**Update**
Thanks to all your donations, we were able to hire new lawyers and Caesar is now home on bail!
But the fight is not over. We are now fundraising to get the charges dismissed. He still faces 7 years minimum in prison.
DONATE TO OUR NEW FUNDRAISER HERE
*******
Dear friends,
As you may know, our beloved friend, coworker, collaborator Ornell Caesar (who most of us know as Caesar), has been wrongly incarcerated since December 17, 2021.
Caesar had been home from prison for over 4 years. He had 10 months left on his parole. While in prison, he learned to code and got his Bachelor’s degree from Bard College. Since he’s been home, he has pursued a career as a software engineer, leading him to land his dream job a year ago at RippleMatch. At RippleMatch he’s been promoted and he’s become a leader and a mentor to others.
On top of this, since coming home, he’s devoted himself to teaching others in prison how to code. Caesar is a true force for good in our community. He is an inspiration to us all. And the amount of adversity he’s had to overcome to do all that he’s done is something most of us will never have to face.
On December 16, a parole officer Caesar had never met arrived at his family’s home with 8 armed law-enforcement officers. They handcuffed him and leg-cuffed him as they entered his home, and initiated a questionable search of the entire premises including areas never used or occupied by Caesar. In this search, they allegedly found a firearm in one of the rooms Caesar doesn't use. And then they took him away.
Caesar has been in jail for over 8 weeks, held without bail due to his parole status, meanwhile an inmate charged with murder could get a bail as low as a $1. No progress has been made on his case, despite 8 weeks of incarceration on Riker's Island which has been well documented by the press as some of the worst jail conditions in America. We, the #Justice4Caesar collective, are deeply concerned for his well-being.
Caesar’s next hearing is on February 18th. His mother Arlene has asked us to fundraise to help Caesar get a new lawyer, one who will be able to get him out ASAP. (Update: Thanks to this fundraiser, we have retained a new lawyer for Caesar, Eric Franz , who we and Caesar's mother have a lot of confidence in).
How the Funds Will Be Used:
- $60k is to retain the new legal representation
- $20k will go to Caesar's mother Arlene, who spent that much so far on retaining the first attorney
- $20k is for any other fees: legal overage, GoFundMe transaction, and administrative fees
WeXL.org is receiving the funds to distribute according to the plan above. A 501(c)3 nonprofit, WeXL is the fiscal sponsor of the Justice For Caesar coalition.
If we have any leftover funds, we will donate the rest to prison reform nonprofit(s) -- we have a few in the coalition!
Please join us in getting Caesar home, where he belongs, as quickly as possible.
Thank you ❤️
The #Justice4Caesar Team
(Arabella DeLucco, Daniel Balsam, Angel Martinez, Andrea Atehortua, Tim Woo, Dreya Garcia, Dara Denney, Alex Qin, Patrick Scanlon, and many more)
Thanks to all your donations, we were able to hire new lawyers and Caesar is now home on bail!
But the fight is not over. We are now fundraising to get the charges dismissed. He still faces 7 years minimum in prison.
DONATE TO OUR NEW FUNDRAISER HERE
*******
Dear friends,
As you may know, our beloved friend, coworker, collaborator Ornell Caesar (who most of us know as Caesar), has been wrongly incarcerated since December 17, 2021.
Caesar had been home from prison for over 4 years. He had 10 months left on his parole. While in prison, he learned to code and got his Bachelor’s degree from Bard College. Since he’s been home, he has pursued a career as a software engineer, leading him to land his dream job a year ago at RippleMatch. At RippleMatch he’s been promoted and he’s become a leader and a mentor to others.
On top of this, since coming home, he’s devoted himself to teaching others in prison how to code. Caesar is a true force for good in our community. He is an inspiration to us all. And the amount of adversity he’s had to overcome to do all that he’s done is something most of us will never have to face.
On December 16, a parole officer Caesar had never met arrived at his family’s home with 8 armed law-enforcement officers. They handcuffed him and leg-cuffed him as they entered his home, and initiated a questionable search of the entire premises including areas never used or occupied by Caesar. In this search, they allegedly found a firearm in one of the rooms Caesar doesn't use. And then they took him away.
Caesar has been in jail for over 8 weeks, held without bail due to his parole status, meanwhile an inmate charged with murder could get a bail as low as a $1. No progress has been made on his case, despite 8 weeks of incarceration on Riker's Island which has been well documented by the press as some of the worst jail conditions in America. We, the #Justice4Caesar collective, are deeply concerned for his well-being.
Caesar’s next hearing is on February 18th. His mother Arlene has asked us to fundraise to help Caesar get a new lawyer, one who will be able to get him out ASAP. (Update: Thanks to this fundraiser, we have retained a new lawyer for Caesar, Eric Franz , who we and Caesar's mother have a lot of confidence in).
How the Funds Will Be Used:
- $60k is to retain the new legal representation
- $20k will go to Caesar's mother Arlene, who spent that much so far on retaining the first attorney
- $20k is for any other fees: legal overage, GoFundMe transaction, and administrative fees
WeXL.org is receiving the funds to distribute according to the plan above. A 501(c)3 nonprofit, WeXL is the fiscal sponsor of the Justice For Caesar coalition.
If we have any leftover funds, we will donate the rest to prison reform nonprofit(s) -- we have a few in the coalition!
Please join us in getting Caesar home, where he belongs, as quickly as possible.
Thank you ❤️
The #Justice4Caesar Team
(Arabella DeLucco, Daniel Balsam, Angel Martinez, Andrea Atehortua, Tim Woo, Dreya Garcia, Dara Denney, Alex Qin, Patrick Scanlon, and many more)