One year

  • June 16, 2021 1:26 am

from We Love Lore

It’s been a year since Lore Elisabeth was taken from us. She was apprehended violently in her home, tortured for weeks, infected with COVID, denied medical care throughout, and fights to this day for access to her case files. Federal authorities have shown no interest in proving their case against her, nor have they allowed her to defend herself.

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Thanks to you, she can still fight. In this past year, you have kept our beloved Lore going with your precious messages of love and solidarity; you kept the pressure on the Bureau of Prisons until she and her women’s unit got access to the vaccine; you showed your joy online and onsite where she could see and feel it; and you raised an absolutely essential fund for her legal defense.

Let’s show Lore that we still love and haven’t forgotten her. Please never stop supporting our friends and allies leading the fights against police violence and mass incarceration. Keep sending letters and photos! And you can always donate to Lore’s commissary fund via PayPal or Venmo @WeLoveLore for food, clothes, and essentials. We couldn’t do it without you 🌈🙏✨

Your questions answered ????

  • May 11, 2021 1:46 am

from We Love Lore

Thanks to everyone for your patience and generous offers of support during these last few quiet months ???? We want to keep everyone up-to-date and in touch with Lore while the government tries to hide her and slow her eventual release.

So! We’re offering a new option to subscribe to the latest updates as they come by email ???? and adding your FAQ’s, starting with the questions we’ve received the most below.

Don’t forget! you can always catch up with the latest on Instagram and Twitter, too.

What is Lore’s current status?

Lore is still detained at the Bureau of Prisons’ Federal Detention Center at 7th and Arch Streets in downtown Philadelphia.

Does she have a trial date?

No, neither the prosecutors’ office nor the courts have expressed any plans to hold a trial in the foreseeable future.

How is her health?

Lore is feeling fairly well after recovering from an untreated COVID-19 infection, but she now uses an inhaler daily and needs further testing to understand and manage her long-term breathing needs.

Is she vaccinated?

Lore has not received any COVID-19 vaccination at the time of writing and there is no timetable for her to receive one. She has expressed her desire to be vaccinated often and clearly.

How is her spirit?

All in all, pretty great! ???? Your support continues to reach and uplift Lore there daily.

Right now she is especially inspired to win more and better access to COVID-19 information and vaccinations on the women’s unit. In the meantime she is forming strong bonds with some amazing women in her unit, writing letters to everyone she can, and creating a lot of artwork.

How can I help?

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More than anything else, Lore wants us all to support our friends and allies leading the fights against police violence and mass incarceration.

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You can also support Lore directly by writing and sending photos! Your love and solidarity make this fight possible.

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And you can always donate to Lore’s commissary fund via PayPal or Venmo @WeLoveLore for food, clothes, and all the other essentials.

Who’s Got A Hand In This Sh*t?

  • January 27, 2021 1:29 am

from Dreaming Freedom Practicing Abolition

By Michael “Safear” Ness

(Written January 22, 2021)

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections refuses to waste money on individual COVID-19 tests for the prisoner population, instead preferring to test each prison’s accumulated sewage for COVID levels.

An official PA DOC memo dated January 21, 2021 from Secretary of Corrections John E. Wetzel states, “Facilities will increase [prisoner cohort sizes] at different times, and in different amounts depending on their local infection rates, and the results of sewage testing.”

Recent sewage testing at SCI Fayette indicated increased COVID-19 levels, delaying an increase in prisoner cohort size until additional testing can be performed.

Prisoner cohorts, assigned groups for movement, are allegedly designed to limit the risk of exposure by reducing prisoner to prisoner contact. The theory is, if one person in the cohort is exposed to COVID-19, or tests positive, the entire cohort is quarantined to prevent spreading the virus.

In application, once a prisoner is exposed to, or tests positive for the virus, no other members of that cohort receive automatic COVID testing unless they register a fever. If a prisoner tests positive for the virus, their cellmate is not automatically tested, despite being forced to continue to live in close proximity to the infected person. Even if a prisoner is coughing or fatigued, they are not automatically tested.

