On Oct. 15, 2004, Mary Elizabeth Schipke entered the Oracle post
office to buy a 47-cent stamped envelope. When she got frustrated with
the clerk behind the counter, she told her: “God, I pray a bomb falls
on your stupid, fucking head.”
Almost a year later, Schipke was convicted of threatening a federal
facility with weapons of mass destruction. Schipke describes what she
told the clerk that day as an “imprecatory prayer”—basically, a
simple curse—but that defense didn’t keep her from serving a
four-year prison sentence, with the last two years at Carswell, a
women’s federal medical prison outside of Fort Worth, Texas, that has
been the subject of allegations about the questionable care of
prisoners with physical and psychiatric conditions.
Although now free and on supervised release, Schipke, 51, continues
to fight the federal government—this time, over a DNA sample
forcibly removed from her in prison. After her release, prison
officials realized that fingerprints needed to go along with the DNA
sample were apparently taken in a sloppy manner. Now, the government
wants a second DNA sample and a new set of fingerprints.
Schipke and her court-appointed attorney, Leslie Bowman, have taken
her case to the U.S. Court of Appeals to keep the government from
taking that sample—on the grounds of religious freedom. Schipke
believes her DNA is connected to her soul and what she calls the Divine
Maker.
“My DNA is completely unique, and it is sacred. How do I know what
they’ll do with my sacred DNA?” she asks.
Schipke wouldn’t be in her current position if the government hadn’t
decided to prosecute the post-office case. Schipke says she wasn’t much
of a threat in 2004; she spent most of her time in a wheelchair and got
by each month on disability assistance and food stamps. She says she
suffers from fibromyalgia, chronic-pain syndrome and a chemical
sensitivity disorder, among other illnesses.
Schipke says she often complained to the post-office staff about
dangerous potholes in front of the building.
“They didn’t like me much,” Schipke recalls as she pulls out a
transcript of the 911 phone call made by the clerk who reported the
alleged bomb threat.
On the transcript, the clerk is noted as laughing while describing
the incident to the 911 operator.
“I don’t think you’d be laughing if you really thought I had a bomb,
would you?” Schipke asks.
Schipke describes numerous incidents in prison as
“torture”—including the forced retrieval of her DNA sample.
Federal facilities are required by the DNA Analysis Backlog
Elimination Act of 2000 to obtain DNA samples from inmates convicted of
“certain qualifying offenses.” Those offenses were amended in the USA
Patriot Act to include acts of terrorism or crimes of violence.
Schipke was first asked to allow prison staff to take a DNA sample
in December 2007, but she refused. She refused again in February 2008,
March 2008 and April 2008. Each refusal came with a loss of privileges.
According to the law, if an inmate continues to refuse, the sample may
be collected by force—and that’s what happened.
Schipke’s attorney obtained a DVD made by Carswell officials that
shows guards dressed in SWAT gear preparing to enter Schipke’s cell.
Through a small window, the camera shows Schipke holding the leg rest
from her wheelchair and swinging it in the air, as she yells that she
will not allow them to take her DNA. The guards move in; one each takes
an arm, a leg, her head and feet, and hold her down by pressing their
knees against her body.
Medical staffers quickly take blood samples and leave; then another
person arrives to take fingerprints. At full volume, you can hear
Schipke telling the guards to let go, because she isn’t against
allowing them to fingerprint her. However, she isn’t released until
another staffer reaches over the guards’ bodies to clumsily take the
fingerprints.
According to the federal prosecutors’ arguments filed with the 9th
Circuit, the government has a “compelling interest in obtaining the
defendant’s DNA,” because Schipke was convicted of a serious felony
offense: threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction.
The Tucson Weekly called the prosecutor on record, Assistant
U.S. Attorney Jonathan Granoff, for comment. Public information officer
Sandy Raynor responded that no representative was able to comment on
the case.
It’s a charge Schipke should never have faced, says Bowman. Others
agree; in May, the American Civil Liberties Union filed an amicus brief
stating that while Schipke is often rude and offensive, she is not a
terrorist.
The brief states: “(S)uch is Mary Schipke’s lot. She is quite
unlikable. She is rude, offensive and willing to make outlandish
statements either to draw attention to herself or to voice frustrations
with societal norms causing her perpetual grief. But she is no
terrorist. At least one clerk at the Oracle post office was familiar
with her abrasive conduct. Pre-9/11, Ms. Schipke’s outbursts likely
would have won her a misdemeanor disorderly conduct prosecution.
