Questions for Matt DeHart case?

[Bethany]

Oh, damn, Douglas, I'm so glad you are going to be there.

I have some knowledge about this case, having written about parts of it
for Newsweek Magazine in the past
(http://europe.newsweek.com/porn-run-327532?rm=eu -- sorry about the
paywall -- I believe I own the copyright now, I think it reverted to me
after 90 days of publication -- so anyone can feel free to re-print the
text of this one and make it more available any way they want).

I'm living in Berlin this year and can't make it to the trial, but if
you need any assistance I can do from a distance, please get in touch. I
have a keen interest in spreading more knowledge about this case.

Questions I'd ask his defense team, if I were there:

Has your client received a fair offer from the prosecution? Did the
prosecution ever address DeHart's allegations of torture in FBI custody?
Has the judge made any ruling or evaluation of those claims of torture?
If DeHart is pleading guilty for failure to appear, should he not
receive credit for time served in immigration detention in Canada? At
the dismissal hearing, why did your team not cite the 2012 case of
vindictive prosecution in that same federal district, against your same
prosecutor, which resulted in charges being dismissed? What will the
rest of Matt DeHart's life look like, after this case?

For his parents (who are lovely people, and will try to help you to the
best of their abilities):
How has standing up for your son changed your lives? What did you grow
up believing about American values and law enforcement? What do you
believe now? Has your son's experience made you activists? What do you
feel are your key causes?

For the prosecutors:
Why the years' long persecution, the violent interrogations, the seizure
of property and threats against family, to take a plea that essentially
amounts to receiving CP from a teenager who took a selfie, (I didn't
even know one could be charged with a crime for the text messages one
merely received these days!), and fleeing the jurisdiction, which is a
new charge stemming from the defendants actions taken after the
aggressive persecution began, and the alleged torture? Doesn't that kind
of make you look like an incompetent prosecutor? Do you think that
DeHart deserves seven years in prison and ten years on the sex registry
and living without a passport and with a criminal record, do you think
that is proportional to what you are now saying happened?

Good luck at the hearing, I hope it goes as well as it can possibly go,
which is: it's going to be terrible.

My heart breaks for this family every time I think of what they have
gone through.

-Bethany Horne








On 20/02/16 09:40 AM, Douglas Lucas wrote:
> I will be covering Courage beneficiary Matt DeHart's sentencing Monday
> in Nashville for https://revolution-news.com/ (@NewsRevo on Twitter).
>
> Can anyone suggest questions for his defense team, for his parents
> (assuming they're not too distraught), for the prosecutors (who will say
> no comment)? I would be asking these immediately after the sentencing.
>
> Here's info on his case:
>
> http://news.nationalpost.com/matt-dehart-claims-hes-wanted-for-working-with-anonymous
>
> http://www.buzzfeed.com/davidkushner/matt-dehart#.econ0L3bE
>
> https://mattdehart.com/matts-story/
>