MIM Distributors P.O. Box 29670 Los Angeles, CA 90029-0670
URGENT ALERT! NOW IS THE TIME TO ACT TO SAVE THE LIFE OF ZIYON YISRAYAH (TOMMIE SMITH)
Ajamu Nassor (slave name (s/n) Gregory Resnover) was unjustly executed by the State of Indiana on December 8, 1994. This was documented by a special investigation of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. If we do not act now, Ziyon Yisrayah (s/n Tommie Smith) will be unjustly executed as well, for he has an execution date set for June 14, 1996.
On December 11, 1980, a pre-dawn raid on the home of Ziyon, Ajamu and Kondo Nassor (s/n Earl Resnover), left one man wounded and one man dead. The wounded man was Ziyon, who along with Ajamu and Kondo were politically active. The three had a history of exchanges with the local police because of their stand against social injustices perpetrated against Blacks in the community. The dead man was a police officer who had participated in the raid.
It was determined at the time that the police officer had been shot in the back, and that the bullet that killed him did not come from one of the two guns within the house, which were fired in self-defense. Until he was shot, the officer had been facing the defendants. Clearly he was killed by someone behind him, and only the police were in that position.
The men and women in the house were asleep when the police kicked in their door, threw tear gas inside, and set the couch in the corner of the front room on fire--Rambo-ing and Waco-ing their way in, indiscriminately firing on anything inside with the obvious intent to kill. A No-Knock-Murder-Plan that failed.
Due to the state public defenders assigned to the defendants misrepresenting them at trial, Ziyon and Ajamu were condemned to be executed. The evidence that would have absolved them of this death was either suppressed, ignored, or overlooked by the parties bent on malice and wrongful revenge. This whole event was clearly a police cover-up. The evidence that was presented at their appeals trials was ruled inadmissible, since under Indiana law, any evidence which was obtainable by using "due diligence" before the original trial cannot be used at a later date. These men had one public defender who was an alcoholic, and an appeals lawyer who never even bothered to go to meet her client.
Necessary willing witnesses were not called to testify, lies were made and accepted in the court room, and the holes in the prosecution's case were never questioned. The court, by following its letter-of-the-law rules in the technical aspects of the case, overrode the consciences and moral duty of the people who had administered the death....A horrifying barbaric death blow yielded in the most possible bloodthirsty way through execution...by a cold-blooded system which has the blood of an innocent man on its hands.
Many individuals and organizations waited until the last minute to attempt to save the life of Ajamu Nassor. And there were others who fought to the end, and are continuing to fight to help save the life of Ziyon Yisrayah. This is the legacy Ajamu left to all of us...and it must be done now! Send donations for legal fees in care of Paula Resnover- Terry, P.O. Box 191, Indianapolis, IN 46206.
Write letters to Governor Bayh and demand that he exercise his authority to provide Ziyon (Tommie Smith) with a fair new trial, so the evidence which will exonerate him can be introduced and accepted. Tell Governor Bayh that he was responsible for the death of an innocent man. Tell him to stop the legal lynching now or to resign from office. Tell him to either use his power of clemency or forfeit it...
WRITE TO:
Governor Evan Bayh, Office of the Governor, The State House, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Phone: 317- 232-4567. Fax: 317-232- 3443
Clemency Board: Raymond Justak (Chairman), Thomas McKenna (Vice Chair), Patricia Ravinet, Thor Miller, Miguel Rivera, RE21, IGCS, 302 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204
Sincerely, --Kondo Nassor/Resnover, May 16, 1996
THIS JUST IN--ZIYON YISRAYAH WINS TEMPORARY VICTORY: As MIM Notes goes to press (June 13), we are pleased to have just received the following note:
Ziyon Yisrayah has been granted a temporary stay of execution from the U.S. Supreme Court. I don't know all the details just yet, but from what I understand it goes like this:
1. The Court will either take Ziyon's case or decide to allow Indiana to go ahead with their wicked plans.
2. This decision could take from 48 hours to 2 months to come down.
That's all I know at the moment ....
A temporary stay is nothing but a temporary victory--let's get Ziyon's name in the media--there shouldn't be a "revolutionary" paper out there that doesn't carry this courageous man's name.
--BCAC, June 13, 1996
TEN INDIANA STATE PRISON COMRADES SHIPPED TO MCC CONTROL UNIT
An Indiana prisoner is back inside the hole for an investigation of "engaging in or encouraging others to demonstrate." It's a bogus fishing expedition. He and two others were arrested. One of the others was listed as being under an investigation for "threatening bodily harm towards another."
