■:<^v PRISONERS NEWS 6"S SPEC//tL PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD (N.Y CHAPTER) May-June, 1974 Volume 4, No. 4 .: a difficult prej^: state HiS OF JUN 2 0 ly74 Peace Brothers and Sisters . . This is just an addition of the struggle that goes on behind the prison walls. Let me take you on a journey and inform you of the wildlife at Bedford Hills Womens Camp. We've endured a situation herein that is basically psychological thus subjecting us to rules that are arbitrarily capricious. It's somewhat difficult to explain to the outside world of incidents happening to us under these circumstances. How do you explain intense pressure, constant harassment, entanglement, process of elimination of the mind and the likes. How can you explain to someone - When does it end_ How can you fight it? Legally, physically?? I have reason to believe that the guards here feel their dealing with a bunch of hysterical "things"; quite the contrary. The guards here can't/won 't/are not allowed/ to think. You must also consider that the requirements only call for the passing of a "State Civil Service Multiple Choice" examination which doesn't require much thought. The guards that are capable of thinking and acting in accordance with their human emotions and civilized character are suppressed, harrassed, pressured and reassigned to different posts for showing this sort of a character. Getting back to the Wildlife- just imagine yourself being in the jungle. You're unfamiliar with the animals but they're quite aware of your presence. So they instinctively set up traps, devices of trickery, means of aggravation instilling fear and total discontent/discontent at its extreme- making you overtly aware that they're aware of you. You don't know for sure Who, What, Where or Why; but you know that something is happening against you and you can't help it. You're compelled to submit to this willingly or are branded as an advocate/threat which is an intellectual way of putting it, but in wildlife you're just a difficult prey. So your struggle for existence is quite traumatic and your reasoning/rationale may become subdued with pressurized decisions and subse quently perpetual irrational behavior. Moreover let me emphasize the insidious position of the beast with her prey. She ’ s cunning, shrewd, unscrupulous, unseen, unheard, sinister, sly, crafty, capricious, clever and has overvrhelming ability to cover up their acts. However, we as STATE HISTORICAL SOOiRlY OF WISCON.SIN L SOOiRlY I ilN 1 mms. mm " V Mfj i 4 / ■ Fred Brown, "Brooding" Rikers Island the recipients of all these idiosyncrasies are thus openly attacked should we not adhere to them and an example for all to see. (Not^- idiosyn crasies not rules) Because there are no visible rules and regulations at Bedford Hills Corr. Camp (to be challenged) (continued on page 2) (continued from page 1i Because there is a dire need for a doctor to be here at least until midday. Because there is a lack of communication between the guards and their supervisors to enforce rules on us that the supervisors "feel" is needed; wherein they don't have to answer to them. Because there is no consistent procedure. Because the Laws of the Federal Government don't applv to Bedford Hills State Camp (so we're told; Because the absurd arrogance of the seemingly power of the administration has caused them to change the days of the week to begin on Saturday instead of Sunday for their convenience (since our families are too frequent on Sundays). Because as a result of the new aggravation for the week of 1/28/74 about the change of the beginning of the week at Bedford, our families have been turned away at the gate in the cold after traveling from either of the five boroughs of New York. ... Because any request you want to make have to be written and mailed and could mysteriously be lost before it gets there and you would never know or just simply ignored, which is more the case. Because a woman who has to go out to a private medical for treatment will be given a prescription by her doctor and upon arriving back at the camp, will be told she cannot have the medication (wherein if the institution could have handled it she wouldn't have had to go out in the first place.) Not to mention that your doctor is under the impression that your being treated as any attempt to write and tell him otherwise shall be deterred. Because packages being brought in by families are coming up short. They have to be left at the gate and by the time they arrive in the institution and searched with dirty knitting needles and scissors and knives which are very obviously sitting in a metal container in the package room and used over and over again. You cannot even fix your face to complain about it, otherwise your whole package can be lost. ,„^^se the so called procedures for Bed ford HTTTs Womens Camp i' so infantile and cannot be challenged. Who are you going to challenge when you have 3 or 4 deputy superin tendents who make the rules