Tag Archives: court

Visit from Law Enforcement

On August 2nd, an officer named Mark Royko with The Ohio State Highway Patrol went to Ohio State Penitentiary, had Siddique Abdullah Hasan pulled out of his cell and tried to question him about Sep 9. See Hasan’s summary of the conversation below.

This officer used some pretty ridiculous terror-baiting language, so we are going to use this opportunity to remind everyone about some basic principles of security culture and anti-repression.

1. Do not talk to law enforcement. In the example below, Hasan was more open than we would advise anyone to be. As soon as you know the person you are talking to is a cop or a fed, walk away slowly. If they stop you, ask if you’re being detained. If they say yes, ask if you’re under arrest. In these states you’re obligated to by to give your name and show ID. In other states, if you’re driving a car or carrying a gun under an open or conceal carry permit, you’ll also need to show your ID. If you refuse to show your ID the cops, they might make up some “reasonable suspicion” pretext to arrest you, and the trouble of getting arrested and then getting it thrown out in court is maybe not worth it.

States (colored red) in which Stop and Identify statutes are in effect as of February 20th, 2013.

The cops can and do violate people’s rights all the damn time, and if you don’t want them to escalate and get violent with you, you might have to let them, just make sure you’re vocally asserting your rights (ideally before witnesses with cameras) while they trample them.
If they ask to search you say “no” out loud but do not physically resist if they search you anyway. Say “i do not consent to this search” out loud. If they arrest you, do not talk. Remain silent and assert your right to a lawyer. Follow basic ACLU know your rights protocol.

2. Tell people. Once the police have left, write down notes describing the encounter as soon as possible. If you can, get names and badge numbers of the officers. Tell anyone you’re organizing with. Email us at PrisonerResistance@gmail.com. Call IWOC Kansas City at 816-866-3808 or email iwoc@riseup.net. The more people know about law enforcement snooping around, the more safe we all are.

3. Practice good security culture. Cops don’t need to tell you they are cops. They can go undercover and infiltrate your group. This is not reason to get paranoid or stop organizing, but it is Continue reading →

Hunger strikes protesting solitary confinement proliferate within Wisconsin’s prisons

[Find a current list of hunger strikers and contact information here: https://solitarytorture.blogspot.com/2016/07/list-of-hunger-strikers.html

Please call DOC Secretary Jon Litscher at Phone: 608-240-5000 docweb@wi.gov and demand that he meet the hunger striker’s demands.]

by Solitary Torture

Hunger strikes by some state prisoners protesting abuses of solitary confinement at the Waupun Correctional Institute are reportedly spreading to two other state prisons, according to prisoners’ rights advocates.

The Coalition of Prisoner Supporters has also received reports of dozens of hunger strikers at Columbia Correctional Institution, according to a letter from prisoner Robert Ward.  The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has refused to release the number of prisoners involved in the hunger strikes at any of the state prisons.

The so-called “Dying to Live” hunger strikes are an attempt by prisoners to abolish long term solitary confinement in Wisconsin, according to Coalition member Ben Turk of the Milwaukee Industrial Workers of the World. LaRon McKinley-Bey and Ras Uhuru Mutawakkil (state name Norman Green) have drafted a proposal of new rules for DOC’s use of solitary confinement. These rules were delivered to the DOC along with a rally and protest by 20 members of the Coalition of Prisoner Supporters on July 5  at WI DOC central office, according to Turk. Continue reading →

New Zine from Tilted Scales Collective

From Tilted Scales Collective.

[Note: the zine has also been added to the SPR Resources Page]

I’m excited to announce the release of an excerpt from a forthcoming book that I’ve been working on in a small collective for several years now. The book is a guide to the criminal legal system for radicals and revolutionaries, with an emphasis on handling serious criminal charges in ways that strengthen radical social struggles instead of allowing the state to demolish them.

This chapter-length excerpt covers the heart of the book: setting and balancing your personal, political, and legal goals for criminal charges. Continue reading →

Prisoners Say They Were Beaten in Scorching Heat

From Courthouse News Service

By JAMIE ROSS

PHOENIX (CN) — Inmates of an Arizona prison claim a specialized tactical unit of corrections officers rounded up nearly 55 prisoners outside in 100-degree weather and assaulted those who questioned their actions.

Their lawsuit, filed Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court, names as defendants Arizona Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan and 33 correctional officers and members of the Tactical Support Unit, or TSU.

According to the complaint, about 40 to 45 TSU officers ordered nearly 55 inmates in the Cook Unit at the Eyman prison complex in Florence, Ariz., out of their cells for a “quarterly search” on June 9 and 10, 2014.

The officers allegedly ordered inmates to stand in a single-file line outside in the sun, where it was more than 100 degrees, in their underwear, T-shirts and shower sandals. Continue reading →

Dallas 6 Mistrial

Background on Dallas 6 here.

Jury refuses to convict prisoners charged with riot and aggravated harassment in landmark “Dallas 6” prisoner whistleblower trial.
Defendants, family members and supporters declare victory and call for an end to prison abuse and corruption brought to light in testimony

A hung jury in the trial of the three remaining prisoner whistleblowers of the “Dallas 6” led Judge Gelb to declare a mistrial today in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in a closely-watched case that has dragged on for six years. The three men, Andre Jacobs, Carrington Keys, and Duane Peters, defended themselves against charges of “riot” and (for Mr Keys) aggravated harassment, while exposing rampant abuse and corruption at SCI Dallas prison and in the Pennsylvania prison system generally.

Continue reading →