Free my brother Jefferson from a prison in Ecuador
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#FreeJefferson
UPDATE:
Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us to reach our goal! The response has been incredible!
I'd like to update you on how the funds will be transferred and used so that you can know exactly how your money is being spent all along the way. All of your proceeds will go towards freeing Jefferson.
The first step is to receive the funds to my US bank account. From there I will take them out through Banco Guayaquil's ATM service and deposit them it in my wife's Banco Guayaquil account (Ecuador uses the USD so there is no currency conversion needed). At that point, she will directly transfer an initial downpayment of $1,500 to Jefferson's lawyer. We are planning to do this on Monday, June 22, 2020. After Jefferson is free, we will transfer the other $1,500.
Other expenditures will include legal fees and transportation costs for Kerly's family members who must travel from Triunfo to Guayaquil for legal meetings with the lawyer. The money will only be spent on transactions related to Jefferson's case.
All leftover funds will be donated towards Jefferson's re-entry to societal life outside of prison. It may include further legal battles against the government in order to receive reparation payments.
We will continue to keep you updated.
READ JEFFERSON'S STORY HERE:
Jefferson Macías is being held in prison in Ecuador for one reason:
He comes from a poor family.
This type of case is not uncommon in Ecuador, especially for very low-income individuals.
Jefferson was falsely accused in a murder case involving a grenade in my wife's neighborhood in 2014. They lived in a poor area.
The woman who accused Jefferson wanted to divert the police investigation away from her own legally suspicious behavior. At first, she implicated my wife's younger brother, George (age 17 at the time). But when she learned he was a minor, she pointed to Jefferson (age 19) who happened to be picked up with his brother by the police that day because the two were walking together—the woman pointed at Jefferson and said, "it was him." Jefferson had never seen the woman before.
The police were eager to find suspects quickly because the media was broadcasting the case across the country. They tried to violently coerce Jefferson into pleading guilty. Although he never did, he and another boy were tried and found guilty, despite a lack of all evidence and conflicting stories from the witnesses.
But the other boy was released in 2019 when a piece of evidence was uncovered: a tape from the original witness confessing that the two boys were innocent.
Both of the boys should have been released together, but because Jefferson's family did not have the money to pay for a lawyer to reopen his case, he was left behind.
It's been six years since Jefferson was sent to prison and his sentence is for 25 years.
The conditions at Penitentiary Literal are terrible. It is the most overcrowded and underfunded prison in Ecuador. Prison violence and corruption abounds. It has been called a living hell.
We must raise $3,000 for a lawyer to finally accept the case. It is an astronomical amount for my wife's family and so any amount that you can give will be an incredible blessing.
Thank you for your generous help to a young man who doesn't deserve to spend the next 20 years of his life in the worst prison in Ecuador.
UPDATE:
Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us to reach our goal! The response has been incredible!
I'd like to update you on how the funds will be transferred and used so that you can know exactly how your money is being spent all along the way. All of your proceeds will go towards freeing Jefferson.
The first step is to receive the funds to my US bank account. From there I will take them out through Banco Guayaquil's ATM service and deposit them it in my wife's Banco Guayaquil account (Ecuador uses the USD so there is no currency conversion needed). At that point, she will directly transfer an initial downpayment of $1,500 to Jefferson's lawyer. We are planning to do this on Monday, June 22, 2020. After Jefferson is free, we will transfer the other $1,500.
Other expenditures will include legal fees and transportation costs for Kerly's family members who must travel from Triunfo to Guayaquil for legal meetings with the lawyer. The money will only be spent on transactions related to Jefferson's case.
All leftover funds will be donated towards Jefferson's re-entry to societal life outside of prison. It may include further legal battles against the government in order to receive reparation payments.
We will continue to keep you updated.
READ JEFFERSON'S STORY HERE:
Jefferson Macías is being held in prison in Ecuador for one reason:
He comes from a poor family.
This type of case is not uncommon in Ecuador, especially for very low-income individuals.
Jefferson was falsely accused in a murder case involving a grenade in my wife's neighborhood in 2014. They lived in a poor area.
The woman who accused Jefferson wanted to divert the police investigation away from her own legally suspicious behavior. At first, she implicated my wife's younger brother, George (age 17 at the time). But when she learned he was a minor, she pointed to Jefferson (age 19) who happened to be picked up with his brother by the police that day because the two were walking together—the woman pointed at Jefferson and said, "it was him." Jefferson had never seen the woman before.
The police were eager to find suspects quickly because the media was broadcasting the case across the country. They tried to violently coerce Jefferson into pleading guilty. Although he never did, he and another boy were tried and found guilty, despite a lack of all evidence and conflicting stories from the witnesses.
But the other boy was released in 2019 when a piece of evidence was uncovered: a tape from the original witness confessing that the two boys were innocent.
Both of the boys should have been released together, but because Jefferson's family did not have the money to pay for a lawyer to reopen his case, he was left behind.
It's been six years since Jefferson was sent to prison and his sentence is for 25 years.
The conditions at Penitentiary Literal are terrible. It is the most overcrowded and underfunded prison in Ecuador. Prison violence and corruption abounds. It has been called a living hell.
We must raise $3,000 for a lawyer to finally accept the case. It is an astronomical amount for my wife's family and so any amount that you can give will be an incredible blessing.
Thank you for your generous help to a young man who doesn't deserve to spend the next 20 years of his life in the worst prison in Ecuador.
Organizer
Daniel Fifield
Organizer
Provo, UT