On November 15, Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) had its 2010 benefit at the Five Angels Theater in New York City.

Honored at the benefit was New York State Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services, Brian Fischer.  In his speech, Commissioner Fischer recounted telling an audience at an RTA performance, What you see happening here is entertainment.  What I see is rehabilitation.

One of the most emotional moments of the evening came after the performances, when two RTA alumni, Dewey Bozella and Jabbar Collins, were brought to the stage for a special mention, each having been released from prison after being exonerated – Jabbar was wrongfully imprisoned for 15 years, and Dewey for 26.

Rehabilitation Through the Arts is an organization Pamela Smart has been a member of for the last two years, as mentioned on our Achievements page and in our post about the December 2009 performance at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility.

Women Behind The Wall broadcast a program on November 9, 2010 that includes a lengthy interview with Linda Wojas, Pamela Smart’s mother, and Amy Newman (who was mentioned here on October 31).

The first 5 minutes or so of the program is about the Scott sisters.

The core question of the program is: “Why do women get harsher sentences than the men who commit the crimes?”

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Change.org has posted a petition, created by the Action Committee for Women in Prison,  addressed to Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire.

Please visit and sign this petition using this link.

Here’s a copy of the text of the petition:

As you know, Pamela Smart has now been imprisoned for twenty (20) years. She is innocent. Her sentence of life without the possibility of parole is cruel and unusual in light of the fact that the admitted murderers of her husband, Gregg Smart, will soon be released. The state of New Hampshire has chosen to forgive those who were present, admitted their guilt, and then blamed her in order to later reclaim their lives.

Hers was the most sensationalized televised trial in New Hampshire history with gavel to gavel coverage. 1200 newspaper articles screamed her guilt during the proceedings. Yet, her jury was not sequestered.  Nor was the trial delayed until the publicity and passion died down. Nor was the trial moved to another, more neutral venue, away from the small inflamed community where the murder was committed. The signatories below believe that Pamela Smart’s right to a fair trial was violated in that courtroom.

Governor Lynch, you have the power to right this terrible wrong. Please consider a sentence reduction, commutation or parole for this individual who has truly given of herself to others while unjustly imprisoned for these twenty (20) years.

The segment on Oprah featuring Juror Alec Beckett did not disclose the fact that this man took money by selling his story about the Pamela Smart trial to the Boston Globe.  During the interview Beckett also stated that he “did not know of any example of jurors being tainted or talking out of school.”

We beg to differ.

While still in the jury pool, Juror Charlotte Jefts was overheard speaking to others in the room about the “wickedness of Pamela Smart.”  However, when she was questioned as a potential jury member for the Smart trial, she falsely swore, under oath, that she was impartial and had no opinion of the defendant’s innocence or guilt.  Jefts was then selected to serve on the jury which convicted Pamela Smart.

During the period when Juror Brian Adams was unsequestered, he denied being in a bar discussing the case with other patrons while the events of the day at Pamela Smart’s trial was being replayed on the television set there.  However, the Wojas family received a police recorded telephone call reporting Adams was there, and talking about the case.

Juror Karen Sicard made tapes each night while unsequestered at home, then offered to sell the tapes to one of Pamela Smart’s attorneys for $25,000.  We are in possession of signed affidavits from her neighbors, Keith and Dianne Ham, saying Sicard told them, “we’ve had a bad winter financially and I plan to sell the tapes to a movie or book company at the end of the trial.”