Patrick Furze

Meagan Adams was just 15 years old when she was convicted of first degree murder. Despite being a teenager, Meagan was trialled as an adult and sentenced to life in a maximum security prison in Texas. That was more than 12 years ago. While Meagan admits to being at the scene of the crime she denies any role in the actual murder. This campaign aims to raise much needed funds for her appeal process. 

Meagan's Story:
In 2003 Megan was living in a Southern Texan town close to the Mexican border with her Grandmother, Jan Barnum, then 57. Meagan was, at the time, a rebellious teenager in the 9th grade. Her friends Frank Macias and Chris Lozano, both 15, were also frequently in trouble at school. One night the trio decided to run away together. Their plan was to steal Mrs Barum's car and drive to Louisiana. When Mrs Barnum wouldn't go to bed, Macias strangled her in her chair with one of Megans school ribbons. Meagan and Lozano were not in the room at the time. Meagan loved her Grandmother and was devastated by what had taken place. When interrogated Macias would later say the murder was Megan's idea and that Lozano had agreed to it. Both have always denied this. The three teens were trialled together and sentenced as adults. Meagan was represented by a court appointed public defender. Public defenders generally have 5 times the case load of the prosecutors and very little budget. Like Meagan, Macias was also given a life sentence. Lozano received 15 years.

About Meagan:
At 27, Meagan has spent almost half her life in prison. Meagan is housed with 1400 other women in a facility near Gatesville, Texas. State prisons in the south are amongst the worst in the country in terms of prison conditions. Meagan has a number of close friends but a typical day involves a lot of time with her head in a book. To call Meagan a veracious reader would be to greatly understate things. Meagan churns through several books each month. Meagan's a self confessed history nerd and reads a lot of dense books about American history. To be white in a Texan prison is to be living as a minority in a segregated society. Despite this, Meagan is really well respected and liked amongst both prisoners and correction officers. She is extremely generous with what little she has and is an incredibly thoughtful person. Meagan is the friend that asks how your Mum is doing long after she has recovered from illness and worries about you even when she is having the worst week imaginable. Meagan has a flair for creative writing and very a wonderfully astute sense of humour. When released, she wants to pursue a career in social work, in particular in drug and alcohol rehabilitation (she has already undertaken tertiary studies in prison). Meagan wants to travel in an RV. She wants to see some of America's national parks and visit some sites of the civil war. Most of all she wants to contribute and be valued for what she can offer the world.  

How I know Meagan:
Meagan and I have been pen pals and friends for several years. I visited her for the first time earlier this year.
          

Meagan prior to her in incarceration 


Meagan earlier this year

Meagan will soon be represented by a Colorado based firm that specialises in cases like hers. The firm's senior advisor believes Meagan had "miserably inadequate representation" at her trial and are convinced she would be a very good candidate for three new legal actions. The money from this campaign will go to pay the legal bills associated with the following: 

1. The first is an appeal for clemency. There has never been better time to apply for clemency in the U.S. President Obama has been pushing hard for the States to reduce their prison population. He has made a number of speeches on the issue and even visited a federal prison this year (a sitting president had never done that before). Bipartisan support from the Republicans is also growing fast. Most of the state governments are strapped for cash and with more than 2 Million Americans in state funded prisons, it is simply too expensive to keep so many citizens incarcerated. More than 6,000 people received clemency last week.

2. A direct appeal for post conviction relief. This is an appeal at the Appellate court to challenge the way the district court handled Meagan's case. It focusses on any technical errors made during here trial.   

3. An appeal of her sentence with the Appellate court. Meagan's sentence was much more severe than others in a similar situation. This appeal will aim to prove that Meagan's sentence was excessive.           

If either of the appeals at the Appellates court are successful, Meagan would get a new trial at the district court. If this happens, she would likely be offered a deal for time already served and then be released on parole.

Any additional funds raised from this campaign will go to helping Meagan re-establish herself in society upon release.  

If you have any questions about Meagan's case or this campaign please don't hesitate to email me at [email protected].