Anti-war news from Bay Area United Against War, an activist-oriented newsletter based in San Francisco, CA.
Saturday, August 15, 2015
BAUAW NEWSLETTER, SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2015
Words of Wisdom
"When it comes to the human and democratic rights of the rich,
presidents, governors, and judges hold these rights to be sacred and
zealously enforce them to the full extent of the law.
"But when it
comes to the human and democratic rights of workers and others without
big bank accounts, the Constitution has no bearing in the eyes of the
powers that be.
"As a matter of fact, when it comes to protecting the
poor from the rich, the guarantee of democratic and human rights is not
the U.S. Constitution. Rather, it is the kind of mass action in the
streets and workplaces of America that have so often in the past been
organized by millions of workers in mass strikes and other forms of
direct action. When push comes to shove, the only way strikes have ever
been won is by mobilizing as many pickets as needed to keep struck
factories and other workplaces shut down tight."
Starting this September, Rising Tide
North America is calling for mass actions to shut down the economic and
political systems threatening our survival.
Already, hundreds of
thousands are streaming into the streets to fight back against climate
chaos, capitalism and white supremacy.
This wave of resistance
couldn’t be more urgent. To stop climate chaos we need a phenomenal
escalation in organizing, participation and tactical courage. We need a
profound social transformation to uproot the institutions of capitalism,
colonialism, patriarchy, and white supremacy, the systems that created
the climate crisis. And we need to link arms with allies fighting for
migrant justice, dignified work and pay, and an end to the
criminalization and brutal policing of black and brown bodies.
We need to #FloodTheSystem.
In
the lead up to the United Nations climate talks in Paris, in December,
we will escalate local and regional resistance against systems that
threaten our collective survival. Together, we will open alternative
paths to the failing negotiations of political elites.
This is
not another protest. It is a call for a massive economic and political
intervention. It is a call to build the relationships needed to sustain
our struggles for the long haul. To build popular power along the
intersections of race, class, gender and ability. To collectively
unleash our power and change everything.
The Story So Far
Over the past year, hundreds of thousands of people have flowed into the streets to fight back.
Fast
food workers in over a hundred cities went on strike, with thousands
arrested demanding $15 an hour and a union. Young people in Ferguson,
protesting the murder of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson, showed us the
power of sustained action as they fought back against state violence for
weeks, reinvigorating a national movement for Black liberation.
Hundreds of thousands of climate activists marched at the People’s
Climate March in New York, and the next day Flood Wall Street shut down
the heart of New York’s financial district.
Across the country,
and the world, powerful movements are using nonviolent direct action to
to disrupt business as usual and demand lasting systemic change.
These
moments show that broad mobilization and disruption are ways that we
can transform our society. It is time we move beyond conventional
strategies. Its time we connect across movements and #FloodTheSystem.
Rising
Tide North America and its allies call on communities, networks,
affinity groups and organizations across the continent to join together
this Fall to rapidly escalate the pace and scale of the anti-capitalist
climate justice movements.
We need to wash away the root causes
of climate change -- capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and
colonialism. These systems enable the domination of people and Earth.
They place gains for the elite before the well being of our communities.
To build the scale of movements necessary to take on this
challenge, we need everyone. Using sustained, coordinated direct action
we can bring more people into a movement for radical social
transformation than ever before.
The upcoming United Nations
meeting of the Conference of the Parties in Paris (COP 21) at the end of
the year provide us with an opportunity. Framed as climate negotiations
they are really about capitalism and the corporate elites. We have an
opportunity to focus the debate on capitalism itself as negotiators
wedded to and benefiting from the status quo refuse to discuss the
systems that drive the crisis. This is a natural moment to preemptively
highlight community resistance and radical alternatives in advance of
another colossal failure of international leadership. Through our
combined action we can turn the failure of these critical talks into a
moment in which the systemic nature of the crisis moves to the center
and in which our movements begin to connect and collaborate.
In
the past, the climate movement has repeatedly tried days of action and
one-day marches. While these have built important relationships, they
have not created the sustained movement swells we need. To lay the
groundwork for exponential movement growth we are asking groups to
convene Action Councils, like those forming in the Pacific Northwest,
California, Montana, Northeast and elsewhere, with the intention of
coming together to organize sustained actions beginning in late Summer,
continuing through November and beyond.
With luck, waves of
mobilizations breaking across the continent and world will build off
each other to create a flood of resistance to fossil fuel extraction,
capitalism and colonialism.
Vision
#FloodTheSystem invites the Rising Tide network, the larger climate
justice movements, and other non-climate focused groups to create a
flood of massive economic and political disruption of the systems that
allow the climate and economic crisis to continue to escalate. This is not a simple call to action or day of action, it’s a long-term process. We want to organize a series of actions that would:
Build a more robust anti-capitalist movement that clearly defines
climate change as a symptom of capitalism. Specifically, we hope to
support and catalyze regional organizing networks and relationships to
challenge extreme energy infrastructure and the systems of oppression
that enable it.
