This week there are two political court dates going on in the United States we wanted to bring attention to, followed by about 30 minutes of METAL!!!!!!!! WOAH!!!!
First: on Monday, January 6th the NATO3 will be facing trial, starting with the jury selection. There’s a callout for solidarity and support for the NATO3. The call out can be found at http://nato5support/wordpress.com . A past episode of the Final Straw talking about the basics of the case can be found at The Final Straw Website.
Second: on Tuesday, January 7th Shaka Cinque, known by the state as Albert Woodfox, will be facing a court date to determine if the earlier overturning of his conviction will be upheld in Louisiana or if he’ll continue his indefinite time in imprisonment in Solitary Confinement at the Angola Prison in Louisiana which has thus far lasted 42 YEARS. Shaka Cinque is the only remaining imprisoned member of the Angola 3, three prisoners imprisoned Black Panthers accused of participation in the murder of a prison guard in the early 1970’s. Robert Hillary King was released from prison when his case was overturned in 2001 and has written and spoken about the case of the Angola3 since. Herman Wallace served 41.5 years in solitary confinement for the case and died 3 days after his release near the end of 2013. More about the case can be found at http://angola3news.blogspot.com
The first is a call-out on behalf of Oso Blanco (Byron Shane Chabbuck #07909051) in his bid to receive medical treatment for chronic illness (Hep-C) and an unexplored growth in his liver that cause debilitating pain and have resulted in health crises for him. We suggest you participate in the call-in day on Wednesday, December 18th. More info on the call should soon be found at: http://denverabc.wordpress.com/prisoners-dabc-supports/political-prisoners-database/byron-shane-chubbuck/
The main portion of the episode features an interview with Alvaro Luna Hernandez, a Chicano political prisoner serving a 50 year sentence in Texas for disarming a Sheriff who pulled a gun on him, and then fleeing. Mr. Hernandez speaks about his case, his legal history, his political development, and his imprisonment. Special thanks to the Central Texas Anarchist Black Cross for this material. More info on Alvaro can be found at http://freealvaro.net
The final portion of the show features 3 new metal tracks: I by Dusk from their EP; Black Fast with Levitations from Starving Out The Light; and Voidcraeft from the album Scorn with the track As If Amongst Animals.
This week William talks with Ed Mead, editor of CA Prison Focus magazine to discuss the results of the hunger and work strikes that swept west coast prisons since July, resulting in one prisoner death and at one point including the participation of 30,000 hunger strikers. The strike, the third over two years, was meant to bring attention to and pressure against the state for it’s practices of indefinite detention in solitary confinement without recourse, the silencing of prisoner activists, lack of programs for prisoners to prepare for the outside world, the institutionalization of snitch-culture through “debriefing”, group punishments and not providing adequate and nutritive food. More info can be found at: http://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
This Thursday in Oakland, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) will be holding a press conference following a legal hearing around posing a class action lawsuit around inhumane conditions in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay. Show up if ya can! Details at: http://ccrjustice.org/pelican-bay
This weeks episode features 2 conversations. The first is an interview with Ed Mead, editor of CA Prison Focus newsletter, an ex-con and a media outreach person as re the CA prisoner hunger and work strikes beginning tomorrow, July 8, 2013. If you’ll recall, there were hunger strikes that spread throughout dozens of prisons around the western portions of the United States. The main demands of many of the prisoners included more an end to collective punishment, ending the debriefing/snitching system, ending long-term solitary confinement, provide adequate and nutritive food and other things. William of the Final Straw discusses the demands and plans of the current campaign and solidarity actions that are planned to coincide with Mr. Mead. https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
The second half of the episode is a conversation with Krow of Penokee Defense. Krow talks about the area she lives in in Northern Wisconsin, the Penokee Hills, and the danger being posed by a potential iron-ore/taconite pit mine as well as the spectrum of resistance that project has faced and how folks across the country can contribute to pressuring the company to give up the project and save this beautiful and important place. https://penokeedefenders.wordpress.com/ http://www.alecwc.org/
