Bay Area United Against War: Our activist-oriented San Francisco-based newsletter.
7/29/2015
BAUAW NEWSLETTER, WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015
Why come out ? Why stop what you are doing and throw into this? Because police STILL kill Black and Brown children for playing with toy guns and choke Black men to death in Staten Island and Mississippi and then curse them at their last dying breath, because cops disappear a young Black woman into a Texas county jail and “somehow” she doesn’t come out alive, because 26 of these mad dogs stomp a young man for riding his bike the wrong way in Philly, because they shoot down and murder Latinos who have their hands in the air in LA or maybe throw a rock in Washington state while backing up... and it’s all on video and NOTHING IS DONE, still NOTHING IS DONE...
Why October 24? Because politicians now promise the moon while the system STILL keeps millions in prisons that bulge like the slave ships, and lock down and pen up whole communities... and there’s STILL one chance in three that the Black baby boy born today will end up in those cages... and talk is cheap but NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE...
Why October 24? Because you know it now, you’ve seen it, and you can’t be neutral, you can’t sit this out. Because last year people rose up and said NO MORE and that was great, that was fresh air at last. But it was all just a start and now they are trying to snuff this out with more murders and more lies, with jail terms and sweet talk and crumbs and snark—or else they try to change the subject to anything but police terror and the righteous struggle against it. And meanwhile the plague still rages... meanwhile the machinery of genocide grinds on, tearing and chewing up thousands each day, draining or wearing away, or blowing away the lives of tens of millions more over decades.
We have to either go forward— taking the resistance to another level— or we will surely go backwards...
On Thursday, August 6, 2015 please join us for the Hiroshima
commemoration, rally and nonviolent direct action, 8 AM at Livermore
Lab, corner of Vasco Road and Patterson Pass Road in Livermore.
As we approach the 70th Anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, Daniel Ellsberg, Country Joe McDonald,
Taiko drummers, A-bomb survivors and hundreds of peace advocates will
gather at the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab to shine light on the true
cost of the nuclear age. On this major anniversary, we will confront the
human, ethical, environmental, social and financial price that nuclear
weapons are extracting from us – and, indeed, from all life on earth.
And, together, we will act to change the future!
There will also be a pre-action organizing meeting in Berkeley on Saturday, July 11 at 10 AM.
For August 6 action and pre-action info…
We have downloadable fliers and more information on the web at:
http://www.trivalleycares.org/new/SaveDate.html
We have a Facebook page at:
August 6 Hiroshima Commemoration and Action at Livermore Lab
Please join us, let us know if your group would like to cosponsor the
August 6 commemoration, and help us publicize the event with your
members and friends.
More information, Tri-Valley CAREs, (925) 443-7148
www.trivalleycares.org
marylia@trivalleycares.org
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's will to live and his commitment to telling the truth is
matched by our collective resolve to see him well and free.
Please
take action again. Please know that your calls, letters, emails, and
faxes (even the ones that they hang up on or seem to ignore) are the
only reason that he was given diagnostic testing. Mumia is still weak,
in a wheelchair, and his legs are bandaged heavily. He has still not
been given a diagnosis or a treatment plan. Mumia needs a plan that will
address the underlying causes of his chronic and potentially life
threatening conditions. Please know that his mind is clear, and his
energy is returning. He sends his love and his understanding- that
because you took action, he is alive.
Mumia spent nine days
Geisinger Medical Center in Danville PA, and is now back in the
infirmary at SCI Mahanoy. Our actions today will ensure that Mumia
receives the urgent diagnosis and medical treatment.
In the
latest outrage, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is refusing
to release Mumia's medical records. Their excuse- that Bret Grote from
the Abolitionist Law Center and co-counsel Bob Boyle went to federal
court to demand that his lawyers and family be allowed to advise and see
him while he was hospitalized. Holding Mumia's medical records is
simply retaliation for exercising his constitutional right to access to
the courts.
And It is a direct attack on his ability to get
expert advice and care. They are preventing Mumia and his doctor from
seeing these critical records, at a time when his condition, while
stable, remains serious.
Act Now.
1. Call the Prison, the Governor, and the DOC. Demand that they release Mumia's medical records immediately (see numbers below).
2.
Make a Gift to Prison Radio. We took a risk: we fronted $4K dollars so
that we could place a full page Ad in The Nation Magazine. It appears in
the June 1st issue. Stand with us as we amplify this message. Please
give now. Then sign this important letter.
3. Make a gift to
Mumia Abu-Jamal's Medical and Legal Fund. Help us get independent
medical care for Mumia. We are still in need of funds for life
sustaining advocacy and care. Click here to give.
Call, write and fax today!