Build long term local, regional and continental networks that can
continue to coordinate, build connections between movements, and
escalate these fights in 2016 and beyond.
Begin to work closely with other movements through the analysis of
where our struggles intersect and through a commitment to
anti-oppressive organizing practices.
Share, implement and gain experience in innovative models of
horizontal movement structures and mass democracy in organizing that
will serve radical forces for the long haul.
Create a flood of energy within regions that inspires others to join
in with organic, spontaneous actions and organizing. Regional blocks of
escalating action are already planned that will lead into, and play
off, each other. More emerge everyday.
Preemptively highlight community resistance and real alternatives to
the fossil fuel economy ahead of the inevitable colossal failure by
global elites at the United Nations climate negotiations in Paris.
Principles
#FloodTheSystem will organize and act according to the following principles.
Anti-capitalism/colonialism/racism/patriarchy - We see the climate
crisis as a symptom of hierarchical social systems based upon domination
and exploitation of lands, and predominately people of color.
Addressing the crisis at its roots means joining with and supporting
those who are fighting for liberation from these and other oppressive
systems, and for their replacement with relations based upon equity,
mutual aid, and ecological stewardship.
Grassroots Led, NGOs in Support Role - Non-profits and NGOs often
function to co-opt and defuse resistance into reform-based avenues which
are amenable to the social systems we are ultimately seeking to
dismantle and replace. The priorities of this mobilization should be
driven by groups grounded in and accountable to the communities most
impacted by white supremacy, capitalism, and settler colonialism, with
NGOs in a support role -- not the other way around.
Community-Based Alternatives - Corporations, nation-states, and
multilateral institutions like the United Nations are integral pillars
upholding global capitalism and colonialism. We see alternatives to
extreme energy and the climate crisis arising out of social struggles
which challenge and seek to replace these institutions and their logics.
However, we recognize that there may be important defensive struggles
within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, such as fighting
the expansion of carbon markets or advancing state recognition of
Indigenous land rights.
Sign the Petition: https://act.amnestyusa.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1839&ea.campaign.id=40574&ea.tracking.id=Country_USA~MessagingCategory_DeathPenalty~MessagingCategory_PrisonersandPeopleatRisk&ac=W1507EADP1&ea.url.id=432762&forwarded=true
Urge
Gov. Jerry Brown to commute Kevin Cooper's death sentence. Cooper has
always maintained his innocence of the 1983 quadruple murder of which he
was convicted. In 2009, five federal judges signed a dissenting opinion
warning that the State of California "may be about to execute an
innocent man." Having exhausted his appeals in the US courts, Kevin
Cooper's lawyers have turned to the Inter American Commission on Human
Rights to seek remedy for what they maintain is his wrongful conviction,
and the inadequate trial representation, prosecutorial misconduct and
racial discrimination which have marked the case. Amnesty International
opposes all executions, unconditionally.
"The
State of California may be about to execute an innocent man." - Judge
William A. Fletcher, 2009 dissenting opinion on Kevin Cooper's case
Kevin Cooper has been on death row in California for more than thirty years.
In
1985, Cooper was convicted of the murder of a family and their house
guest in Chino Hills. Sentenced to death, Cooper's trial took place in
an atmosphere of racial hatred — for example, an effigy of a monkey in a
noose with a sign reading "Hang the N*****!" was hung outside the venue
of his preliminary hearing.
Take action to see that Kevin Cooper's death sentence is commuted immediately.
Cooper has consistently maintained his innocence.
Following
his trial, five federal judges said: "There is no way to say this
politely. The district court failed to provide Cooper a fair hearing."
Since 2004, a dozen federal appellate judges have indicated their doubts about his guilt.
Tell California authorities: The death penalty carries the risk of irrevocable error. Kevin Cooper's sentence must be commuted.
In
2009, Cooper came just eight hours shy of being executed for a crime
that he may not have committed. Stand with me today in reminding the
state of California that the death penalty is irreversible — Kevin
Cooper's sentence must be commuted immediately.
In solidarity,
James Clark Senior Death Penalty Campaigner Amnesty International USA
Kevin
Cooper’s case will be the subject of a new episode of CNN’s “Death Row
Stories” airing on Sunday, July 26 at 7 p.m. PDT. The program will be
repeated at 10 p.m. PDT. The episode, created by executive producers
Robert Redford and Alex Gibney, will explore how Kevin Cooper was framed
by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and District
Attorney.Viewers on the east coast can see the program at 10 p.m. EDT and it will
be rebroadcast at 1 a.m. EDT on July 27. Viewers in the Central Time
zone can see it at 9 p.m. and midnight CDT. Viewers in the Mountain Time
zone can see it at 8 p.m. and ll p.m MDT. It will be aired on CNN again
during the following week and will also be able to be viewed on CNN’s
“Death Row Stories” website.
