from It’s Going Down
[This post only contains information relevant to Philadelphia and the surrounding area, to read the entire article follow the above link.]
Inspired by the spirit of the Political Prisoners Birthday crew, here’s a short listing of some rebel prisoners who have upcoming birthdays in July.
For an introduction on how to write to prisoners and some things to do and not to do, go here. If you have the time, please also check IWOC’s listing of prisoners facing retaliation for prison strike-related organizing.
In recent years, July 25th has also been commemorated as an international day of solidarity with Jock Palfreeman and all antifascist prisoners, so you might want to do something for that, like raising funds for the International Antifascist Defence Fund or the Bulgarian Prisoners’ Association, emailing Belarus ABC to ask them to translate your message and pass it on to one of the several Belarusian antifascist prisoners, or whatever else seems appropriate to you.
Happy birthday to our comrades Ilya Romanov and Oleg Sentsov from Russia, and to Nina Droz Franco from Puerto Rico, who’ll be celebrating their birthdays in freedom this year!
On a less positive note, 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. So far, I’m only aware of an organized defence campaign for Colin and Urooj in New York, but there must be many others out there facing serious charges with less organized support. At the time of writing, both Colin and Urooj have been bailed out.
SAMANTHA SHADER #83823-053
MDC BROOKLYN
P.O. BOX 329002
BROOKLYN, NY, 11232
Please do not write anything to pre-trial defendants that could in any way have a negative impact on their trial, and keep an eye out for changes in their status
Eric King has also been facing a particularly brutal time of it lately, and is currently under incredibly harsh restrictions. Please support any calls coming from his support crew, and donate to his legal fund ahead of his upcoming trial.
If you would like to buy a nicely-designed face mask while also raising money for a Lucasville Uprising prisoner’s legal costs, Greg Curry has you covered – check out his store here.
Much as I hate to see even more of our lives and communications being enclosed by tech companies, it seems inescapable at the moment, so for anyone who doesn’t want to leave their house to buy stamps/cards/envelopes or to send mail, a reminder that many prisoners can be contacted electronically, via Jpay or similar services.
Corey Smith
A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Corey Smith in relation to the uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved to Pennsylvania, where he is being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted Release List) on vague and questionable grounds. More than two years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.
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 “NU0456”.
Birthday: July 14
Address:
Smart Communications/PADOC
Corey Smith
NU0456
SCI Camp Hill
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733
Kevin Berry
A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the court found Kevin Berry not guilty on all charges in relation to the uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved to Pennsylvania, where he is being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted Release List) on vague and questionable grounds. More than two years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.
Kevin Berry is a contributor to the Vaughn 17 “Live From the Trenches” zine, and also wrote a June 11th statement for last year’s day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners.
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 “NT0583”.
Birthday: July 17th
Address:
Smart Communications/PADOC
Kevin Berry, NT0583
SCI Benner Township
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733
