Okay, my name is Edward Sistrunk AKA Omar Askia Ali. A commutation seminar was held at SCI Coal Township with 140 prisoners. Some with life sentences and others with [inaudible] sentences. The secretary of the Board of Pardon, Brian Flood, along with Samantha Colton Johnson, who was with the Lieutenant Governor’s office, and George Trudel, a commuted lifer after 31 years in prison, who also can be contacted at the Lieutenant Governor’s office, and Duane Hackett, who is a Department of Corrections legislative liaison, all addressed to prisoners in attendance.
This process for commutation was just about [inaudible] board as the commuted life sentence prisoner that committed a sensational crime exactly 25 years ago. However, Secretary Flood, and you can see an article on Secretary Flood in the Philadelphia Daily News pertaining to Mr. Flood, Monday the eighth, 2019 page 11. It gives an insightful perspective on Mr. Flood. What is perhaps most remarkable about Mr. Flood’s appointance is his personal experience with the criminal justice system in Pennsylvania. Years ago, he spent nine years in prison after conviction for a firearm violation and for possession with intent to deliver cocaine. A few weeks before the appointment, Governor Wolf pardoned Flood.
Importantly, Flood has made efforts to reassure the public that he will be an advocate for victims as well as those convicted of crime. During the Q&A session, I informed the board that I was currently before The Philadephia DA Conviction Integrity Unit, the State Superior Court, and the New York Innocence Project. Therein when I was asked would I have to rescind my other endeavors to obtain my freedom because of a conflict of interest, Mr. Flood said no. This is why I’m filing for commutation.
Thank you very much.
(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)