Wednesday, November 2, 2022

In Contempt #22: Alabama Prison Strike Put on Hold, Plans Next Steps

In this column, we present our monthly roundup of political prisoner, prison rebel, and repression news, happenings, announcements, action and analysis. Packed in as always is updates, calls to action, fundraisers, and birthdays.

There’s a lot happening, so let’s dive right in!

Uprising Defendants and other Ongoing Cases

An update from the Uprising Support project:

On October 3, 2022, Olivia Hull, 25 years old, was sentenced to a year in jail and nearly $10,000 in restitution following a conviction including a riot charge from the 2020 uprisings in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She would like to receive supportive messages from people at the address below.

Olivia Marie Hull
Kent County Correctional Facility
703 Ball Avenue NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Meanwhile, people in Los Angeles are crowdfunding to support the legal costs of another defendant facing federal charges for alleged participation in the 2020 uprising, and Unicorn Riot has an report on the case of two Canadian animal rights activists sentenced to 30 days in jail and a year of probation.

Alabama Prison Strike

The historic Alabama prison strike has been put on hold. To learn more about what happened during the course of the strike, you can read a collection of statements from strikers here, and a report from the protest held at the Alabama State Capitol here. For more in-depth discussion about the strike, you can listen to the October 21, October 14, and October 7 episodes of Kite Line Radio, as well as a new episode of The Final Straw, which all featured interviews with outside organizers involved in supporting the strike.

The Free Alabama Movement have published their own report and analysis of the strike, along with a plan for the way forward, which will target key dates linked to the Alabama political cycle. They’ve also put out a call for people to research and identify the companies that hire labor through the Alabama DOC’s work release programs, as well as asking people to send money to Doyle Gregory, who was put in solitary confinement for talking to the media and refusing to break the strike.

Meanwhile, Both Sides of the Wall, the group that took the lead in organizing outside support for the strike, is planning to begin a wider Break Every Chain tour, so you may want to reach out to them if you’d be able to host them in your city.

Pendleton 2

IDOC Watch write:

The director of the documentary we’ve made about Indianapolis political prisoners wrongfully convicted for leading an uprising against white supremacist guard brutality, “The Pendleton 2: They Stood Up,” known as TheKingTrill, is looking for opportunities to show the documentary to any audience that is interested in supporting the Campaign to Free the Pendleton 2, which is going to be kicking into high gear with a direct action strategy in Spring 2022. Any group, class or organization that would like to screen the documentary and have a discussion about the campaign with the director and other members of the Defense Committee to Free the Pendleton 2 should reach out to idocwatch@gmail.com or message us on any social media platform to set up an event. We are happy to do virtual or in-person events and willing to travel according to availability of funds.

You can learn more about the case by watching the new documentary here, or by listening to the recent Final Straw interview with a representative of the freedom campaign.

Ohio Rebellion

It’s Going Down has published an article by Peter Gelderloos, reflecting on recent rebellions in Ohio youth prisons and suggesting ways to push back against reporters who dehumanize prisoners and legitimize state violence.

Kevin “Rashid” Johnson

Supporters of long-term prison organizer Kevin “Rashid” Johnson are demanding his release as he has been transferred and sent to solitary confinement, and continues to face medical neglect while battling cancer within the Virginia prison system. You can donate to his legal defense funds here or via CashApp to $Solidarity2RIBPP, and buy fundraiser Defend Rashid t-shirts here. A document has been put together listing other ways you can get involved with the campaign to defend Rashid, and the San Francisco Bay View have published an article from Prison Radio demanding that he be given proper treatment.

General Prison News

A phone zap has been called in support of Sundiata Jawanzaa, a South Carolina prisoner facing brutal repression for alleged membership of Jailhouse Lawyers Speak in the wake of the Alabama strike.

In California, Sitawa Nantambu Jamaa, one of the negotiators of the Agreement to End Hostilities in the California prison system, launched a hunger strike at the end of September over the lack of basic care he’s been given while recovering from a stroke. For more information on his situation, you can read an interview with him here, along with a second interview detailing how hostile staff sabotaged his release on parole.

Contributing to the growing critique of prison mail digitization and tech company profiteering, Scalawag Magazine recently published an important article by a North Carolina prisoner analyzing the effects of tablets being given out in the prison system there.

