223 - Alexandra is Not in Jail

On Friday, March 17th, after nearly six hours of deliberation, and facing up to six months in jail if convicted, Alexandra Paul and co-defendant Alicia Santurio were acquitted by a California jury of the alleged crime of taking two sick, slaughter-bound chickens from a Foster Farms truck in Livingston, California. Prosecutors called it stealing, but Alexandra and Alicia called it a rescue. From accused to acquittal, in this very special episode, we get to hear the story from Alexandra herself, including all the riveting behind-the-scenes details of what led these two courageous activists to set out to expose the cruelty of poultry slaughter, and demonstrate why they had the right to rescue these two sentient beings in the first place.    “So I’ll tell you what open rescue is and then I’ll explain what happened that day. Open rescue is when animal investigators go into places where there has been claims of abuse or suspicions of abuse, like factory farms, and we document what we see. And if there is an animal who is sick and needs immediate medical care, for whom we have a sanctuary because it’s very hard to find placement for animals, then we will take that animal out of that facility with us. And we do not hide our faces. In fact, the video of myself and Alicia rescuing Ethan and Jax was publicized within the hour on the internet with our names. And the reason we do this is because we believe that what we’re doing is legal.” - Alexandra Paul   What we discuss in this episode: Alexandra’s detailed account of jury selection What the right to rescue is and why it’s so important How and why Alexandra and Alicia were acquitted Why Alexandra and Alicia rescued chickens Ethan and Jax The inhumane acts taking place in chicken slaughterhouses Why the trial took nine days The last-minute trick the prosecutor pulled during closing statements   Resources: The entire trial on video here: https://www.youtube.com/c/DirectActionEverywhere Direct Action Everywhere links: directactioneverywhere.com  https://www.facebook.com/directactioneverywhere https://twitter.com/dxeverywhere https://www.instagram.com/directactioneverywhere/ Alexandra’s website and social media links: Alexandra Paul  Alexandra Paul (@alexandra_actress) • Instagram photos and videos https://twitter.com/alexandra_paul https://www.facebook.com/AlexandraPaulOfficial/   Dairy-Free Swaps Guide: Easy Anti-Inflammatory Meals, Recipes, and Tips https://switch4good.org/dairy-free-swaps-guide SUPPORT SWITCH4GOOD https://switch4good.org/support-us/ ★☆★ JOIN OUR PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP ★☆★  https://www.facebook.com/groups/podcastchat ★☆★ SWITCH4GOOD WEBSITE ★☆★ https://switch4good.org/ ★☆★ ONLINE STORE ★☆★ https://shop.switch4good.org/shop/ ★☆★ FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM ★☆★ https://www.instagram.com/Switch4Good/ ★☆★ LIKE US ON FACEBOOK ★☆★ https://www.facebook.com/Switch4Good/ ★☆★ FOLLOW US ON TWITTER ★☆★ https://mobile.twitter.com/Switch4GoodNFT ★☆★ DOWNLOAD THE ABILLION APP ★☆★ https://app.abillion.com/users/switch4good