Jailhouse Lawyer Andre Jacobs: Some Background.

Below is an excerpt from a pamphlet published by the Committee to Free Andre Jacobs:

Andre is a 29 year old Black man unjustly imprisoned and heavily targeted for his filing of grievances and lawsuits in defense of human rights inside the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. We seek to build a network of civil and human rights organizations, human rights defenders, legal associations, and concerned citizens in order to provide financial, media, legal, and popular support for Andre. By highlighting Andre’s battles against wrongful convictions and solitary confinement, we aim to bring greater public awareness to the injustices of the U.S. criminal justice system.

Andre Jacobs’s childhood was plagued with abuse and alcoholism in his immediate family. In 1997, when he was only 15 years old, Andre was first sentenced to prison for non-violent offenses. In 2001 Andre was placed in solitary confinement in retaliation for a lawsuit he had filed after being assaulted by a guard, and the PA DOC illegally suspended his court-ordered mental health treatment. Andre remains in solitary confinement to this day.

In 2005, at the Federal Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andre was dragged onto an elevator by U.S. marshals in front of his grandmother and beaten unconscious after the completion of a civil rights suit he had brought. Federal marshals conspired to frame Andre for assaulting them, despite his being cuffed and shackled at the time, and he was sentenced to an additional 17 years in prison as a result.

In 2008, Andre was awarded $185,000 by a jury in a civil rights suit after they determined that PA DOC staff had violated his rights. This was one of the four civil suits Andre has brought to trial from his solitary confinement cell, where he is held 23-24 hours per day in conditions of extreme social isolation, sensory deprivation, and subjected to constant acts of retaliation.

Against all odds, Andre has persevered through the torture, received a degree from Blackstone University, and is now a certified paralegal. Because of his talents as a jailhouse lawyer and his uncompromising defense of his rights and the rights of all prisoners, Andre has become a frequent target of racist guards and ranking officials and repeatedly subjected to assault, destruction of property, unlawful confiscation of legal mail, food tampering, withholding of medical care, starvation and deprivation of water, and placed on indefinite/permanent solitary confinement status by the secretary of the PA DOC.

Andre's resilience and refusal to submit to arbitrary, racist, and lawless authority has placed him in harm's way repeatedly and transformed him into an exceptionally talented and committed human rights defender. His story needs to be heard, his rights protected, and his cause championed.

"I am being killed psychologically. I've never had a chance at life and here people are conspiring to take my future from me. This is my first time in prison and it is truly a nightmare! I call on every organization, attorney, and member of society to assist me in educating the world in what goes on behind prison walls in America."--Andre Jacobs.

The Pelican Bay State Prison Hunger Strike: Interview with Ed Mead of California Prison Focus.

A group of prisoners housed in Pelican Bay State Prison's Security Housing Unit, a housing assignment in which prisoners are restricted to their cells in solitary for at least 23 hours a day, has announced plans to begin a hunger strike on July 1st. According to a formal complaint published by a group of prisoners in the Summer 2011 issue of Prison Focus, one of the goals of the hunger strike is the implementation of 5 demands by the administration of Pelican Bay Prison.

They are:

1) Eliminate group punishments
2) Abolish the debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria
3) Comply with the recommendations of the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons
(2006) regarding an end to long-term solitary confinement
4) Provide adequate food
5) Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates."
--from the Human Rights Coalition PA Prison Report

We speak with Ed Mead--editor of the California-based newspaper Prison Focus and one of the organizers of the outside support for the Pelican Bay State prisoner hunger strike--about the living conditions for prisoners inside of Pelican Bay State Prison and the development and structure of this latest planned prison protest.

Interview with Psychriatrist Terry Kupers on the Damaging Effects of Long-Term Solitary Confinement on Prisoners.

In the wake of the recently released publication by the Human Rights Coalition called Unity and Courage: Report on State Correctional Institute at Huntingdon which contains prisoner and eyewitness detailed accusations of human rights abuses against prisoners in SCI Huntingdon Prison's RHU (Restricted Housing Unit), we speak with Psychiatrist Terry Kupers. Dr. Kupers has served as an expert witness on several cases in which the use of solitary confinement in United States' prisons is placed in critical focus. Namely, he has been asked to testify in U.S. courts on the damaging effects of solitary confinement on prisoners for such organizations as the ACLU and on behalf of Black Panther Party members.