In other news from the North Carolina prison system, revolutionary prisoner Joseph “Shine White” Stewart has been moved, and his updated contact address is now:

Joseph Stewart #0802041
Alexander Correctional Institute
PO Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Solidarity Beyond the Walls organized a phone zap to get Brandon Pickens, another prisoner held at Alexander, out of long-term solitary confinement, and Triangle Mutual Aid have published a report of a demonstration organized in support of prisoners locked down at Bertie CI.

The Industrial Worker has published an update on the work of Julio “Comrade Z” Zuniga and other Texas IWW/IWOC members fighting the prison system through the courts.

Abolitionist Media and Projects

The 2023 Certain Days calendar is available for sale now. scott crow and Austin anarchist label eMERGENCY heARTS have put out a fundraiser track for the Certain Days collective, featuring Herman Wallace of the Angola 3.

Scalawag Magazine have published a guide to working with and publishing imprisoned writers, which is available for free download.

Recent episodes of Kite Line Radio include a discussion on women and incarceration, along with their coverage of the Alabama prison strike. The San Francisco Bay View has recently published articles by Kwame Shakur of Prison Lives Matter and a number of prisoners facing medical neglect inside the California prison system.

Mongoose Distro continues to regularly publish new prisoner writing, including a report on mail censorship by the Virginia Department of Corrections, and a number of new articles by anarchist and antifascist prisoner Dan Baker, such as “Shaped by My Convictions and Circumstances” “Where I’m From, Where I’ve Been,” “Altruism in Action” and “Retrospectives and Visions.”

Abolition Media recently published an interview with Orange County ABC about their Pushing Down the Walls event.

International

The International Antifascist Defence Fund have a report on the case of Adel, a migrant antifascist facing charges in Germany after a confrontation with fascists attending an antivax march. You can learn more about his case at the Free Adel site.

In the UK, anarchist prisoner Toby Shone is fighting a new legal battle, as the state attempts to impose punitive and authoritarian conditions on him that will apply after his upcoming release. Meanwhile, activists taking direct action against the Israeli arms company Elbit are continuing to beat the prosecution in the courts.

ABC Belarus have published an important article looking at conditions in Russian and Ukrainian prisons during the war, along with another roundup of recent repression, including the news that, after one high-profile against anarchists “the police started detaining people who came to see the trial and support the anarchists… Some time later the lawyers of the imprisoned anarchists were also detained.” Igor/Ihar Alinevich, an anarchist prisoner in Belarus, has launched a hunger strike against his conditions, and the Belarusian embassy in Prague was graffitied in solidarity with his hunger strike.

Autonomous Action have published a report on a new case against antifascists launched by the Russian state.

In Palestinian political prisoner news, the mass hunger strike by 50 Palestinian prisoners has been suspended, and a demonstration demanding the release of Georges Abdallah marched to the French prison where he’s held.

A call has gone out for international solidarity with Alfredo Cospito, an Italian anarchist prisoner who has launched a hunger strike against the repressive 41 bis prison regime. He has now been joined by another anarchist prisoner, Juan Sorroche. You can learn more about the situation by listening to this recent interview on the Final Straw Radio.

Uprising Defendants

Everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. See Uprising Support for more info, and check out the Antirepression PDX site for updates from Portland cases. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of our knowledge they currently include:

Tyre Means 49981-086
USP Beaumont
PO BOX 26030
Beaumont, TX 77720

Kelly Jackson 50288-086
FCI Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. BOX 5000
Sheridan, OR 97378

Margaret Channon 49955-086
FCI Aliceville
PO Box 4000
Aliceville, AL 35442

Malik Muhammad #23935744
Oregon State Penitentiary
2605 State Street
Salem, OR 97310

Jacob Michael Gaines #81973-065
FCI Sheridan
P.O. BOX 5000
Sheridan, OR 97378

Jacob asks that people include an email address associated with their corrlinks account so he can return an email instead of a letter.

Cyan Waters Bass #23905849
Oregon State Correctional Institution
3405 Deer Park Drive SE
Salem, Oregon 97310

Gavaughn Streeter-Hillerich #19203494
Oregon State Penitentiary
2605 State Street
Salem, Oregon 97310

Montez Lee 22429-041
FCI Ray Brook
Federal Correctional Institution
PO Box 900
Ray Brook, NY 12977

Matthew White #21434-041
USP McCreary
P.O. Box 3000
Pine Knot, KY 42635

Matthew Rupert #55013-424
USP McCreary
P.O. Box 3000
Pine Knot, KY 42635

José Felan
Sherburne County Jail
13880 Business Center Dr.
NW Suite 200 Elk River, MN 55330-1692

Branden Wolf #22425-041
FCI Oxford
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. BOX 1000
Oxford, WI  53952

Dylan Robinson 45802-013
USP Leavenworth
P.O. BOX 1000
LEAVENWORTH, KS  66048

David Elmakayes 77782-066
FCI McKean
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 8000
Bradford, PA 16701

Christopher West 04670-509
USP Canaan
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 300
Waymart, PA 18472

You can also buy fundraiser clothing for Christopher “Brother Hush” West here.

Andrew Augustyniak-Duncan
Smart Communications/PA DOC
Andrew Duncan-Augustyniak / QN9211
SCI Rockview
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, Florida 33733

Ellie Brett 14822509
FCI Petersburg Medium
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 1000
Petersburg, VA 23804

John Wade 14762509
FCI Beckley
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 350
General & Legal Mail
Beaver, WV 25813

Alvin Joseph 1002016959
Metro Reentry Facility
PO Box 17668
Atlanta, GA 30316

Shamar Betts 22080-043
FCI Hazelton Federal Correction Inst.
P.O. Box 5000
Bruceton Mills, WV 26525

Diego Vargas 55070-424
FCI Allenwood Medium
PO Box 2000
White Deer, PA 17887

Adam Walton 55322-424
FCI Forrest City Medium
PO Box 3000
Forest City, AR 72336

Olivia Marie Hull
Kent County Correctional Facility
703 Ball Avenue NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Kyree Robertson #597000
Parnall Correctional Facility
1780 E. Parnall Rd.
Jackson, MI 49201

Howard Eugene Nall #586907
Kent County Correctional Facility
703 Ball Avenue NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503

Antonio Wooden 17569-028 (Tony Cushe)
FCI McDowell
PO Box 1009
Welch, WV 24801

T’Andre Buchanan 67637-060
Milan FCI
PO Box 1000
Milan, MI 48160

Upcoming Birthdays

Ed Poindexter

One of the “Nebraska 2,” Black Panthers convicted in 1971 for the murder of a police officer. In the 1990s, Nebraska’s parole board recommended Poindexter and his co-defendant Mondo for release due to their exceptional conduct, accomplishments and recommendations but the Pardons Board– the Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of State– refused to grant them a hearing.

Their conviction was controversial and has never been accepted as legitimate by many in the African American community in Omaha. Poindexter and Mondo were suspects- before there was any evidence- because they were leaders of the National Committee to Combat Fascism (NCCF), an offshoot of the Black Panther Party.

Important: Ed has a cataract that makes it impossible for him to read. If you would like to write him a letter, it must be typed with 18 point or larger font. Put a large note on the envelope so that he knows that you are aware of his eye issues and have included a letter in a type that he can read. The Nebraska Department of Corrections does not plan to allow him to have surgery because “he has one good eye.”

Birthday: November 1

Address:

Edward Poindexter #27767
Nebraska State Penitentiary
P.O. Box 22500
Lincoln, NE 68542

Ladislav Kuc

Animal liberation activist convicted of sabotaging a McDonald’s in which no one was injured. Unoffensive Animal will mail letters submitted via their website, but ask for donations to cover postage costs.

Birthday: November 4

Address:

Ladislav Kuc
Uvtos
Gucmanova 19/670
Priečinoik 7
920 41 Leopoldov
Slovakia

Dwayne Staats

One of the two Vaughn 17 defendants to be convicted for taking part in the Vaughn prison uprising of early 2017. Dwayne and his co-defendant Jarreau “Ruk” Ayers bravely admitted to their own parts in the uprising, and then, free to testify openly without fear of incriminating themselves any further, tore holes in the prosecution’s attempts to convict anyone else – as he put it, “we’d accept being stabbed in the chest to present others from getting stabbed in the back.” To learn more about Dwayne in his own words, you can read his account of the whole case here, check his writings on the Vaughn 17 site, his recent letter to the Kentucky Attorney General, or his contribution to the Vaughn zine, “Live from the Trenches.”

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility,” choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections,” going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NT0000.”