Post-9/11, she is a convicted terrorist who presumably has a timeshare
in a B-52 bomber or perhaps connections to a radical terrorist cell,
that, strategic considerations be damned, seeks to bomb the Oracle post
office. This case represents a sad and absurd failure of prosecutorial
discretion … that should prove a canary in the proverbial coal
mine.”
However, prosecutorial discretion is not the focus of Schipke’s
current case. Bowman explained in an e-mail that a temporary emergency
stay is in place preventing the court from allowing prison officials to
collect the second DNA sample. Bowman and Schipke, however, want the
case to go before the Court of Appeals. If the U.S. District Court
denies the stay, and/or if Schipke loses her appeal, Bowman wrote that
her client may choose another appeal—and she’ll also have to seek
another emergency stay.
“If she refuses, a petition could be filed to revoke her supervised
release. That could result in her being taken back into custody. She
could also be charged with a criminal offense,” Bowman wrote.
Aside from this battle over her DNA, Schipke says she’s fighting for
her basic survival. Because of her felony conviction, she is no longer
eligible for Section 8 housing and had to reapply for disability
assistance.
“They took my whole world away from me,” Schipke says.
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2009.
Rude people suck.
Get Real! A word put her in jail?
The Oracle Post Office personnel can really be proud of themselves for having this terrorist put in prison. What in the world have we become?
The problem with the government officials labeling groups and creating words to denote fear among the people shows us how they now use the word “terrorist”. It’s truly dangerous how the labels are designed to destroy whoever they want, whenever it suits their political agenda. This is what we have become.
If this doesn’t scare you about the Patriot Act invalidating the Constitution then you may need to wake up.Did they ever find the “weapons of mass destruction”that Shipke was going to bomb the PO with or she must have buried them somewhere in Iraq with Hussein’s WMD that we never found either? She served 4 years in prison for saying the wrong thing in the wrong place because she was angry.Her offense was what?being offensive? poor? female? ill? disabled? What is wrong with this country when this can happen here.If the government can instill fear in us which apparently they’re trying to do with cases such as this, then I guess they won’t have to worry about an uprising oh around such issues as Bush bankrupting the country before he left office,and the banks and corporate greed that is impoverishing our citizens.Shame on our nation that abides this kind of treatment to its peoples.
So, we have a rude and vulgar whiner who has been dining at the public trough for some time, and she wants our sympathy? Sorry. Doesn’t work that way.
A reminder to avoid name-calling and keep civil, lest your comments be pulled. That goes for story subjects, too. Thanks, everyone.
This poor lady, yet another shining example of the government using the Patriot Act against US Citizens and making criminals out of law abiding people. Simply being crude does not justify a felony offense, period! Not Big Brother wants her dna for a second time because they were too imcompetent to acquire it correct the first. Mind boggling. All while Al Quaeda has regrouped and we still don’t have Bin Laden. Good use of resources guys, lets go after senior citizens and the learning disabled next…
Thanks, Mari! This is the type of material I’ll be covering in my next film, “American Terrorist”. A lot of good ideas here. Great coverage- much like the state senate private school funding scandal and Maryanne Chisholm’s $800,000 orgy of excess.
This is a gross miscarriage of justice, and I can’t believe I am just reading about the original case. I agree that because the clerk is laughing during the 911 call, he knows not to take it seriously. She was harassed by the clerk, and then the government conducted a witchhunt. Who hasn’t been frustrated enough to curse at a stupid post office employee? During the medieval witchhunts, this is just the sort of person who was targeted – an ornery old woman who wouldn’t toe the line but who was essentially harmless – all bark and no bite. This really makes me fear for our country, that we could allow something so despicable. And I do hope those disgusting PO employees who sicced the govt dogs on this old woman reap the nasty karma they have sown, in spades.
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This woman is VERY rude and very threatening. This is just one thing she did, you should see how she acts at ER’s and how she threatened, screamed, yelled and almost hit a RN just because they asked her for her weight. If you read ALL of her stuff that is out there on google you will see that NOTHING is ever her fault and she is always the victim. At what point does a person need to take responsibilty for their actions? People do not MAKE people act mean, meaness is a choice. I am sorry, but Mary is a mean person and I witnessed it first hand. I am not name-calling, it is just a fact and I saw her actions and her temperment. She scared a little kid that was being triaged next to her, she scared a lot of people. Not EVERYONE is out to get her, but she thinks so… so make sure you know the ENTIRE story before you judge.