from week to week. Because the administration is so overly zealous in their paperwork and the reports that are so diligently submitted, duly signed and sent to Albany annually. Thus completely overlooking/passing on/ at a later date attitude/negligence/and covering up the conditions. Conclusively, when ypa exhaust your admin istrative remedies; when you attempt to do what you can with patience and legality; when your family calls and questions in vain; when you submit and do a dance you get a maybe or "We're investigating the matter" for weeks on end. If you really get some legal assistance (note: you have to make a Federal case) then you really suffer consequences _ and you suppress and suppress and suppress and suppress all that you are enduring and waiting for aid from any source, you're still not sure of the outcome So when your faced with an incident as the one that happened here on February 3, 1974 wherein a sister had asked for vitally needed medication that she was cut off from- wherein she asked to be locked in the segre gation area as the doctor is frequently there and was told No Room for you... Wherein she asked to be locked in the sick wing- No Reply., where prior to this particular day she herself felt her need and tried every means possible to obtain immediate assistance as best she could (write a request) ^nd subsequently (5) five guards were the result of the perpetuated idiosyncrasies of their supervisors and the sister then brought to the attention of the administration, Albany officials and the West chester Detective Division just how vitally in need she was. She exhausted her administrative remedies as so many of us boasted in anger that we would do as there's just so much a person can take. Self-preservation is one of the first LAWS of life and it surely can't be done by request and held over the weekend until the counselors or the person in charge of such and such area comes in on Monday _ So what ever way you have to preserve life, be it le gal or physical or whatever is natural for you as an individual under these circumstances, I fear the latter would seem appropriate. We've been partial in our struggle sis ters and brothers and very much cooperative to the coy nature of the beast _ Not any more .because now the beast has exposed itself and we can defend ourselves. Will it be the ones who set up the traps or the one who reacts . . . . . "WILL THE REAL BEAST PLEASE STAND UP" Bedford Hills. N.Y. pg. 2 collective statement Two and a half months ago the Midnight Special collective found itself in a trisis of direction, morale, people power, and money. We decided to take a month to work on these problems, rather than just try to plow through putting out another issue. We said we would use the month to have intense pol itical discussions, do fundraising, recruit new people and reorganize. This process is still con tinuing, but at this point here's where we're at: We've had a lot of good political raps which resulted in our deciding to be a group that does work around prisons other than just putting out the paper. We want the Midnight Special to be something that prisoners can work with when they are released. We want to start building those relationships more self-conciously with people while they're still in side. We want to mobilize support for the prison struggle among people on the outside. We have set up two committees. One is a Women Prisoners committee which is organizing around the struggles of women on the inside and the problems they they face when they get out. The first thing the group is doing is support for Carole Crools, a sister in Bedford Hills, New York's women's prison, who is charged with assaulting four guards. Inform ation about the case is being distributed and bake sales are taking place to raise money for Carole"s defense. This, and a law suit against conditions at Bedford are vehicles for educating people about the conditions there. The group is also considering setting up a store front and day care center to help and do political work with women when they get out of prison. The second new committee is doing Attica defense work. This group will do educational outreach con cerning the Attica rebellion, the upco^ming trials, search & destroy and an offensive against Rockefeller. We just had a demonstration of 500 people in support of the Attica Brothers when Rockerfeller received the Four Freedoms award at a $100-a-plate dinner. Very little fund raising has been done, actually just enough to put out this issue. Some work has been done with recruiting, but we have also lost some people, so we still feel short handed. We have decided to put more of an emphasis on •working with people in New York area prisons. This is for several reasons. We have been incapable of doing a good job on a national level of even basic struggles such as fighting the censorship of the paper. We want to put more energy into those sisters .and brothers with whom we can build real relations “both whilt they