Your Website
Once you are familiar with the case and the discrepancies and that you have built the documents required to put your case back in the public eye, building a webpage / website is going to be the best way for you to gather support.
Look at other sites, ask other campaigners for tips, what works, what doesn’t.
What information can I put on my website:
Present the case briefly and in detail, the evidence against the Prisoner, the alibi, why you believe the prisoner is innocent, the Judge’s summing up, start a petition, have a guestbook for people to keep in touch and make sure the prisoner has a space too so that they can write in and communicate with their supporters.
Have a news page to keep people informed of any developments.
Note: Please make sure you consult with your legal team or the organisations to check your site BEFORE you launch it in case there is something on there which would be best kept out in case it could damage the future appeal of the prisoner.
This does not mean that you have something to hide, just be safe with the Law and never act without appropriate advice.
Once you are ready to launch your site, inform everyone you know so that they visit the site and start writing in, there is nothing like an empty site to make people turn away.
Note: Don’t forget to put everything you do on your website, this can sometimes help put pressure on the people you are asking for help.
Make sure you have a contact page where people can write to you and don’t be offended by people’s questions, remember that most people have no idea that this goes on and most of the time they are trying to understand.
Note: Don’t waste time on people who are only being vindictive for the sake of it, they’ll soon get bored and move on to the next thing :-) and you have better things to do. Don’t take things personally.
Once you start to have a list of supporters don’t be frightened to ask for support, people want to help, imagine if everyone on your list brings 10 new people to the cause, your mailing list will soon start to grow.
Any ideas you have can work, sit down and make plans on how you are going to go about things.
Remember to always be objective and as “un-emotional” as you can about this, people need facts and the truth.
When someone writes to you, reply as soon as you can, stay aware that people soon move on to the next thing, grab their attention and publish as much information as you can as often as you can.
Anything to do with Miscarriages of Justice and the Justice System will interest and educate your readers; it will also help keep other cases in the news. Work together with other campaigners.
Always Be Honest and remember that you have nothing to hide.
Keep in mind that everyone has a past and just because someone has made mistakes, it does not mean they are guilty of this particular crime, in fact, it could be the reason why the Prisoner was picked on in the first place.
The system and the police have a tendency to use people’s vulnerabilities against them and character assassination is a powerful tool with Jurors.
Use your website to tell people what happens to the prisoner in prison, don’t be scared to speak up for them.
Once you are satisfied with your site, start to copy it onto other public medium such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, NowPublic, etc.
Please see under “Links”, the more you can put your case out there the more chances you have of being noticed and you will be surprised of how many other people are doing the same.
Note: As much as you can, always ask the prisoner to contribute, this is the tool which is going to help you raise their profile and awareness of their case.
Make them feel involved in what happens with their campaign.
