Appendix 2 A Letter To The Southern Poverty Law Center

July 18, 2006

Mr. Morris Dees

Southern Poverty Law Center

400 Washington Avenue

P.O. Box 5632

Montgomery, AL. 36177-7459

RE: Cadet WEBSTER SMITH-U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Dear Morris,

As a member of the Leadership Council of the Law Center I am writing to ask you to get involved in the Cadet Webster Smith case. The legal team at the Law Center represents those who have no other champion. I have seen the good results that the Center has achieved over the years. I know that you share my passion for truth, justice, and equal justice under the law.

A case of gross injustice and rampant racial discrimination has occurred at the Coast Guard Academy. A graduating senior has been falsely accused, convicted on perjured testimony, and sentenced to six months in jail, expulsion from the Academy, and forfeiture of all pay and allowances. His name is Webster Smith and he is Black. He had been separated from the cadet student body six months before the court-martial and was forced to work on the boat docks. This amounted to essentially a sentence of hard labor before a trial. Moreover, since he is from Houston, Texas, he will have to register as a sex offender. That mark will follow him for the rest of his life, unless we can reverse the conviction.

The Associated Press characterized the trial as follows: “What began as a trial against an accused sexual predator ended looking more like a series of murky encounters between college students, with consent often clouded by alcohol. But the case also offered a rare and often unflattering glimpse at cadet life.” (Moment of change' following Coast Guard Academy court-martial By MATT APUZZO Associated Press Writer, July 3, 2006.)

The Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy has been asked to release Cadet Webster Smith from prison, reinstate him as a cadet, let him finish school, and graduate him with a commission. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Cadet Webster Smith is a victim of jealousy, racial discrimination, a violation of the 14th Amendment Equal Protection clause, and last but not the least, a victim of a double standard.
He was one of the most loved and respected cadets on campus. But he had two things going against him. One, he had dated the Regimental Commander, and the Dean of Admissions’ daughter. Both were white. Since they were white and Cadet Smith was Black, it did not sit well with the Commandant of Cadets. Racial Prejudice is still very much alive at the Academy.

Moreover, when a REAL RAPE case with REAL physical evidence surfaced during Webster Smith’s ordeal, Commandant of Cadets, Doug Wisniewski and his staff hushed the case, asked the white cadet to resign quietly and go on his way. NO CHARGES were filed. The real rapist was WHITE!

More facts and background on this case can be found at my web Blog spot at www.cgachasehall.blogspot.com.

I urgently beg you to direct the excellent resources of the Law Center to this case. Just a request for an explanation from the Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy would be a tremendous help. Just to get involved with this case will send a loud and clear message that will prevent similar abuses in the future. This case could do a lot to bring positive advertisement and increase respect for the Law Center worldwide. Webster Smith’s picture has gone around the word. This case presents you with a fundraising bonanza.

Yours Respectfully,

L. Steverson,

LCDR, USCG (Ret.)

Labels: Cadet Webster Smith.