MaryKate Lowndes (Honduras) — Not GUILTY
MaryKate, Congratulations1 I am Maureen's Uncle. I wrote her at the time I heard about your situation, but never got…
On this site on January 21, 2022, I posted this news item:
A former PCV and Country Director, accused of illegally registering to vote in New Hampshire and voting, has chosen to fight the charges in court.
MaryKate Lowndes (Honduras 1989-91) & PC/W Staff of Hyannis, Massachusetts, faces four voter fraud charges in Rockingham County Superior Court — a single felony count of wrongful voting as well as two counts of misdemeanor wrongful voting and a single count of misusing an absentee ballot. She was indicted in September 2020.
I just heard from MaryKate, who writes of her success:
MaryKate Lowndes (Honduras 1989-91)
Last month I FINALLY had the chance to get the truth of the matter presented in Court. I had to wait two years to do so. I was able to take the stand to tell the truth to a jury; my attorney, William Christie of Shaheen & Gordon, also shed light on the truth through cross-examination of the State’s witnesses.
The Judge (Dan St. Hilaire) dismissed one charge for lack of evidence (something he noted he rarely does) and the 12-member NH Jury unanimously found me NOT GUILTY on the remaining three charges.
It would seem that justice and truth would mean you will update your story to clearly note the Not Guilty x 3, Dismissal x1 outcome.
The verdicts were returned on September 23rd.
Shaheen & Gordon sent out the following press release:
On September 23, 2022, a New Hampshire jury unanimously found Mary Kate Lowndes “Not Guilty” of one felony and two misdemeanor voting fraud charges filed against her by the State of NH in September 2020. A third misdemeanor charge was dismissed by the Judge for insufficient evidence during the trial proceedings.
Ms. Lowndes’ attorney, William Christie, issued the following statement: ‘Mary Kate is an honorable person who has dedicated her life at the Peace Corps and elsewhere to serving others. From day one, Mary Kate always believed she was eligible to vote in the State of New Hampshire. In a case that never should have been brought, we are grateful that the jury and the court fully exonerated her.'”
Congratulations, Mary Kate…Well Done!
Vindication.
From Elizabeth Jenning’s poem “The Annunciation” –:
“….Though a god stirs beneath her breast/ And great salvations grip her side.”
— from her volume A SENSE OF THE WORLD
&
From Josephine Miles’ poem “The Lighting Of A Small Fire In The Grate” –:
“That is history not yet a wood, but a good/ Pulp nipping at the flame, a personal endeavour/ Of persons in the
news/ To serve and blaze.”
— from her volume POEMS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS
MaryKate,
Congratulations1
I am Maureen’s Uncle. I wrote her at the time I heard about your situation, but never got an address for you. She can tell you about me and has my e-mail address. I do not know your current situation, but if you are not returning to the Peace Corps and are looking for something different, I would be able to share an idea or two with you.
The Pathans of the Khyber pass have a saying: “A hundred years to wait for revenge !”… unfortunately we all know revenge is never sweet or short in its coming.
Hang in there.