This piece is entitled “Free Lamar Johnson Now.”
My name is Keith Malik Washington, and I’m the chief spokesperson for the End Prison Slavery in Texas movement. Peace and blessing, sisters and brothers. For 24 years, Lamar Johnson has been languishing in a Missouri state prison for a crime he did not commit.
What is remarkable is the prosecutors in his case at admit Mr. Johnson is actually innocent. Yet the court judge does not want to give Mr. Johnson a chance to present the exculpatory evidence at a new trial. An appeals court will make the decision very soon as to whether or not to grant or deny a new trial for Mr. Johnson.
But I must say this, sisters and brothers, these district attorneys in Missouri have a public duty to aggressively pursue freedom for Mr. Johnson as aggressively as they pursued the wrongful conviction that has kept him locked down in prison. I want to reiterate this point, and that is, the criminal justice system in America is broken. Racism and bigotry are hard-wired into the standard operating procedures of the judges, the district attorneys, and the juries.
Free Lamar Johnson now.
My name is comrade Malik, and I am a servant of the people.
(Sound of a cell door closing.) 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
https://conta.cc/4ayDxlB](https://www.prisonradio.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)