Supposedly someone sent this prisoner a kite internally that was intercepted. The message allegedly mentioned brother Ziyon Yisrayah who is set to be executed June 14 and as a result the prison staff panicked. This Indiana prisoner was arrested Tuesday, May 28 at approximately 1:30 p.m.
On Memorial Day [Monday, May 27 --MIM], the other half of D Cell House, which is about 150 people, went to the kitchen and no one spoke a word! 100% participation! Of course the staff panicked. The protest was to show support for Ziyon and to protest the conditions in D Cell House.
The assumption is that [the prisoncrats] are reacting to the protest, which was not organized by any of the accused. All of [the accused prisoners'] property was sent to the investigator and is being gone through with a fine tooth comb. Once that is complete, ain't no telling what kind of evidence they will manufacture. This Indiana prisoner believes that even though they ain't got anything on him, he may be shipped out soon. The only place they can rotate him is deep south or to the Maximum Control Complex in Westville.
An investigation can last up to 45 days, and because they are refusing to be interviewed by the investigator it will probably drag out the full 45. This Indiana prisoner is currently in IDU....
June 7, 1996 Update: Based on investigation they shipped ten prisoners including the three mentioned above. The prison officials are already in violation because there is not supposed to be any temporary "warehousing" of prisoners at MCC. The prison administration is panicking over their upcoming assassination of Ziyon Yisrayah who remains of death row at ISP. The original lawsuit stipulated that prisoners who were part of the class action against MCC would not be shipped back there.
Commissioner Debrun oversees the entire Indiana prison system. There is a request for folks to call and/or write Commissioner Debrun and demand that this bogus investigation be discontinued, that all the prisoners' personal property be released, and more specifically that the prisoners be given all their legal materials, personal hygiene items and reading and writing material and underclothes. Several of the ten shipped have already served time at MCC and should not be back there. The investigators have nothing on the ten shipped--it is strictly their panic-ridden conscience gone wild.
Write to Commissioner Debrun at: Indiana DOC, E 334 Indiana Government Center, 302 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46204, or call him at: 317-232- 5715
Ask for Commissioner Debrun. You will most likely just be asked to leave a message for him--so please ask for a response.
Send copies of letters, faxes or phone call transcripts to Lawyer Kashani Hamid who represented the original class action at MCC: 445 N. Pennsylvania St. Suite 800, Indianapolis, IN 46204, FAX: 317-632-5520
--Three Indiana prisoners, June 7, 1996
KHALFANI KHALDUN'S MURDER TRIAL APPROACHES
Greetings Editors/Comrades,
I am writing to thank you for spreading and allowing the word to come out on my case. I'm Khalfani X Khaldun, the political prisoner here in Indiana who was accused of the murder of a prison neo-colonialist pig at the state prison back in Dec. 1994. [The guard was allegedly killed in retaliation for Indiana's execution of Ajamu Nassor. --MIM]...
My trial for this murder begins July 8, 1996....
--Khalfani X Khaldun, Apr. 23, 1996
On July 8, 1996 the murder trial of comrade Khalfani X Khaldun (s/n Leonard McQuay) begins in St. Joseph County. This is after being changed from Laporte County in Michigan City due to a hostile prisoncrat strike picketing the prison for safer work conditions and calling for the my immediate execution.
The actions of such a move caused fear and emotions in the guards and eventually 17 guards resigned from their jobs. Political prisoner Khalfani has been under constant harassment including attacks on his life and character from corrupt prison investigators and ranking officials in Indiana. But he has continued his work even at MCC. He has published two pamphlets and a selection of poems that will be in circulation through advertisement on revolutionary circuits.
He has through his collective support of the comrades at MCC, come forward with a national prison front called the National Prisoners Legal Front (NPLF). NPLF is geared toward furthering legal and political awareness at MCC, in an attempt to solidify the unity and responsibility of all men at the facility.
In recent months, rumors have surfaced about the Department of Corrections [sic] wanting Khalfani dead for what he is accused of doing. Which is no real surprise.
We just want the people to know what's going on and to ask that you participate in exposing the case and write letters of support to our brother. He's got a heavy load on his plate, yet he remains diligent and studious in his responsibilities and commitments.
Letters of support should be sent to: Brother Khalfani X Khaldun Freedom Committee, P.O. Box 1513, Gary, IN 46402.
Justice for Khalfani is Justice for us all.
--an Indiana prisoner, Apr. 23, 1996
WOMEN FORCIBLY DRUGGED IN JAIL BEFORE TRIAL
Every person accused of a crime in America has the right to be present at every stage of the proceedings free from the influence of mind- altering drugs. Yet, many California inmates have been heavily, illegally, and forcibly medicated with drugs that they did not want or need. Many of these were women who accepted plea bargains not in their own best interests while under the influence of mind-altering drugs.
