The Final Straw Radio June 11th & Long Term Prisoner Support
This week, we’re offering a few pieces of content.
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First up, after some announcements concerning a local case of police brutality and jail issues in Buncombe County, NC, we’ll hear a statement from Mark “Mustafa” Hinkston, a politicized prisoner we first heard from some years back, who is being held in Ohio about the cruelty of his keeping. His letter can be found below.
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Then, we’ll hear a reading out of Against Oblivion, Against Despair: A Call for June 11th , an invitation to the 2023 celebration of the June 11th International Day of Solidarity with Marius Mason and All Long-Term Anarchist Prisoners. More on that, including translations of the statement, statements by prisoners, artwork, action reports, can be found at June11.org.
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Finally, we’ll hear a chat with Chazz, an anarchist participating in continued support of prisoners from the George Floyd Uprising. You can find more on some of these prisoners at UprisingSupport.Org, and info for other political prisoners at PrisonerSolidarity.Com.
Hear our past shows on anti-repression or June 11th more specifically, check out . We’d also like to suggest recent episodes of Channel Zero Network member shows Its Going Down podcast entitled ‘“States of Incarceration”: Abolition, Revolt, and Organization’ and Coffee With Comrade’s episode, “June 11th”.
Announcements SupportIf you’ve been seeing our social media presence, you’ll note that we’ve been releasing interviews into our patreon stream early. You’ll start seeing some of those soon appearing in our podcast stream in the near future, including Scott’s interview with trans antifascists from Liverpool about migrant solidarity and a sort of scene report in that town. If you want to get earlier access to chats like that or our chat with Shannon Clay, co-author of the recent history of Anti-Racist Action called We Go Where They Go, alongside many other thank-yous, check out patreon.com/TFSR and consider pledging $3 or more a month. The money goes to support our webhosting, printing and postal costs and, most of all, our monthly transcription work that helps get these interviews translated, printed as zines and sent in to prisoners.
Bail LimboOn Wednesday, May 17th Asheville Community Bail Fund posted a secured bond for someone currently incarcerated in Buncombe County Detention Facility.
They have still not been released.
After spending hours and days trying to get answers, we've learned that this bureaucratic nightmare revolves around an order for an electronic ankle monitor.
The court has been instructed to pause these orders, but did so anyway, putting them in legal limbo.
Their bail is paid, but they are trapped because the county is requiring something the county no longer provides...
Call the DA's office (828) 259-3410 from 9-5pm to demand they stop ordering electronic monitoring and drop existing orders, otherwise it's just a dishonest way of denying people access to pretrial release.
Devon Whitmore FundraisingDevon Whitmore, an African American man in Asheville, was arrested by Asheville police under violent and questionable circumstances, with police claiming Devon had a gun that never materialized and for a misdemeanor warrant for communicating threats. The police were filmed kneeling on Devon's neck and was possibly spared serious injury by intervention from neighbors at Livingston Apartments. As a result of this, Devon and his fiance were evicted from their apartment and need help renting an apartment and bailing Devon out of jail. You can find articles and video about the interaction as well as ways to show up in support or to donate at https://linktr.ee/applythepressurecommittee
Mark "Mustafa" HinkstonMark Hinkston #707-808 SOCF PO Box 45699 Lucasville, Ohio 45699
This is none other than Comrade Mustafa… And I’m reporting “live” from the other side of Amerikkka!
Here in the infamous “Lucasville” (which these tyrants refer to as SOCF), and where I’m currently being held against my will, those filthy pigs have created an isolated torture chamber in the K2 cellblock, which is designed specifically to destroy the mind and the soul of Black men!
There’s 40 cells on the K2 cellblock ---- 1 through 40 ranges --- that are filled with Black faces, with the exception of 3. And the white faces are becoming less and less as these racist (and self-hating) administrators continue to produce new elements of a fake program that will no doubt allow them to stereotype and profile Black prisoners.
I n the K2 cellblock, prisoners are subjected to the harshest of living conditions: most of the cells should be labeled as “out of order” since there are plumbing and electrical issues.
In some cells the toilets don’t have water-pressure enough to flush the urine and feces after these facilities are used.
This leaves prisoners to live with the smell, germs and bacteria in their immediate living quarters, day in and day out, as they perform daily rituals such as eating, praying, sleeping, etc.
In some cells the lights don’t work, so prisoners don’t have adequate lighting to read or write. To add to this, the cellblock isn’t operative!
There’s no laundry services provided – period!
The prisoners are not allowed to property groom themselves, there’s no barber services provided.
And the corrupt prison-officials refuse to give prisoners razors on the appointed days of Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Further, when they do give razors, they commit unthinkable deeds like they’ll place someone else’s used razor into the bag with your cell number on it, which is unsanitary and subjects you to contracting a disease.
The food trays always have less food on them than that which is nutritionally appropriate by the “healthy heart diet” standards. And this is the type of diet being enforced by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections. Yet, the prisoners in K2 cellblock are NOT allowed to buy food items from the commissary to compensate for the lack of nutrition provided.
In essence, the captives of K2 are being starved as a torture tactic.
And to further add insult to injury, the oppressed brothers in K2 cellblock are not provided with any mental stimuli. There is no TV, no radio, very few books to read. There’s no library services at all!
We can’t use the phone for months at a time, and the commissary services won’t sell US postage or embossed envelopes either, so we can’t communicate with our family and loved ones or comrades for months at a time!
This creates a state of depression within the K2 cellblock that’s so thick that it can be cut with a knife.
The temperature is freezing in this torture chamber, cold as ice! But the prisoners won’t attempt to get the windows closed because ultra aggressive, corrupt prison-officials continuously use excessive force on prisoners via chemical agents like riot canisters of mace, which cause everyone in the cellblock to choke and get sick.
Add all of this, along with the element of racial-imbalance and it equals Black torture!
The oppressed brothers of the Lucasville torture chamber are appealing to the “people’s army” for aid and assistance now!
To get involved, contact Annette Chambers-Smith, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections Director.
Also, you can contact Governor Mike Dewine at 624 466 3555
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Featured Track:- 1000000 Died To Make This Sound by Thee Silver Mt Zion Memorial Orchestra from 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons