January 2, 2001

Hon. William J. Clinton
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Clinton,

I am sending you under separate covera print copy of the web site I built for Veronza Bowers, Jr.,You may, however, want to look it over directly on the Internetat http://www.geocities.com/veronzab

Mr. Bowers is presently housed at theU.S. correctional facility in Coleman, Florida and is in his thirtiethyear of incarceration at various Federal Penitentiaries. I amsubmitting this document in support of clemency for Veronza andam hoping that you will consider granting him his wish to returnto family, friends and society. We all eagerly await being reunitedwith him.

I will leave the details of this caseto your review of the web site, but will point out that at hisrecent parole hearing in November, it was recommended that Mr.Bowers be released from custody within one year's time and withinsix months to a halfway house. This recommendation was overturnedby the National Parole Commission without explanation and is nowunder appeal.

With Veronza, we are dealing with thecase of a man who has been imprisoned over three decades for acrime and conviction that bear reconsideration and careful scrutiny.Mr. Bowers was a member of the Black Panther Party during the'Sixties which was a focus of the U.S. Government's Cointel Prooperations. I am sure you are familiar with this dubious episodein our nation's history. He has steadfastly proclaimed his innocencethese many years of the crime for which he was convicted on thebasis of two informers of questionable integrity. During his timeserved, Mr. Bowers has been a model prisoner. He is the founderand leader of the All-Faith Meditation Group at Coleman. In keepingwith his Buddhist practice, Mr. Bowers has done much to help hisfellow inmates as well as authorities at the various facilitiesin which he has been incarcerated. Please take the time to readthe letters of support from prison administrations, inmates, attorneysas well as a former member of the U.S. Congress.

Finally, Mr. Bowers, a musician, hastaken up the traditional Japanese shakuhachi flute to complimenthis Buddhist practice and intensive study of oriental healingtechniques. For over ten years, Veronza has studied shakuhachiwhich he now uses as foundation for the All-Faith Meditation sessions.Members of the world shakuhachi community have joined togetherin support of his parole, raising most of the money to pay forcostly legal assistance. As a fellow horn player, I am certainyou will agree that mastery of the such a difficult instrumenttestifies to Mr. Bowers' character and is grounds in itself forclemency. Now that you face having some spare time once G.W. takesover the Oval Office, perhaps you will consider simplifying yourlife and trading in that funky sax for a five-hole bamboo flute.(. . . if Hilary will put up with all those squeaks and squawks.)

My sincere thanks for taking the timefrom your busy schedule during these last days in office to considerVeronza's appeal.

Sincerely,
Monty H. Levenson