Postal mail gets delayed.

Email is considered "easy to do" and therefore gets less weight than a fax. It also can get confused with junk e-mail. Web-mail from the Congressman's official web site is better than email.

Before 9/11, postal mail got more consideration. It still might but do you really want a month's delay? If you must use postal mail, send it to the district office not the Washington office.

IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE DISTRICT and are not writing about a bill the person is sponsoring, then your letter will get much less attention. It's a fact of life. Life with it.

Write the state and local government
This is not yet a federal case. If you live in Akron or nearby, write city and county officials, newspapers, civil-liberties groups, and child-advocacy groups (be careful with the latter, some may take the mom's side on this). If you are in Ohio write your state lawmakers, the attorney general, and the Governor.


Approach it as a civil-rights issue. Even if it makes you choke to say so, using words like "it's unfair that she is in jail and he's roaming free" can wake up an otherwise disinterested public (This can also backfire: Such talk can lead to changes in state law denying bail or providing mandatory house arrest to anyone charged with crimes against a minor).