Kevin Cooper: An Innocent Victim of Racist Frame-Up - from the Fact Sheet at: www.freekevincooper.org
Kevin
Cooper is an African-American man who was wrongly convicted and
sentenced to death in 1985 for the gruesome murders of a white family in
Chino Hills, California: Doug and Peggy Ryen and their daughter Jessica
and their house- guest Christopher Hughes. The Ryens’ 8 year old son
Josh, also attacked, was left for dead but survived.
Convicted
in an atmosphere of racial hatred in San Bernardino County CA, Kevin
Cooper remains under a threat of imminent execution in San Quentin. He
has never received a fair hearing on his claim of innocence. In a
dissenting opinion in 2009, five federal judges of the Ninth Circuit
Court of Appeals signed a 82 page dissenting opinion that begins: “The
State of California may be about to execute an innocent man.” 565 F.3d
581.
There is significant evidence that exonerates Mr. Cooper and points toward other suspects:
The coroner who investigated the Ryen murders concluded that the
murders took four minutes at most and that the murder weapons were a
hatchet, a long knife, an ice pick and perhaps a second knife. How could
a single person, in four or fewer minutes, wield three or four weapons,
and inflict over 140 wounds on five people, two of whom were adults
(including a 200 pound ex-marine) who had loaded weapons near their
bedsides?
The sole surviving victim of the murders, Josh
Ryen, told police and hospital staff within hours of the murders that
the culprits were “three white men.” Josh Ryen repeated this statement
in the days following the crimes. When he twice saw Mr. Cooper’s picture
on TV as the suspected attacker, Josh Ryen said “that’s not the man who
did it.”
Josh Ryen’s description of the killers was
corroborated by two witnesses who were driving near the Ryens’ home the
night of the murders. They reported seeing three white men in a station
wagon matching the description of the Ryens’ car speeding away from the
direction of the Ryens’ home.
These descriptions were
corroborated by testimony of several employees and patrons of a bar
close to the Ryens’ home, who saw three white men enter the bar around
midnight the night of the murders, two of whom were covered in blood,
and one of whom was wearing coveralls.
The identity of the
real killers was further corroborated by a woman who, shortly after the
murders were discovered, alerted the sheriff’s department that her
boyfriend, a convicted murderer, left blood-spattered coveralls at her
home the night of the murders. She also reported that her boyfriend had
been wearing a tan t-shirt matching a tan t-shirt with Doug Ryen’s blood
on it recovered near the bar. She also reported that her boyfriend
owned a hatchet matching the one recovered near the scene of the crime,
which she noted was missing in the days following the murders; it never
reappeared; further, her sister saw that boyfriend and two other white
men in a vehicle that could have been the Ryens’ car on the night of the
murders.
Lacking a motive to ascribe to Mr. Cooper for the
crimes, the prosecution claimed that Mr. Cooper, who had earlier walked
away from custody at a minimum security prison, stole the Ryens’ car to
escape to Mexico. But the Ryens had left the keys in both their cars
(which were parked in the driveway), so there was no need to kill them
to steal their car. The prosecution also claimed that Mr. Cooper needed
money, but money and credit cards were found untouched and in plain
sight at the murder scene.
The jury in 1985 deliberated for
seven days before finding Mr. Cooper guilty. One juror later said that
if there had been one less piece of evidence, the jury would not have
voted to convict.
The evidence the prosecution presented at
trial tying Mr. Cooper to the crime scene has all been
discredited… (Continue reading this document at:
http://www.savekevincooper.org/_new_freekevincooperdotorg/TEST/Scripts/DataLibraries/upload/KC_FactSheet_2014.pdf)
This message from the Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal. July 2015
On
June 8, 2015 a federal judge granted Louisiana prisoner Albert Woodfox
unconditional release. Albert's conviction had already been overturned
three times - most recently in 2013 - yet every time the state has
appealed.
Today, Albert is still
behind bars after spending four decades in cruel, unjust solitary
confinement. He believes that he and fellow prisoners, Herman Wallace
and Robert King, were first placed in solitary confinement in
retaliation for their activism. All three men were members of the Black
Panther Party. Together, they came to be known as the Angola 3.
It
is time for the State of Louisiana to stop standing in the way of
justice. Call on Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal to ensure Albert's
cruel and unjust confinement is not his legacy.
Learn more
Amnesty for all those arrested demanding justice for Freddie Gray!
Amnesty for ALL those arrested demanding justice for Freddie Gray!
Sign and distribute the petition to drop the charges! Spread this effort with #Amnesty4Baltimore
"A riot is the language of the unheard" — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
An
estimated 300 people have been arrested in Baltimore in the last two
weeks. Many have been brutalized, beaten and pepper-sprayed by police in
the streets, and held for days in inhumane conditions. Those arrested
include journalists, medics and legal observers.
One
individual arrested for property destruction of a police vehicle is now
facing life in prison and is being held on $500,000 bail. That's
$150,000 more than the officer charged with the murder of Freddie Gray.