John Kerestes, Superintendent SCI Mahanoy
Address: 301 Morea Road, Frackville, PA 17932
Phone: 570-773-2158 x8102
Fax: 570-783-2008
Secretary John Wetzel, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Address: 1920 Technology Parkway, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Phone: 717-728-4109, 717-728-2573
E-mail: ra-crpadocsecretary@pa.gov
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf
Address: 508 Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120
Phone: 717-787-2500
Fax: 717-772-8284
Email: governor@pa.gov
Your
support of Prison Radio allowed us to recently record: Mumia Abu-Jamal,
Kenneth Hartman, Reverend Edward Pinkney, Shaka Zulu, Jane Dorotik,
Bill Dunne, Bryant Arroyo, Troy Thomas, Mondo We Langa (David Rice), and
more.
Mumia's and other commentators' searing truth is needed on the radio. Listen to these commentaries at prisonradio.org.
Mumia Abu-Jamal:
137 Shots (2:00)
Kenneth Hartman:
Stop Strip Searching My Mom (4:21)
Bryant Arroyo:
The Unconstitutional AEDPA (11:06)
As
you know, we are pulling out all the stops to free Mumia and keep him
alive. Together with International Concerned Friends and Family of Mumia
Abu-Jamal & the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC) we placed this
full page Ad in The Nation Magazine. Please print it out and share it
with friends. Please sign it at bit.ly/OpenLetterForMumia. Please help
us print this Ad. It is costing $4K to design, print and motivate.
Please take a moment to help Prison Radio make it happen, by sending a
gift now.
Support Prison Radio
$35 to become a member.
$50 to become a member and receive a beautiful tote bag. Or call us to special order a yoga mat bag.
$100 to become a member and receive the DVD "Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary."
$300 to become a member and bring one essay to the airwaves.
$1,000 (or $88 per month) will make you a member of our Prison Radio Freedom Circle. Thank you!
Support Prison Radio
To give by check:
Prison Radio/Redwood Justice Fund
PO Box 411074
San Francisco, CA
94141
Stock or legacy gifts:
Noelle Hanrahan
(415) 706 - 5222
Prison Radio is a project of the Redwood Justice Fund a CA 501c3 non profit.
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.
JANUARY
1, 2015—The prosecutor has run away from (almost) every issue raised in
my PCRA by begging the Court to dismiss everything as “untimely”. When
they don’t do this, they suggest that me and my lawyers were
“defamatory” towards either my former prosecutor Christopher Abruzzo or
Detective Kevin Duffin, in our claims they withheld, misused or hid
evidence of my Innocence, in order to secure an unjust conviction in
this case. If I charged, a year ago, that about a dozen AGs (attorneys
general) were involved in circulating porno via their office computers,
people would’ve laughed at me, and seen me as crazy.
But,
guess what? During 2014, we learned that this was the truth. How can it
be defamatory to speak the truth? Notice the OAG (Office of Attorney
General), never said the obvious: That AG Abruzzo didn’t inform the
Defense about the relationship between his Motive Witness and his head
detective (Victoria Doubs and Det. Duffin); that Det. Duffin doesn’t
deny Doubs was his god-sister, and that she lived in his family home, or
that he assisted her whenever she got into trouble.
Why
not? Because it is true. How can you defame someone who defames
himself? Mr. Christopher Abruzzo, Esq., when a member of the higher
ranks of the OAG, sent and/or received copious amounts of porno to other
attorneys general and beyond. What does this say about his sense of
judgment? He thought enough about his behavior to resign from his post
in the Governor’s Cabinet. If he thought that his behavior was okay,
he’d still be sitting in the Governor’s cabinet, right? The OAG cannot
honestly oppose anything we’ve argued, but they try by seeking to get
the Court to do their dirty work, how? By denying an Evidentiary Hearing
to prove every point we’ve claimed.
The prosecution is
trying desperately to avoid dealing with the substance of my claims in
Com. v. Lorenzo Johnson. So, they slander my Legal Team and blame them
for defaming the good AG’s and Cops involved with this case. They try to
do what is undeniable, to deny that they hid evidence from the Defense
for years. They blamed me for daring to protest the hidden evidence of
their malfeasance and other acts to sabotage the defense. They claim
that they had an “Open File” policy with my trial counsel. But “Open
File” is more than letting an attorney read something in their office.
If it’s a search for the truth it must include what is turned over to
the attorney, for how do we really know what was shown to her?
They
say it is inconceivable that an attorney would read a file, beginning
on page nine (9), and not ask for the preceding eight (8) pages. Yet, it
is conceivable if trial counsel was ineffective for not demanding the
record of the first eight pages. Pages that identify the State’s only
witness as a “SUSPECT” in the murder for which her client was charged!
