-------------------------
Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the Aug. 17, 2000
issue of Workers World newspaper
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VOICES OF RESISITANCE: LETTER FROM JOHN DOES AT CFCF
We are 24 male prisoners currently held at Curran-From hold
Correctional Facility for our participation or attempted
participation in the Aug. 1 non-violent direct actions against
the Republican Convention in Philadelphia. The carefully
choreographed conventions of both major parties have nothing
to do with democracy. They are corporate-sponsored pageants
designed to legitimize a system of corporate class rule that
crushes the human spirit and that is destroying the planet.
The criminal justice system of cops, courts and prisons that
targets poor and working-class people in general and people of
color in particular is a cornerstone of a system that serves
the rich and maintains their rule.
Our actions in the streets of Philadelphia were intended to
shine a light on the incarceration of 2 million people in the
U.S., on the systematic use of police brutality to terrorize
whole communities, on the racism and cruelty of the death
penalty, on the many political prisoners, including Mumia Abu-
Jamal, who are caged for their commitment to social justice.
Our actions were aimed at disrupting the Republican Convention
to the best of our ability. While we're sorry for any
inconvenience we may have caused the people of Philadelphia,
we are proud of what we did to expose this rotten system.
>From the moment of our arrest we have experienced and
witnessed the workings of a system designed to dehumanize
people. Many of us were brutalized in the course of
arrests. Some of us were beaten or pepper sprayed after we
were handcuffed. In jail as many as nine people were packed
into cells designed for two people. People with dietary
restrictions went without food for up to 48 hours. In some
cases our hands and feet were cuffed together and some of
us had our cuffs so tight that we lost feelings in our
hands or bled as a result.
We were denied the opportunity to meet with our lawyers
prior to arraignment and were arraigned in a courtroom
closed to the general public with the exception of select
members of the capitalist media. We were arraigned with a
court appointed public defender serving as counsel despite
our explicitly and repeatedly stated desire to be
represented by our own counsel who were denied access to
the proceedings. We were charged with a variety of
misdemeanors and in a few cases with felonies. Our
individual bails have been set at between $10,000 and $1
million. Many if not all of the charges against us are
either greatly exaggerated or completely falsified.
At Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility we have been placed
in a special pod where we have little contact with other
prisoners. While we regard our conditions here as dehumanizing
we recognize that we are receiving special treatment such as
extra food. So far we have not been beaten or physically hurt
by personnel here.
Throughout this process we have sought to resist and stand
in solidarity with each other to the best of our abilities.
Almost all of us have refused to give our names. Many of us
have had to be physically dragged through the various stages
of this process. We have kept our spirits high through singing
and chanting and pounding on our cell walls. We developed
systems for communicating with each other and for reaching
decisions by consensus. Many of us ripped the bracelets
intended to identify us off our wrists. We resisted
fingerprinting and attempts to photograph us. Some of us have
refused food. In jail we stripped naked to make our processing
more difficult. In the course of all this we have discovered
strengths we never knew we had and have built a wall of
solidarity based on profound love and respect for each other.
We have drawn particular strength from the proud defiance of
the sisters whose loud voices we have heard and whose acts of
resistance we have occasionally been able to witness. While
our access to information is restricted we are aware of the
efforts of those on the outside to assist us. We love you all.
We are in here for you and know that you are out there for us.
We believe that our experiences so far strongly vindicate us
in our decision to take powerful action to expose the
brutality and injustice of the so-called criminal justice
system. As we go through this process we are learning
personally of the mistreatment people experience every day in
this country. As a group of mainly white and mainly middle
class men we know full well that the treatment routinely
received by poor people, people of color, and other
marginalized people is much worse than what we have received.
While we have had little contact with other prisoners, that
contact has been overwhelmingly positive, they know why we are
here and they let us know in many ways that they support our
actions and respect our commitment and solidarity. In turn we
are learning from them about the workings of the prison and
their own traditions of resistance. They have our respect,
admiration and solidarity. So far the efforts of some
personnel to cultivate distrust and antagonism between us and
the other prisoners have failed.
We are political prisoners; we are being held on
outrageous charges, in many cases with no foundation
whatsoever in our actual actions; our bail figures are far
out of proportion even for the crimes we are falsely
accused of; we are here because of our political commitment
and because we dared to defy the corporate powers that be
as they were attempting to give a veneer of popular support
to the rule of the few.
We call on those who support us to continue to put pressure
on the Philadelphia authorities to win our quick release. We
urge you all to continue to organize protests on our behalf
and to write and call the mayor's office, the prosecutors and
the prison authorities to demand: 1. Our immediate and
unconditional release on our own recognizance; 2. That all
charges be dropped, and; 3. That prisoners with dietary
restrictions (vegans and vegetarians) be provided with
adequate food that they can eat.
Call these officials and let them know that you support our
demands: District Attorney Lynne Abraham, (215) 686-8701;
Mayor John Street, (215) 686-2181; City Solicitor Ken
Trujillo, (215) 683-5003.
Thirty of us have gone on hunger strike to win these
demands. We want everyone to know that we are in good spirits
and remain strong in our solidarity. We come from a variety of
backgrounds and perspectives, but we are united in our
commitment to genuine democracy and an end to corporate rule
in general and to the criminal injustice system in particular.
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal & all political prisoners!
Stop police terror!
Tear down the prison industrial-complex!
End the death penalty!
Write to us:
John Doe "JD" Professor
John Doe ODB
John Doe Wolfman
John Doe 6010 "Dinger"
John Doe "That's not good for business"
John Doe Slick
Camilo Viveiros Jr.
John Doe 6013 Christopher Hartley
John Doe Mac
John Doe Mango
John Doe "B.A."
John Doe Sparky
John Doe Flea
John Doe "Hank H. Parts"
John Doe "Wisp"
John Doe Tennessee/Jimnikov
John Doe Buckshot
John Doe GOD
John Doe Switchblade
John Doe Ms. Pac Man
John Doe Zeke
JD Lovebug
J.D. Kowbone
- END -
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