Stop the abuse and torture of prisoners!
Six prisoners from a prison in Dallas, Pennsylvania, USA who face trial on Nov 10 for blowing the whistle on & protesting against solitary confinement, abuse and violence by prison guards. On April 29, 2010 six courageous African American prisoners at SCI Dallas staged a peaceful protest against the widespread abuse, violence and torture by guards against Black, Latino and white prisoners which they had documented and took a stand against.  The abuse includes beatings; mental abuse; foreign objects in food such glass, metal, feces, spit and urine; mail tampering; deprivation of human contact; withholding medication; and starvation.  When they covered their cell doors and windows in protest, prison authorities responded by viciously beating them in so-called “cell extractions” (see video evidence) and four months later charging them with “rioting” after the official complaints they had filed were publicized.  As communities in the US from Ferguson to Florida protest and spotlight abuse and violence by law enforcement officers, prisoners in Pennsylvania – the Dallas 6 – along with tens of thousands of prisoners, across racial lines, in California and a half dozen other states have been doing the same inside prison, courageously exposing and protesting abuse and violence by correctional officers and the inhumane policies they enforce including months and years of solitary confinement. On November 10 the Dallas 6 will be in a Pennsylvania courtroom to finally, four years later, stand trial.  People from many different communities in Pennsylvania and beyond will stand with them, in a case that is increasingly gaining national and international attention. The trial begins on November 10th at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre PA.  Luzerne County is globally infamous for the Kids for Cash crime, in which two judges were convicted of taking kickbacks for incarcerating children and young people to make profit for private prisons. Help to pack the court on Nov 10  Let them know we are committed to whistleblowers fighting for justice.
Dallas 6 member Derrick Stanley	Shandre Delaney, mother of Dallas 6 member Carrington Keys, leading the support campaign
WHAT YOU CAN DO 1. Endorse the Call to free the Dallas 6. 2. Sign the Petition to indict corrupt officials who cover up prisoner abuse and made false charges against the Dallas 6. 3. Make a Donation to help with housing, rides, food for those coming to the trial. 4. Circulate this email (especially to friends in the US). Translate it.   MORE INFO: View Community Forum in Philadelphia on Oct 24 Hear Mumia Abu Jamal's Dallas 6 commentary (then known as Dallas 5) Contact (412) 403-6101 sd4hrc@gmail.com   Facebook    Justice for the Dallas 6 Support Campaign: Abolitionist Law Center, Decarcerate PA, Fight for Lifers West, Germantown Friends Meeting Mass Incarceration Working Group, Global Women’s Strike & Women of Color@GWS, Human Rights Coalition, Payday men’s network.   Endorsers: Pam Africa, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal; Patrice Armstead, Building People’s Power and Coalition Demanding Reinstatement of Dr. Monteiro; Malik Aziz, Founder, Men United for a Better Philadelphia and Chairman, National Exhoodus Council; Brandywine Peace Community; The Center for Returning Citizens (TCRC); Every Mother is a Working Mother Network; Pastor Antoinette Johnson, King Solomon Baptist Church; Dr. Anthony Monteiro; Peacehome Campaigns; Dr. Heather Ann Thompson, Professor of African American Studies & History, Temple University; WHAT’S UP?! Pittsburgh; Dr. Carla Willard, Africana Studies Program, Franklin & Marshall College. Partnering with: AFSC Prison Watch.
Visit scidallas6.blogspot.com for more info, to endorse and to donate PACK THE COURTROOM FOR THE DALLAS 6 November 10, 2014 at 9:00 am Luzerne County Courthouse 200 N. River St Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711 Judge Lisa Gelb This trial pertains to an April 29, 2010 peaceful protest against illegal and inhumane and tortuous conditions created by the Department of Corrections’ prison guards in the "hole" at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas PA (SCI Dallas), including food starvation, mail destruction, beatings, medical neglect, use of a "torture chair" and deaths of various prisoners.  After guards tortured fellow prisoner Isaac Sanchez in a "torture chair" overnight and threatened several Dallas 6 members with death, prisoners Andre Jacobs, Carrington Keys, Duane Peter, Derrick Stanley, and others decided that they didn’t want to suffer anymore. Covering their cell door windows with bedding, the prisoners demanded that the abuse stop, and requested access to their counselors, state police, the District Attorney and the Public Defenders’ Office. They had no access to telephones or computers and their incoming and out-going mail were being destroyed to undermine their ability to expose the corruption. Rather than investigate or attempt to resolve the issues which occurred for over a year prior to April 29, 2010, prison officials staged an armed assault against the unarmed men, who were all locked inside of their individual cells, viciously attacking them with electro-shock shields, tazers, fists, and pepper-spray. While all of the guards involved in the incident admitted that they did not suffer any injuries, members of the Dallas 6 were left bloody, naked, with burnt skin, in pain. Following the assaults, several Dallas 6 members were transferred to other prisons. Hundreds of documents were generated, including specific claims of misconduct alleged against the Dallas 6. Not once was the word "riot" mentioned. After civil actions and other complaints were filed against prison guards and officials regarding the events, the prison, state police, and the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office formed an alliance to bring criminal charges against the Dallas 6.  They have broken the law to pursue bogus charges, cover up their crime and carry out a personal vendetta.  These are the individuals who should be on trial not the Dallas 6. The US has the largest prison population in the world with Black and Brown communities disproportionately impacted. Prisoners across the US are taking action and speaking out against their inhumane and tortuous conditions, including prisoner hunger and work strikes in Georgia, Ohio, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia and California. As a result of their actions, prisoners are retaliated against by prison authorities. The trial of the Dallas 6 will represent a moment of truth and exposure about wide-spread use of solitary confinement and torture in prisons.   We call on all who believe in justice and equality to support the Dallas 6. Pack the court on Nov. 10th!