Jeff Luers

Jeff Luers
Jeff Luers
Born	Downey, California, U.S.
Other names	Jeff "Free" Luers
Occupation	Activist
Criminal penalty	10 years
Details
Location(s)	Oregon State Penitentiary
Weapons	Improvised Incendiary Devices

Jeffrey "Free" Luers is an American political activist from Los Angeles, California, who served a ten-year prison sentence for an arson motivated by environmental concerns. On February 14, 2007, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned Luers' sentence, instructing the Lane County circuit court to determine a new sentence.^[1] That court reduced the sentence from 22 years, 8 months to 10 years in February 2008, after what The Independent described as an "international campaign for a more appropriate sentence for a crime in which no one was hurt."^[2]^[3]

Background

Luers is a former resident of Eugene, Oregon and helped establish Red Cloud Thunder, a group of activists who organized a tree sitting campaign to stop the clear-cutting of old growth forests outside of Fall Creek, Oregon.

Arson and sentencing

The first incident took place in Eugene, Oregon in the United States when Luers and Craig Marshall planted crude delay devices for an attempted arson of trucks at the Tyree Oil Company. The two placed a section of cloth, which was draped over a gallon milk jug filled with a fuel and soap mixture, in the fuel tank of a double-trailer fuel truck. According to authorities, the potential blast could have caused damage over two city blocks.^[4]^[5]

On June 16, 2000, he set fire to three light trucks at Romania Chevrolet dealership suspectedly via the use of bombs, in Eugene as a protest against excessive consumption and global warming, along with Craig "Critter" Marshall, who was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. The arson destroyed three pickup trucks including a 2000 Silverado.^[6] Luers might have received a comparable sentence if he had not been convicted of an earlier attempted arson as well.^[7] Luers was initially sentenced to 22 years, 8 months in prison.^[8] Supporters argued that his sentence was excessive, because no one was injured and property damage was estimated at only $40,000^[8]^[9]

The Oregon Court of Appeals overturned the sentence in 2007, remanding the case to the Lane County circuit court for resentencing. In February 2008, the circuit court approved a reduction in his term to 10 years, most of which had already been served.

Reaction to sentence

Luers has at times been a cause célèbre among some radicals, anti-prison activists, and individuals associated with the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), although Luers has said that he does not consider himself to be an ELF member.^[10]

Release

Luers was mistakenly released early from prison in October 2009 after an error calculating his sentence. He returned to prison after visiting his parole officer.^[11] He was released from prison on December 16, 2009, after serving almost ten years. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviewed him about a week later and spoke about his sentencing, time in prison, and environmental attitudes. His attorney, Lauren Regan, was interviewed as well.^[12]

Personal life

Luers identifies as an anarchist.^[6]

References

^ Appeal from Circuit Court, Lane County Archived 2008-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
^ The Battle of Bear Creek: New Threat in Americas Backyard, The Independent, March 5th 2008.
^ "Jeffrey Luers". abcf.net. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
^ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 200005270009". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
^ Barcott, Bruce (2002-04-07). "From Tree-Hugger to Terrorist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
^ ^a ^b Dicum, Gregory (June 22, 2005). "Green Flaming SUVs: A conversation with convicted ecoterrorist Jeff Luers". Sfgate.com. Hearst Communications. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
^ Barcott, Bruce (2002-04-07). "From Tree-Hugger to Terrorist". The New York Times. p. 5. Retrieved 2008-02-28. Marshall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit arson and unlawful possession of a destructive device and received a five-and-a-half-year sentence. Luers might have gotten a similar sentence, but a police search turned up evidence linking him to an earlier attempted arson. Though Luers denied any connection to the earlier case, he was found guilty of that crime, too, and was sentenced to 22 years and 8 months in state prison.
^ ^a ^b Taylor, Rebecca (February 29, 2008). "Arsonist's sentence cut in half". Register-Guard. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved March 1, 2008.
^ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 200006160006". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2019-05-13.
^ An interview with jailed “eco-terrorist” Jeffrey Luers | Grist
^ "Inmate mistakenly released early". The South Bend Tribune. 3 October 2009. pp. A2.
^ EXCLUSIVE: Environmental Activist Jeff "Free" Luers Speaks Out in First Interview After 9.5 Years Behind Bars | Democracy Now!