Hunger Is Not A Crime-- Steamboat Springs

With help from all petition signers, David Siller and Giles Charle were released after one week in jail. They had somewhere between four and six months removed from their sentence. In all, they served about ten days. More info here: http://www.rebelgraphics.org/coloradofreedom.html

To:  Citizens and Officials of Steamboat Springs, Colorado

To: the Citizens, and the Officials of Steamboat Springs, Colorado

When Giles Charle and David Siller were searching Steamboat Springs for food and all the shops were closed, they saw only one option to cure their hunger: they found discarded fruit and vegetables in a dumpster. For this victimless crime the two young men have been sentenced to six months in jail.

Some of us believe their judgment erred. Others of us commend them for valuing all the precious bounty of this world. All of us believe their penalty is harsh, and its implementation represents the only serious crime in this sad affair.

In Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables, the main character is sent to prison for stealing food. The tragic novel is a lasting commentary upon society. As certainly as this classic story remarks upon its time, a similar episode in Steamboat Springs holds hostage the reputation of an idyllic mountain community.

We do not wish to tell the people of Steamboat Springs how to run their own affairs. But we implore our fellow citizens to consider how this harsh sentence appears to the world. Surely a beautiful mountain community, dependent as it is upon esteem and reputation, would be far better served by friendship and kindness than by selfishness and truculence.

Hunger is not a crime. Please let the prisoners go free.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Hunger Is Not A Crime-- Steamboat Springs Petition to Citizens and Officials of Steamboat Springs, Colorado was created by and written by Richard Myers (rtmyers@h2net.net).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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