By not testing these prisoners, the prison administration is allowed to keep the appearance of a low COVID-19 infection rate, choosing instead to test everyone’s feces collectively to see how many prisoners are actually sick.

Monday January 25th: Letter-writing for Kamau Sadiki

  • January 21, 2021 1:35 am

from Philly ABC

kamau-sadiki.jpgThis month we are asking that folks write letters of support to former Black Panther, Kamau Sadiki. Kamau has been held in the Augusta State Medical Prison for years and suffered medical neglect. Right now, Kamau is in danger of needing his left foot amputated and needs to see a wound specialist. Before you join us next Monday to write a letter, please take a minute to tweet at @GovKemp & call the Augusta State Medical Prison at (706) 855-4700 to demand he be taken to the wound care clinic ASAP. At the letter-writing event, we will have an update about the medical campaign and send words of solidarity directly to Kamau so that he knows, and the prison knows, this situation is getting wider public attention.

At age 17, Kamau dedicated his life to the service of his people working out of the Jamaica office of the Black Panther Party. Kamau worked in the Free Breakfast Program each morning and then went out into the community to sell the BPP newspaper later in the day. At nineteen, Kamau was a member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA). Several members of the BLA, including Kamau, left New York City and lived in the Atlanta area for a short period of time. On the night of November 3rd 1971, witnesses observed three black males run from a van where a police officer was murdered at a gas station in downtown Atlanta. The witnesses failed to identify Kamau from a photographic line-up and there was no physical evidence that implicated him. In 1971, the Atlanta police department closed the case as unsolved.

In 1999, the FBI in pursuit of collaboration in their attempts to recapture Assata Shakur (the mother of one of Kamau’s daughters), a political exile in Cuba, threatened him with life in prison if he did not assist them. When he did not comply, the FBI convinced Atlanta police to re-open the case and charge Kamau. He was arrested in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York some thirty-one years later after the murder. In 2003, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and ten years to run consecutively for armed robbery. Much of his sentence has been spent in a medical prison because he suffers from Hepatitis C, Cirrhosis of the Liver, and Sarcoidosis. February 19th will be his 68th birthday so send him some birthday love as well!

This event will be held on Jitsi – we’ll post the meet link on social media the day of. You can also message us to get the link beforehand.

If you can’t join us on Monday, send him a message of hope and healing at:

Freddie Hilton #0001150688
Augusta State Medical Prison
3001 Gordon Highway
Grovetown, GA 30813

We also encourage sending birthday cards to political prisoners with February birthdays: Veronza Bowers (the 4th) and Oso Blanco (the 26th).

What it’s like to get COVID-19 from a federal prison

  • December 31, 2020 1:17 am

from We Love Lore

Lore Elisabeth is among the hundreds of people who have contracted COVID-19 from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ federal detention center in downtown Philadelphia (FDC Philadelphia). She is recovering well and helping others to weather this storm wrought by the cruelty of a few and the incompetence of a great many more. The facility continues to obstruct information and preventative care to those who need it, but you know that’s when people like Lore can help the most ????

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Lore contracted COVID-19 some time between October 26 and November 6. She was especially ill with flu symptoms for about 10 days but maintained steady breathing throughout. During this time she received no medical attention save for a nasal swab test and a bottle of tylenol. She was not informed of her positive test result.

FDC Philadelphia imposed a strict lockdown on November 1 due to the rampant spread of COVID-19 throughout their building. Lore and others in the women’s unit were let out of their cells weeks later, by which time more than half of them had contracted the virus. Another detainee then informed Lore that a warning sign was hung on her cell door during the lockdown. A staff nurse eventually confirmed to Lore this meant that she’d indeed had the virus. As they continue to get sick, women are now moved into the special housing unit (SHU)—solitary confinement—for weeks at a time, a regular violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture committed by US federal prisons.

This is infuriating, but it is not surprising. FDC Philadelphia’s inability to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep its detainees healthy has been known since the onset of the global pandemic. FDC Philadelphia’s own staff joined an OSHA complaint against the Bureau of Prisons in March, arguing that their facility constituted an imminent danger to all. A lawsuit filed in April finally succeeded by October to force the facility into at least performing regular COVID-19 tests. The case reports, the complete lockdown, and a communications blackout followed.