are in prison and when they are released. We urge people to stop by the office when they get out. This regional emphasis will be re flected in the paper by trying to give more contin uity to our coverage of the.situations in the area joints. It will also mean somewhat less coverage of other prisons. In order to have more time and en ergy to put into our new work. The Midnight Special will come out every six weeks instead of monthly. Please let us know what you think of all this. None of it is by any means final and we really feel like we are in the midst of a very difficult, but good process of change. This letter is in response to the suppressive acts being carried out by this institution, they have hopes of stamping out the revolutionary minds conscious of their shemes and exploitive plans. They are presently in what would be called by their mili tary orientative minds as a search and destroy oper ation. They are singling out men whom they feel pose a threat to their slavery methods of control. Many inmates have resently discovered that many organization are willing to aid us in our struggles, and for that reason many articles and newsletters have been written exposing a long list of injustices cause by this apathy prison camp. These men are guilty of advocating unity and solidarity by the inmates population, calling for an end to this barberic prison treatment. Bro. James C. Davis has beeh the latest victim of their attack as a results of his article F.T.A. publish in Feb. Issue of Midnight Special, where he stress inmate unity and goals wich can be acheived. For this he has been given what is called a D.R. (disciplinary report) and placed into isolation, Hhere he possiblely will be physically attack by a .lecial isolation attack squad. Not to mention all personal properties taken or destroyed including pro gressive literature as well as denial of correspondance to family and progressive organizations. But this is only a fraction of the extense they will go to suppress any constructive movements in the interest of the inmates. Thii .C66UC ii diL(iic.atii.d to MaZcoijn X and Ho Chi Uink', iJiioiz btnthdayi oAt on May 19. It has been said to be attacked is often good, for it exposes the real nature of the enemy to people they have held blind through their tricks. Their in tentions should be known to every inmate, with their latest wave of suppressive moves. It is all to clear their only interest is further exploitations and more forceful and inhuman control methods. We write this letter tonight in protest of the isolation of Brother James C. Davis and the illigal transfering of Brother Jesse Davis (Nairobi) to Leav enworth Fed for his just participation in a legal suit against this institution. This letter in effect is a direct retaliation to their criminal attacks, and make known that any acts of suppressing us will only serve for stronger dedic ation to our just demands. For just as the guerilla uses attrition, we will continue to attack and make known the inhuman treatment by this institution until victory is won. As this is a military prison we have many forms of division among the Inmates that can and must be eliminated. They,the officials, go to the extreme to pacify and offer many sugar coated rewards, .OTiy to hide their real intentions of causing racial ten sions and further divisions among us. We will close stressing the need for unity and solidarity among all Sisters and Brothers incarcerated, for in unity their is strength. Comrades In Struggle Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas pg. 3 the lumpen iTh& ioiZoMing oAilctiL -U In ^.e^ponse to thz "iumpcn and uioakeAi" oAticte. that appe.oAed tn the midnight ipuctaZ oi ¥&bKaoAy, 1974) The Marxian framework is not to be taken as a set of eternal verities. Rather,his theory contributes to a better understanding of raodern/industrialized society and must be rephrased and reinterpreted when it is useful to do so. So,I think.more than at any other period of capital ism,historical conditions and circumstances shows very clearly that the "dogmatic adherence" to Marx's analysis of social class strat ification is out of place. The brother said (and I quote),"in understanding some of the personal dialects of my own struggle,! believe that I understand some of my classmates OB- SESSIOfi~with proving the lumpen as the 'revolution ary class'!" Well,brother,in case you are implying such,the lumpen's revolutionary class position is not an idea or delusion but,instead,and without the slightest doubt,it is an objective reality. I do not think we can generalize about the working class in this country and,stil 1, form a correct class analysis. They have too many diversities, furthermore, Marx viewed the white-collar and service worker as being in the same class position as production or factory workers. But from an empirical observation we know that this is not so today. Owing to a number of per sonal differences such as income,education,'occupa tional role,and