ORGANISE! for class struggle anarchism |
£1.00 Autumn/Winter 1996 Issue 44 (Free to Prisoners) |
PRISONERS
Lorenzo L. Stone-Bey
The Attorney General for the State of Indiana admitted in the State's appeal brief in 1991: "...that Stone's arrest was without probable cause. The arresting officer essentially admitted the same". Despite this, the appeal was denied!
Other abuses against him during his arrest included being held incommunicado for several days, being placed in a highly suggestive and illegal line-up, and his juvenile rights being denied him (he was 17 at the time).
The building that was robbed was next door to one of a number of places in the area owned by the state senator and his brother, who was also the alleged victim. This led to considerable pressure to get convictions of local activists who had been resisting police control in their neighbourhoods.
In July 1996, Lorenzo was found not guilty at a disciplinary hearing. By law he should have been released from segregation to his previous housing in D-Cell House at the Indiana State Prison, instead he was transferred to the Indiana State Reformatory as an act of reprisal.
Lorenzo also has a continuing parole hearing at present and would appreciate letters of support being sent to the parole board calling for his release.
Write to: Lorenzo L. Stone-Bey #10006, Indiana Reformatory, PO Box 30, Pendleton, IN 46064, USA.
To protest his transfer: Mr. Jack Duckworth, Superintendent - Indiana Reformatory,
(address as above).
In March 1990, three men, Michael Davis, Raphael Rowe and Randolph Johnson were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and robbery. They have consistently claimed to be innocent.
At the time of the attacks witnesses claimed that at least 2 of the attackers were white, including some of the victims, and the police issued statements saying they were looking for 2 white and 1 black man. Yet all three men convicted are black!
Davis and Rowe had an alibi for the time that the incidents took place, supported by several people. Johnson had no alibi (this is not particularly surprising when the incidents took place at around midnight), but he was not picked out of an identity parade.
Three white men who shared their house with Davis and Rowe admitted to stealing a green Spitfire car which was used in the first attack and was abandoned by the body of Peter Hurburgh. They were also seen by a witness trying to burn a red Cavalier and a white Renault which were stolen from the Spicer/Almond premises. The air pistol used by the gang was found in their possession, and goods from the robberies were found at the home of one of their girlfriends. These 3 men all turned prosecution witnesses and no charges were ever brought against any of them.
In addition to all of this, witness statements were changed so as to implicate the three defendants. Evidence which supported their innocence in the statements was ignored as unreliable. Evidence was withheld from the defence. Reward money totalling £25,000 was paid out, though the prosecution wouldn't admit to whom, despite the obvious implications this would have as to their impartiality. And, there was no forensic evidence against any of the three men.
In July 1993 they had an appeal against their convictions rejected, despite the defence demolishing the prosecutions case against them. Since then they have appealed to the Home Secretary to have the case referred back to the Court of Appeal due to the inconsistencies of the previous judgement. He has instructed the police to investigate the new evidence before any decision is made. Also the European Court of Human Rights is seeking comment from the government as to the conduct of their trial.
These three men have clearly been the victims of a blatant miscarriage of justice. They deserve our support.
Write to: Michael Davis MP3661, HMP Swaleside, Brabazon Rd., Eastchurch, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 4DZ.
Raphael Rowe MP3660, HMP Maidstone, County Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1UZ.
Ben has written articles for various radical publications exposing various abuses within the prison system. This has no doubt caused him to receive special attention from the authorities, in the form of increased harassment.
As he thinks it unlikely that he will get parole, he felt it absolutely necessary to stand up to this harassment and challenge it before all his outside contact was cut off, which would obviously make the remainder of his sentence much harder.
Letters of support: Ben Alterman, Loddon Prison, Locked Bag 3, Castlemaine, Vic 3450, Australia.