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Hundreds of people at FDC Philadelphia have been infected since October, including dozens of staffers and correctional officers. Still, we cannot expect conditions to improve meaningfully in the near term because FDC Philadelphia’s correctional officers continue to flaunt even the most basic COVID-19 protocols, like wearing masks and social distancing. I observed this during the very brief time in October when outside visitations were allowed. COs demanded that I remove my latex gloves before entering, claiming that they attract the virus. They refused repeatedly to maintain even a reasonable distance from our mom, a senior with elevated risks of COVID-19 complications. Even with us in the meeting room, groups of 5-6 gathered closely and maskless to socialize. It is no wonder that they continue to infect people, the majority of whom are simply waiting for their day in court.

This didn’t have to happen. Since the virus took hold in the United States, public health experts have clamored for home confinement of pre-trial detainees, compassionate release of medically vulnerable and/or suffering seniors, and other provisions available to prison wardens around the country. Their pleas fall on deaf ears. Wardens have approved fewer than 2% of the compassionate release requests they’ve received. FDC Philadelphia has even less reason to worsen this crisis. The facility is primarily a pre-trial detention facility, wherein people like Lore are confined before they even get to mount a defense. This may be because they cannot buy their freedom through the abominable cash bail system or, like Lore, they are just too useful as political effigies.

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We are lucky to still have Lore. We warned the US Attorney’s office that they weren’t equipped or motivated to protect Lore’s health. They countered first by blocking Lore from signing the HIPAA releases that were necessary to share her heart condition, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) affirms puts her at elevated risk for COVID-19 complications. When that failed, they falsely claimed that FDC Philadelphia could take proper care of her. Lore has been denied her prescription medications for Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT) and other conditions since she was taken into custody. I’m relieved that we don’t currently need to call the facility every day, only to be denied any kind of proof-of-life, but we must now focus on the myriad potential near- and long-term effects of COVID-19 that FDC Philadelphia will not treat.

All of this could have been avoided. We begged for the opportunity to care for Lore safely at home until her trial, which still has no foreseeable start date. Sadly, the judge decided that Lore’s charges and treatment in confinement were too obviously political in nature and extent to grant her this safety, lest others take sympathy with her and join the movements for racial justice and against police brutality.

We need to step in for a broken criminal justice system. Lore is just one of the more than 275,000 people who were forced to contract COVID-19 in a prison cell —1 out of every 5 incarcerated people in the United States. I’m very grateful to the Marshall Project for collecting these statistics assiduously throughout the year, providing us some useful perspective on the scale of the crisis, and I encourage you to donate to their efforts. Likewise, the Amistad Law Project, who organize so well on the behalf of people incarcerated by the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The people incarcerated at FDC Philadelphia and other federal prisons nationwide deserve the same kind of support.

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At the moment, the women’s unit at FDC Philadelphia has Lore to help them ???? Since recovering from Covid, she has been absolutely tireless in collecting public health and legal information for them, quickly becoming a kind of unofficial librarian for the group in addition to its de facto therapist ???? I’m so proud of her! I know you are, too. If you haven’t had a chance recently, please send her your love and let her know that she isn’t forgotten. (We’re using the free Ameelio app to send pics too, and it’s good!). Lore’s wishlist is also up-to-date with reading material to share with the whole unit. And if you’re feeling especially generous, donate to her fund via PayPal or Venmo. With a major fundraising goal met, this money can go to her commissary fund—mostly pre-packaged food to augment the typical meal of an apple and a peanut butter sandwich.

