A MISUNDERSTANDING

"Tammy Fyke, you are under arrest for murder," an officer said as I walked out the front door of my house. The officer had his gun pointed directly at my head. Instinctively I raised my hands over my head."Murder?" I said in disbelief "Would you mind telling me who it is I killed?" I said with a slight chuckle at the ridiculous charge. Doug and I had used and sold some weed and cocaine but we had certainly never killed anyone. Knowing this was all a big mistake I actually breathed a sigh of relief. I was convinced all of this would be straightened out and dropped. Since our house had no drugs in it I honestly believed Doug and I would be released after a short conversation with the police, I couldn't have been more wrong.At that time I had never heard of the accountability law. I did not know a person could be held legally responsible for the actions of another. I was about to get a crash course in criminal law. It was a course I had to pass for the State's Attorney soon made it very clear he was seeking the death penalty!

DESTROYED BY THE BELL

It was a little after 3:00am when a sharp ring sliced through the silence of our home."Who was it?" I mumbled in the darkness to my husband Doug as he hung up the phone."It was the police they have our house surrounded and want us to come outside.""No, Doug, don’t do it! It can't be the police they don’t order people out of their house in the middle of the night," I begged as I watched my husband pull on his jeans. I was convinced if Doug walked out that door, he would be killed by the same people who had recently killed our friend Bobby. Somehow deep inside of me I knew I was about to lose Doug."Doug Fyke! Come out of the house!" A voice ordered on a bullhorn. Suddenly, spotlights invaded the darkness of our home as Doug cautiously opened the front door. Before disappearing into the light Doug looked me in the eyes saying, "It is the police, they are all over the place, lock the door and get rid of the weed. I'll stall them just in case they want to search the place."Suddenly, I was wide awake and dutifully obeying the orders of my husband. Locking the door, I flew back into our bedroom, grabbed a small bag of rolled joints (marijuana cigarettes) and flushed them down the toilet. I also took four small glass vials and dumped out the cocaine and crystal on a mirror. Expertly, I inhaled the mixture of white powder, cleaned the mirror and flushed the vials by wrapping them in tissue. I had just managed to check on Candi and Mandy (my daughters just 1 and 5 years old) before the voice shouted."Tammy Fyke! Come outside now!"The voice terrified me. I was trembling so bad I could barely unlock the door. Trying to appear calm, I stepped into the light, not knowing I would never enter my house again. I also did not know I had fed my two small daughters the last meal I ever would, given them their last bath and tucked them into bed for the very last time.It was the ring in the middle of the night that had destroyed everything. With that one phone call my entire world had come crashing down.

LT. Connor Physically Manhandles Inmate at Dwight

On 11/13/08 at 5PM while at dinner in the CDR LT. Connor a male officer grabbed a female inmate and dragged her to the corner of the CDR and ordered her to face the corner of the wall and place her nose against the wall for talking while eating. There is no rule stating the inmates are not to talk while eating. The inmate told LT. Connor to give her a ticket instead which he refused knowing it would not hold up in review. LT. Connor then grabbed hold of the inmate turning her around forcing her face into the corner. LT. Connor was completely in the wrong and there are rules against the physical contact between a male officer touching a female inmate. LT. Connor should be held accountable for his actions and abuse of this inmate.

Please Sign Tammy's Petition

In 1985 Tammy Fyke (21) gave birth to Candice who weighed a mere two pounds. At home Candi required around the clock care, hourly feedings and an apnea brady cardia moniter. After months of sleeping in 30-minute intervals Tammy was exhausted. Her greatest fear was falling sound asleep and failing to hear Candi's moniter. In desperation Tammy began to use the white powder her husband Doug offered to help her stay awake. Later Tammy learned the powder was cocain and she was addicted. Soon Doug began to sell both cocain and marijuana to pay for Candi's extensive medical bills because Tammy had been unable to leave Candi and return to work at an insurance company.Doug's drug deals, through his friend Bobby, upset the local dealers who felt Bobby was hurting their business. The dealers wanted to kill Bobby. Doug and Tammy tried to relocate Bobby out of town to protect him but during the relocation process Bobby reached into his coat for a cigarette and was killed instantly. The shooter believed Bobby was reaching for a gun. Tammy was one of seven people convicted for Bobby's death. She recieved a 60 year sentence because of a law that held her legally responsible for the shooter.In prison Tammy has earned a Bachelor Degree in Pastoral Theology, a Bachelor in Christian Education and a Master's of Divinity. Tammy is the founder and president of NIP Ministries, Inc. , a 24 branch ministerial outreach which she chartered in 1999. Tammy is the author of God Whispers and is currently working on two additional manuscripts. She has appeared on Focus 4, and the aspiring women t.v. show and given radio interviews. Tammy and Doug are now divorced, she has two children and five grandchildren.Tammy did not have a jury trial. Her attorney made arrangements for her to enter into a stipulated bench trial. Tammy agreed to this because she wrongly believed that she would still be able to present her evidence. At the actual proceeding Tammy was not allowed to even refute the States evidence. The only evidence against her was a co defendant who had also been charged with first degree murder. In exchange for his testimony he was released after he had testified. There was nothing except his testimony against her.Tammy's accomplishments from behind bars are outstanding, she is a model minimum security inmate. Daily she reaches out to help others, but now Tammy needs your help. She has served 22 years of the 60 year sentence. Soon she will file a petition for commutation, but without your help Tammy will remain locked away for another seven and a half years. You can help Tammy by simply signing the petition. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/clemency-for-tammy-fyke