Birthday: November 10

Address:

Smart Communications/PADOC
Dwayne Staats, NT0000
SCI Camp Hill
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733

Andrei Marach

Antifascist from Brest. Detained on 2 March 2021 on suspicion of involvement in a criminal organisation of anarchists and gross violation of public order (Articles 285 and 342 of the Criminal Code). Andrei has a history of repression, he was serving an administrative arrest in early August 2020. On September 6, 2022, Andrei was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Belarusian prisons will usually only accept letters in Belarusian or Russian, so if you don’t speak one of those languages your best bet is to email your message to belarus_abc(AT)riseup.net or use this online form and they should be able to translate your greetings and pass them on.

Birthday: November 10

Address:

(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)

SIZO-1, ul. Volodarskogo 2, Minsk, 220030
Andrei Marach

John Wade

John B. Wade is a Black Atlanta activist facing charges related to the George Floyd Rebellion in the Summer of 2020. He was arrested on November 2nd, 2020 in an inter-agency raid along with two others, Vida Jones and Ellie Brett. They faced charges related to a string of arsons against government property and police cruisers. Wade has been repeatedly harassed by law enforcement since the beginning of the mass rebellion. You can read some of his words here.

John Wade was sentenced on 2/28/22 to a mandatory minimum of 5 years (to include time served) after conviction on his federal charges. His projected release from federal prison is in January, 2025, but he has other pending state charges from the summer of 2020.

The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to John then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: November 11

Address:

John Wade #14762509
FCI Beckley
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 350
General & Legal Mail
Beaver, WV 25813

Dzmitry Rezanovich

Dzmitry Rezanovich is an anarchist from Gomel. Arrested on the night of 28-29 October 2020 close to Ukrainian border by Belarusian border guards together with Sergey Romanov, Dmitry Rezanovich and Ihar Alinevich. Charged with terrorism and illegal possession of firearms. According to the prosecutor’s office, he and his comrades organized several arson attacks in Soligorsk and Mozyr against state institutions. On 22 December 2021, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison.

Belarusian prisons will usually only accept letters in Belarusian or Russian, so if you don’t speak one of those languages your best bet is to email your message to belarus_abc(AT)riseup.net or use this online form and they should be able to translate your greetings and pass them on.

Birthday: November 12

Address:

(Belarusian or Russian letters only – use this form for English messages)

IK №22, Brest region, Ivacevichy,
225295, stanciya Damanava, PO Box 20
Rezanovich Dmitry Grigorevich
Belarus

Thomas Blackmon

Thomas Blackmon is one of the prisoners wrongfully convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville Uprising.

Ohio uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Ohio, Inmate ID: 185-291”.

Birthday: November 12

Address:

Thomas Blackmon
#185-291
OSP
878 Coitsville Hubbard Rd
Youngstown OH 44505

Rasheem Matthews

Rasheem Matthews is one of the prisoners wrongfully convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville Uprising.

Ohio uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Ohio, Inmate ID: 223-185”.

Birthday: November 22

Address:

Rasheem Matthews
#223-185
OSP
878 Coitsville Hubbard Rd
Youngstown OH 44505

T’Andre Buchanan

T’Andre Buchanan is a George Floyd Uprising prisoner who was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after a 3 day trial where he was found guilty of interference with commerce by means of robbery and tampering with evidence.

The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to T’Andre then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: November 22

Address:

T’Andre Buchanan #67637-060
Milan FCI
PO Box 1000
Milan, MI 48160

Dontrell Baker

Dontrell Baker is a former Ferguson prisoner who has completed a sentence connected to the Ferguson uprising and is now incarcerated for a different incident.

Missouri uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 1282093”.

Birthday: November 24

Address:

Dontrell Baker #1282093
MECC,
18701 Old Hwy 66,
Pacific, MO 63069

Josh Williams

A staple of the Ferguson rebellion, Josh Williams was sentenced to 8 years in prison for his actions in attempting to light fires near a Quick Trip gas station, which others quickly extinguished, during a protest against the killing of Black 18 year old Antonio Martin by police in Berkeley, Missouri on Christmas Eve 2014. You can learn more about Josh by reading some of his words here. A support site has been set up for Josh, and they reported in May 2021 that “Josh has been held in solitary confinement on 23 hour lockdown since the beginning of the uprisings in June of 2020. He has limited phone privileges and hasn’t been able to go outside.”

Missouri uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 01292002”. His Jpay access is often restricted.

Birthday: November 25

Address:

Joshua Williams #1292002
Potosi Correctional Center
11593 State Highway O
Mineral Point, MO 63660


by In Contempt via It's Going Down
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