt to save herself and her daughter, she has been charged with “child abduction.” Nan-Hui has been in jail for over seven months without due process. Upon her arrest, her daughter, Vitz Da, age six, was given custody to the child’s father.
Nan-Hui now faces prison and/or deportation, either likely resulting in permanent separation from her daughter.
Nan-Hui Jo has been criminalized because she is an immigrant, a survivor of domestic violence and the fierce protector of her daughter. And despite the failure of the jurors to declare her guilty in her first trial, the Yolo County DA has aggressively pursued a re-trial, ignoring the facts regarding domestic violence and the safety of a six-year old girl.
Update:
I, Eclipse Rising co-founder, Kei Fischer, went to the Yolo County court house today for
Nan Hui Jo's sentence hearing. It was extended to April 28,
since a new trial lawyer took her case. He is supposed to be one of the
best criminal lawyers in the country and we're hoping he might be able
to contest the jury's decision to find Jo guilty. The sad thing is that
she'll have to be detained at the Yolo County jail until then.
Today's experience hit many of those who attended, hard. We had a short debrief afterward. It was shocking to see Jo, herself, looking so small in a striped green jumpsuit and shackles. It was even more shocking to see the father of Jo's child in person at the hearing. This is the man who admitted in court he abused her "once," was described by the DA as a "victim" since he claimed Jo kidnapped his child, and now has full custody of their daughter. I was told by the campaign organizers that unfortunately there are too many cases similar to Jo's where the abused is punished.
Take Action today!
Despite all the struggles, there are 4 things
you can do to support! I wanted to encourage you all to take part in one
way or another and please share this with your networks. You may also want to check out their facebook page and official campaign page for up-to-date info and background info.
1.)
The organizers of her campaign are asking folks to write her letters in
the mean time. If you can write in Korean, great, but if not, English
should be fine, since she'll hopefully receive help translating. She's
also a photographer and an artist, so if you want to draw her pictures,
I'm sure she'd love that! She is finding a lot of comfort in these
letters. Please read the following guidelines for
letters at this link: bit.ly/dearnanhui
2.)
The new trial lawyer costs a lot of money, so the campaign needs help
fundraising! If you are part of an organization, or would like to
organize a fundraiser, please do so! Here's the link to the online
fundraising page: https://crowddefend.com/campaign/stand-with-nan-hui-2/
3.) No matter what happens with her criminal case, Jo is still at high risk of being deported to Korea and never seeing her child again. The little girl has already been cut off from calling and speaking to her grandparents in Korea. She only speaks Korean and is cut off from any communication with family members who she really knows and speak the language. You can still call, email, or tweet ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and demand they drop the deportation hold on Jo. Click on the following link to see the ways you can contact ICE and CBP: bit.ly/1BKhC70.
4.) Follow the case on social media (https://www.facebook.com/standwithnanhui?fref=ts) or (@STANDWITHNANHUI on Twitter) and stay tuned for details about the new sentence hearing court date: April 28. We need to pack the court room this time and can use as many bodies to show support!