To add to the last post: If you have ever lived with chronic pain, especially the kind that Schipke has, then your outlook on life might not be so rosey and wonderful. To be in pain, and forced to wait for a public servant who drags a simple process out, you too might have said something stupid. The concept that she was sent to prision in Texas of all places is not a wonderful thing either – I spent two years there myself in the TDCJ (Texas Dept. of Criminal Justice) system. It’s far from the taxpayers “club fed” that you might think. In fact, I would compare some of the treatment I witnessed there would compare to POW camps in wartime. This woman is clearly not a terrorist, although there are folks that would like to see her gone. I can relate to this story myself – I wouldn’t call her a bad person, as I have crossed her in a public setting once, but she can learn a serious lession about actions and accountability. I would chalk this one up as a lost soul who could use a couple of friends and a really good lawyer !! I think she could really use some help getting into the “right” place – be it a group home, community apartments, or some form of socialized rehab to deal with her larger issues. I wish her well.
I have witnessed this woman’s behavior first hand. I would agree with the sympathetic comments made by some if I hadn’t seen her manipulations firsthand. She spends her time taking advantage of people, playing the victim, and filing false legal documents to keep people tied up in the system. She intimidates people and does not appreciate people who try to assist her. She WANTS to be a victim. I personally know a family who allowed her to live in their home and she immediately took advantage of them, including opening their mail and changing the locks to their home one day when they were out! And this while she was a GUEST who was not paying ANYTHING to live in their home. She is currently taking advantage of another person who has tried to help her and it goes on and on. She gets pleasure in terrorizing people she thinks can’t fight back. Her favorite phrase is “I’ll sue you if you don’t do what I want!” She makes it hard for people who REALLY need and appreciate help in the community because no one wants to take a chance on getting harassed or sued by her. Everyone who has to deal with her is intimidated and afraid to stand up to her so she gets away with it. Its a shame because she really needs mental health help but she won’t acknowledge it. Be very careful NOT to get caught up in sympathy for this woman and try to “assist” her, because you will be sorry you ever met her.
I love it when people “bad mouth” others without knowing all the true facts. The courts were originally founded so that the citizens would have a place to go for protections from civil rights violators. The American court system is completely corrupt and the citizens no longer can legally petition for “redress of grievance.” The courts protect the liars, thieves, rapists, con artists, frauds, and evil-doers. I continue to pray for the death and destruction of “the land of the Great Satan, i.e., the U.S.” Crash and burn you evil devils……..
Her personality & wishful statement does not make her a terrorist. Most postal window clerks I deal with are slow, incompetent, fat, lazy, & exhibit very low productivity & speed. Bottom line is that the sentencing based on Mary Elizabeth’s statement was unjust. I’d be pissed at the system too.
wow! Americans are sent to jail for years for being offensive? I’m staying away from that lunatic country.
Just wait until Barack Obama is President. He will drop the ability to screen Visa applicants and Fiancee Visa apps and allow them to kill our fellow citizens in San Bernadino.
What next? Citizens beware.
if that is what she really said, seems a lot more like a WISH than a THREAT.
This is ridiculous. Talk about living in a mental asylum run by its worst inmates! It’s in my opinion some of the people in government who are the REAL terrorists, not this woman. Only in America!
Yet, The New Black Panthers leader has said they will kill crackahs and crackah babies. It’s all on video on you tube,and it’s very clear. And he has told blacks to go out and do it. That’s a TRUE threat. Yet that scum still walks free.
According to her conviction criteria George Bush should also be in federal prison, he made claims along with Dick Cheney that Iraq intended to nuke us with weapons of mass destruction, he terrorized us with his lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq which turned out to be another of his filthy lies. This country and it’s terrorist act are exactly the same as what we were told the old Soviet Union was doing to its citizens! This censorship of speech is intended to instill fear , a prelude to thought crimes whereby you could be imprisoned for thinking a potentially “threatening” idea. We are fast becoming a Joe McCarthy gulag, a nation of coward candy asses! forced into correct political behavior.
Look up targeted citizens and the use of directed energy weapons including V2K, remote neural monitoring, microwaving, scalar, and gang stalking. The government and coproations are using these technologies to violate the minds and bodies of innocent citizens remotely. Expose and end the torture and silent holocaust. The war on terror is really a war against good citizens.
So Madonna and other public figures can talk about bombing the White House, and killing the president….crickets chirruping in the background, yet one of the little people curses one of the sacred federal buildings and employees and goes to prison.
Post office isn’t even federal so this makes no sense.