A Statement from Kevin

I just wanted to thank everyone out there who has helped me get through these dark days and make it this far through this horribly sad, difficult, scary, despair-filled tragedy. From the letters and cards, the financial donations and contributions, letters of support, phone numbers and open ears, magazine subscriptions, books and love and support, I appreciate you reaching out in my time of need and thank you for all your love and support.

I'd also like to send a very special thank you out to everyone who understood what a difficult position I was put in and the difficult choices I was forced to make, and yet still gave me their full unconditional love and support and reached out to help me make it through this difficult first chapters of this dark, painful nightmare.

I'd especially like to thank the following people who have gone out of their way to offer their love and support: Mom, Tom, Carol, Herb, Michelle, (my friend) Matt, Leslie, Felix, Tim L., Ayelet, Brian, Lorin, Carrie, Scott R., Diana, Dirk, Laura and Eric. And to my anonymous donors and supporters, thank you too. You know who you are. (My apologies to anyone I may have forgotten. Write me and yell at me if you wish.) I appreciate and look forward to all of your continued support during the next stage of this journey. Thank you.

All my love,

Kevin

Background Info

On December 7, 2005, Kevin Tubbs life abruptly changed forever when he was arrested from his work place by federal agents and incarcerated on charges relating to illegal actions committed in the name of protecting animals and the environment. His quiet life in Eugene, Oregon with a loving fiancée, a steady job, and family of rescued cats and dogs has been forever shattered.

Since then, for the past 20 months, Kevin has been living a nightmare, locked away in a tiny cell, at both the Lane County Jail, in Eugene, where he was confined in isolation 23 hours a day, and at a Federal Detention Center, behind concrete and razor wire in Sheridan Oregon.

Kevin pled guilty to some charges in an attempt to avoid the heavy hammer of time hanging over his head-life plus 335 years in prison. Had he gone to trial and been convicted of just one charge relating to using an incendiary device, it would have been a mandatory minimum of 35 years. The second such conviction would have meant life imprisonment without parole. Among the charges he pled to, some he actually did, and others he did not do, but were added in as part of a so-called conspiracy with other co-defendants.

On May 24, 2007, he was sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for his role of driving and being a lookout for other activists who destroyed property in the name of the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front. Notably, not one person was ever injured in any of these crimes, and all the participants had taken a vow of non-violence and by design, were very careful to make sure nobody was ever hurt. None-the-less, Kevin was charged under a terrorism enhancement clause that was intended by congress to label violent criminals bent on taking innocent lives, and will now forever live with the label of being a terrorist.

Even though there was not one injury resulting from these crimes, these co-defendants are serving hard time with much longer sentences than many violent criminals who assault, rape and even kill their victims. At the time of the arrests, Alberto Gonzales and other Bush administration officials were on a live CNN press conference calling these defendants "terrorists" and calling for the harshest penalties. Had Kevin and others been charged just with arson that was unrelated to any political cause, they would likely have gotten off with a few years behind bars, according to statistics compiled from other case histories.

Our beloved, gentle, peaceful, sweet and thoughtful Kevin has now been moved to a high security U.S. Penitentiary, Lompoc, 175 miles Northwest of Los Angeles. The nightmare is getting worse. This move from the Bureau of Prisons occurred despite pleas and testimony from family and friends to the judge at his sentencing, describing Kevin's character as harmless and unfit to deal with the dangerous and violent types of criminals housed in high security prison.

His family and friends have not yet heard from Kevin since his move and are very concerned for his safety in this violent, dangerous environment. Please consider writing Kevin a letter, it is the only bit of relief he gets.