Now more than 40 women imprisoned in California are trying to overturn their convictions, claiming that powerful anti-psychotic drugs impaired their judgment, interfered with their ability to defend themselves in court, and made a negative impression on jurors. Nearly half of the women in the group say they were medicated without reason in Los Angeles County jails, and the other half say they were wrongfully medicated in jails and detention centers in Indio, San Diego, Auburn, Bakersfield, Milpitas, Modesto, Clear Lake, Santee, and Riverside. I would also like to point out that these medications were prescribed by nurses. This is against the law, as only a medical doctor can prescribe drugs. I have cases pending with the medical and registered nurses board.
I am one of those women. Currently incarcerated at the California Institution for Women, serving a life sentence for the accidental shooting of a friend. I was deprived of a fair trial by the administration of both excessive and mind-altering medications without a doctor's orders, without informed consent, and without due process of law. I had no previous mental condition or arrest record.
One hour after I was booked into the county jail, I was approached by a nurse who told me to get a cup of water. She then handed me a paper cup full of pills and said, "This will calm you down." I had not requested any medical attention, nor had I been examined or evaluated by medical personnel. I was not hysterical or out of control, but rather sitting off to the side of the cell weeping quietly. Within the hour, I became nauseated, agitated, frightened and confused. My vision blurred, my muscles began to twitch, and I began to rock back and forth uncontrollably.
The first cup of pills was the beginning of a nightmare that haunts me even now, five years later. My jail medical records disclosed that I received massive amounts of drugs throughout the period of time that I was in custody, although I did not see a doctor for the first eight months. On the occasions that I refused to take the medication, I was stripped of all my clothing and placed naked in the "rubber room," where I remained until I agreed to take the medication. In the coercive and frightening jail atmosphere, I quickly learned to do as I was told.
I began suffering severe and terrifying side- effects from all the medication I was ingesting, such as audio and visual hallucinations, tremors, drooling, loss of coordination and memory, disorientation, anxiety, confusion, restlessness, paranoia, hives and headaches. My behavior in the courtroom was completely inappropriate for the situation and the jury was adversely impacted by it. I did not understand much of what was happening, and I spent the days crying uncontrollably or rocking back and forth. On the day that I took the witness stand, I thought that the jurors' faces were melting, and that the District Attorney had animals crawling on him. I was unable to assist in my own defense and no defense was presented for me. The jury quickly reached the predictable verdict.
When I arrived at the state penitentiary, I went into withdrawal, and it took two years for me to completely recover from the massive amounts of drugs that had been forcibly administered to me. I also learned that I was not the only pretrial detainee who had be forcibly medicated with unnecessary mind-altering medications. We formed an ad hoc group for which I am currently the spokesperson, and many of the women now have their medical records that document this illegal and unnecessary drugging.
None of us are seeking to avoid responsibility for the underlying acts for which we were originally arrested. What we are seeking is the fair trial to which all Americans are entitled and which was denied to us by the involuntary drugging we were subjected to. If you don't think this is happening in your county and your state, just check the invoices of drugs ordered at your jail!
Every American accused of crime has the right to a full, fair, drug-free trial and to be able to be present during all proceedings and at all stages of their trial, to defend themselves against their accusers and to call witnesses in their own defense--without the State of California drugging them for an easy and wrongful conviction.
--a California woman prisoner, June 1994.
MIM replies: Your letter of course shows that what "rights" Amerikkka gives you on paper and what "rights" you have in practice are entirely different matters. Since such "rights" are not always there when you need them, MIM talks in terms of power struggles instead of in terms of "rights." Between "rights" in the abstract and power in the concrete, there is no comparison. Thanks for writing, and please keep us posted.
SURVEY: "GETTING HIGH IN JAIL": LEGAL VS. ILLEGAL DRUGS
Can you answer yes to any of the following questions?
1. Did you swallow, or were you injected with any kind of drug (medication) after you were taken into custody by the police, through the time you were sentenced for your current commitment?
2. Was this a "mind-altering" drug? Did it make you feel different from the way you normally feel?
3. Was this drug given to you before or without your signing a written "informed consent" form?
4. Was this drug(s) given to you by a medical doctor or a psychiatrist?
5. Before being arrested, were you taking these same medications or just after you were arrested?
If you answered yes to any of the above questions, please write to the two addresses below and state who you are, what state and county you're from, and what drug(s) were administered to you in jail.
It is illegal to take a defendant to court under the effects of mind-altering drugs without due process of U.S. and state laws.
Write to: B. Buechler, 825 Battery St., 1st Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111 or B. Yaley, 1606 Milvia Ave, Berkeley, CA 94709.
Thank you for your help and participation in this survey.