“Malcolm Jenkins Should Help Political Prisoners Get Presidential Pardons” by Kerry Shakaboona Marshall.
Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl champion, and superb social activist for Black people in America. Great article in the New York Times have responded to President Trump’s clemency offer to individuals. It was measured in tone, mature, thought provoking, and 100% factually and actually correct in every aspect.
However, as great a response article to Trump as it was, there are Black, Native American, Latino, and Caucasian political prisoners of the struggle who have been languishing in prison since the 1960s and 1970s for nearly half a century. Like Dr. Mutulu Shakur of the Black Panther Party and Leonard Peltier of the American Indian Movement, whose lives can be saved at this moment with a presidential pardon, whom otherwise will die in federal prison without it.
There is a common understanding among freedom fighters around the world: never leave your political prisoners to die in the enemy’s prisons, if we can help them. For they are heroes and sheroes of the struggle, and we have a duty to help free them from the death by incarceration sentences given to them by this American government.
Although presidential pardons for a few or mass of individuals is not a panacea for systemic, institutionalized, white supremacy and racial oppression. Nonetheless, such presidential pardons can set at liberty some captive women and men that were victims of [inaudible], the war on drugs, and mass incarceration against Black and Brown peoples.
Therefore, let us seize the moment by calling on all athletes and celebrities to seek presidential pardons for our political prisoners, our innocents, our unduly convicted, those serving disproportionate sentences, and for our truly deserving people. We are counting on you all.
From the belly of the beast at Prison Radio, I am Shakaboona. Thank you for listening.
These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.
![Prison Radio is sharing an abbreviated version of a press release covering recent racist incidents at SCI Rockview in PA and the organizing to demand accountability. We are reaching out to people incarcerated at Rockview as well as recently transferred folks, inviting them to call, in hopes of hearing commentaries from them.
Benner Township, PA.-
On November 24th, 2023, imprisoned people at SCI Rockview found two nooses hanging in the CO’s office, displayed visibly for many prisoners to see. When the prisoners asked the staff why the nooses were hung, they were told it was a joke.
By December 4th, prisoners filed a grievance to document what they saw, noting that the hanging of the nooses was “unethical, racially motivated, hateful, [a] deliberate debasement of black inmates" and “unsafe for inmates, staff, [and] the whole prison in general.” In the grievance, they demanded that Sgt. Mosser and CO Richard be fired and investigated for a hate crime, and for CO Kirchner to get therapy. Captain Andrews, the head of security, denied the grievance.
The sergeant and COs are still working in the prison to this day, with no repercussions...
As of March 10th, prisoners have reached out to Pennsylvania officials at the Dept. of Corrections in a letter campaign, sending 100 copies of the grievance. Copies of the letter also were mailed to Governor Shapiro, Senator Fetterman, Senator Street, and various advocacy groups. The demands for relief in the original grievance have now become the platform of demands for this campaign. About 20 of the 100 letters were withheld by the prison.
Activists on the outside are joining forces with prisoners to elevate their demands, flooding the phone lines of DOC offices, assisting with outreach to media, and circulating the stories of prisoners who have found unity in opposition to the facility's virulent institutional racism.
In any other workplace, hanging a noose would be grounds for immediate termination. However, Nicki Paul, the superintendent's assistant and "grievance coordinator" informed the public that they self-investigated their staff and found they did nothing wrong.
Read the full article at i
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