lifestyles,members of the new white- collar and service occupations cannot simply be as signed to the proletariat or working class. But,in any case,brother,are you suggesting that all of these variables can unite and form a class consciousness, which is necessary to defeat the,present^,imperialist monster? I doubt it very much. Furthermore,it is not necessary that I,as a mem ber of the lumpen class , justify lumpen life as being revolutionary. Capitalism (oppression) has implanted and produced more than enough justification. Must I have a justifiable reason to save my life (physical ly and psychologically),my sister,my brother,or must I lay down and die in the face of cap capitalist threats of my very existence? I say "hell no"! I would twen ty times over commit revolutionary suicide,rather than reactionary suicide. And,on the contrary,the existing conditions of the lumpen,not the worker,for ces him (and her) to engage in class struggle for their very life. For instance,the average worker is now worried about where ttjeir next tank of gas is coming from. But the lumpen is worried about where his next meal will come from. Furthermore,one is not a lumpen by choice or chance,but,rather, by an amer- ikan consciously and assidiously designed plan;in- clusive of racism,fascism and,above all , economical neo-slavery. Inside the many koncentration kamps,it is very easy to find an overwhelming number of lumpens,who have never worked on a capitalist job nor do they have the least desire to do so. And,in addition,amer- ika's misusage of technology has virtually foreclosed any chance of it being able to provide jobs for the count!ess.lumpen youth , who'^ desire to take part in the economical mainstream. Therefore the many youths will not have a choice of their becoming hard-core lumpens,capital ism has made that choice for them. So, it is,basically,the lumpen's unrelationsuip to the means of production that has placed him in the fore front for revolutionary change. A1so,brother,the lum pen's existence stems directly from social , economical , cultural,and political deprivation. Therefore,he be comes (is) the most potential revolutionary not by choice but,rather,out of ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. In continuance,to me,this brother is saying that he would have very much liked to be on the street, now, rather than in an amerikan koncentration kamp. I agree with that 100%. I also think the brother is implying that it is possible to be a revolutionary and,simultaneously, 1 ive a. "straight life" as he call ed it. Well,I don't think so. I see the prisons as a direct extension of the society outside. The only difference is the varying degrees of oppression. Furthermore , capitaliSt power will never accept an active challenge without an automatic reactionary response. Therefore prisons are only one of^ilie con sequences of that response. Nevertheless,all revolu tionaries must be about doing whatever is necessary, by any means necessary. We must adhere strictly to the theory that "conditions or consequences (prison, physical death,etc.)do not determine our actions, they only limit them." The brother also said that if we are serious'a- bout becoming revolutionaries we must become workers in some form or fashion (excuse me for any mis-quotes). Well,I disagree again. I don't think we should,as you said,fight to become workers. Are you implying that we should make ourselves available for extreme exploitation and discrimination,rather than fight to tear down the institutions that support such things. You probably see both as being the same,but I don't. Just like the lumpen youth,the revolutionary has ter minated all ties to the amerikan way of life,and its reactionary bourgeois supporters/controllers. So,in essence,my brother,and unlike the working cl ass,the lumpen will accept no compromise; we ask for nothing, but we DEMAND EVERYTHING!! In solidarity and unity. Amin Khal i Napanoch, New York pg. 4 I i WHO ARE THE LUMPEN? Who are the Lumpen? There's been confusion on this. Some have included unemployed workers with the lumpen, and point to the rise of unemployment as an inevitable rise in the number of lumpen. Being un employed alone does not a lumpen make. A lumpen is permanently unemployed, and chooses to hustle rather than work. Most of these hustles are done at the expense of working people. A class is defined by its relation to the means of product ion, and lumpen do not relate. There are two types, higher and lower. The higher category of lumpen is the more "successful" lumpen, the one who's "made it". This is the image Hollywood is now glorifying. It is the pimp with a stable, the call-girl as op posed to the street walker, the big pusher as op posed to the junkie. The lower type of lumpen, of which there are far more, is more susceptible to the revolutionary message, especially when they're in prison. But upon "making it", forget it, comrade. The lower type of lumpen is the Sister and Brother we see on the street, day