Political Prisoner Eric King’s mail restriction, which has prevented him from receiving mail from anyone other than his wife and mother, has been lifted FOR NOW. Now would be a great time to write him and show him some love. We have no idea how long the mail ban will be lifted so now is the time to write him.
Don’t talk about his current case or anything about the mail ban.
Eric King #27090-045 FCI Englewood 9595 West Quincy Avenue Littleton, CO 80123
This holiday season, the Drop LWOP Coalition is calling on Governor Newsom to reunite families across California by granting a HISTORIC number of commutations for people serving Life Without Parole (LWOP) sentences.
Commutation is meant to be the final opportunity for redress of unfair trials, extreme excessive sentences, and inequities that result from racism and other forms of systemic injustice.
For decades, California governors have FAILED to execute this important responsibility of their office in the way it was intended. From 1975 to 1982, then-Governor Jerry Brown granted ONE commutation. However, during his most recent term, Brown commuted the sentences of 283 people in California state prisons, far more than any California governor since at least the 1940s. Fifty-two percent of people commuted by Brown were serving LWOP sentences.
Sadly, this is a RECORD number of commutations for California. Over 5,200 people are still serving the racist, arbitrary, and inhumane death sentence of Life Without Parole and commutations remain one of the only levers of release for people serving LWOP.
Join us over the next month calling on Governor Newsom to use his clemency powers this holiday season.
Follow the coalition’s new instagram account @drop_LWOP for updates and visit www.droplwop.com to sign our letter to Governor Newsom urging him to commute the sentences of all people serving Life Without Parole (LWOP) in California’s prisons to parole-eligible sentences.
Ronald Reed, a former member of the Black United Front, was convicted of the 1970 shooting of a St. Paul police officer. Twenty-five years after the killing, Reed was arrested and convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree-murder. He is serving Life in prison. Reed is a former 60s civil rights activist.
In 1969, Reed was also among the students at St. Paul Central High School who demanded black history courses and organized actions against racist teachers. He was also instrumental in helping to integrate college campuses in Minnesota. During this period, Reed began to look toward revolutionary theory and began to engage in political street theater with other young black revolutionaries in the city of St. Paul.
Write Ronald Reed #219531 Minnesota Correctional Facility-Lino Lakes 7525 Fourth Avenue Lino Lakes, MN 55014 Birthday: August 31
When Chesa Boudin was growing up, both his parents were serving long sentences in New York state prisons for their roles in a 1981 armored Brink’s truck robbery in Rockland County that left two Nyack police officers and a security guard dead. Family friend Jeff Jones brought the youngster on prison visits to see his father.
Boudin was raised by adoptive parents and the boy left each prison encounter struggling to process feelings of sadness, anger and confusion over his powerlessness to change a criminal justice system that broke his family apart. “I had a lot of emotional issues growing up because the nature of incarceration creates distance between family members,” conceded Boudin, 40, who was elected District Attorney of San Francisco a year ago after a career as a public defender and champion of alternatives to incarceration.
Now, Jones, 73, of Green Island, an environmental consultant, is joining forces with Boudin and international religious leaders including the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to seek mercy from the governor. The coalition is urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to grant clemency to Boudin’s father, David Gilbert, because his age elevates the risk he faces from COVID-19.
Rattler (Michael Markus) is Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge, SD. He
is a descendant of the war chief Makpiya Luta, translated as Red Cloud.
Rattler’s Lakota name is Mato Tanka, meaning Big Bear. He is a Sundancer and
Canupa (sacred pipe) carrier.
Rattler arrived at the Oceti Sakowin resistance camp as a Water
Protector in September 2016. On January 23, 2017 Rattler was charged for the
work he engaged in as Akicita to protect Land, Water, People, and Treaties
against militarized police and mercenaries working for the Dakota Access
Pipeline (DAPL). DAPL was illegally constructed to go through the Standing Rock
reservation in North Dakota, despite the damage done to sacred sites, Lakota
burial sites, Treaty lands of multiple indigenous Nations, risk to the Lakota
living on the reservation, and numerous violations of human and environmental
rights. He was charged with Civil Disorder, a charge that has only been applied
for movement work such as the American Indian Movement, Black Liberation
Movement, Vietnam protests, and to these 7 Water Protectors, as well as Using
Fire to Commit a Felony, a federal charge that most attorneys don’t know is on
the books.
On October 27th, 2016 militarized police illegally raided 1851
Treaty Camp, which had gained more numbers of water protectors to block the
progression of DAPL from going across Highway 1806. Barricades were lit on HW
1806 and the 134 bridge to keep the militarized police from further endangering
our unarmed encampment as police had done for previous months. The only thing
lit on 134 bridge were logs; no property damage occurred there. Logs, hay, and
scrap wood were used as a barricade alongside donated vehicles on HW 1806. No
violence was inflicted on law enforcement in either location. The courts
refused to grant Rattler and 5 other water protectors a change of venue to have
trial outside of Bismarck, ND despite statistics given to the judge proving the
majority of the local population already considered them to be guilty before
trial even began. Rattler, Little Feather (Michael Giron, Akicita), Bravo
(Brennan Nastacio), Angry Bird (Jimmy White, Akicita) and Dion Ortiz were
all given the same charges, facing 15+ years in federal prison. Little Feather
and Rattler chose the better of two evils: a non-cooperating plea deal (as in
no cooperation with feds). Both received 3 years for nonviolent conduct as
Water Protectors keeping our people safe from violence, and stopping further
desecration of land and water. RedFawn Fallis also took a non-cooperating plea
deal of five years for a gun planted on her by an informant on Oct. 27th. Angry
Bird and Dion have also accepted non-cooperating plea deals for their work on
Oct. 27th.
