On December 4, 2008, then 24-year old Jae Hee Yi and his then 23-year old girlfriend Jennifer Pasasouk were arrested without the issuance of a police warrant and with the charges of convicted murder during burglary and concealment. This was done without the availability of evidence against them before they were incarcerated. To this day, Jae Yi is still in jail (without bail) and is pending trial for his convictions on April 20, 2011. At the time of the arrest, Jennifer was also taken into custody and had her two young children (then 5 DAYS old and 2 years old) being forcibly taken away from her by the DA officer. She was offered a deal to overturn her conviction and to have her children returned back to her if she would testify against her boyfriend. She refused and served 2 years and 3 months in jail for concealment charges (released on January 2011), while still having her children under government custody and having the possibility of even losing them through court-mandated adoption.

Jae's mother, Sarah Yi, has attempted to "play by the book" and hired four attorneys in an attempt save her son. Initially, the attorneys promised positive outcomes and she hired them with the belief that they would successfully defend her son's innocence. Sadly, after being paid off, they did not show up to court and one had even told her that her son was going to get the death penalty for his crimes. This was after she spent $250,000 in good faith.

 The Korean American Institute for Human Rights (KAIHR) is asking for the solidarity and voice of the Korean-American community in the United States to stand together and ask that Mr. Yi be given a fair trial with the ability to present evidence to support his innocence. We also want to voice to the Federal Government to end this practice of conviction without due process and to uphold human rights and justice.

Sponsor

Links