Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Urging Release/Clemency
Purpose: Urging President Barack Obama to grant clemency to Oscar Lopez Rivera so that he is immediately released from prison, as his continued incarceration is unjust and serves no legitimate purpose.
Additional Information:
Sponsor: Council Member, Luis Quintana
body
WHEREAS, the City of Newark has a diverse population, including many residents of Puerto Rican ancestry; and
WHEREAS, Oscar Lopez Rivera was born in Puerto Rico in 1943 and moved with his family to Chicago, IL as an adolescent; and
WHEREAS, Oscar Lopez Rivera is a decorated Vietnam War veteran and was awarded the Bronze Star; and
WHEREAS, it is this dedication to community, friends and family that would become a hallmark of Lopez Rivera's life when he returned home from the war, becoming an activist fighting to improve conditions for his Puerto Rican and Latino community of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Lopez Rivera also fervently believed in Puerto Rican independence and was critical of the United States Government's role in Puerto Rico; and
WHEREAS, between 1981 and 1983, Lopez Rivera and thirteen (13) other men and women involved in the movement for Puerto Rican independence were convicted of seditious conspiracy. Lopez Rivera was disproportionally sentenced to fifty-five (55) years in prison and has consistently maintained that he was not involved in any acts that harmed anyone or took a life; and
WHEREAS, in 1988 Lopez Rivera was convicted of conspiracy to escape prison and sentenced to an additional disproportionate 15 years in prison to be served consecutively to his original sentence; and
WHEREAS, in addition, Lopez Rivera was made to serve over twelve (12) years of his sentence in solitary confinemen...
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