An Interview with Journalist Linn Washington on the Recent Judicial Victory for Mumia Abu-Jamal.

In the wake of the recent decision by the Third U.S. Court of Appeals declaring Mumia Abu-Jamal's death sentence unconstitutional and granting him a new sentencing trial, we speak with Philadelphia Tribune journalist Linn Washington. As a blogger, writer with the Tribune, and a public speaker, Washington has been reporting on developments in the Mumia Abu-Jamal case for years.

Update on Jailhouse Lawyer Andre Jacobs.

Thanks for joining us for another edition of On The Block Radio, the show that takes a critical look at the United States criminal justice system.

On today's show:

PA Prison Report Headlines.

--A woman in solitary confinement is repeatedly denied medical care by prison authorities

--"Ban the Box" legislation is proposed in Pittsburgh and made law in Philadelphia

--Victims of police attacks in Philadelphia win a chance at publicly demonstrating the extent of police brutality, and more...

Interview.

We talk with Elizabeth Springer, the grandmother of jailhouse lawyer Andre Jacobs. Andre has been locked up in Pennsylvania correctional institutions since he was 15 years old. Ms. Springer talks about his early childhood, his experiences with harassment while in prison, developments with his appeal on federal charges of assault against prison guards, and the federal civil rights lawsuit he filed this past December against the PA DOC.

In December of 2010, Andre Jacobs filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the Middle District of Pennsylvania against Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and state law enforcement agents in which he charges acts of torture against him. He filed that lawsuit while at SCI Huntingdon.

On April 8th, Andre Jacobs was transferred from SCI Huntingdon to SCI Rockview. When asked to provide a reason for the transfer, SCI Huntingdon's Public Information Officer, Connie Green, declined to give an explanation.

In 2008, Jacobs represented himself in a case in which he charged Pennsylvania Department of Correction staff with confiscating and not returning important legal property to him. He won the case, and the jury issued a judgment of $185,000 on his behalf.

Subsequently, according to the claims in his recent civil rights lawsuit, he was harassed by prison officials. He has been the victim of physical assault, verbal abuse, and food deprivation.

In addition, Jacobs has continued to be held in soilitary confinement, or the hole, since 2001. This means he is restricted to a cell by himself for at least 23 hours a day.

Special Thanks.

The PA Prison Reports are compiled by Andy, Bret, and Amanda of the Human Rights Coalition based on the accounts of prisoner correspondents and the investigations of HRC members. From the compiled data, the reports are re-written by Andy into the narratives you hear on "On The Block Radio." Tonight's report was read by Hannah of the HRC. Many thanks. To access written transcripts of the PA Prison Reports, please go to: www.hrcoalition.org.

Terrell Johnson: New Trial for Man Locked Up for a Crime Many Believe He Did Not Commit.

(To download mp3 file, please click here. )

Thanks for checking in for another edition of On The Block Radio, the show that takes a critical look at the criminal justice system. On today's show:

PA Prison Report Headlines.

-Action Alert for racial death threats at SCI Forest

-SCI Huntingdon represses protests against the starvation of prisoners

-End of "freezing cells" hunger strike at SCI Albion

Interview.

A new trial has been set for Pittsburgh resident Terrell Johnson during which new evidence will be presented that supports his claim that he is innocent of the murder of government witness Verna Robinson in 1994. The trial was originally scheduled for February 28th; however, a recent decision was made to postpone it until April 2011.

Based largely on the testimony of Evelyn "Dolly" McBryde, Johnson was convicted of Robinson''s murder. However, the use of McBryde's testimony during the trial has raised questions about whether Johnson received a fair trial. One of the reasons being that McBryde waited two weeks after the murder of Robinson--after she had been charged with theft and faced up to 50 years in jail--to tell police that she had been a witness to the murder of Robinson, according to the Innocence institute of Point Park University. As well, her trustworthiness as a prosecution witness has been called into question because of her long line of run-ins with the police for her alleged involvement in drug use, theft, and prostitution of herself and her children.

In August of 2009, based on the statements made by Anthony Robinson, who said that McBryde was smoking crack with him at the time that she had originally said she had witnessed the Verna Robinson murder, Johnson was granted a new trial.

