10 year old Jayci Yaeger is dying of brain cancer, and her last wish is to have her dad by her side at her hospital bed. Unfortunately, her father is in a federal prison in South Dakota, where he's been kept for nearly five years on mephamphetamine charges:
The Federal Bureau of Prisons Web site states its policy -- that furloughs can be allowed for a family crisis and that decision is left to the warden.
Whatever definition you might have for "family crisis," it's abundantly clear a dying young child should qualify. But like so many decisions by the federal government in our ruinous war on drugs, there is no room for common sense or basic human decency:
"They say it doesn't constitute an extraordinary circumstance," [Jayci's mother] Vonda Yaeger said.
This is a government by, for, and of the people - our government. It is a disgrace not just for this warden and this prison, but for all of us. And we need to demand better
Rather than delve into a post on the larger war on drugs, I will simply say that whatever your stance, every American should be able to agree this father - being held in a minimum security prison on a non-violent drug charge, mere months away from a release that will come too late - poses no threat comparable to the injustice of his continued incarceration
Jayci's outlook is bleak:
[Doctors] say there's nothing they can do for her. The tumors are growing and hemorrhaging, and right now nothing they can do for her, just keep her comfortable
There is something we can do though - contact your elected representative and demand compassion for an innocent child. Her father is not asking to be released, merely to see his daughter one last time
The prison is in South Dakota, home of DailyKos alumn Stephanie Herseth, but because it's a federal prison, any elected member of Congress could make the difference - contact your representatives today, and tomorrow, and every day until something is done about this travesty of justice
Note: my first time posting a diary like this, so if anyone has suggestions or contact information they think would help, please add it to the comments