Nancy at age 5
If
there are any groups in Arizona trying to change the legal system to something
that would help those who are innocent in a trial situation please email me at:
mailto:lake.nancy@rocketmail.com
Standing Tall Even Though I’m 4’11”
Resilience is
written directly into my DNA. I am a descendant of frontiersman Daniel Boone, a
daughter of the American Revolution, and the granddaughter of Cherokee
ancestors who had the grit to hop off the Trail of Tears before Oklahoma,
standing tall wherever they walked. My family homesteaded 440 acres of wild
Arizona land in Glendale, and my ancestors-built communities from the roots up.
I carried that legacy of strength into my own life. Outlasting the challenges
of dyslexia, I served as a secretary for the Arizona State Senate, survived the
heartbreaking loss of loved ones to mental illness, and went on to earn a master’s
degree in clinical Mental Health Counseling so I could turn troubled families
around.
For decades, the
State of Arizona trusted me with its highest security clearance. Yet, in
November 2021, a cold, assembly-line court system tried to erase my entire
identity. They painted a cartoonish portrait of a "bad seed," using
fraudulent records while I sat trapped in the cognitive fog of long-haul
COVID-19, bullied into silence by my own attorney. They wanted to strip me of
my civil rights. But they forgot who they were dealing with. This is the story
of how a 74-year-old counselor outlasted a draconian system, beat a $21,000
weaponized judgment, won early freedom from probation, and stood tall to reclaim
the rights that never should have been taken. Join me on my journey to fully
recovering civil rights.
The
Trap and the Fog
I
had tried to go back to work several times after being on social security
disability. I just was not getting
enough money from the system to make it.
I was in great pain from an auto accident. A lady rear ended me and totaled my car. The MRI of my back and neck showed a
condition called spinal stenosis. I
could barely walk. The inclination towards
inactivity was causing weight gain. I
was getting hooked on pain pills too. I
was not eating right and then discovered type two diabetes. I was spiraling downward from “bad medicine”
and no real answers. Pain pills and
metformin were given to me in ample quantities but even my mother was acting
like a vulture in a tree. I was lucky
that I had gotten into subsidized housing.
It was all some sort of trap. I
had two teenagers and I was not the best example for them. My mother and I had always had a strained
relationship. Mom had lupus so she
wondered who I would leave my teenagers to. That just did it. I was going to have to save myself so my kids
would make it. I decided to go back to
school and complete a master’s degree.
My mother being a worry wort vulture, did get me angry enough to do
something.
The
first miracle happened. I went to a
meeting for people with arthritis and type two diabetes. I listened to an amazing lecture on
rebuilding the body. Good nutrition and
supplements landed in my lap at the perfect moment. There
were lots of supplements on her table and I just said, “I wish I had more money.” Rosemary said,” I am going to loan you a book
and I will give you some free samples to help you on your path”. The book explained the need for certain
minerals. My use of pain meds slowed down,
I
was taking a trace mineral supplement with MSM.
Methylsulfonymethane is a naturally occurring organosulfur or anti- inflammatory
agent. The first aspirin was tree bark.
It was found to ease pain by reducing inflammation. The second miracle was being able to work
part time for an answering service. It
made all the difference in being able to buy better food and more supplements. This was working well until it hit me. I would
be getting a W-2 form and that would make my rent go up and my benefits go
down. For me this meant making more decisions. I moved to Sedona and stayed with a
friend. I had to give up something and
all together it meant collapse.
When
I was back in school for my masters, I traveled to Phoenix and had a weekend class. I got financial aid. I continued just working on my body and
meditating and I also was doing Yoga. All
my health problems were improving so I thought it was time to go back to
work. I did that a little too fast. It was a careful balancing act. I just could not give up all my benefits,
work, pay full rent, etc. I could tell I
would have to give up disability. I got
a full-time job. Got my own full rent apartment, and car payment. I spent the weekend just recuperating. I slept a lot. I needed a maid to keep me in
a decent living space. Fortunately, I had good young adult kids. They did the
laundry and vacuumed. Eventually, though
the ends were not meeting. I was slowly
getting into trouble. Two federal agents
came to my door and started asking questions. They were OK but I now realize
they were trying to trap me. I knew I
had an overpayment and admitted that. I
also knew that I was sick again. My body
was doing this chronic fatigue thing.
The rheumatologist called it Fibromyalgia and it felt awful. I felt like I had body flu.
Several
months later I had a subpoena, and it did not look good. Several months after that I had covid. I was very sick and stressed about money and
SSD. I felt like I was going to die in
the hospital. I signed out of the
hospital without their blessing. I did feel that I would be a better nurse to
myself than they would be in the hospital.
Snap.
I am sitting in the court room and I have a fever. I had just turned 70 and I was thinking (how
did I get here). Most of my life I had
been a social worker and then a counselor. For twenty years, the State of
Arizona trusted me with its most vulnerable citizens. I held a level one
Fingerprint clearance card, which is the highest security credential the state
issues. A counselor must have that clearance
card and an unblemished legal record. But in November 2021, I sat at the
defense table in a Maricopa County courtroom while a prosecutor who didn’t know
me painted a portrait of a cartoon villain.
The
prosecutor kept referring to me as a “bad seed”. They introduced a fraudulent financial
report. I was too sick to fight back. I had a heart problem that was new. The prosecutor told the jury I had admitted
to guilt. I had only admitted to an
overpayment. The discussion at my home
had not been recorded and it had not even been written down until 9 months
later. All my working life I had a perfect
record. Did not even have a parking ticket, and never a DUI. Did not party. But now I am charged with three
felonies. One of them did not stick. My
attorney was not on my side. He yelled
at me and intimidated me. He said he
wanted to be known as tough on crime. He
must have had political aspirations. He
was absolutely in league with the prosecutor.
I
was told there was no time for me to testify.
I got so sick I asked for a continuance and my public defender refused
to appeal for a continuance.
Since
my trial, I have asked attorneys why is there such corruption and need to slam
people to the ground like a little bug?
It is so draconian.
The
criminal justice system in Arizona is built on finality, not fairness.
It is a bureaucratic machine designed to process files, secure maximum
sentences, and lock the door behind you. Once they label you a felon, the
system ensures it is nearly impossible to ever clear your name. Yet, I am
writing this as a free person. I am writing this because the prosecution’s own
administrative incompetence legally erased a $21,000 restitution penalty they
tried to weaponize against me. I am writing this because a perceptive probation
officer saw right through the state's draconian narrative, immediately slashed
my monitoring, and terminated my four-year sentence a full two years early.
This is the story of how elderly, disabled social worker outlasted a multi-million-dollar
court machine, survived long-haul COVID, and forced the truth out of the
shadows.
Case
prosecutors are immune to being sued for their transgressions against us poor
dumb people. We don’t count. I wonder why people allow this type of
justice to go on. I guess they have
never been caught in the cross hairs of a rotten system. I am not saying that people should not be
accountable for the things they do.
There is no way to clear your name once you have been branded a
criminal. Once the jury sees you as a
bad person. They can crush you and do it
with impunity. They can be seen as tough
on crime and people believe it.
I
have lots of good DNA. I am willing to
put it on the line. I am willing to be a rable rouser.
