Thread: American still in squalid conditions in Mexican jail

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American still in squalid conditions in Mexican jail
Margie Boule continues the tale of Rebecca Roth

Thursday, May 01, 2008

The Oregonian

L ast week Rebecca Roth was sentenced to nine years in a Mexican prison for crimes it's likely she did not commit.

Her story was told in this column on Sunday.

Life in a Mexican prison was not what Rebecca envisioned for herself when she packed up her teenage sons in the late 1990s and moved from Lake Oswego to Mexico because her asthma was so bad.

The prison is filthy, cold, hot and overcrowded; she shares a six-bed cell with a baby and 14 women, several of them murderers.

Rebecca Roth is in a Mexican prison because for three months, in 2001, she paid utility bills and made travel arrangements for a man named Alyn Waage. He was convicted in 2005 for running a giant Internet Ponzi scheme and is serving a 10-year sentence in the U.S.

Last week a Mexican judge decided Rebecca was in on the scheme. She denies it. Alyn Waage swore to a U.S. judge she was not involved. The U.S. did not extradite or charge her with any crime. Others who ran the scheme deny she knew anything illegal was going on.

When Rebecca's asthma flares up, she is taken to a roach-infested infirmary. Her sister, Barbara Roth, has retired to Mexico; she visits Rebecca at the prison outside Guadalajara once a week to bring food, clothes and other necessities not provided in Mexican prisons.

"The conditions are horrible," Barbara says. "The medical care is horrible."

That's not what the American consul in Guadalajara reported to Sen. Gordon Smith's office.

In a letter dated Dec. 8, 2006, the U.S. Consul in Guadalajara wrote to Smith: ". . . we inspected the prison clinic, where she receives daily care and medications. I believe the facilities are more than adequate."

Barbara Roth says that's not true. In addition to the roach problems in the clinic, "my sister's health is completely failing in there. I have to bring her medications."

Anne Dyer agrees. Anne is an American living in Mexico who read in an English-language newspaper about Rebecca's plight and put together a group of American women volunteers to visit Rebecca in prison and provide support.

"I certainly wasn't going to let an American lady sit in there if I could help her," Anne says by phone from Ajijic. "She spent three birthdays in that prison without a trial. And we couldn't get anyone in the U.S. to pay attention. We wrote and called your Sen. Gordon Smith many times to ask for help. He hasn't intervened whatsoever."

Lindsay Gilbride, press secretary to Smith, says, "The health and welfare of any Oregonian abroad is certainly a concern of Sen. Smith. Our office has been in consistent and constant contact with the consul's office in Mexico to ensure the best interests of Ms. Roth."

But Barbara Roth and Anne Dyer and her volunteers were hoping for more. A Canadian woman, Alyn Waage's former cook, was arrested with Rebecca. The Canadian government made frequent and direct appeals to Mexico on her behalf. The Canadian prime minister even got involved.

Americans in Mexico expected the same from the U.S. government on behalf of a woman they're sure is innocent.

Anne has visited Rebecca many times. "She told me she knew nothing. I believe she's absolutely innocent. She's a really lovely person. And her health is deteriorating."

Anne's group of volunteers "tried to create goodwill in the prison. We took care packages for inmates" in Rebecca's cell. "They have to climb over people to go to the bathroom. It's so hot. We took fans over. In the winter we took blankets."

The U.S. state department's travel alert says Mexico is a violent country, a dangerous place. "Prison conditions in Mexico can be extremely poor . . . food is insufficient. Most Mexican prisons provide poor medical care . . . even prisoners with urgent medical conditions receive only minimum attention."

And U.S. citizens incarcerated in Mexico "are sometimes forced to pay . . . thousands of dollars in 'protection money.' "

Tales of corruption in the Mexican "justice" system are legion. Amnesty International reports "there were continuing reports of torture, arbitrary detention, excessive use of force and unfair judicial proceedings."

According to the Guadalajara Reporter, an English-language paper in Mexico, 98 documents were submitted by the prosecution in Rebecca's case, and "88 of those documents did not even mention her name."

Since Oregon's U.S. senators and representatives evidently feel it's not their place to speak out or advocate on Rebecca's behalf, her sister and friends in Mexico are hoping others will.

Alyn Waage, who stole more than $60 million, will be in a comfortable U.S. prison until 2015. Rebecca Roth, who paid his utility bills and made his travel reservations, has been sentenced to a filthy Mexican cell until 2017. She will appeal her conviction.

Margie Boule: 503-221-8450; marboule@aol.com

WHAT? WHERE ARE HER CHILDREN? YOU MEAN THEY SEPARATED A MOTHER FROM HER CHILDREN? THEY TORE THE FAMILY APART? THIS IS RACIAL PROFILING!!!! HOW WILL HER CHILDREN SLEEP AT NIGHT? WITHOUT THEIR MOTHER WITH THEM. THIS WILL DAMAGE THE CHILDREN FOR LIFE.

Lets do a prisoner swap, Mexico can have a truckload for the lady

YES YES!!!!!! A PRISONER SWAP. THEY CAN SEND US OURS AND WE WILL SEND THEM THEIRS. OOOOOPS. BUT THEY MUST ACT QUICKLY. MEDELLIN GOES DOWN ON AUGUST 5.

Why don't we treat Mexicans in our prisons the same way? That'll get a reaction!

You see, that is my point in posting this, as well as getting some needed publicity in order to help this woman.

Another point that came to mind when I read this. You all know for a fact that the treatment of this woman, and their "justice" system ignoring facts and statements by the actual criminal, they are using this woman as a political pawn in their desire to wreak vengeance on America for arresting and deporting theirs caught here illegally. We all can just feel this to be true.

In the end though, please be sure to pass this article around and have people email the columnist in support of this woman, and the Canadian woman, and to have our own government to step in and help.