in, day out. Being honest with ourselves now, especially those who have been hanging on to some idea of lum pen as "the vanguard class": if you admit revolution means stability; sacrifice; discipline; collective spirit; subordination of selfishness and ego; abil ity to do without, etc., do the lumpen possess these virtues? No way. In fact, no one has them at their highest, ideal level. But there is a class that has much nwre prac tice with such virtues, and in addition, is in the most strategic position to inflict the death-blow on American imperialism: the worker. Before examining the working class, we got to stop briefly at what essentially hangs lumpen up: work. Work Revolution is work, hard work. The goal of rev olution in capi'tatist society, immediately, is to build socialism. The first principle of socialist society is "Those who don't work, don't eat". Think about it. There ain't no lumpen in China. Immediately, the more practiced "lumpen revolu tionaries" will shout: "Hold on! Capitalism maintains large numbers of unemployed as a reserve force to keep workers' wages down and provide scabs in case of a strike. Besides, unemployment is growing; people can't find work. And when we do work, it's in some jive job for chump change that degrades you as a human being. In a way, survival by hustling and gam ing is almost like an unconscious revolutionary act. sabotage and expropriation against the bourgeoisie and its system!" This kind of reply is put forth by those influ enced by the process of development of the lumpen line, a process that went from the Black Panther Party in 1966, to the Weather tendency, the Lords, and the Patriots in 19694 by 1968 its leading spokesman and theoretician was Eldrige Cleaver, who carried the line through to the Panther split in 71; From 1970 to the present, the line of lumpen devel opment can be traced from George and Jonathan Jack- son to the rank-and-file Panthers disgusted with the growing decadence of Huey and David Hilliard's regime up to the Black Liberation Army. What all failed to realize in the above quoted argument is that again unemployed and lumpen were being equated incorrectly. The argument contains the highly dangerous romanticizing of the lumpen life style as even unconscious "sabotage and expropriation". We've all heard and used the argument; we know about the line that begins "the Black Man's manhood was taken away as a slave and is kept from him as a wage- slave" or the less sexist "Black people got a right to it! We made this country!" Both statements are true! No one claims that work in a captialist society is dignified for man or woman, or that black workers haven't been the mainTomestic force in building the USA, since slavery. That's exactly why the black worker will take the leading role, and why lumpen of all types must either transform to that proletarian standard or be left hanging. It has been dangerous, as we readily admit in criticizing the "Black Quickie Flicks", to romanti cize the lumpen. But we fall for Hollywood's line if we still try to justify rape as something else, as pushing junk as somehow being "understandable", or even (the most "progressive crime" short of conscious political rebellion) hitting a bank as a means of "making it for No. 1" and passing this off as really being revolutionary. Even the game that does not dir ectly abuse the poor or working people indirectly stands in our way because .if successfully completed it means entrance into the "American Dream". From being (essentially) illegitimate petty-bourgeois in their aspirations, the lumpen who hits becomes petty- bourgeois in fact, and can now aspire to be bourgeois. What the lumpen is running from is poverty, true, but even more, from work, which even in a capitalist society, imposes discipline, collective sense, etc., and other values that can be used by revolutionaries to educate and organize... Pablo Yoruba Guzman Puerto Rican Revolutionary Workers Organization pg. 5 A T T IMPLEMENT THE 28 DEMANDS FREE THE ATTICA BROTHERS INDICT ROCKEFELLER I G On April 17, 1974 the Attica defendents and their lawyers announced that they would file suit in the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division in Rochester to stop the "new" Attica Grand Jury from being empan eled. The suit filed on behalf of the 61 Attica in dictees asks for a stay postponing the seating of the new Grand Jury until a hearing can be held to deter mine whether the new Grand Jury prejudices the case now being prepared by the Attica Defense. A new "trial calendar" call has been scheduled in the New York Supreme Court in Buffalo on April 29, where the Court expects to set trial dates for the At tica cases. However, the Defense probably will demand a postponement since the state has been preparing its case for 2-1/2 years while the Brothers have only been given one month to prepare their defense. Addition ally the prosecution has consciously refused to comply with court orders about delivering evidence to