Lynne Stewart

Lynne Stewart
Lynne Stewart
Born	Lynne Irene Feltham (1939-10-08)October 8, 1939 Brooklyn, New York, United States
Died	March 7, 2017(2017-03-07) (aged 77) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Education	Rutgers School of Law–Newark
Occupation	Defense attorney
Spouse	Ralph Poynter
Children	1

Lynne Irene Stewart (October 8, 1939 – March 7, 2017) was an American defense attorney and convicted criminal. She was known for representing controversial, poor, and often unpopular defendants. She was convicted of helping pass messages from her client, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric convicted of planning terror attacks, in 2005.

Stewart was called a "radical-leftist American lawyer" by The New York Times.

Early life

Stewart was born in Brooklyn, New York. She was raised in Queens, New York. She studied at Wagner College and at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey.

Prison years

Stewart was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terrorists in 2005, and sentenced to 28 months in prison. Her felony conviction led to her being automatically disbarred. She was convicted of helping pass messages from her client, Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric convicted of planning terror attacks, to his followers in al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, an organization designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States Secretary of State.

She was re-sentenced on July 15, 2010, to 10 years in prison in light of her perjury at trial. She served her sentence at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell, a federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas.

Stewart was released from prison on December 31, 2013 on a compassionate release order because of her terminal breast cancer diagnosis.

Death

Stewart died at her home in Brooklyn, New York from a stroke and complications of breast cancer, aged 77.

References

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