Conditions worsen after Sept. 11
U.S. political prisoners need support
By Greg Butterfield
The plight of political prisoners in U.S. jails has grown
more serious since Sept. 11. The prisoners' defense committees
are urging progressives to stay involved in their struggles
while organizing to stop the U.S. war in Afghanistan.
The Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon had direct consequences for some prisoners, while
others have suffered from the stepped-up repression and
racism.
Black revolutionary Sundiata Acoli has been held virtually
incommunicado since Sept. 11. Courts and prosecutors are
working feverishly to suppress new evidence of Mumia
Abu-Jamal's innocence while the public's attention is focused
elsewhere. In Texas-the U.S. execution capital under former
Gov. George W. Bush-political activist Emerson Rudd is
scheduled to die in mid-November.
Leonard Peltier has launched a new bid for release 25 years
after his wrongful conviction, while another Native activist,
Eddie Hatcher, suffers declining health and mistreatment.
Chicago activist Fred Hampton Jr., freed for "good behavior"
after nearly a decade in prison, continues his fight to have
false charges removed from his record.
Legal lynchings continue
Supporters of Pennsylvania death-row prisoner MUMIA
ABU-JAMAL have scheduled three days of actions for the
weekend of Dec. 7-9, which is the 20th anniversary of the
incident that resulted in his frame-up for the killing of
Philadelphia cop Daniel Faulkner. Abu-Jamal's defenders charge
that local prosecutors, government officials and the courts are
conspiring to stop lawyers from entering new evidence.
Self-described mob hitman Arnold Beverly has confessed on
videotape to killing Faulkner, but the court has yet to hear
his statement.
The International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia
Abu-Jamal urge supporters to come to Philadelphia on Saturday,
Dec. 8, for a march and rally, or organize a local protest,
teach-in or press conference for Abu-Jamal on Dec. 8-9. Student
walkouts are planned for Dec. 7. For more information, visit
the web site www.mumia.org or call (215) 476-8812.
Political activist EMERSON RUDD, chair of Panthers
United for Revolutionary Education (PURE) on Texas death row,
is scheduled to be executed Nov. 15. Rudd was barely 17 when he
was arrested and charged with murder. Two other Black activists
have been killed by Texas since March 2000: PURE member Ponchai
"Kamau" Wilkerson and Shaka Sankofa/Gary Graham.
About his activities as a political organizer, Rudd said: "I
have not allowed the system to destroy my mind. I have tried to
keep integrity and human dignity." To sign your name to an
appeal to the Texas governor, email rudd_em@operamail.com. To
join in protests, call the Texas Death Penalty Abolition
Movement at (713) 523-8454.
Sundiata in isolation since 9-11
Former Black Panther SUNDIATA ACOLI has been held in
isolation since Sept. 11 at Pennsylvania's Allenwood Federal
Prison. He was not allowed to contact his lawyers until late
October.
After receiving Acoli's call, attorneys Jill Elijah and
Chris Bergen reported: "The prison administration stated that
Sundiata and 15 others were rounded up because they were
anti-government type people and/or they had explosives in their
past. When the others were sent back, Sundiata was kept in
segregation. He was told by the administration that he would be
held for a while because he was a member of the Black Panther
Party.
"He cannot go outside at all, he is constantly confined to
his cell. The prison administration is telling Sundiata that he
may be in segregation longer because he got a suspicious
package at the post office and it may be anthrax. Sundiata
states that he is not sick and he is not being physically
abused."
Supporters are asked to call Counselor Odo and Warden Jake
Mendez at (570) 547-0963 to inquire about his health and when
he will be released from isolation. Letters of concern can be
sent to Warden Mendez and Counselor Odo at PO Box 3500, USP
Allenwood, White Deer, PA 17887. Please send a copy of your
letter to Sundiata Acoli #39794-066, PO Box 3000, USP
Allenwood, White Deer, PA 17887.
Acoli, one of the longest-held political prisoners in the
U.S., was arrested in 1973 with Assata Shakur. Shakur later
gained her freedom in Cuba. For updates, visit
www.afrikan.net/sundiata.
FRED HAMPTON JR., a Black activist and the son of
legendary Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, was released from
Statesville Correctional Facility in Illinois on Sept. 14 after
serving eight years in prison. Hampton was convicted of
committing arson at a Chicago store in 1992-during a
demonstration in solidarity with the Los Angeles rebellion that
followed the Rodney King verdict.
Supporters say the arson charge is a lie and that Hampton
was framed by vengeful Chicago authorities. While Hampton is
now free and has resumed his political activities, he continues
to fight for full clemency. Letters supporting clemency should
be sent to Gov. George Ryan, State of Illinois, 207 State House
Road, Springfield, IL 62706, or faxed to (217) 524-4049.
For more information, visit www.npdum.com.
Peltier files for sentence reduction
During the last days of his administration, Pre si dent Bill
Clinton granted numerous pardons to crooked associates and
campaign donors. But Clinton refused to pardon American Indian
Movement warrior LEONARD PELTIER-despite an
international campaign urging him to do the right thing and
release the Native activist after 25 years of wrongful
imprisonment.
Now Peltier, whose health has been in decline for several
years, is trying another tack. On Nov. 2, attorney Eric Seitz
filed a motion for reduction of Peltier's two life sentences
from consecutive to concurrent. "We believe a reduction would
obligate the Parole Commission to grant Leonard Peltier's
release," says a statement from the Leonard Peltier Defense
Committee.
Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents during a
shoot-out at the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975. A federal
prosecutor later admitted he had no idea who shot the
agents.
"Please contact your senators and representatives and
request they urge the Department of Justice not to oppose the
motion," the statement continues. Senators and representatives
can be contacted through the Capitol Switchboard at (202)
224-3121. Talking points are available from the LPDC at (785)
842-5774 or www.freepeltier.org.
Another Native political activist, EDDIE HATCHER, is
in urgent need of support, according to his sister Ginger
Ammerman. "Eddie is not doing well right now," she wrote. "He
has lost an excessive amount of weight. He is being singled
out, harassed and intimidated daily." Hatcher is imprisoned at
the Marion Correctional Institute in North Carolina.
Hatcher was charged with first-degree murder for the 1999
drive-by shooting of his friend Brian McMillan. "I was appalled
by the weakness of the evidence in the Hatcher case," said
former Raleigh News and Observer reporter Anne Russell, "the
willingness of the jury to be easily and quickly led by an
over-zealous prosecutor, and I left the courtroom 99 percent
convinced that an innocent man might be put to death."
He was later sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Supporters are asked to call and write letters demanding
information on Hatcher's condition and whereabouts; an end to
his 22-hour-a-day lockdown; an end to harassment by prison
staff; and to let officials know that "the world is watching."
Address protests to Sid Harkeleroad, Superintendent, Marion
Correctional Institute, Marion, NC 28752 or call (828)
659-6814.
For more on Hatcher's case and updates on his condition,
visit the Web site www.eddiehatcher.org.
Reprinted from the Nov. 22, 2001, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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