The
legal system has made it clear that they care more about broken windows
than broken necks; more about a CVS than the lives of Baltimore's Black
residents.
They showed no hesitation in arresting Baltimore's
protesters and rebels, and sending in the National Guard, but took 19
days to put a single one of the killer cops in handcuffs. This was the
outrageous double standard that led to the Baltimore Uprising.
Sign the petition to drop the charges on all who have been arrested.
Petition to Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake
City Hall, Room 250,
100 North Holliday St.,
Baltimore, MD 21202
Dear Mayor Rawlings-Blake:
I stand in solidarity with those in Baltimore who are demanding that
all charges be dropped against those who rose up against racism, police
brutality, oppressive social conditions and delay of justice in the case
of Freddie Gray. The whole world now recognizes that were it not for
this powerful grassroots movement, in all its forms, there would be no
indictment.
It is an outrage that peaceful protesters have been brutalized,
beaten and pepper-sprayed by police in the streets, and held for days
in inhumane conditions. Those arrested include journalists and legal
observers.
Even the youth who are charged with property destruction and looting
should be given an amnesty. There is no reason a teenager -- provoked by
racists and justifiably angry -- should be facing life in prison for
breaking the windows of a police car.
The City of Baltimore should work to rectify the conditions that led
to this Uprising, rather than criminalizing those who took action in
response to those conditions. Drop the charges now!
Dear President Obama, Senators, and Members of Congress:
Americans
now owe $1.3 trillion in student debt. Eighty-six percent of that money
is owed to the United States government. This is a crushing burden for
more than 40 million Americans and their families.
I urge you to take immediate action to forgive all student debt, public and private.
American Federation of Teachers
Campaign for America's Future
Courage Campaign
Daily Kos
Democracy for America
LeftAction
Project Springboard
RH Reality Check
RootsAction
Student Debt Crisis
The Nation
Working Families
Mumia Abu-Jamal Has Hepatitis C: Demand Treatment Now!
Mumia
Abu-Jamal has Hepatitis C-- and the prison is refusing treatment. We
are going back to court to demand critical care, and we can't do it
without you. Will you support Mumia getting immediate treatment by
giving $250, $100 or even $25 today? Every gift and action makes the
difference for Mumia getting the care he needs. Thank you, Noelle. The time to act is now.
Five
months after being rushed to the hospital, new medical tests show that
Mumia has active Hepatitis C. But prison officials are refusing to treat
him for it.
With your help, that changes- today.
Mumia Abu-Jamal remains weak, ill, and in the prison infirmary.
Five
months after being admitted to the hospital with lethal blood sugar
levels and in renal failure, he continues to have a debilitating skin
rashes, open wounds and swelling across his lower extremities. Because
of our relentless demands for medical testing and treatment, we finally
know the likely cause of his severe ailments: Hepatitis C.
But
what is news to us is not news to his jailers. Prison officials have
known that Mumia was Hep. C positive since 2012-- and have done nothing.
Even
now that prison doctors know that Mumia's Hep. C is active -from
testing they performed solely because we demanded it- they are refusing
to provide treatment.
Today, we are going back to court to demand justice for our brother. Mumia’s
legal team (Bret Grote of Abolitionist Law Center and Robert Boyle of
New York) is filing an amended lawsuit today, 'Abu-Jamal v. Kerestes',
to include medical neglect and demand immediate treatment.
Meanwhile,
Prison Radio is working tirelessly to make sure Mumia's legal and
medical team have the necessary resources to get Mumia the critical care
he needs.
And we can't do it without you.
We need your help today to ensure that the prison treats Mumia's Hepatitis C now!
The
world came together for Mumia when he fell unconscious five months ago.
Because of our international outcry for justice and the critical steps
we took, Mumia is alive today.
Now, we need your help to get
Mumia a treatment plan. Can you fight for Mumia's right to medical care
by giving $100, $25 or $250 today? Your donation will: File an amended lawsuit 'Abu-Jamal v. Kerestes' to include medical neglect Get Mumia a full Hepatitis C work up and treatment plan Grant Mumia's consulting physicians access to directly examine Mumia Fuel a public campaign to bring Mumia back to health Support the demand for treatment of Hepatitis C for all Pennsylvania prisoners Please join us in demanding immediate medical treatment by giving $25, $100 or even $1,000 now. Every gift and action matters.
bit.ly/fight4mumia I Demand Treatment NOW! Luchando por la justicia y la libertad, Noelle Hanrahan Director, Prison Radio To give by check: PO Box 411074 San Francisco, CA 94141 Stock or legacy gifts: Noelle Hanrahan (415) 706 - 5222
Prison
Radio has recorded Mumia and other political prisoners for over 25
years, and we are pulling out all the stops to keep these voices on the
air.
