About the Campaign
The prosecution of Maddesyn George inspired a grassroots campaign of Indigenous and anti-violence organizers to fight for the charges to be dropped. Now that Maddesyn has been sentenced to prison, the Campaign will continue to support and organize with her and her family. Maddesyn's defense committee includes members of her family; members of the Colville Confederated Tribes and Spokane nation; survivors of gender violence; and advocates, organizers, and scholars who work on issues of colonial, sexual, and domestic violence; policing and incarceration; and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples. More than 90 organizations from across the U.S. and Canada that work for Native liberation, sexual and domestic violence survivors, and racial and gender justice have endorsed the campaign.
The Defense Committee’s Official Statement on Maddesyn’s Sentencing
In Spokane, Washington, on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, Colville tribal member Maddesyn George was sentenced in federal court to serve 6.5 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter and drug possession with intent to distribute. Maddesyn is a sexual violence survivor who defended herself in July 2020 against a white man named Kristopher Paul Graber who raped and threatened her. The prosecutors in the case, stunning in their commitment to punish Maddesyn for her survival actions, argued that she be sentenced to 17 years behind bars. While Maddesyn and her mother and father, siblings, aunts, and cousins are incredibly relieved that the prosecutors failed in their efforts to secure a longer sentence, her family and defense committee strongly maintain that the prosecution was unjust from beginning to end.
11/8 Press Conference
On November 8, the Campaign to Free Maddesyn George held a virtual press conference featuring attorney and award-winning playwright Mary Kathryn Nagle and professors Val Kalei Kanuha (Univ. of Wash.), Alisa Bierria (UCLA), Dian Million (Univ. of Wash.), and Megan Ybarra (Univ. of Wash.).
Dear @TheJusticeDept
On Monday, October 4, we delivered our drop-the-charges petition to the U.S. Department of Justice. As of 11/16/21, the day before Maddesyn’s sentencing hearing, the petition had been endorsed by more than 90 organizations and signed by close to 9,000 individuals.
Endorse the Campaign
See the current list of organizational endorsements here.
#FreeMaddesynMondays
#FreeMaddesyn volunteers gathered on Zoom every Monday in the months leading up to Maddesyn’s sentencing for a “power half hour” of direct outreach and social media action for the drop-the-charges campaign. Thank you to all who joined us!
Short Documentary Film on Maddesyn’s Story
Featuring Maddesyn’s mother, Jody. Please watch and share.
Webinar: Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & The Campaign to Free Maddesyn
The Campaign to Free Maddesyn George hosted a webinar on Tuesday, September 7th featuring Earth-Feather Sovereign, director of Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women Washington (MMIWW). Thank you to our co-sponsors: API Chaya, Collective Justice, Fight Toxic Prisons, Free Them All WA, Mother Nation, Participatory Justice, Radical Women, Survived and Punished, and the WA State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.