Please hold Lore and FDC Philadelphia’s detainees in the light with us ????☮️

Two Missives from a PA Prison, from Comrade Elliot

  • December 7, 2020 1:57 am

from Dreaming Freedom, Practicing Abolition

ONE:

What’s so sad now a days these young men would rather fight someone over $5 then peacefully stand up for their rights and what they believe in. I must specify because these devils are crafty that everything I am doing and attempt to do in the future is PEACEFUL so I do not care if they read it or know its from me. I would like to put certain information on these social media sites such as what’s going on in the prison as well as the individual it is occurring with. Sci ***** is EXTREMELY corrupt! They plant drugs and weapons on inmates, the guards bring in phones and drugs. In other facilities when the inmates get caught with these things they’re usually transferred. Not here. They sweep it under the rug and keep it in house because then it will prove the corruptness of this institution. They took away our mail and visits so please explain why and how the drugs are still entering the facility at an all time high after all the jails having NO VISITS for over 8 months!! I was transferred from SCI+++++ for no reason 200 miles away from my family because of grievances and a lawsuit I was filing. They kicked me out and said I was a high ranking gang member calling shots and I was a threat with no misconduct, no proof or anything. Placed me in the hole up here for two weeks telling me welcome to *****. That was September of last year. In this past year I’ve seen staff abuse both physically and verbally, officers lying on misconducts, racism and bigotry at an all time high and basic corruptness. The racism even lies with the officers and their co workers smh. I would appreciate pen pals and any literature you may be able to share. I believe we need a social media site where we can expose not only the institutions but the individual staff as well.

TWO:

CW: Racist, homophobic slurs and violence

There’s this one sergeant who is not only racist, a bigot and disrespectful but also abusive physically, verbally and mentally! His name is Sergeant HATER. The staff below him are intimidated because of his stripes and those above him are intimidated because of the union. He’s assaulted inmates and wrote misconducts stating the inmate assaulted him but once video is reviewed it is seen to be a lie; dusted under the rug. He’s lied on numerous misconducts; dusted under the rug. He’s been assaulted due to his behavior after he was put on suspension and wasn’t allowed to work on any blocks! Dusted under the rug. Now I’ve dealt with racism, belittling sexual context (Mexican cocksucker and I’m not even Mexican!), retaliation for placing numerous grievances and complaints on him and all that happens is grievances are denied and/or rejected. He’s continuously denied me showers, phone calls and the opportunity to clean my cell all on his watch during a pandemic. Continuous racist and derogatory remarks. I’ve had one lieutenant attempt to assist me by the name of [FRIENDLY] but honestly NOTHING has changed it continues to get worst! Today he once again denied me a phone call which I was signed up for as well as a shower and when I asked the other guards who was working with him why I wasn’t allowed the response was “I’m not getting in between you and HATER’s gang war.” Just like in the street when an officer is doing something wrong, instead of his partner or fellow coworkers letting him know he’s doing things wrong they turn a blind eye or condone in his actions. There needs to be a way that we expose these guards and those actions to society and the public. We must let everyone know what goes on even if that means we start a webpage and post all grievances up as well as the answers to the grievances so EVERYONE is held accountable for their actions. I understand the job of a correctional officer but the racist undertone and continuous abuse can not be acceptable! Thank you

Image thanks to Just Seeds, created by Roger Peet, available here: https://justseeds.org/graphic/prison-pandemic-1/

December virtual anarchist discussion: lockdown and isolation

  • December 6, 2020 1:00 pm

from Viscera

Join us Sunday, December 13th from 1 pm-3 pm EST for our next discussion! With the lockdown upon many of us once again and the pandemic continuing to rage, we figure even hardened anti-social @s might be bouncing off the walls at this point. In that light, we’ve decided to revisit a few texts written at the beginning of the first wave of all this that touch on the subjects of lockdown and social isolation, plus an older one on solitude.

This one’s gonna be online as we anticipate unpleasant sitting outside weather, so we’ll be back on jitsi in room viscerapvd. E-mail us for the password at viscerapvd@gmail.com.

Readings for discussion:

Marcello Tari – Letter to Friends of the Desert
Dabtara – Against Social Distancing
Novatore – Noontime Songs

Free Political Prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz

  • November 29, 2020 1:12 am

from AMW English

Free Political Prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz

Russell Maroon Shoatz is a founding member of the Black Unity Council, a former member of the Black Panther Party, and a soldier in the Black Liberation Army.

“Police brutality is the reason our people are inside,” says Russell Shoatz III, Maroon’s son. Maroon has been in prison since 1972 because he was a leader in the fight against police in the 1960s and ’70s. He’s an elder of the most powerful movement this country has ever seen.

