The Committee to Free Debra Gindorf met on December 9, 2001, as scheduled.  In attendance were Colin Tysoe, Anita Denmark, Jeanne Berger, Jim Zdunek, Dave Webb, Charmaine and Bob Hamill, Kathy Hamill and Robin Slater. Although the group was small, the energy was high and a lot was accomplished.

The first matter addressed was the quality of the petition draft. Kathy created the draft by morphing the two previous petitions and adding some new materials relating to the PPP cases which were highly publicized last year. Attorney Fletcher Hamill went over the draft and recommended changes, which were made. Committee members received copies of the modified draft prior to the meeting and were ready with comments and suggestions. The group went through the petition, page by page, citing everything from typos to substantive problems. Kathy will make corrections based on the committee’s input. The corrected version of the petition should be posted on the committee web site (http://www.freedebra.org) within the next week. The petition can be modified up until the day it is filed. Your comments, suggestions or corrections can be sent to Kathy by phone, mail or email anytime before the end of January.

The committee has begun to receive monetary contributions. Barbara Andrikos has been doing fund-raising among her friends and acquaintances. Jeanne Berger and Colin Tysoe have agreed to open a checking account in the committee’s name in which to deposit such funds. We hope to collect enough money to enable us to hire a good psychologist or psychiatrist to evaluate Debra for present fitness. The question of whether Debra was in good mental health arose at the last clemency hearing and, unfortunately, could not be answered to the Board’s satisfaction. This time, we need to plug that hole in the case. We have found one expert who will do an evaluation and, if requested, testify at the hearing, all for a reduced fee of $2,000. This is not an unrealistic fund-raising goal. If you can do nothing else for the committee, you might want to consider sending a check. If we happen to collect more than we need for the expert, we also need to pay for color duplication of exhibits and so forth. In short, and not surprisingly, we don’t think we can collect too much money. But if we do, the remainder can be held for Debra’s use, if and when she gets out of prison.

Kathy reported that, a few weeks ago, she received a list of email addresses for people connected with the postpartum disorder field from Tami Bellefeuille. Kathy sent everyone on the list the “challenge” email–the committee’s initial solicitation for support. Several people responded, including Jane Honikman, the president of Postpartum Support International (PSI). Jane was involved in both of Debra’s prior clemency efforts and has corresponded with Debra for years. She indicated that she is willing to do whatever she can to help us. As a start, she has asked another PSI associate, Donna Freed, to take on the task of publicizing our effort nationally. Starting in January, Donna will use Jane’s media contacts to let the world know what we’re trying to do. She also has been corresponding with Debra, personally. Donna has both a law degree and a Master’s in Public Health and so is ideally credentialed for working with cases like Debra’s. The committee brain-stormed media which might be approached with the story. Kathy and Colin will attempt to write an article to offer to publications on Debra’s plight and the committee’s efforts to help her. The committee will assemble a “press kit” to distribute to non-print media.

Kathy also has been in touch with Michelle Oberman, a law professor at DePaul and a recognized expert on infanticide and the law. She was a witness at Debra’s last clemency hearing and contributed excellent materials to the last petition, which also will be used in this petition. She has agreed to review the petition draft and to help in any other way she can. Several PSI members have emailed Kathy to voice support and indicate willingness to write and solicit letters.

 Kathy distributed guidelines for letters written in support of the clemency petition, as well as a few sample letters. If you were not at the meeting, those materials are enclosed. The guidelines and a form letter also will be posted on the web site. We are hoping to collect a letter of support from all committee members. It would be truly excellent if members also would solicit letters from family, friends, co-workers, etc. Kathy can supply you with copies of the “challenge” solicitation, the letter-writing tips, or anything else you might need to solicit letters. Jeanne brought a letter she wrote to Marie Osmond for the committee to sign, asking Marie for a letter of support. Kathy also hopes to approach Oprah for a letter.

The documentary-making subcommittee met after the general meeting. The subcommittee also met several weeks prior to December 9 to start the planning process for the documentary. Jeanne agreed to compose a plan for the movie, which she distributed on December 9. We now have a good idea of the scenes we will be taping and their contents. This is really going to be cool. The documentary will serve both as a tool for raising interest and support for Debra and as a demonstration for how our committee works together on this effort. We think it might prove helpful to others who undertake the same sort of effort in the future. If you’d be interested in joining this aspect of the project, don’t hesitate to do so. It looks like it will be an exciting experience.

As part of the documentary effort, Robin and Jim taped portions of the December 9 meeting. Jim also recorded a bit of the first documentary subcommittee meeting. Anita and Jeanne agreed to search libraries for old news stories on Debra’s case to use in the documentary. Kathy has contacted Lake County regarding the possibility of being able to tape exhibits from the trial. In the course of so doing, she spoke to the Lake County Public Defender, David Brodsky, who has offered to assist the effort in any way that he can.

Clemency hearings are held in Springfield and Chicago. The time of filing determines where the hearing will be held. Although they are supposed to alternate locations, the schedule has been known to change abruptly in the past. Kathy will wait until early January to inquire what filing date will get us a Chicago hearing. We are hoping that committee members will make an effort to attend the hearing. A good show of in-person support will not go unnoticed. The hearing will be held on a week day and so will conflict with most work schedules. However, it is quite a thing to experience–worth attending just to see what happens there. The date will be announced as soon as it is known.

Debra is extremely grateful for the efforts that have been made so far. She sent a thank you card to the committee which Kathy received the day after the meeting. She also sent us her copy of the PSI directory, which enables us to contact people from all over the world who understand postpartum disorders and are likely to support Debra’s cause.

The Committee to Free Debra Gindorf will meet next on Sunday, January 6, 2002 at 2 p.m. Please try to make it to this meeting. The petition most likely will be filed in February, so this is one of the last chances we have to address the contents of the petition and to plan ways to approach the media before our first big “event,” the filing of the petition.