Sam’s Detainment Makes Sentinel Front Page

Sam The Keene Sentinel, which was present on April 13th for the arrest of Sam, and 6 others, has finally published an article specifically about him and his in-jail protest.

Testing the system behind bars, Free Stater chides court, gains recruits
Sam Miller talks about his experience in the local court system during a visit at the Cheshire County jail in Westmoreland.
By PHILLIP BANTZ
Sentinel Staff
Published: Sunday, May 17, 2009 8:07 AM EDT

WESTMORELAND — A battle of wills is playing out within the cinder block walls of the Cheshire County jail in Westmoreland, where an activist has spent more than a month protesting a judge’s order that he identify himself to police.

John Doe walks into the jail cafeteria, a faded orange jumpsuit draped over his lanky frame and a folder of legal documents tucked under his arm. He sits at a stainless steel picnic-style table and when he smiles the tendons in his long, thin neck bulge.

Doe says he hasn’t eaten solid food since he’s been behind bars because he’s on a hunger strike. When he came to jail he weighed 180 pounds, and now he weighs 116, he says.

Court and jail officials know Doe’s real name — Sam A. Miller, a 33-year-old former telecommunications specialist from Texas who moved to Keene earlier this year to join the Free State Project. They have Miller’s Texas driver’s license.

But Keene District Court Judge Edward J. Burke has ordered Miller to remain held on $10,000 bail and will not schedule a trial until he gives the Keene police his name.

“While the prospect of the Defendant’s indefinite confinement is distasteful, the Court reiterates, however, that the Defendant holds the key to his release,” Burke wrote in his order.

It has already cost thousands of taxpayer dollars to keep Miller behind bars.

Miller has been in jail since April 13, when he was arrested for refusing to turn off his video camera in the Keene District Court lobby. An unsigned order taped to the wall banned photography in the lobby.

Miller, who also goes by Sam Dodson, was protesting the ban along with other Free Staters and activists with ties to the group, which aims to convince 20,000 “liberty lovers” to move to New Hampshire.

Police carried Miller out of the courthouse after he fell to the floor and went limp. Six others were arrested or given summonses for disorderly conduct.

Miller was initially charged with possession of property (his video camera) without a serial number, resisting arrest or detention, refusing to be processed and disorderly conduct.

Keene Police Prosecutor D. Chris McLaughlin stated in court documents that he plans to dismiss the charges of possession of property without a serial number and disorderly conduct, and add a charge of criminal contempt against Miller.

Miller’s attorney, Ivy Walker of Grafton, and other activists have filed several arguments with Cheshire County Superior Court and the state’s Supreme Court saying Miller’s rights are being violated and he should be set free or taken to trial. The courts have rejected some of the arguments, and others remain under consideration.

Meanwhile, Miller said he has already convinced about 10 of his fellow inmates to join the Free Staters when they’re released from jail. Many of the converts are older inmates, he said.

“Some of the younger kids here are a little hostile towards me. I don’t know if it’s their age or mindset,” he said. “A lot of the older people just seem to understand what I’m doing.”

Jail Superintendent Richard N. Van Wickler said Miller has a knack for recruiting other inmates.

“He seems to seek out offenders who have no purpose in life. Wherever he goes, he quickly makes friends,” he said. “There have been comments from other inmates about the Free State Project that they wouldn’t have made without him being here.”

Miller stands out from the other inmates not only because of his gaunt physique, but because of the reason he’s in jail. And that has helped attract followers, Van Wickler said.

“There’s a big difference between having your freedom taken away and offering up your freedom,” he said. “Sam has offered up his freedom and it has elevated him and allowed him to get his message out to others and, dare I say, he’s doing a good job of it.”

Miller recently had an interview with a reporter from The Boston Globe, and said he receives stacks of mail daily from people around the world who support his cause. Some want to move to Keene and increase activism in the city, he said.

While Miller speaks with The Sentinel, a middle-aged inmate wheels a cart of food trays into the cafeteria. He comes over and says he’s joining the Free Staters as soon as he gets out of jail. Then he gets back to work before the guards notice him speaking with Miller.

“A lot of prisoners want to fight the system,” Miller says. “They just don’t know how to do it. I think that’s one of the reasons they’re drawn to me.”

Miller has written extensively in online blogs about what he describes as squalid conditions at the jail, from overflowing toilets to broken air conditioners and stifling heat. His blog entries have received dozens of comments, some are critical of the jail and others are critical of Miller.

Van Wickler said Miller’s writings about conditions at the jail are “absolutely deceptive.”

He also stressed that jail officials are making sure Miller stays healthy, despite his hunger strike.

“We’re keeping a close eye on him because of his caloric intake,” he said. “He’s doing very well. If we thought his health was threatened we would put him in a medical observation unit.”

At a cost of approximately $64 per inmate per day, which is a conservative estimate, according to Van Wickler, at least $2,240 of taxpayer money has been spent to keep Miller in jail, so far.

Miller said he will not provide his name to expedite his release. He aims to pave the way for other activists to refuse to hand over identification to the authorities. If he bends and says his name, the time he’s spent in jail and the arguments he’s filed with the courts will be meaningless.

“This is completely about me challenging their system and their authority,” he said. “And as long as I’m in here, the word is slowly getting out.”

Phillip Bantz can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1409, or pbantz@keenesentinel.com.