Maroon was held in solitary confinement for nearly 30 years, after two escape attempts he made over 40 years ago in the tradition of the maroon communities that escaped enslaved Africans created throughout the Americas. In his book, Maroon the Implacable, he makes this history come alive for younger generations. During his almost half-century in prison, he has mentored dozens of fellow prisoners, some of whom have joined the movement on the inside and outside.

As COVID-19 surges through the state and tears through its prisons, loved ones of incarcerated people are asking for the immediate release all elderly and medically vulnerable people in prison, and simply for prison staff to wear face masks and be tested for COVID-19.

Amid the horror that is the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections right now, Black liberation movement political prisoner Russell Maroon Shoatz may be one of the best examples of how that horror is playing out for elderly prisoners and their families. Maroon is 77 years old and has been fighting stage 4 colon cancer for over a year. After testing positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 11, Maroon was held in a gymnasium with 29 other men—and only one toilet to share between them. His urgent surgery for the cancer is being denied.

According to Theresa Shoatz, his daughter, Pennsylvania prisoners have been unable to make phone calls to let people outside know how bad COVID is inside right now.

Maroon must attain freedom. In an act of solidarity, while suffering in innumerable ways, Maroon himself told his daughter to advocate for the other 29 guys left in the gym.

You can donate to support Maroon’s Global Network here: https://russellmaroonshoats.wordpress.com/donate/

Dwayne “BIM” Staats on Psychological Torture at S.C.I. Albion

  • November 20, 2020 1:18 am

from AMW English

“The job is never over; it simply changes from one task to the next. What I’m looking for, I suppose, is balance, and that is a moving target. Balance is not a passive resting place – it takes work, balancing the giving and the taking, the raking out and the putting in.”

-Robin Wall Kimmer

Peace & greetings!

The administration at S.C.I. Albion has empowered corrections officers and the psychologist who works in the RHU (Restricted Housing Unit) to deny our meals, showers, recreation and mail as a means of punishment, retaliation, and psychological torture.

Back in April/May 2020, my neighbor Rufus Davis committed suicide, and in July, another one of my neighbors Phillip Root attempted suicide, but was saved by a C/O named Nolan. Sadly, Nolan was chastised in front of the whole pod by Captain Campbell who said, “Don’t go in there saving nobody. If they want to hang, let them hang!” That statement underscores the total disregard for the lives of RHU inmates at S.C.I. Albion. The same tactics used on Rufus, Phillip and countless others who’d rather kill themselves instead of facing the mental torment, are still in place. It’s upsetting to see how desensitized guards have become towards denying prisoners meals, showers, recreation and mail. The RHU psychologist condones their behavior, the grievance system is useless, and once again, it’s looking like we’ll have to take matters into our own hands (which comes as no surprise).

The reality is we “the incarcerated” are unable to capture footage of excessive force, abuse of discretion, physical, psychological and emotional abuses, cruel and unusual punishment and any other acts of immorality committed by civilian staff, officers, and administrators inside these facilities. Therefore, the dissemination of our truths must be conveyed through word of mouth, writing, communiqués, articles, protesting and uprising.

Power is the people,

BIM

#Vaughn17

Phone Zap for Maroon and Elderly Prisoners

  • November 17, 2020 1:18 am

from Instagram

COVID-19 poses a great threat to the lives of prisoners. We all know that the elderly are more at risk when it comes to COVID-19. Russell Shoatz who is 77 years of age has colon cancer and is COVID-19 positive. He’s being confined to a cubicle inside of a gymnasium with 30 other COVID-19 positive prisoners containing only 1 toilet for all of them to use. Maroon is being denied an urgent surgery to aid his colon cancer. Please call @governortomwolf now and demand his unconditional release, along with ALL elder prisoners with COVID-19 — (717) 787-2500.

[Video Here]

Philly’s Federal Prison has a COVID-19 outbreak

  • November 12, 2020 1:14 am

from We Love Lore

No one has heard from Lore nor any other person incarcerated at FDC Philadelphia since Thursday, November 5. They are locked down for at least two weeks at the time of writing and cannot even communicate with their lawyers. This is happening because of a COVID-19 outbreak that the facility has yet to acknowledge publicly. I will do my best to keep this page updated as we learn more.