the De fense in order to undermine an effective preparation by the Brothers and their lawyers. New York Supreme Court Justice James Moore had de nied the Defense's request for an investigation into the substance of an affidavit signed by Erie County Sheriff Michael Amico which states that informers at tend Attica Defense meetings. Moore said that there were no grounds to assume that the rights of the de- fendents have been abridged. The Attica Brothers Legal Defense is demanding funds from the state in order to prepare their defenses in the upcoming trials. Although the prosecution has al- ready spent nearly four million dollars, an additional five million tax dollars has been allocated for the Attica prosecution and a Grand Jury for the year 1974. However, the Defense has heretofore depended entirely upon private contributions although it has been esti mated that competent representation alone for the com ing year will cost $2,680,000. The Attica Brothers are calling for the inmediate release of the other indictees from solitary confine ment in Auburn Prison and Erie County Jail. The two Brothers in the Box, in Auburn, are kept in their cells 22 hours a day under the control of a special team of correctional officers which includes former Attica pris on guards. Both Brothers breathe fresh air only when they are taken to court in shackles. One of the Broth ers in Auburn was hospitaTized with second degree burns after a fire began in his cell and the guards refused to let him out. The thirteen Brothers in Erie County Jail were orig inally placed there while waiting for their court ap pearances, but it was subsequently decided that these men must remain in the Annex of the jail in segregation. The 20 minute visits behind screens, prohibition of pack ages and other restrictions reminds one of pre-Attica conditions. The three officials directly in charge of Erie County Jail were also responsible for sending dep uties to help retake Attica. The Sheriff of Erie County was actually in the yard shooting and hitting prisoners. Across the country, demonstrations have been held where the former Governor of New York, Nelson Rockefeller has been speaking. The rallies in Austin, Texas; San Francisco, California; New York City and Buffalo, New York, have all been supported by many protesters. P.g- 6 ATTICA da tomb of lies' & wasted dreams hopeless hopes & deadly schemes. .. i had never heard of attica until my brothers pointed da finger dat pulled da cover to show us yo ' secret placeses ... yeah u're a daddy taker a punk maker 5 home wrecker ... no not really to blame just bein '... Yo' macarbe walls 6 gun towers a theatre fo ' sick farm boys to act out & seal their doom, attica atticos or attic where yesterdays & memories are ^ kept da upper room of hell yes quentin is da pit da very bottom u da upper room da height there's no lie too high or low to be told just ^shield hide & wink da eye Ifet slit throats & wigs send u yo' maker & keepers back to dust where u should have never come ... / In the months of November and' December of 1973 I took the time and energy to apprise you of what were were some of the wretched conditions physically/psych- ologically facing us who reside in Auburn's Special Housing Unit because of the State of New York indict ing sixty-two (62) of us as an outcome of the Attica Revolt in September 1971. It seems that you don't consider such data coming from one whom you purport to be in solidarity and support pertinent, so I'll update to see the res,ult. Is Attica Really All of Us??? On June 1st, 1973 Justice Harry Goldman from the Fourth Dept, of the App. Division in Rochester, New York decided that the County of Erie would be the site of trials and the city of Buffalo would , be the specific city of the venue. See (People vs. Hill 345 N.Y.S. 2d. 237). Eight months has elapsed since said decision and Auburn's center of Repression (Special Housing Unit) is our domicilel This shows a di^sparity between a written order and the implementation of the order. A L pre-trial motions, trials fee for our defense workers. Then in Jan. 1974 newly appointed Governor , Malcolm Wilson allocated a new $1.5 million to the Attorney General's staff, plus $576,000 for security in the Erie County Courts! On January 29th through 31st ,1974 eight of us attended Part III of the Buffalo Supreme Court in- front of Judge James 0. Moore on a Condition Suit where we sought some redress because of penal administrators' arbitrary, capricious and unwar ranted reasons for keeping us in Punitive Se<jre- gation while euphoniously calling it Protective Custody. We recognize the task that the team of lawyers from Chicago, New York and Detroit had in dealing with the suit, and we say that they were on the case. We thank the supporters. Blacks and Whites, who appeared in court and stood everyday from the beginning to the end of each hearing. The main bouts are due to come up soon so we hope that everyone knows that we who are still confined/restricted