Please donate today to amplify prisoners' voices far and wide beyond the bars:
Support Prison Radio: prisonradio.org/donate
Defeat SB 508: bit.ly/defendfreespeech
The Labor Action Committee to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Mobilizes Support Internationally:
No Execution by Medical
Neglect!
International Unions Demand Decent Medical Treatment for Mumia
Abu-Jamal
June 2, 2015
Mumia Abu-Jamal was recently sent back
to prison after having been hospitalized for the second time. There
are some reports that his health is improving. He said to Suzanne
Ross of the International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia
Abu-Jamal that “if there had not been an international outcry about
the lack of appropriate treatment, in fact AGAINST the 'treatment'
that was bringing him so close to death, he was sure he would not be
alive today”.
In some good news, he was also told by the
prison doctor that his biopsy results came back negative.
However, neither Mumia nor his wife,
lawyers or consulting doctors have been seen the actual medical
reports detailing his condition. The Department of Corrections
refuses to hand over his medical records, claiming that they don't
have to hand them over because there is litigation to have them
released! Denying Mumia and his family his medical records is an
outrage!
We would like to inform you about some recent actions
taken by unions around the world on behalf of Mumia.
- Unite,
the largest union in the UK, representing over 1.4 million members,
wrote letters to Governor Tom Wolf, Department of Corrections
Secretary John Wetzel and Legal Counsel Theron Perez protesting
Mumia's treatment.
- The International Dockworkers Council,
representing 90,000 dockworkers from affiliated unions around the
world, wrote an appeal to the labor movement calling for action on
behalf of Mumia.
- The
Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacificsent
a protest letter to Department of Corrections Secretary John
Wetzel.
We hope that you will continue to take action on
behalf of Mumia. Please call and email Department of Corrections
Secretary John Wetzel and demand the following:
1) Mumia
Abu-Jamal is an innocent man! He should be freed immediatel
2)
Confirm what Mumia's medical condition is. Release his medical
records to his family and lawyers!
3) Allow Mumia to be given
medical treatment from a doctor of his choice. His doctor should be
allowed to conduct an on-site medical examination, to communicate by
phone with Mumia, and to communicate freely with prison medical
staff.
4) Allow Mumia daily visits from his family, friends
and lawyers!
5) Conduct an independent investigation of
healthcare treatment inside the Pennsylvania prison
system!DEPARTMENT
OF CORRECTIONS, SECRETARY JOHN WETZEL 717
728 4109
We are also
attaching a sample union resolution for you to use as a template.
Please consider submitting it to your union and asking them to take
action on behalf of Mumia. We would also be happy to work with you
and make a presentation to your union or community group about his
condition.
Campaign to Free Lorenzo Johnson
Updates from the New "Team Free Lorenzo Johnson":
Thank
you all for your relentless effort in the fight against wrongful
convictions and your determination to stand behind Lorenzo.
To
garner even more support for Lorenzo Johnson, we have been hard at work
updating the website and developing an even more formidable and
dedicated team. Please take a moment to visit the new site here.
During
the month of July, Lorenzo wrote two new articles for The Huffington
Post titled "When Prosecutors Deny Justice for the Innocent," and "Hurry
Up and Wait for Justice: The Struggle of Innocent Prisoners." In these
articles, Lorenzo discusses the flaws in the criminal justice system,
which he deems is a "serious problem in this country."
Lastly, Lorenzo has a message to you all.
A Letter from Lorenzo:
July 23, 2015
Dauphin County Prison
Harrisburg, PA
Dear Supporters,
I
hope all is well with everyone and your families. As for myself, I’m
still on my journey in pursuit of my vindication. Sorry for my website
being shut down for a couple of weeks. It was being transferred to a new
provider and management. I’m back and will do my best to keep
everything up to speed with what’s taking place.
I would like to
thank ALL of my loyal supporters in the U.S. and in the MANY different
counties that have signed on to support my innocence. Thanks for all of
the letters, emails, photos, etc. Like I always say, I get energy to
carry on and inspiration hearing form you, please stay engaged in my
struggle.
As of this moment, nothing has changed, but – the
continued delay tactics are constantly being used by my prosecutor,
Deputy Attorney General William Stoycos. With the mounting of evidence
that supports my innocence and police and prosecution misconduct claims
that is steadily piling up, you would think that I would be having a
couple of evidentiary hearings on my actual innocence appeal that have
been pending since August 5, 2013.
At the time of this writing,
I’ve been moved from SCI-Mahanoy to Dauphin County Prison and locked
down for 23 hours and 40 minutes a day. In the 20 minutes I get to come
out, I get to take a shower and make a short call. Prosecutor Stoycos
had me moved so I can be a witness in his attempt to have my codefendant
Corey Walker’s attorney removed from representing him. How dare he call
into question an attorney who is seeking justice for her client, when
prosecutor Stoycos himself violated multiple constitutional rights of
mine and Mr. Walker, that led to us being in prison for 20 years and
counting.