What we know:

  • An outbreak of COVID-19 among men incarcerated on the fourth floor of the facility was discovered at some point during the week of October 26.

  • All visits to the facility have been cancelled without explanation since November 1.

  • There has been no communication out of the facility since November 5.

What we don’t know:

  • Who or how many people are infected.

  • Lore’s health status.

  • What if any precautions staff are taking as they work in and commute to/from the facility.

This summer, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania’s prosecutors and judge brushed off the notion that Lore’s family could keep her safer than the FDC could. Now here we are.

Philly Starbucks Worker Delivers NLRB Unfair Labor Practice Complaint

  • October 17, 2020 1:09 am

from Unicorn Riot

Philadelphia, PA – An employee of the Starbucks at 1900 Market St. delivered a National Labor Relations Board form stating she’d been retaliated against for ‘Protected Concerted Activity’. The worker filing the complaint alleges she was punished via a reduction in hours for organizing a strike and told not to discuss working conditions with her coworkers.

The worker filing the NLRB paperwork told Unicorn Riot she “filed an Unfair Labor Practice with the [NLRB] regarding retaliation for union activity and protected concerted activity… I organized a sick-in strike with some coworkers – following that I was punished and told not to talk about workplace conditions w my coworkers on the floor” and experienced a serious reduction in working hours, threatening her income and access to healthcare.

A copy of the NLRB complaint delivered to the Philly Starbucks location on October 15, 2020.

The strike was also brought on in part by baristas’ concerns for coworkers living with weakened immune systems due to conditions like asthma, the worker told Unicorn Riot. Starbucks management’s insistence on reopening indoor cafe seating was reportedly “the straw that broke the camel’s back”, with the location’s staff becoming frustrated enough to agree to strike together by calling in sick.

“We’ve had hour cuts, we’ve lost our hazard pay even though the [COVID] numbers in Pennsylvania have still been going up… When i brought my concerns up with my manager, I was told that this was going to happen eventually, we knew this at the beginning that Starbucks was eventually going to reopen the indoor seating, and that they’re a company and they need to make money…It just doesn’t feel like they care about us at all and it’s all security theater type stuff.”

She also mentioned added job stresses due to the COVID-19 pandemic such as more intensive cleaning and dealing with customers who don’t want to wear masks.

See Unicorn Riot’s full livestream of the delivery of the NLRB complaint and the short protest outside this Starbucks location (14 mins):

[Video Here]

Earlier this year, baristas at a different Philly Starbucks at Broad and Washington successfully demanded a manager’s resignation over “discriminatory practices” and issues involving “schedules and paid sick leave”, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In 2019, another local Starbucks location (at 18th and Spruce) because embroiled in national controversy after a manager called the police two Black men were sitting and waiting for a colleague for a business meeting, leading to their arrests.

Judge Ruling Permits City to Evict Tent Encampments

  • August 26, 2020 2:48 am

from Twitter

Philadelphia, PA: A federal judge just ruled *against* a requested injunction filed by lawyers representing homeless city residents fighting @PhillyMayor Jim Kenney’s plan to send in police to evict tent encampments. The judge reportedly requires the city to give 72 hours notice.

Here at the James Talib Dean memorial encampment on the Ben Franklin parkway, things are fairly calm and dozens of tents are still up along with hand washing and service stations. Some police are nearby but no plans for raids seem imminent today, although camp residents are wary.
As with Philly city officials’ previous threats to use force to clear these camps, many camp residents say they aren’t going anywhere no matter what the government says. Many supporters of the camps have also mobilized recently to defend against possible deployment of police.
Here is federal judge Eduardo C. Robreno’s order denying the injunction and clearing the way for @PhillyMayor to use force to displace homeless encampments during the coronavirus pandemic, despite CDC guidelines to the contrary. (H/t @KeeleyFox29 for court docs)
Several sitting members of Philadelphia’s city council have strongly opposed any move by Mayor Kenney to displace homeless Philadelphians seeking refuge at these camps. It’s unclear to what extent contentious city politics may delay any use of force by police on this matter.
Any sweep of camps (and militant protesters defending camps) would likely involve Philly PD SWAT. PPD SWAT gained national notoriety for extreme on-camera abuses during George Floyd protests. They’ve shown a clear eagerness to commit violence against protesters and reporters.

