Four Lucasville Uprising Prisoners Start Hunger Strike

Greg Curry, Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Jason Robb and Bomani Shakur will begin refusing food on April 11th. They are demanding that media be allowed access to sit-down interviews with them. These interviews are essential to  humanizing the prisoners and allowing them to contribute to the search for truth about his alleged crimes. A face to face interview permits follow-up questions and a more direct and thorough interaction than other forms of interview.

The Associated Press Columbus has written an article on the hunger strike, which is getting national attention.







 RedBird has been involved in setting up The Re-Examing Lucasville conference Re-examiningLucasville.org this conference on the Lucasville Uprising. Please come, learn, participate.

Voices from Solitary: A Sentence Worse Than Death
Reposted from Solitary Watch 3/11/13

“I’ve read of the studies done regarding the effects of long-term isolation in solitary confinement on inmates, seen how researchers say it can ruin a man’s mind, and I’ve watched with my own eyes the slow descent of sane men into madness—sometimes not so slow. What I’ve never seen the experts write about, though, is what year after year of abject isolation can do to that immaterial part in our middle where hopes survive or die and the spirit resides.”

 .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

“You deserve an eternity in hell,” Onondaga County Supreme Court judge Kevin Mulroy told me from his bench as I stood before him for sentencing on July 10, 1987. Apparently he had the idea that God was not the only one qualified to make such judgment calls.

Judge Mulroy wanted to “pump six buck’s worth of electricity into [my] body,” he also said, though I suggest that it wouldn’t have taken six cent’s worth to get me good and dead. He must have wanted to reduce me and The Chair to a pile of ashes. My “friend” Governor Mario Cuomo wouldn’t allow him to do that, though, the judge went on, bemoaning New York State’s lack of a death statute due to the then-Governor’s repeated vetoes of death penalty bills that had been approved by the state legislature. Governor Cuomo’s publicly expressed dudgeon over being called a friend of mine by Judge Mulroy was understandable, given the crimes that I had just been convicted of committing. I didn’t care much for him either, truth be told. He built too many new prisons in my opinion, and cut academic and vocational programs in the prisons already standing.

Read the rest HERE.

This is an essay by William Blake, who has been held in solitary confinement for nearly 26 years. Currently he is in administrative segregation at Elmira Correctional Facility, a maximum security facility located in south central New York State. In 1987, Blake, then 23 and in county court on a drug charge, murdered one deputy and wounded another in a failed escape attempt. He was sentenced to 77 years to life. 

Sean Swain Update

Seanswain.org is experiencing technical difficulties and is down. It will hopefully be back in a few days.

In the meantime, there are some interesting developments...

First, ManCI staff continues to delay, deny and interfere with peoples' mail. Henry David Thoreau's Walden was denied, which inspired Sean to file this hilariously exacting and thorough informal complaint.

Trevor Clark, legal council from ODRC central office met with Sean, BlackJack, Leslie Dillon, and Shawn Marshall (all of the people accused of A12M activities). According to Sean Mr Clark said, in frustration: "I've got 2 lunatics (Dillon, Marshall) one guy who won't talk to me (BlackJack) and one guy who won't shut the fuck up (Swain).

Soja Ends Second Hunger Strike After 32 Days

Picture taken before first hunger strike.

Tuesday March 19th, YOUNGSTOWN- Cornelius "Soja" Harris ends hunger strike after 32 days. In mid February Soja suspended a 38 day hunger strike, then went back on a few days later when the Warden failed to make good on a promise to return property destroyed by prison guards in retaliation during his first hunger strike.

Soja comes off this strike with the following concessions to his demands:

1. Soja was transferred out of the hole, back to general population.
2. All restrictions originating from petty and retaliatory write-ups have been removed.
3. Soja will be re-imbursed $25.
4. Soja will be allowed to spend $100 on hygiene products and will be allowed to order a clothing box. (Purchases that are normally restricted).
5. Soja's security level will be reduced back to 5A if there are no incidents for 30 days.

Soja wants his supporters to know that he appreciates all that they have done, and that it is important to continue the struggle against the prison system: "there are a whole lot of people who are ready to snap in this place. Prison authorities put guys in messed up situations, where it is nearly impossible to hold on to your self-respect and principles."

Picture taken near end of first hunger strike.

Soja coming off this hunger strike is surely not an end to his ordeals at OSP. During the transfer out of segregation, OSP staff violated policy to go through Soja's packed-up property to remove and send some new clothing to the laundry, where clothes are often damaged.

Monkey Number Nine Exonerates Sean Swain

March 13, 2013

In a recent sworn affidavit Leslie Dillon admits to heading the Mansfield faction of the Army of the 12 Monkeys. He states that as Monkey number 9 he knows that his co-accused Sean Swain and James “Blackjack” Dzelajilija are not members of A12M. He states that he is the only member of the Army of the 12 Monkeys at ManCI, and that he did not recruit or attempt to recruit any members. He also explains the circumstantial evidence the Rules Infraction Board used against Swain and Blackjack and describes an attempt to coerce testimony from him against Swain.
Dillon states that Swain’s 12 Monkeys tattoo pre-dated the emergence of the Army of the 12 Monkeys and is simply a reference to the 90s movie starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt. The “propaganda” found in Dzelajilija’s cell was actually rap lyrics he wrote based on 2Pac Shakur’s song “Everyone Rise”. Dillon aquired a copy of these lyrics and remembered the 2Pac song, so he typed the lyrics and signed it Monkey #12.

Update from Soja (Cornelius Harris)

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Cornelius Harris (Soja) is on hunger strike at Ohio State Penitentiary. Here is an article about a hunger strike he was involved in in June of 2012, and here is a more recent article about this current one. His health is in fast decline. Call Warden Bobby about this. Outside support is crucial.

"I wanted to update you on my situation here at OSP.

I have been on hunger strike since Feb 17^th, 2013. My reasons for hunger striking are as follows:

Ohio State Penitentiary Hunger Strike Demands

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013, Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP)- Cornelius "Soja" Harris' second hunger strike reaches 24 days. Less than a week after Soja suspended his 38 day hunger strike, he resumed refusing food. He is ready to come back off hunger strike if five simple demands are met.

He initially suspended the hunger strike he started on January 4th, with assurances from OSP Warden David Bobby that his missing property would be returned or replaced and that an institutional inspector to interview him. A few days later correctional officers at OSP interfered with a scheduled visit from Soja's partner and threatened to destroy more of his property. On return from that visit, they refused to give Soja his morning meal. This harassment combined with the fact that Warden David Bobby had not taken action on his assurances prompted Soja to go back on hunger strike.

Soja states that he is willing to come off this hunger strike if five simple demands are met.

1. Return or reimburse for property guards destroyed during Soja's first hunger strike.

2. Immediate transfer from segregation back to Sojas regular cell.

3. Lift restrictions from petty and fabricated conduct reports filed against Soja in retaliation for his hunger strike and the success at his trial.

4. End to harassment from Correctional Officers.

5. Opportunity to call outside supporters to make up for visits that guards cancelled or interfered with.