Guilty by Reason of Race:
The case of Dr. Wen Ho Lee

Race prejudice, one of the reasons cited in a Commission finding as the cause of Japanese American internment, reared its ugly head in the case of Dr. Wen Ho Lee. Dr. Lee is an American citizen, born in Taiwan, who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1980. He was involved with maintaining and enhancing computer software that is used for design of nuclear weapons.

In March 1999, Dr. Lee was suddenly fired following a New York Times article claiming that Los Alamos was the source of W88 information supposedly lost to the PRC. Shortly after this, it was discovered he transferred some possibly classified weapons design software in 1993 and 1994 to computers internal to Los Alamos that were not cleared for classified materials. He was also accused of writing some of this software to portable tapes.There is no evidence that these tapes or the software ever left Los Alamos laboratory.

Dr. Lee was held in essentially SOLITARY CONFINEMENT and kept in CHAINS whenever he was out of his cell (1 hour a day for exercise, 1 hour a week to visit his family).This unusually severe incarceration came about because some Laboratory executives provided the astonishing testimony that Dr. Lee's behavior could directly lead to the nuclear destruction of the United States. The facts that Dr. Lee had always cooperated with his accusers and he had shown no tendency for flight were discounted in setting his severe pre-trial detention conditions.

These conditions were maintained for over 200 days, in spite of countless protests from the scientific community, some laboratory employees, concerned citizens and the community of Chinese and Asian Americans.For more information, please contact www.wenholee.org.