This problem is particularly acute in women's prisons. Most women who are imprisoned are convicted of petty offences, such as falling into debt, not paying fines (for other petty offences), or even not paying their TV licence (several hundred people are imprisoned for this 'crime' every year, nearly all are women!). This can only heighten the sense of injustice they feel. Also, these so called crimes do not happen in a vacuum, poverty is often involved, as all too often is a history of having suffered various kinds of abuse and violence. Add to this the fact that many imprisoned women are separated from their families, which can often result in children being taken into care, it can be little wonder that when they get dumped into a harsh uncaring environment, they become depressed and even suicidal.
This is however not just a problem for Cornton Vale or women's prisons, it is a reality in all prisons. It is an inevitable result of the system that created them and runs them. They may in the short term manage to prevent any more suicides from occurring at Cornton Vale, if for no other reason than that they will have to be extremely vigilant now, as they are being watched and they will be keen to avoid scandal. What is also absolutely definite is that within the system as a whole suicides will continue to occur, here and there throwing the spotlight onto certain prisons where they happen too regularly. For example, in 1994, four people killed themselves in Exeter prison in the space of a little over 6 months, and at around the same time Leicester prison recorded a similar number of suicides, yet once the spotlight had moved from them they were soon forgotten and nothing had changed.
Every year dozens of people commit suicide within British prisons, a pattern repeated around the world. Many hundreds more attempt suicide, figures here can only be guessed at as they are often covered up, or never heard about (a suicide attempt is not considered to be newsworthy by our 'fearless' press!). For the authorities suicide is an acceptable part of the prison system. The death penalty is alive and thriving in Britain today!
Contact BPSG, PO Box 3241 Saltley, Birmingham B8 3DP. Haven Distribution can be contacted at BM Haven, London WC1N 3XX.
Lorenzo has been in prison since 1976, when he was framed for a double murder during an alleged armed robbery. He was the only one convicted of the murders despite four people standing trial. A fifth person pleaded guilty by agreement and was used as a state witness against Lorenzo. Witnesses stated that it was this man who had announced a robbery when another state witness had refused to sell him a bottle of wine.
Under cross-examination the fifth man admitted he pleaded guilty to save his own neck and to avoid a life sentence. He also admitted that the police department and the prosecutor's office falsified his statements to implicate Lorenzo and his three co-defendants.
Letters of support: Indiana Parole Board, E321 Indiana government center South, 302 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204, USA.
On the 15-16 December 1988, Peter Hurburgh was murdered and his friend Alan Ely was robbed. Subsequently, the Napier household in Oxted and the Spicer/Almond premises in Fetcham were also attacked and robbed. The three crimes were linked by the M25 motorway and became known as the M25 case.
Randolph Johnson MP3903, HMP Long Lartin, South Littleton, Evesham, Worcs, WR11 5TZ.
On the 30th of August 1996, Ben began an indefinite hunger strike at Loddon Prison in Australia. He has undertaken this because of increased harassment by the prison authorities, in particular, the withholding and confiscation of political literature which has been sent in to him.
Letters of Protest: The Governor, Loddon Prison, (address as above).
Or: State Ombudsman, 12th Floor, 303 Collins Street, Vic 3000, Australia..
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A MATTER OF URGENCY!
Cornton Vale is Scotland's only prison for women. In the last 15 months, 5 women have committed suicide there. As a result the governor Robert Glen resigned, to be replaced by Kathleen Donegan, who of course promised action.
Birmingham Prisoners Solidarity Group is a newly formed group with the aims of focussing on prisoners in local prisons, helping set up other campaigns, making printing, design and layout resources available, supporting and liaising with other campaigns, organising protests, writing to prisoners, and working with Haven Distribution to provide revolutionary literature to help the political development of prisoners.
IF YOU ARE unsure about writing to prisoners, the Anarchist Black Cross produce a useful leaflet to help you along. You can get this and other practical information by writing to any ABC group, or drop us a line preferably with an SAE., and we will pass them on to you.
ACF PO Box 5754, Elgin, IV30 2ZD Scotland.