Prisoners’ Lives Matter: Dwayne Staats on Hunger Strike in SCI Albion

  • August 16, 2020 1:34 am

from AMW English

Prisoners' Lives Matter: Dwayne Staats on Hunger Strike in SCI Albion

Prisoners Lives Matter

by Dwayne “Bim” Staats

-On Wednesday July 8th, Michael Discenko #ME3162 (inmate at S.C.I. Albion, residing in the restrictive housing unit) was tested for COVID-19 because he was due to be released soon (July 15th).

-Sunday July 12th, medical staff (dressed in hazardous suits) went to Michael’s cell to inform him that he’d tested positive for COVID-19, and that another test would be arranged soon.

-Sunday night, a group of us held a meeting to discuss the circumstances. Our conclusion was that the administration was going to quarantine the whole tier without giving the rest of us testing or removing Michael. To counter the inevitable, ten of us decided to go on hunger strike in protest of them leaving Michael on the tier and not giving us testing.

-Monday morning, July 13th, 6:15 am, corrections officer does count and announces that the tier will be quarantined for 14 days… 7:30 am, the ten of us refused our breakfast… 8:00 am, captain and lieutenant come on the tier to investigate why we didn’t eat. They stated that exceptions would be made for us to take showers (which I consider a death trap)… 12:30 pm, inmates from an adjacent tier were brought over to use our showers while we’re “quarantined.”

-Tuesday July 14th, the tier was notified that outside recreation will be available (pretty sure this concession was only offered with hopes that we would start taking trays).

-Wednesday July 15th, 4:30 am, Michael is notified that he won’t be getting tested, and to pack up because they’re releasing him at 6:30 am… 8:00 am, Michael is made aware that they’re (D.O.C.) not putting him on a van. Instead, they’re driving him directly to his house (they never let him warn his family). Michael’s cell was beneath mine, which enabled us to communicate through the vent in our rooms. He expressed that he was a-symptomatic, and like the rest of us in solitary confinement, hasn’t come in close proximity with no one but prison staff. I told him don’t put his family at risk, and when he pulls up to the house, immediately tell his loved ones, “don’t come near me- call the ambulance- I’ve tested positive for COVID-19!”… 1:00 pm, two deputy superintendents and a psychologist came on the tier for a brief moment, then left.

-Thursday morning, July 16th, being that we’ve surpassed 9 consecutive meals, a nurse came on the tier to announce that “those on hunger strike will be charged $5 a day for medical service.” What she failed to mention was, under policy and protocol, the ninth meal signifies that we will be placed in P.O.C. (prisoner observation cells) and monitored by medical and psychologists multiple times throughout the day. True to their nature, policy or protocol wasn’t adhered to. This negligence discouraged a lot of guys from continuing their hunger strike. We were kept in our cells instead of being taken to P.O.C… 11:00 am, medical staff came around to talk to those who remained on hunger strike (Dwayne Staats #NT000, Reuben Henry #HJ3797, Ramon Sanchez #FH7056 and Deshawn Nelson #MN2187). He stated, “Pennsylvania’s governor Tom Wolfe is the only person who can authorize COVID testing for prisoners.” This far, the testing has only been reserved for prisoners who are transferring or getting released. Even those who’ve shown symptoms or have pre-existing conditions are refused testing… 1:00 pm, regional deputies take a tour of the prison. They came to our building, but never step foot on our tier.

-Friday, July 17th, still not put under medical/psychological observation… Guys in hazardous suit spray something in Michael’s old cell. Later on, another inmate is placed inside (yes, we’re still “quarantined”).

-Saturday, July 18th, 11:00 am, medical staff came on the tier, asking to take our vitals (which we all refused) and brag about charging us $5 like it was going into her pocket.

