Starting on March 25, 2011, Chuck will be begin serving a sentence in federal prison. This site will continue as an online platform for communications from Chuck while he is behind the wall. See the new category “Chuck Speaks” for a catalogue of his future articles, calls to actions and reports on his case.
You can write to Chuck at:
Thank you Chuck. You stood with us, we stand with you!
Reflections from Behind the Wall:
Topic: Anatomy of a FrameUp:
This is the postscript to the eight part series, Anatomy of a FrameUP, which describes my two and a half year struggle with the Justice Department which led to my being a convicted felon, now in the 5th month of my 36 month sentence at the USP Hazelton work camp, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.
Postscript:
Judge Woodlock, former US Attorney Michael Sullivan, Asst. US Attorney McNeil, Mayor Menino, and others thought that my conviction and incarceration at age 70 would be the end of my lifetime of activism. What they didn’t understand is that age and circumstances don’t define reality. Reality is defined by the spirit that lies coiled within the heart of every human being.
August 12, 2011
Reflections from Behind the Wall:
Topic: Anatomy of a FrameUP!
This is the 8th installment in the eight part series called Anatomy of a FrameUP which describes my two and a half year struggle with the Justice Department, which led to my being a convicted felon, now in the 5th month of my 36 month sentence at the USP Hazelton work camp , Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.
Installment 8: I WARNED YOU
A) Introduction:
I am a political prisoner. I am in prison not because I committed a crime but because Michael Sullivan, a former Massachusetts U.S. Attorney, decided to target me for entrapment because of my political views and actions as an elected official. I have admitted that a major share of the responsibility for being convicted is mine. If I had followed Terri’s instructions and given whatever Wilburn handed me on the afternoon of August 3, 2007 to her, it would have been difficult for Sullivan to make it look like I was extorting money from Wilburn. If Terri had been able to record it as a contribution, it is very unlikely that the FBI agents would have even visited me on the morning of the Senator’s arrest. As I said in Installment 3, in life and especially in politics, its the details that count.
Reflections from Behind the Wall:
Topic: Anatomy of a FrameUP!
This is the seventh installment of an eight installment series in which I describe my two and a half year struggle with the Justice Department that led to my being a convicted felon, beginning the 5th month of my 36 month sentence here at the work camp of USP Hazelton, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.
Installment 7: Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury:
I know it is highly unusual for the defendant to address the jury. However, I understand the suspicion that we have of elected officials. So I thought before you make your decision regarding my fate, it would be important that you have an opportunity to get to know me beyond my political label.
Reflections From Behind the Wall:
Topic: Anatomy of a FrameUp:
This is the fifth of eight installments describing my two and a half year struggle with the Justice Department that led to my being a convicted felon at the USP Hazelton work camp in the mountains of West Virginia, in the fourth month of my 36 month sentence.
Installment 5: What First Amendment?
On the afternoon of December 16, 2008, a group of supporters and I were sitting in my office at City Hall, flush with the excitement of having organized a spirited rally at City Hall. Steve Kirshbaum, an organizer and leader in the International Action Center (IAC), had asked IAC’s President Ramsey Clark, former Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson, to come to Boston to give support. We thought Ramsey’s appearance in Boston would increase the visibility and strengthen our campaign to counter the media stories, designed to convict me in the court of public opinion.
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Reflections from Behind the Wall:
Topic: Anatomy of a FrameUp:
This is the fourth installment of an eight part series in which I
discuss my two and a half year experience with the Justice Department which resulted in my now being a convicted felon at the work camp of USP Hazelton in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.
Fourth Installment: A Jury of My Peers:
A) Narrative:
Riding home from the courthouse with my wife and one of my daughters after escaping the clutches of the media was a welcomed relief after my first day as an accused felon. But I couldn’t escape. On the radio, the broadcaster was telling those who had heard and those who hadn’t that Councilor Turner not only was arrested but also was stripped by the Council President of all his committee responsibilities and had been invited to an executive session of the City Council the following Monday. Well, at least I’ll have a relatively quiet weekend to figure out what to do, I thought.
Reflections from Behind the Wall:
This is the third installment of an eight part series in which I
discuss my two and a half year experience with the Justice Department
that led to my being a convicted felon at the work camp at USP
Hazelton, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia in my 4th month of a 36 month
sentence.
Installment 3: the Big Lie:
A) At 7:30 on the morning of my arrest, TV and radio stations began
sending the message to the world that Chuck Turner, well known
activist and Boston City Councilor, had been arrested for extortion,
conspiracy, and lying to FBI agents. The TV newscasters’ commentaries
were accompanied by pictures of a black hand putting something in my
hand while the hidden camera captured a smile on my face.
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Reflections from Behind the Wall:
Topic: Anatomy of a FrameUP
In last week’s first installment of Anatomy of a FrameUp, I outlined my background and lifetime of service. My purpose was to put US Attorney Sullivan’s sting and frameup in the context of my life’s work. This week I will focus on the day of the arrest and my reflections on it. Each of the remaining installments will have three segments. The first will be a narrative describing what happened in that particular segment of the experience and my reflections on it. The second will be an analysis examining what we may learn from my experience regarding the method of operation of US prosecutors; their police force, the FBI, and the court system. The third will focus on proposals for actions in our ongoing fight against prosecutorial terrorism.
Reflections from Behind the Wall:
Topic: Anatomy of A FRAME UP!
This is the first installment in an eight part series in which I
discuss my two and a half year experience with the Justice Department
that has led to my being a convicted felon at the work camp at USP
Hazelton, Bruceton Mills, West Virginia.
Installment 1: A Lifetime of Service
My first reaction was that I was dreaming; no, I was having a
nightmare but I couldn’t wake up. After a lifetime of fighting for
justice, I was in handcuffs being led out of City Hall. I didn’t even
know what I was being accused of. Later, it became all too clear, not
only from the prosecutor describing me as a corrupt politician but
also from the newspaper headlines the next morning screaming that I
had been indicted for conspiracy to extort money from a local
community business man and lying about it to the FBI.
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Reflections from Behind the Wall:
Topic: Preview of Anatomy of a FrameUp
June 13, 2011
Dear Supporters,
I was arrested by the FBI on November 21, 2008 at 6:15 a.m. at Boston
City Hall where I had served as a City Councilor for 9 years. At 3
p.m. on the same day, I was arraigned before a judge magistrate in
Worcester, MA, 45 miles from Boston, on one count of extortion, 3
counts of lying to FBI agents, and 1 count of conspiracy. On October
29, 2010, I was convicted of 1 count of extortion and 3 counts of
lying to FBI agents. The conspiracy charge was dropped without
explanation. On January 25, 2011, I was sentenced to 36 months in a
federal penitentiary. The sentence was based on my conviction on the
four counts and the judge’s assertion that I had perjured myself when
I took the stand to testify in my own defense.
Today I am in my 11th week at the work camp at USP Hazelton in
Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, where 130 men convicted of nonviolent
financial crimes serve as the work force for the Hazelton prison
complex, composed of a women’s medium security prison with 1000
inmates and a men’s maximum security prison with 1700 inmates. Based
on the Bureau of Prison Sentencing Monitoring Computation of
3-31-2011, I will be released on November 2, 2013 if I maintain my
good time.
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