Prosecutor Stoycos is continuously abusing his power
and his endless resources he has at his disposal. He is not tough on
crime, he’s tough on Innocent Prisoners. Prosecutor Stoycos is doing
everything in his power to prevent justice from taking place. I
encourage everyone to continue to speak out against my nightmare, invite
others to get involved by going to my website and signing my Freedom
Petition and whatever else they’re willing to do.
On a positive
note, I just enrolled in warehouse management trade and started on July
13th. Unfortunately, you’re only allowed to miss a couple of days and
Prosecutor Stoycos had me temporarily transferred on July 14th … It’s
extremely hard on Lifers to get into these trades due to the fact that
Lifers are placed at the back of the list of ALL vocational classes. I
try to further my education every chance I get, so when I do come home, I
will be certified in different work.
The month of the hearing
has come and left, without me being brought to the courthouse … I’m one
of MANY innocent prisoners who endures this non-stop madness in our
pursuit of Justice and Freedom. Now that my webpage is almost caught up
to speed, I promise prompt updates and as everyone knows that contacted
me directly, I personally reply to those in the states and out of the
country. For those who can make a financial contribution, everything
counts. Take care and let’s continue to fight until we achieve Freedom,
Justice, and Equality for all innocent prisoners.
“The Pain Within”
Free the Innocent
Lorenzo “Cat” Johnson
[Note: Lorenzo has since been transferred back to SCI Mahanoy and can be reached at his usual address.]
Thank
you all for reading this message and please take the time to visit the
new website and contribute to Lorenzo's campaign for freedom!
Write: Lorenzo Johnson
DF 1036
SCI Mahanoy
301 Morea Rd.
Frackville, PA 17932
Email: Through JPay using the code:
Lorenzo Johnson DF 1036 PA DOC
or
Directly at LorenzoJohnson17932@gmail.com
Have a wonderful day!
- The Team to Free Lorenzo Johnson
freelorenzojohnson.org
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------* Join the Fight to Free Rev. Pinkney!
On
December 15, 2014 the Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Michigan
was thrown into prison for 2.5 to 10 years. This 66-year-old leading
African American activist was tried and convicted in front of an
all-white jury and racist white judge and prosecutor for supposedly
altering 5 dates on a recall petition against the mayor of Benton
Harbor.
The prosecutor, with the judge’s approval,
repeatedly told the jury “you don’t need evidence to convict Mr.
Pinkney.” And ABSOLUTELY NO EVIDENCE WAS EVER PRESENTED THAT TIED REV.
PINKNEY TO THE ‘ALTERED’ PETITIONS. Rev. Pinkney was immediately led
away in handcuffs and thrown into Jackson Prison.
This is an outrageous charge. It is an outrageous conviction. It is an even more outrageous sentence! It must be appealed.
With your help supporters need to raise $20,000 for Rev. Pinkney’s appeal.
Checks
can be made out to BANCO (Black Autonomy Network Community
Organization). This is the organization founded by Rev. Pinkney. Mail
them to: Mrs. Dorothy Pinkney, 1940 Union Street, Benton Harbor, MI
49022.
Donations can be accepted on-line at bhbanco.org – press the donate button.
For information on the decade long campaign to destroy Rev. Pinkney go to bhbanco.org and workers.org(search “Pinkney”).
We urge your support to the efforts to Free Rev. Pinkney!Ramsey Clark – Former U.S. attorney general,
Cynthia McKinney – Former member of U.S. Congress,
Lynne Stewart – Former political prisoner and human rights attorney
Ralph Poynter – New Abolitionist Movement,
Abayomi Azikiwe – Editor, Pan-African News Wire<
Larry Holmes – Peoples Power Assembly,
David Sole – Michigan Emergency Committee Against War & Injustice
Sara Flounders – International Action Center
MESSAGE FROM REV. PINKNEY
I
am now in Marquette prison over 15 hours from wife and family, sitting
in prison for a crime that was never committed. Judge Schrock and Mike
Sepic both admitted there was no evidence against me but now I sit in
prison facing 30 months. Schrock actually stated that he wanted to make
an example out of me. (to scare Benton Harbor residents even more...)
ONLY IN AMERICA. I now have an army to help fight Berrien County. When I
arrived at Jackson state prison on Dec. 15, I met several hundred
people from Detroit, Flint, Kalamazoo, and Grand Rapids. Some people
recognized me. There was an outstanding amount of support given by the
prison inmates. When I was transported to Marquette Prison it took 2
days. The prisoners knew who I was. One of the guards looked me up on
the internet and said, "who would believe Berrien County is this
racist."
Background to Campaign to free Rev. Pinkney
Michigan
political prisoner the Rev. Edward Pinkney is a victim of racist
injustice. He was sentenced to 30 months to 10 years for supposedly
changing the dates on 5 signatures on a petition to recall Benton Harbor
Mayor James Hightower.
