AVALANCHE Week!

Trial is scheduled to resume with Day Three this Tuesday, August 16.  From the Court's rulings during the first two days of trial, it is clear the Judge is pushing for a conviction.  He has crippled the defense case by throwing out the very evidence that proves Jason’s innocence, including a real estate expert, Jason’s accountant, and the letter from the DEA.  The Judge has also prevented the defense from questioning the prosecution’s witnesses on key issues.   It is time to make the State Department see the injustice in this case.  They must step in and demand Jason’s release.

CALL to ACTION:  This week is AVALANCHE Week.  Senator Cantwell is the person that can force the State Department into action.  We want to bombard her office with phone calls (not just letters and emails) to insist that she force the State Department to demand Jason’s release.  Please everyone commit to making one phone call each day this week to Senator Cantwell’s office to let her know that we want action.  The goal is for Senator Cantwell to receive at least one phone call about Jason every minute of every day this week.

Senator Maria Cantwell
202-224-3441 (Washington D.C. office)
206-220-6400 (Seattle Office)

Nine months later ... still holding tough

Yesterday marked nine months since Jason's arrest.  We miss you, buddy.

KING 5 News Reports Jason's Interview from the Courthouse

KING 5 News interviewed KIRO News Reporter, Brandi Kruse, who "traveled to Nicaragua and waited six hours outside the courthouse to interview Puracal."
 
"At the beginning of this he had a lot more hope and over time he's kind of lost that hope," said Kruse.  "He's someone who is relatable, he is very smart.  When he looks you in the eye you want to believe him...and it goes back to how calm he was."
 
Kruse brought home the first on-camera interview with Jason since his arrest.  Jason was tearful and emotional as he spoke.  Jason said the only thing keeping him calm in prison are thoughts of his 4-year-old son Jabu, his wife, and family who are fighting for his freedom.  "My wife continues to suffer emotionally and physically, my sisters work day and night to get me out of here...I love them all," said Puracal. 
 
Watch the full story here.

KIRO News Exclusive Interview with Jason from the Courthouse:

Brandi Kruse, a KIRO News reporter from Seattle, traveled to Nicaragua to cover Jason's trial.  Brandi interviewed Jason from the courthouse on the first day of trial and has followed the developments.  Check out the article, videotaped interview, and photos here.

Jason is struggling in prison as this trial is dragging on.  We need everyone to contact local and national media immediately to bring this case to the forefront.  In addition, we need to force the State Department to demand Jason's immediate release.  Contact the State Department at:
Maureen Mueller
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
muellermp@state.gov  
202-647-4000
TTY:1-800-877-8339

Trial Day 2

Today was a difficult and drama-filled day in the courtroom.  The co-defendant who fell ill earlier in the day is suffering from cancer and fainted during trial.  The Red Cross said she was faking her symptoms, and the Judge ordered her to continue with trial.  It was clear to Jason's defense attorney that she was very ill.  He reported that he has never seen such disregard for human life.
 
The Judge continues to make his bias known, throwing out significant defense evidence without reason.  The Judge threw out the defense crime scene expert who was scheduled to testify about the poor police investigation.  He also sustained the prosecution's objections when the defense attempted to question the police witnesses about documents.  Even though the documents were offered by the prosecution, the Judge refused to allow the defense to ask the witnesses any questions about those documents.  At one point, the defense was pointing out so many holes in the prosecution's case that the prosecution demanded that the Judge delete the questions from the record.  Fortunately, the judge declined to do so.
 
The defense also questioned the prosecution's expert on the vapor trace test (the test that supposedly found a 70% trace of cocaine on Jason's clothes and truck).  The vapor trace test was done on the day of Jason's arrest and came out negative for drugs.  The test was repeated two days later, after the police had taken the clothes and truck into custody, and the test was allegedly positive.  The defense questioning of the vapor trace expert today confirmed the unreliability of the test. 
 
Session ended today at about 9:00 p.m.  The judge has suspended trial until next Tuesday, August 16.