Akicita is a traditional role among the Lakota Nation. Akicita is
a life commitment, living a life of service and accountability. Akicita are the
last to inflict violence, but they are the last to leave a battle. Akicita
leave no one behind. We must not let the sacrifices of these water protectors
be in vain. We thank all those around the world that committed themselves to be
in the NoDAPL camps with us long term, and we thank all those that continue to
support water protectors as the movement goes on into federal prisons.
Write Michael Markus #06280-073 FCI Sandstone PO Box 1000 Sandstone, MN 55072
Ed Poindexter finally filed his application for commutation of sentence on August 17. At the August Pardons Board meeting, Dr. Topolski, a new supporter, asked the governor to expedite Ed’s application because of the risk of covid19. The governor said he wasn’t inclined to let anybody “jump in line” (there are 49 other applications for sentence commutations). His case will probably be heard early next year.)
Please share this campaign, write a letter to the Pardons Board and sign the online petition: http://chng.it/vctskKv49k Ed would be very grateful. We would also appreciate if you could send us a copy of your letter to: [email protected] Thank you so much for your decades of support for Ed, and for Mondo we Langa!
Ed’s Story In April of 1971, Edward Poindexter and Mondo we Langa, formerly David Rice, were sentenced to life in prison for the death of an Omaha police officer—a crime they did not commit. The two were targeted by law enforcement and wrongfully convicted due to their affiliation with the Black Panther Party, a civil rights and anti-fascist political group.
Nearly 50 years later, Ed is still in prison and maintains his innocence. He has earned several college degrees, taught anti-violence classes to youth, authored screenplays, and more. His last chance for freedom is to receive a commutation of sentence from the Nebraska Board of Pardons. At age 75, he is at high risk for COVID related health complications. He must receive an immediate and expedited commutation hearing from the Board.
Take Action Now Write, email and call the Nebraska Board of Pardons. Request that they commute Ed’s sentence.
WRITE: Nebraska Board of Pardons P.O. Box 95007 Lincoln, NE 68509 *please email a copy of your letter to [email protected]
CALL: Governor Pete Ricketts: 402-471-2244 SoS Robert B. Evnen: 402-471-2554 AG Doug Peterson: 402-471-2683
Sample Letter
Dear Pardons Board: I am writing in regards to Edward Poindexter, #27767, who has served nearly 50 years in prison with exemplary behavior and many accomplishments. He is 75 years old and at high risk for COVID-19 related medical complications, which have been amplified by the increased COVID transmission rate among prisoners. I am therefore requesting that the Board expedite Ed’s application, schedule his hearing for the next available Board meeting, and commute his sentence to length of time served.
As COVID-19 surges through the state and tears through its prisons, loved ones of incarcerated people are driving to Harrisburg today, calling for Gov. Tom Wolf to use his reprieve power to immediately release all elderly and medically vulnerable people in prison. Loved ones are also asking the Department of Corrections to require prison staff to wear face masks and be tested for COVID-19. As part of a national caravan for health and social justice, the Pennsylvania Poor People’s Campaign worked with local anti-prison groups like the Human Rights Coalition and the Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration (CADBI) to center the survival of people in prison on this day. The car caravan will circle the state capitol and proceed to the governor’s mansion.
Read the rest of the article by Suzy Subways here.
The Anarchist Black Cross Federation (ABCF) initiated the Warchest program in November 1994 to send monthly checks to Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War who have been receiving insufficient, little, or no financial support during their imprisonment. Its purpose is to collect funds from groups and individual supporters and send that money directly to commissary accounts of vetted Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War (PP/POW) via monthly checks. Since its inception, we have distributed over $130,000 in funds.
Ways to Donate: Venmo: TimFasnachtABCF CashApp: $timabcf PayPal: www.paypal.me/abcfwarchest (or send your donation to [email protected]) Check or money order: made out to Tim Fasnacht and send to Tim Fasnacht, P.O. Box 8682, Lancaster, PA 17604.
Due to the rainy weather and police killing of #WalterWallace on the day of last month’s letter-writing event, we decided to postpone until this month. We’ll be writing letters to Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown) on Monday, November 23rd at 6:30pm! To observe social distancing, we will hold this event on Jitsi and post the meet link on social media the day of. You can also message us to get the link beforehand.
Jamil became known as a Black liberation leader as the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Justice Minister of the Black Panther Party. In the early ’70s, he did five years as a political prisoner before being paroled in 1976. Upon his release, he moved to Atlanta, GA and led one of the nation’s largest Muslim groups, Al-Ummah. He is known to have greatly improved social services to the West End community in Atlanta.
From 1992 to 1997, the FBI and Atlanta police investigated Imam Jamil in connection with everything from domestic terrorism to gunrunning to 14 homicides in Atlanta’s West End, according to police investigators’ reports, FBI documents and interviews. On March 16th, 2000, Fulton County Deputy Sheriff Ricky Kinchen is shot and later dies, while another deputy Aldranon English is wounded after being shot by a man outside Imam Jamil’s store. English identified the shooter in the March 16th incident as Imam Jamil, yet testified that he shot the assailant — who “had grey eyes” — in the exchange of gunfire. Imam Al-Amin’s eyes are brown, and he had no gunshot injury when he was captured just four days later.
Now that Fulton County has a Convictions Integrity Unit, there is a good chance that Imam Jamil’s case will be reopened due to the known incongruities. This is doubly important because he has medical challenges — symptoms of Sjogren’s syndrome and smoldering myeloma (a form of blood cancer) as well as untreated cataracts. Due to his eyesight, write letters to him in large print if you are participating remotely.
