Andre Fisher (Part 1) – Two Years for Theft
Written by Andrea Galvez
In the early hours of Nov. 19, 2010, Pvt. Andre M. Fisher of the U.S. Army was outside a club in Seoul. Details of that evening differ from there.
The result is that Fisher was charged with robbery for failing to pay a taxi fare (14,000 won) and then stealing 94,000 won from the driver. He was also charged with property damage after he – and this he admits – kicked out the police vehicle’s rear door window while being arrested.
Although it is common in Korea to plead guilty to a crime, pay a fine (what some refer to as the Korean custom of “blood money”) and be released, Fisher ignored his legal council’s recommendation and refused to plead guilty. He says he could never admit to a crime he didn’t commit. After three months of incarceration awaiting trial, he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.
Following his July conviction, family and friends mounted an aggressive media campaign to garner support in hopes of freeing Fisher. On Aug. 9, 2011, Fisher’s supporters attended his appeal hearing in Seoul High Court.
Fisher admitted to acting irrationally when damaging the police car, and his attorney noted that he had made immediate restitution for the damages. But he continued to claim he was innocent of the charge of theft. Court adjourned with a second court date set for Aug. 25, where the results of the appeal were announced.
The details of this case are few and seem to change depending on who is reporting. Fisher and his family adamantly assert that he wasn’t even in the cab that night, and that he should never have spent a night in prison. Others point out the fact that he is African-American, and recount similar stories of taxi drivers’ unfair treatment of foreigners, especially those with darker skin tones.
Online attention has been drawn to the fact that Fisher acted suspiciously by resisting arrest and causing damage. Those who doubt Fisher’s claim of innocence ask why the taxi driver positively identified him at the scene of the crime.
Still others debate the length of the prison sentence. Recent high profile violent crimes with Korean defendants have yielded prison sentences of 18 months, but Fisher has been adjudgedsentenced to a full 24 months.
Despite the international attention brought to the case, the Seoul High Court rejected Fisher’s appeal. According to appointed attorney Lee Jang-han, the evidence, presented in the form of CCTV video and a money clip the taxi driver claimed as his own, could not be overcome.
Fisher’s only remaining option to avoid serving the entire two-year sentence is a seldom-attempted Korean Supreme Court appeal. Fisher now awaits the initiation of that possible appeal, and the length of any legal proceedings, in a Korean prison cell.
An earlier version of this article appeared
in the September 2011 print version of Gwangju News.
To find ways of supporting Andre Fisher while he is in prison, please see the Facebook groups “Bring PFC Andre Fisher home!!!” or “Andre Fisher in Korea.”