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Brian and Ruth Christine Notes, Letters, News

Brian and Ruth Christine Newsletters

November 2004 Resentencing Appeal

Robbery convictions upheld in child taking case
The Associated Press
6/16/2004, 1:00 p.m. PT

SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Robbery convictions of a couple who took their three children at gunpoint from Southern Oregon child welfare workers and fled in a state van were upheld Wednesday by the state Court of Appeals.

Ruth and Brian Christine each were sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for stealing the van as they took the children from state children's services workers at a freeway rest area in August 2001.

Brian Christine received an additional five-year sentence for using a gun. The couple didn't challenge their convictions of custodial interference and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle; sentences on those counts run concurrently to the robbery terms.

The parents and children were found by police in Montana and the children returned safely to state custody.

The couple claimed that because the van was abandoned after being driven about 2 miles, the act wasn't robbery because that legally requires an intent to permanently or 'near-permanently' deprive someone of property. But the court said the jury had enough evidence to decide on the Christines' true intent.

Authorities initially took custody of the children after an anonymous caller reported they appeared malnourished while the family was living in a bus parked in Grants Pass.

puts Oregon in the SPOTLIGHT

Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 6:54 PM 
Subject: Christine Family Tragedy - an update

Christine Family Tragedy - an update

by Edgar J. Steele

November 15, 2002

Tonight (Friday, November 15), Dateline NBC will air its segment on the Christine family's travails (9-10 pm ET and Pacific Time, check your TV Schedule for local time).

Read the Whole email

11-11-2002 
BRIAN AND RUTH CHRISTINE INTERVIEW Friday the 15th- DATELINE NBC

Email from Terri Christine also includes info about the girls

Brian and Ruth Christine November 2002 Newsletter

Congress.org Soapbox Alert

Christine Family Shredded By Oregon State

9-17-2002 New letter from Brian dated 9-10-02 
(typed! So this one was easy to OCR instead of needing to retype)

9-11-2002 Letter to Governor by Robert A. Tims of Jonesboro, Arkansas

8-1-2002 Prison Mail Rules

We have been learning the hard way how to send mail to a prison here in the "most free nation on earth" with the highest per-capita jail population of any place on earth.

The first 9"x 11" envelope full of stuff I sent to Brian came back because I had printed an address label and used the clear shipping tape to attach it to the envelope.  It came back stamped "No stickers or tape allowed".  I resent it in a new envelope that I hand-wrote the address on.  It hasn't come back yet, so I don't know whether I am still violating Prison Mail Rules or not.

My wife sent Ruth a similar 9"x 11" envelope full of stuff last week.  It was returned because it occurred to my wife that sending some dried flower petals might be a "nice thing".  Nope.  It came back. You cannot send dried Pansies (yes they were actually Pansies).

They DO open the mail and go through it looking for contraband.  Things like porn and cash money, and just about everything else.  My wife's envelope to Ruth came back with the slit bottom taped back shut with 3M Magic tape.  They inserted a nice form informing her of her MAIL VIOLATION.

So to save everybody the trouble of learning all this the hard way, here's the scans of the MAIL VIOLATION form we received.

The front of the Mail Violation form (Size 157k jpg)

The back of the Mail Violation form (Size 168k jpg)

Brian is at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution Web Site

Ruth is at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility

Here's the official "Mail Rule"- OAR Div 131 Mail (Inmate)

The address is:
EOCI 
Brian Christine SID#13861937
2500 Westgate
Pendleton, Oregon 97801
The phone number there is (541) 276-0700.

Ruth is still in the intake phase at Coffee Creek, but the person who answered the phone said she will be staying at that facility, which I think we were all pretty certain of anyways.

I got the information regarding donating to their commissary accounts... Brian can get money now that he is in his permanent place, and Ruth's can be held for her.

Send Money Order or Cashier's check to:

D.O.C. Central Trust Unit
P.O. Box 14400
Salem, Oregon 97309
(503) 378-3798 extension 22401

The money order/cashier's check needs to be made out to DOC and must also have the person's name and S.I.D on it.

I hope this information is helpful!