to Auburn's S.H.U. and Erie County Holding Center haven't given up the ship. To those who oppose our position remember that, "If you Don't Like The Effect, Don't Produce The Cause!11 " In the Spirit of Assata Shakur, S^ndiata Acoli, Sha Sha, Martin Sostre, Ruchell and All Those Who Really Know and Understand that we are up against a system whose inherent qualities is nefarious. We still have to condend with being caged in our cells for twenty-two hours a day, shaving twice a week the lack of the correct amount of sunshine„.no_furlouah privileges, an immense dearth of law books, which is a prerequisite for the preparation of our.trials; cne inopportunity to see and confer with ouf co-indictees and the other brothers, no religious participation for those who are so inclined; the restriction on what grade law students can visit us sans-an attorney and above all, the concept of "presumption of innocence" snatched away from us. , ^ In the time when the majority of the people focus cneir attention on Watergateism, the Energy Crisis and the Impeachment of Trigky Dicky Nexxon (Nixon), jill of which are significant issues, I ask for a massive and meaningful level of support for all the Attica Indictees.' There is no denying the fact that the struggle is of herculean scope, but as the People have through- 1 out been the sourch of inspiration, we are confident ) that they'll be beside us, as we wage war with the oppressive and repressive perpetuators. You speak of class struggle, so you should be able to see that the Attica Trials is a significant case of class struggle, as the war (struggle) is between the repressed class and the repressor via the legal arena! We have embarked on the mission of desanctifying the erroneous and nefarious myths that "a fair and impartial trial" exist for us. There hasn't been any step towards fairness and impartiality by the state yet. - A good example of the contradiction in their statement pf fairness and impartiality can be seen we when up to November 1973 the state alloted 2.1 million dollars to the Attorney General's staff for investi gative and prosecutorial work against us which roughly comes out to a little bit better than $33,333.33 to prosecute each Attica Indictee, meanwhile they are only willing to allow our defense team $15D,000. which would be $2,500. for each of us on investigatory Towards Liberation (Akil) Herbie Scott Deane On Behalf of All Attica Indictees. April 29, 1974: On their way to the courthouse, four Attica Brothers from Erie County Jail were brutally beat en by guards. Brother Dalou has been arraigned for an assault - although the only assaults were ON THE BROTH ERS. The Defense is trying to get a judge to sign a re straining order to prevent further assaults and to set up cormunity monitors whenever a Brother is escorted to court. ' _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pg. 7 News Round-up TRENTON STATE Si* hi »S o»'^ CM- ta*»* te'j'j r' ” ’ I* ” ' FortuL ^ severely beaten and drugged The speller was found strangled to dea?h in his c2l Ss°oS"p'aS oTs'ocL':^ tn s Daniel Hogan offered assistance the treairKn^ Se^le^J^l^DeleX^^r Of Iclld^n^rw^lr ?n"hircefi"y??"-a?'^ i"-® SsMd"2S« M.S. Staff pg. 8 SPRINGFIELD W. Brother and Sisters Over the past three.week there has been two h5 SiS ’ liMcl M"<,^S!rsi;.M" “ “ “ p pigs hand both of inmate Johnsons arms bent his Sodv'" ’ -He"l%°^^" ’ ^ him aTout ^trin C Stripped nude, and placed in a £f “ IJic/iL'i c1?K ‘ ilS SlgeS-SJS In Solitary, Q-Pond. Springfield, Mo. GOOD FRIDAY Today I awoke. Good Friday Revolution I spoke. Good Friday I spoke of things to come ^ and the things, that must be done :inhSi “ u?r;? iniiiurj “ •» »•» ’ - IS my impression of things to come and the things, that must be donte Good Friday calling my spirit, my soul is alone I planned Revolution my compassion is grown I revealed my schemes my ways and means of realizing these dreams of Revolution " ’ ' “ nation''''^ dest^ucUoiS ^InJbetructii^ Good Friday I murdered Lucifer, revenging God I uncrucified Jesus, a hanging star I directed my will a desire to kill to abandon false ideals Revolution I ordered my conscience that arrogant being to re-evaluate life and to cease from deceiving me 1 proclaimed"fellowship with the poor and oppressed and dedicated my spirit to the 'PEOPLES' guest Today I awake. Good Friday Revolution I spoke. Good Friday 1 spoke of things to come and the things, that must be done Paul (Coppolla) Camarda Brooklyn, New York w ) News Round-up Inmates of Walpole State Prison in Mass, demonstrat ing last June-to show solidarity with fellow prison ers in Rhode Island and New Hampshire who had been staging protests. Revolution SAN QUENTIN As a result of the reclassification of the entire population of San Quentin (3,135 as of 1/15/74) after I'-s lock-down on Dec. 1 ,1973, some 400 plus inmates were placed in categories III and IV. The explanation of those categories follows. CATAGORY III Those inmates who are potentially dangerous to staff^ and inmates, or who are disruptive, uncooperative, or unwilling to conduct themselves acceptably within in^stitution guidelines. Inmates of uncertain behavior, who cannot be precisely categorized because of con- Tiictmg or ambiguous information, or whose behavior on ocasion has represented a possible danger. CATAGORY IV Dangerous inmates who are considered to be a threat to staff and inmates. It has been stated by the institution that the men who are in the above categories will be reviewed and any inequities in their present classification will be adjusted as the need-ondicates , SOLEDAD The six week lockup of Soledad Prison's 2,700 inmates ended Jan. 19 as the facility geared itself for sweep ing changes in procedure and mobility beginning Jan. 21. The drastic safety measures include the curtailment or outright elimination of many privileges and the institution of numerous r'estrictions and searches dur ing prisoner movement. Many vocational programs will be closed including the welding and machine shops in the central and north facilities andj the north wing paint shop. In addition,movies wifi ho longer be shown in the central facility, all visitijig hours will be shortened or adjusted and evening school discontinued Solved, San Quenton, Folsom and Deuel Vocational Insti tution, California's four major prisons, were locked down Dec.l when state Corrections Director Raymond K. Procunier ordered a sweeping reevaluation of prison .policies. ~{both oi thz above aaUcZei oajl iaom SM QUENTON NEWS) n P9- 9 RIKER'S ISLAND Revolutionary Greetings: Dear M.S. '' We the political prisoners, of Riker's Island, would like to bring to light, the mistreatment brought down on our Beautiful Brothers & Sisters incarceration kamps. On Jan. 23, 1974, we and two other Brothers was beaten, by 20, to 25, pigs, he was beaten so bad that the "heart" of one of the Bro's, "stop", for a hour or so, this Bro, was Gilbert Lugo. Lugo, is be lieve to be the "ring leader", this is why they beat him the way they did. The pigs nick was cut and re quire 6, or more stitches. Lugo, and Bro. Moore was segregation and Moore IS believe to be in the bing. The Brother's that wit ness, the slave rebellion and refuse to betray the Brother s cause, was beaten also by the pigs, these Brother s all was truly victims of the circumstances. These Brothers, Moore and Lugo's life was promise by the pigs that they would be hanging one night in their cells. Brothers & Sisters we need your support, we need people like Wiliam Everich, that lost his job behind these Brothers, for speaking the truth We need you's now, not tomorrow. Peace unto the people and destruction to the pig's. By one of the victims, Rikers Island LORTON REFORMATORY General News The D.C. Dept, of Correctiojig are making moves to impliment renovation of Lorton. It is called the "Lorton Master Plan". Putting up new institutions, in and around Lorton; tighten up the security. There is a phasing out program by the oppressors here. They have thus far stopped, barred and banned outside (conmunity) members, supporters of two prisoner self- help groups. They are the A.L.E.R.T.S. , INC., and Alcoholics Anonymous, both of Lorton Reformatory. I would like the brothers and comrades of other oppressed human warehouses to let me know if they had any similar problem and what they did to eliminate it. Whether on a political level or legal-wise. Also, the U.S. District Court here just about con victed all of the October 11th, 1972 brothers for the D.C. jail uprising. Many of the brothers_at the D.C. Jail have been on deadlock since Oct. 11 , 19721 Be cause they voiced their human and masculine cries for help, they are subjected to corporal retribution, which is allegedly forbidden. Bullshit! The sisters at the Womens Detention Center, Wash., D.C. are haseling the usual butcher, shop and house doctor treatment, an outright denial of medical treat ment amongst other things... In Comradship Nathaniel Wright III DCDC#146-266 Dorm #21, Lorton Reformatory Lorton, Va. 22079 THE STRUGGLE FOR OUR MINDS Dear M.S. can help us doing everything they (Mentally) as you may already know the Brothers here in Kentucky are not really^ all together but we are trying. Now these mothers have come up with something new in order to Brain- arfin%r ‘ ^ this SO Call honer camp we are In is nothing but shit and everybody here is °r therapy group are another, of attLt parole date. All groups here consist of attact therapy and it seem that our brothers are being pull down. We are afraid of these groups control them, all of them. Another^ Nixon that goes by the name of John Dotson and we and thil*^place'^"°'^ exposeing him Thar are a few Brothers who are doing a serve out and they are willing and ready to carry out “ "P f’ clPiig us expose people that run it. Send return letter to Lamont Taylor at this address: Blackburn Correctional complex,Route 8, Spur Rd Lexington,Ky. 40505. ^ Unity in the struggle Third World Brothers of Blackburn Correctional C