No material or circumstantial
evidence was presented at the trial that would implicate Pinkney in the
purported5 felonies. Many believe that Pinkney, a Berrien County
activist and leader of the Black Autonomy Network Community Organization
(BANCO), is being punished by local authorities for opposing the
corporate plans of Whirlpool Corp, headquartered in Benton Harbor,
Michigan.
In 2012, Pinkney and BANCO led an “Occupy the
PGA [Professional Golfers’ Association of America]” demonstration
against a world-renowned golf tournament held at the newly created Jack
Nicklaus Signature Golf Course on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. The
course was carved out of Jean Klock Park, which had been donated to the
city of Benton Harbor decades ago.
Berrien County
officials were determined to defeat the recall campaign against Mayor
Hightower, who opposed a program that would have taxed local
corporations in order to create jobs and improve conditions in Benton
Harbor, a majority African-American municipality. Like other Michigan
cities, it has been devastated by widespread poverty and unemployment.
The
Benton Harbor corporate power structure has used similar fraudulent
charges to stop past efforts to recall or vote out of office the racist
white officials, from mayor, judges, prosecutors in a majority Black
city. Rev Pinkney who always quotes scripture, as many Christian
ministers do, was even convicted for quoting scripture in a newspaper
column. This outrageous conviction was overturned on appeal. We must do
this again!
To sign the petition in support of the Rev. Edward Pinkney, log on to: tinyurl.com/ps4lwyn.
Contributions for Rev. Pinkney’s defense can be sent to BANCO at Mrs Dorothy Pinkney, 1940 Union St., Benton Harbor, MI 49022
New Action--write letters to DoD officials requesting clemency for Chelsea!
Secretary of the Army John McHugh
President Obama has delegated review of Chelsea Manning’s clemency appeal to individuals within the Department of Defense.
Please
write them to express your support for heroic WikiLeaks’ whistle-blower
former US Army intelligence analyst PFC Chelsea Manning’s release from
military prison.
It is important that each of these
authorities realize the wide support that Chelsea (formerly Bradley)
Manning enjoys worldwide. They need to be reminded that millions
understand that Manning is a political prisoner, imprisoned for
following her conscience. While it is highly unlikely that any of these
individuals would independently move to release Manning, a reduction in
Manning’s outrageous 35-year prison sentence is a possibility at this
stage.
Take action TODAY – Write letters supporting Chelsea’s clemency petition to the following DoD authorities:
Secretary of the Army John McHugh
101 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0101
The Judge Advocate General
2200 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-2200
Army Clemency and Parole Board
251 18th St, Suite 385
Arlington, VA 22202-3532
Directorate of Inmate Administration
Attn: Boards Branch
U.S. Disciplinary Barracks
1301 N. Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2304
Suggestions for letters send to DoD officials:
The
letter should focus on your support for Chelsea Manning, and especially
why you believe justice will be served if Chelsea Manning’s sentence is
reduced. The letter should NOT be anti-military as this will be
unlikely to help.
A suggested message: “Chelsea Manning
has been punished enough for violating military regulations in the
course of being true to her conscience. I urge you to use your
authorityto reduce Pvt. Manning’s sentence to time served.” Beyond that
general message, feel free to personalize the details as to why you
believe Chelsea deserves clemency.
Consider composing
your letter on personalized letterhead -you can create this yourself
(here are templates and some tips for doing that).
A comment on this post will NOT be seen by DoD authorities–please send your letters to the addresses above
This
clemency petition is separate from Chelsea Manning’s upcoming appeal
before the US Army Court of Criminal Appeals next year, where Manning’s
new attorney Nancy Hollander will have an opportunity to highlight the
prosecution’s—and the trial judge’s—misconduct during last year’s trial
at Ft. Meade, Maryland.
Help us continue to cover 100% of Chelsea’s legal fees at this critical stage!
Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave. #41
Oakland, CA 94610
510-488-3559
couragetoresist.org
1) Police Abuse Is a Form of Terror
By Charles M. Blow
Writing
about the wave of deadly encounters — many caught on video — between
unarmed black people and police officers often draws a particular
criticism from a particular subset of readers.
It is some variation of this:
“Why
are you not writing about the real problem — black-on-black crime?
Young black men are far more likely to be killed by another young black
man than by the police. Why do people not seem to protest when those
young people are killed? Where is the media coverage of those deaths?”
This to me has always felt like a deflection, a juxtaposition meant to use one problem to drown out another.
Statistically, the sentiment is correct:
Black people are more likely to be killed by other black people. But
white people are also more likely to be killed by other white people.
The truth is that murders and other violent crimes are often crimes of
intimacy and access. People tend to kill people they know.
The
argument suggests that police killings are relatively rare and
therefore exotic, and distract from more mundane and widespread
community violence. I view it differently: as state violence versus
community violence.
People are often able to understand
and contextualize community violence and, therefore, better understand
how to avoid it. A parent can say to a child: Don’t run with that crowd,
or hang out on that corner or get involved with that set of activities.
