Letter to Warden Lightfoot

Warden Calvin Lightfoot
Allegheny County Jail
950 2nd Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3100

Dear Warden Lightfoot:

I am writing in regards to one of your newest prisoners, Joan Andrews Bell.

I would like to remind you of your responsibility to keep Mrs. Bell safe from all harm. Through her actions and her words, she has undoubtedly become a target for those who do not share her deeply held conviction that abortion is a foul crime against humanity. In submitting to legal authorities such as yourself, she has become as vulnerable as the unborn child she has fought for so long to protect, someone who cannot defend himself against his attackers.

I urge you to show Mrs. Bell compassion, even when she may appear to be disobeying orders you give her. I am concerned that you may misinterpret her "non-cooperation" as mere defiance of your authority. Let me assure you that such is not the case—Joan Bell fully respects your authority, and that of your employees. She is simply using the principle of "passive resistance"— fostered by Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and others—to protest the slaughter of children, which occurs 4000 times each day in America.

Thousands of prolifers in Pittsburgh and throughout the country are counting on you to be merciful with one of our own, someone whom many in the Prolife movement consider a saint. We look forward to the day when she is released, and we fully expect to receive her in the same condition as when she entered your jail.

I am honored to call Joan a friend, and I trust you will too if you only take a few moments to try to get to know her.

Sincerely,

Jack R. Voltz