How could such an attorney fail to recognize the relevance of such an
issue, barring their sheer Ineffectiveness and frankly, Incompetence.
By
seeking to avoid an evidentiary hearing, the prosecution seeks to avoid
evidence of their wrongdoing being made plain, for all to see. If they
believe I’m wrong, why not prove it? They can’t. So they shout I filed
my appeal untimely, as if there can ever justly be a rule that precludes
an innocent from proving his innocence! Not to mention the fact that
the prosecution has failed to even mention the positive finger prints
that ay my trial they said none existed. Don’t try to hide it with a
lame argument about time. When isn’t there a time for truth? The
prosecution should be ashamed of itself for taking this road. It is
unworthy of an office that claims to seek justice.
After
the trial verdict The Patriot-News (March 18, 1997) reported, “Deputy
Attorney General Christopher Abruzzo admitted there were some serious
concerns about the strength of the evidence against Johnson and praised
the jury for doing a thorough job.” I guess he forgot to mention all of
the evidence he left out to show Innocence.
Now, more than ever, Lorenzo Johnson needs your support.
Publicize his case; bring it to your friends, clubs, religious
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
9) Questions Still Swirling Around the Death of Sandra Bland
July 24, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/24/us/sandra-bland-questions-about-her-death.html?ref=us
Sandra Bland died in her jail cell on July 13 after being arrested by a state trooper during a traffic stop in Waller County, Tex. Those facts are not in dispute.
Critics on social media, however, are questioning what happened after the arrest and are highlighting inconsistencies in reports released by the Waller County Sheriff's Office, where she died.
Here are some questions — and some answers — to the speculation circulating online.
Was Ms. Bland dead when her mugshot was taken?
After officials released Ms. Bland's mugshot, various theories
surfaced online that she was already dead when the photo was taken. They
pointed to her tired-looking face and the position of her hair.
In the video released on Tuesday, Ms. Bland is seen posing for her mugshot.
The
video shows her walking from a holding cell to the edge of the booking
desk. Ms. Bland strokes her hair back several times as she walks and
turns into an area where she stops and places her back against a wall.
The jail employee is seen directing her and using a camera mounted to
the desk to snap photos of Ms. Bland from the front and sides. The
images flash on an adjacent computer screen.
Trey Duhon, the
Waller County Judge, said officials released the extra footage to dispel
rumors concerning Ms. Bland's treatment while in custody.
Photo
A photograph of Ms. Bland that was released after her arrest.
Credit
Waller County Sheriff's Office, via European Pressphoto Agency
Why was Ms. Bland already wearing a jumpsuit when she was booked?
Skeptics online have noticed that other mugshots show people in their normal clothes.
“The inmate is walked to the booking area where they are processed by
the booking officer. Depending on how many inmates are being processed
at this time, an inmate's photograph may be taken in their original
clothing or the inmate may be dressed out in orange.”
On Tuesday, Waller County officials released hours of video
of Ms. Bland during her time in jail, including video of her changing
into an orange jumpsuit before her mugshot is taken. In it, Ms. Bland is
wearing a dress as she enters a bathroom escorted by a female police
officer and emerges minutes later in the jumpsuit.
Why are there contradictions in reports about Ms. Bland's mental state?
One form used for screening “suicide and medical and mental impairments” indicated that Ms. Bland said she tried to kill herself last year with pills after losing a child, and that she battled depression and was feeling depressed at the time she entered the jail.
A
second questionnaire prepared hours later reported that Ms. Bland had
not ever been depressed and was not feeling depressed at that moment,
though it does note her attempted suicide.
The
Waller County district attorney, Elton Mathis, said that Ms. Bland
provided different answers on the forms she filled out shortly after
being admitted on July 10.
Was the dashboard camera video tampered with?
Shortly after the dashboard camera video was released
people began to scrutinize a moment in the video when a white car
driving along suddenly disappears. Later, a tow truck driver is seen
walking off camera to only reappear from inside his truck.Officials said
segments of the video were affected during the original upload. The
following day, the Texas Department of Public Safety re-released the
footage, which was three minutes shorter.
How could Ms. Bland commit suicide in a semi-standing position with a trash bag?
There
are some reports that suggest Ms. Bland used a heavy duty trash bag to
hang herself, but pictures taken of the jail cell where she died shows a
clear trash bag. It was reported that Ms. Bland hanged herself from a
metal barrier that separated the bathroom from her cell. Given Ms.
Bland's height (she was 6 feet tall), some people have asked how such a
tall person could successfully hang herself in a fairly small cell.
Officials have not provided clear answers on the mechanics of her
suicide, other to confirm that she used a plastic bag.