A Pennsylvania family is seeking answers for why their son is being held in a prison in South Korea for an alleged theft. Sandy and Bob Fisher are the parents of Private First Class Andre Fisher, an African American soldier stationed in Camp Casey, South Korea who was arrested in February for allegedly stealing $88 from a taxi driver. Fisher maintains is innocence and states that the only evidence against him is a grainy surveillance video that showed a hooded man; no face can be seen from the video. Despite his non-guilty plea, Private Fisher was convicted by the courts in South Korea and is now serving a two-year prison sentence.

The family is outraged and is demanding some form of communication from the U.S. government and or military officials. Their attempts at reaching officials at Camp Casey have been unsuccessful.

If South Korean jails are anything like the movie Midnight Express then we need to get Andre Fisher out of there as soon as possible. Many of the blog/forum boards that I’ve read regarding this story are focused on race and how this is another example of America turning its back on young black men. Interestingly enough, Fisher’s family and friends who are advocating his release are white. But it does beg the question – would this story be more newsworthy if Fisher was the Hollywood prototype – a blonde haired, blue eyed patriot?

As concerned citizens we have a right to know why one of our soldiers is sitting in a foreign prison for two years for allegedly stealing $88. We also have the right to know if Fisher was afforded proper representation. Bob Fisher, states “My son told me the commander saw the video and told him you’re guilty– and handed him over to the South Koreans.”.

What’s also interesting is that South Korea has a record of being extremely lenient with their citizens offering up laughable sentences for more serious crimes. Korean men have received sentences as light at 10 months for rape yet Andre fisher was sentenced to 2 years for theft. Something isn’t right here.

I share in the outrage of the parents who are upset because their government and military officials are offering no information about the condition of their son and circumstances surrounding his conviction. The Fishers have started a public campaign, utilizing facebook, news outlets and reaching out to government officials in order to put pressure on the U.S. government and military officials to reveal more information about their imprisoned son’s case. While I don’t expect Bill Clinton to head over to South Korea and have the South Korean government pardon Private Fisher (he’s not a famous journalist or anything), I do think at bare minimum the family has a right to know what happened to their son.

What do you think about this case?

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