A recent study
by scholars at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies at Yale
found that homicides cluster and overwhelmingly involve a tiny group of
people who not only share social connections but are also already
involved in the criminal justice system.
We as adults can decide whether or not to have guns in the home. According to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, having a gun may increase the chances of being the victim of homicide. We can report violent family members.
And people with the means and inclination can decide to move away from high-poverty, high-crime neighborhoods.
These
measures are not 100 percent effective, but they can produce some
measure of protection and provide individual citizens with some degree
of personal agency.
State violence, as epitomized in
these cases by what people view as police abuses, conversely, has
produced a specific feeling of terror, one that is inescapable and
unavoidable.
The difference in people’s reactions to
these different kinds of killings isn’t about an exaltation — or
exploitation — of some deaths above others for political purposes, but
rather a collective outrage that the people charged with protecting your
life could become a threat to it. It is a reaction to the puncturing of
an illusion, the implosion of an idea. How can I be safe in America if I
can’t be safe in my body? It is a confrontation with a most
discomforting concept: that there is no amount of righteous behavior, no
neighborhood right enough, to produce sufficient security.
It
produces a particular kind of terror, a feeling of nakedness and
vulnerability, a fear that makes people furious at the very idea of
having to be afraid.
The reaction to police killings is to my mind not completely dissimilar to people’s reaction to other forms of terrorism.
The
very ubiquity of police officers and the power they possess means that
the questionable killing in which they are involved creates a terror
that rolls in like a fog, filling every low place. It produces ambient,
radiant fear. It is the lurking unpredictability of it. It is the any-
and everywhere-ness of it.
The black community’s
response to this form of domestic terror has not been so different from
America’s reaction to foreign terror.The think tank New America found
in June that 26 people were killed by jihadist attacks in the United
States since 9/11 — compared with 48 deaths from “right wing attacks.”
And yet, we have spent unending blood and treasure to combat Islamist
terrorism in those years. Furthermore, according to Gallup,
half of all Americans still feel somewhat or very worried that they or
someone in their family will become a victim of terrorism.
In
one of the two Republican debates last week, Senator Lindsey Graham of
South Carolina seemed to be itching for yet another antiterrorism war,
saying at one point: “I would take the fight to these guys, whatever it
took, as long as it took.”
Whatever, however, long. This is not only Graham’s position, it’s the position of a large segment of the population.
Responding to New America’s tally, Fareed Zakaria wrote in The Washington Post in July:
“Americans
have accepted an unprecedented expansion of government powers and
invasions of their privacy to prevent such attacks. Since 9/11, 74
people have been killed in the United States by terrorists, according to the think tank New America. In that same period, more than 150,000 Americans have been killed in gun homicides, and we have done … nothing.”
And yet, we don’t ask “Why aren’t you, America, focusing on the real problem: Americans killing other Americans?”
Is the “real problem” question reserved only for the black people? Are black people not allowed to begin a righteous crusade?
One
could argue that America’s overwhelming response to the terror threat
is precisely what has kept the number of people killed in this country
as a result of terror so low. But, if so, shouldn’t black Americans,
similarly, have the right to exercise tremendous resistance to reduce
the number of black people killed after interactions with the police?
How
is it that we can understand an extreme reaction by Americans as a
whole to a threat of terror but demonstrate a staggering lack of that
understanding when black people in America do the same?
Mike
Winerip and I have been reporting on New York jails and prisons for
more than a year. Doing so is like looking through a keyhole: It is very
difficult to get reliable information about what is going on inside a
corrections facility.
Inmates can be, or be seen as, unreliable, and the correctional bureaucracies are often not forthcoming.
So
we have to be creative. The first indication that correction officers
might be subjecting inmates to brutal interrogation following the escape of two inmates, David Sweat and Richard W. Matt, from Clinton Prison, the subject of a front-page story
today, came from prisoners’ wives and girlfriends. We had been in
contact with several of them from the beginning, and as they received
reports from their husbands, they passed information along to us.
The
inmates also began writing letters to a group called Prisoners’ Legal
Services of New York. Lawyers from the group then put us in contact with
inmates.
This story relied heavily on inmates’
accounts. We did not have the names of correction officers with whom we
might speak; the State Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision supplied only a short statement suggesting that allegations
of abuse were under investigation.
The accounts we
received from inmates were, however, strikingly consistent, and we felt
they were credible. (We spoke to several inmates on the phone and
visited four in the prison.) Many said that officers put plastic bags
over their heads, or tied them around their necks, or threatened to do
so. Others said they were handcuffed and taken to out-of-the-way rooms
or hallways and beaten. The State Police and the Correction Department’s
internal affairs bureau conducted interrogations, but inmates said
correction officers were the only ones who were physically abusive.
Ultimately,
a story like this hopefully will generate tips leading to further
insights. There are still many, many unanswered questions about the
escape from Clinton, so stay tuned.
Mayor Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake
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