The following is the article that Stephanie Schwartz forwarded to me.I hope my readers will contact the SD governor and ask him to commute this sentence.
From Betty Aitchison: Request for Letters Recommending Clemency for Timothy Caffrey
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PICTURE OF ABUSED CHILD CONTINUES TO HAUNT WOMAN
By Betty Adams Aitchison
Caldwell, Idaho
Published: August 7, 2007 - ARGUS LEADER
I am a voice from the faraway past of Timothy Sean Caffrey. I am Betty Adams Aitchison, whose husband pastored the little Faith Missionary Church in Martin, S.D., for 10 years. This was in the mid-1960s and 70s. The Bill and Olive Caffrey family attended our church. I knew them well.
Tim Caffrey is an Oglala Sioux, adopted by the Caffreys when he was less than a year old. I was a part of Tim's formative years. I taught him in Sunday School and vacation Bible school.
Bill Caffrey was a politically powerful man as South Dakota regional director of health and welfare. He also was an abusive alcoholic. I witnessed some of the abuse of Tim and tried to intervene but to no avail.
One particular incident has continued to haunt me through the years. It is a picture of a little 14-year-old Sioux Indian boy, sitting in the living room of Bill and Olive Caffrey's home, being disciplined for sharing marijuana with a friend.
I was living in Idaho at the time but visiting Martin. Olive asked me to basically act as a mediator when they addressed this issue.
Olive began the questioning. I still remember exactly how we were all seated. I was on the couch. Olive was across the room to my left, Tim, to my right, and Bill, pacing the floor. Olive asked Tim where he had gotten the marijuana, and Tim reluctantly told her. She asked, "Why didn't you just say 'no' and tell us what had happened?"
Tim replied, "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry."
At this point, Bill stomped toward Tim. "You made a mistake. We are the ones who made the mistake. The biggest mistake we ever made was when we adopted you, you stupid Indian," Bill said, cuffing Tim on the head.
Tim burst into convulsive sobs, and Bill walked away.
I got up from my seat and went to Tim. I said, "Timmie, you are a good boy who did a bad thing. You are not a stupid Indian. You are a brilliant boy with a right and powerful heritage."
Bill Caffrey was an overbearing, abusive alcoholic who often inflicted physical and emotional abuse on Tim. Olive worked at the Gordon hospital, 50 miles away, and left home at 2 p.m., not returning until after midnight, leaving Tim at the mercy of Bill's drunken outbursts and hostilities.
I have never, nor do I now, condone Tim's handling of this situation. However, almost 27 years have passed since I sat through the trial of a 17-year-old Indian boy, tried as an adult, by a white judge, 12 white jurors and a white attorney, and I heard the sentence of life without parole.
There is no question that the boy acted wrongfully when he shot and killed his adoptive father. However, many years of agonizing remorse have made Tim the man he is today. He is a well-rounded, gentle man who has worked hard to prepare himself for life outside the prison walls. He has mastered the art of welding and continues his education as much as is available to him.
Tim has a very strong support group. It is headed by Arnie Berkeland, a Sioux Falls businessman, who has visited Tim more than 1,200 times in the past 27 years. Tim will be provided with good employment and housing as well as spiritual and emotional support.
I urge you to please write Gov. Mike Rounds, asking him to sign the unanimous recommendation of the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Tim's sentence from life to time served. This is the third time the board has voted to reduce Tim's sentence.
Tim was never a 'murderer.' He was an abused child, pressed beyond measure and made a terrible mistake in dealing with his abuser. For this, I feel he has paid sufficiently.
White men charged with the same crime are walking free today. Please work for 'equal justice' in this case. -30-
Timothy S. Caffrey # 20483
S.D.S.P. Box 5911
Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5911 USA
Date of birth: May 28-1963
Nation/tribal affiliation: Oglala Sioux
Release date: none
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