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Lynne Stewart, radical attorney, dies at 77

Attorney Lynne Stewart at New York State Supreme Court in 1993. Photo by John Penley
Attorney Lynne Stewart at New York State Supreme Court in 1993. Photo by John Penley

BY DENNIS LYNCH | Radical lawyer Lynne Stewart died at her home in Brooklyn Tuesday at age 77 of complications from breast cancer and a number of strokes, according to media reports.

Stewart was disbarred and served prison time for passing messages from one of her most famous clients, convicted Egyptian terrorist Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman a.k.a. “The Blind Sheikh,” to his followers in his home country. Stewart was also found guilty of perjury during trial. Rahman was linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and was caught on tape saying he wanted to blow up multiple targets in New York City.

Stewart had previously defended other high-profile people, including Black Panther Willie Holder, who hijacked a jet in 1972 to demand the release of Angela Davis, and the Weather Underground’s David Gilbert, who killed two cops and a guard robbing an armored car in 1981.

Former East Village activist John Penley, who was friends with Stewart and helped throw benefis for her when she faced trial, called her an inspiration.

“She was really a radical attorney,” he said Wednesday. “There aren’t many of those in this country, and you either loved her or you hated her for her politics. Of course all of us radicals loved her for her politics, but those that didn’t like her politics hated her. That’s just the way for people who are radical and don’t mind saying it.

“I feel really bad,” Penley said. “They put her in prison and they let her out because she had terminal cancer. She did live quite a long time afterward. People were hoping she would beat it. So it came as a shock to me when I got an e-mail that she died last night.

Lynne Stewart and her husband, Ralph Pinter, second and third from left, in Tompkins Square Park in 2004 with fellow activists during the organizing for protests at the upcoming Republican National Convention in New York City. Photo by John Penley
Lynne Stewart and her husband, Ralph Pointer, second and third from left, in Tompkins Square Park in 2004 with fellow activists during the organizing for protests at the upcoming Republican National Convention in New York City. Others pictured include the late Mayer Vishner, far left, and from right, Jerry Wade (“Jerry The Peddlar”), Aron Kay (“The Yippie Pie Man”) and John Penley (“El Gringo Loco”). Photo courtesy John Penley

“She did represent a number of people for free who were arrested at riots and political protests in the East Village and Lower East Side,” he said. “And she was willing to take cases of controversial clients, when there are very few lawyers in America who would take these kinds of cases. So that’s the only way the system works — you’ve got to have lawyers who are willing to take those cases.

“It’s kind of ironic that she died right before International Women’s Day,” Penley added, “because, in all reality, she probably was America’s most well-known and controversial radical female attorney.”