-Sunday, July 19th, 12:30 am, we’re at 18 consecutively missed meals. The guard came around for count and stopped at Reuben’s cell. He kept yelling his name and tapping on the window. This made me get up to see what was going on. Reuben was unresponsive, which caused the guard to alert medical and other officers. A few nurses and guards rushed on the tier. They opened Reuben’s cell and I seen him sprawled out on the floor. Once medical verified “signs of life,” they took him off the tier on a stretcher. About 20 minutes later, he walks back on the tier and the guards secure him back in the cell. Medical said he passed out because of dehydration and low sugar levels… 1:00 am, Reuben is brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (but still not put under observation). 6:00 pm, medical personnel finally follows up on Reuben (who still refused trays) and the rest of us who was on hunger strike… To be continued.

In closing, there is a total disregard for prisoners lives that needs immediate attention. Furthermore, all the guys who ended their hunger strikes are now being retaliated against by the prison staff or administration for having the audacity to protest. Until next time, be easy and take care!

Power is the people!

-Bim

Dwayne Staats #NT0000

S.C.I. Albion

P.O. Box 33028

St. Petersburg, FL 33733

P.S. I ain’t on no suicide mission and I ain’t gone let these people get the satisfaction of killing me!

A Letter From Safear

  • August 14, 2020 1:28 am

from Dreaming Freedom Practicing Abolition

Imprisoned Abolitionist Stephen Wilson was taken to the hole (RHU) today (8/10/2020). His crime? Voicing a concern to the block’s unit manager. The problem was simple enough. We are locked in our cells for 19 1/2 hours most days. When it is time for our recreational periods the guards let us out late and lock us in early. Stevie simply wanted to know why they keep taking time from us. However prisoners are not expected to use their voices during a pandemic. Hours later the guards came to Stevie’s cell, cuffed him, and marched him away. Prison officials allege abusive or threatening language. Really they just wanted to silence him. This act is just the latest in a series of oppressive misconducts against prisoners. Stevie is just the most recent target.

For weeks the guards have been writing people up on bogus charges in an attempt to suppress potential resistance. Others have been given misconducts for actions such as walking up the stairs to ones cell (unauthorized area). Carrying extra prison food (contraband). And now Stevie for using his voice. The prison superintendents voice was broadcast over our TVs just a few days ago. “We want to remind everyone that this is not a punishment. This is for your own safety” he said. Not a punishment? From my cell it sure felt like punishment. No doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the lives of everyone inside and out. Free world people sheltered in place. They ordered food on Grubhub, clothes on MTailor, and everything else on Amazon. Families took socially distanced walks in the park. Or they just went for a drive when they felt like getting out of the house.

Those of us in prison got locked down. In PA we spent 23 hours and 15 minutes in the cell each day. For 45 minutes we were let out of our small box into a larger box. Weeks passed like that.Finally they gave us the “privilege” to be locked in the cell for 19 1/2 hours a day. We are isolated into groups of 40 people on the block. They created short incremental recreational periods. Then they let us out late and watch us fight each other over who gets to use the phone.

Stevie got tired of it. We are all tired of it. Not tired of protecting ourselves from COVID. Tired of being pitted against each other. Tired of the the guards’ oppression. Our only physical visits are from COs searching our cells. But I’m supposed to smile and be grateful for them “protecting me”? Fuck that. Let’s be clear – the only way a prisoner is going to catch the virus is if the guards or staff bring it in. And I do not believe that taking temperatures at the door is going to keep the virus out. Haven’t they heard of the term Asymptomatic by now? Don’t they know that it can take multiple days before a person starts showing symptoms? We don’t want to be in here when one of them brings the virus in. We have to continue the progress that has been made releasing people from jails and prisons.

To those who cage us: You want to protect us? Then let us out of this damn petri dish you call a prison. Let Stephen Wilson out of the hole for expressing a legitimate concern. Stop putting on this hollow performance of safety and security. Open up these gates! To our Allies, Comrades, and Accomplices: Dis-Organize this prison. Call SCI Fayette and give us a voice. Be a voice for Stephen Wilson and tell the administration to let him out of the RHU. Let them know that we have your support.

In Solidarity,

Safear