Warmly,
Sheri Short

And to save you the trouble of looking, here's the addresses-

Oh and a note- NO stickers, tape, etc.  Probably no staples or paper clips either.  I sent Brian a big envelope full of stuff the other day and it was returned because I used TWO PIECES of clear tape to secure the shipping label to the envelope.  I think they gave away "the big secret" here!  No doubt there is a way to turn two 4" x 2" pieces of tape with paper stuck on it into a bar-melting, concrete-boring, lethal weapon.- Leonard

7-20-02 Results of Trial airing on Court TV- 

Oregon advocates received some hate mail from people who watched the TV trial and decided they had all the facts they needed to condemn us for supporting Brian and Ruth.  One arrogant jerk said he doubted he would see us around a MENSA meeting.  I told him that if he thought the Christine Trial was Due Process, America is DOOMED.  I don't believe the words "intelligent" and "wise" are interchangeable synonyms.  We are dealing with a Fatal Blindness.

Court TV Trial Report-

Background      The Verdict

THE CHRISTINE'S TRIAL WILL AIR ON COURT TV, MONDAY JULY 15, TO WEDNESDAY JULY 18, 9:00 am to 5:30 pm Pacific and Eastern time.  Any question contact Michelle Richman of Court TV, at 212-973-8903.

Court TV
http://www.courttv.com/

Court TV Program Schedule
http://www.courttv.com/schedule/

7-2-2002 Brian writes from his brand new home

Write Brian and Ruth: Note- Brian is now in Pendleton.

Inmate Mail Rules- NO Stickers, Tape, etc.

I just got an envelope back because I used clear tape to attach the shipping label I printed on regular paper.  I also wonder about the Post Office generated postage sticker.

7-2-2002 Christines plead guilty to with-holding food

No Justice for the Politically-Incorrect by Edgar J. Steele

            See A Voice for Children COMMENTS
                    and Edgar Steel's reply
(well, everybody agrees the system is CORRUPT. The argument is how to FIGHT the corrupt system)

6-25-2002  Brian and Ruth Christine Addresses!

6-24-2002 Where ARE Brian and Ruth?

We knew they were scheduled to be moved from the Douglas County Jail and haven't heard a word from them since. 

Sherri the sleuth found out they were sent to Coffee Creek and just sent us this-

Leonard note- I just went looking at the Coffee Creek Correctional Google Search I listed above and found THIS PAGE.  
http://www.oregon.gov/prod/index.cfm?CurrPID=721

Look at that MENU BAR- 
Oregon.gov        Prisons

This is rich, unbelievable.

6-22-2002 

The Death of Free Speech and Individualism

In the New World Order of America

by Edgar J. Steele

(Text of speech given at annual conference of Council of Conservative Citizens in Atlanta, Georgia on June 22, 2002.)

Another case I tried just last month involved a young man and his wife, whose children were taken from them by Oregon ’s Child Protective Services while the family was visiting Grants Pass.     Allegedly due to criminal mistreatment – they were skinny and one girl had a small cut on her forehead – on an anonymous tip.  Brian and Ruth Christine are the young parents.

They refused to cooperate for several months, because they felt they had done nothing wrong, so CPS said it would adopt them out.  The Christines were home-schooling Christians.  At trial, the state made a big point of there having been a copy of the Declaration of Independence taped to the inside wall of the converted bus that served as the family’s home.

The Christines took their children back at gunpoint and fled the state.  They were tried for kidnapping, robbery and other, lesser, charges.  The wife received 7 ˝ years and the husband 12 ˝ years, primarily because of a conviction on the robbery charge (not guilty on all kidnapping charges).  

We are appealing the main charge now – robbery – which shouldn’t stand up in the face of Oregon case law which says one cannot be convicted of robbery merely for taking something which is used in the execution of another crime.  You see, Brian took the state car the kids were in at the time and drove it 2.1 miles, where he left it unharmed, keys in the ignition.

Again, these folks were politically incorrect:  poor, white, vegetarian, home-schooling Christians.

6-6-2002  Brian and Ruth Christine- Robbers??

6-5-2002  Letter from Brian

6-5-2002  KATU interview with Brian and Ruth

        Screen Shots from the interview

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