Bradley Manning: Private Democrat.
The mania that followed the release of military papers and consular communications by U.S. Army Private and intelligence officer Bradley Manning hasn’t been seen since the height of the anti-communist scares of the 1950s. Bradley Manning, recently convicted of a plethora of charges before a military judge, faces over a century in prison for, among other things, espionage.
Manning is about as much a spy as Mickey Mouse. But he was so grossly overcharged that it was virtually inevitable that some judge somewhere feeling the pressure of prosecutorial and political zeal would convict him of charges that no serious observer could support. And although a military judge threw out a charge that would have meant a life sentence, aiding the enemy, the remaining charges exposed Manning to, as I said, over a century in prison.
Manning released classified videotapes showing US troops shooting unarmed civilians, and at least one journalist armed with a camera. Needless to say, none of these killers of innocents face 100 plus years in jail, nor are they ever likely to. Manning believed that, in a democracy, the people should be able to see what their military and politicians do in their name. For that, he was thrown into solitary, naked and taunted, until international protests became too loud to ignore. Under international law, Manning was subjected to torture for daring to act on the belief that Americans had a right to know. Bradley Manning awaits formal sentence.
From imprisoned nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
![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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