In September of 2009, Terrell Johnson was offered his freedom in exchange for pleading guilty to a lesser charge. He refused, choosing to risk continued incarceration for a chance to be completely exonerated of all current charges against him in relation to the Verna Robinson killing.

His new trial will take place on this coming Monday, February 28th, at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh.

Terrell Johnson's wife, Saundra Cole, was interviewed earlier this month for On the Block Radio. She provides important background information and explains recent developments in the case.

For more information on this case, listeners can link to the Justice for Terrell Campaign at www.justiceforterrell.blogspot.com.

Special Thanks.

The PA Prison Reports are compiled by Andy, Bret, and Amanda of the Human Rights Coalition based on the accounts of prisoner correspondents and the investigations of HRC members. From the compiled data, the reports are re-written by Andy into the narratives you hear on "On The Block Radio." Tonight's report was read by Hannah of the HRC. Many thanks. To access written transcripts of the PA Prison Reports, please go to: www.hrcoalition.org.

The Hole: Case 2. SCI Greene, CFCS, Solitary Confinement, and Folino: A Mother Tells The Story of Her Sons' Incarceration.

This is the second in a series of interviews related to solitary confinement in United States' prisons. We speak with the mother of two young, African American men who have both been confined to solitary confinement cells, better known as "the hole," for more than a year. Life inside the hole in United States' prisons has been described as akin to being buried alive.

The mother spoke to us on condition of anonymity out of fear that her sons might face retaliation for her efforts to bring to light their plight within detention systems here in the United States.

One of her sons, she says, has been awaiting trial for four years in Philadelphia's Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility (CFCF), for a crime he says he did not commit. For almost a year, he has been confined in CFCF's hole.

The other, she says, on entering the Pennsylvania prison system, was struggling with severe mental health issues; but instead of being provided with psychological treatment, he was placed and in the hole. Later, after beginning his prison term in SCI Cresson's solitary confinement unit, she explains, he was eventually transferred to SCI Greene. He was assigned to the hole at Greene, she tells us, and remains there after being denied a request in December to be released into the general prison population.

The current administration of SCI Greene is headed by Superintendent Louis Folino. Under his supervision, cases of cruel and unusual punishment--such as the confinement of Russell "Maroon" Shoatz to 21 years in Greene's hole-- have persisted .

The mother asks that anyone interested in helping to end the cruel and unusual treatment of her sons contact the People at On The Block Radio, who will then forward the message onto her. Our email address is thepeople@ontheblockradio.org.

Special Post. People's Tribunal Against Police Brutality and Misconduct-Philadelphia.

On January 15, 2011, members of the Askia Coalition Against Police Brutality convened a tribunal to address the incidents of police brutality in Philadelphia. This 17-minute radio piece contains excerpts from the testimony of expert witnesses and victims of police brutality (Basiymah Muhammed, Abdus Sabur, Annette Dickerson, among others); as well as interviews with members of the Askia Coalition Against Police Brutality.

The Askia Coalition Against Police Brutality was formed in the wake of the attack against Askia Sabur in West Philadelphia on September 3, 2010 as a vehicle for putting an end to the phenomenom of police brutality in Philadelphia.

Police Brutality Case 01.12.10: Jordan Miles. Police Brutality Case 08.30.10: John T. Williams.

Thanks for joining us for another edition of "On The Block Radio," the show that takes a critical look at the criminal justice system.

On tonight's show, we will speak with Seattle activist, Fern Renville, about John T. Williams.

On August 30, 2010, John T. Williams was shot and killed as he walked down a Seattle street. He was a well-known woodcarver in the Seattle area, and minutes before he was killed, he was holding a knife that was 3 inches long--less than the minimum length that a knife needs to be to be considered illegal to carry in public.

He was 50 years old, a Native American, homeless, deaf, and many people believe a fatality of police brutality. Aspects of the incident were captured by a police car video camera. (Video of parts of the incident can be seen HERE.) On that video tape are heard shots being fired only four seconds after Williams was directed to drop the knife he was carrying. And according to Fern Renville, a community member actively involved in bringing about justice in this case, a medical examiners' report states that Williams appears to have been shot from the side, not from the front as one would have expected if he was lunging towards the officer with the knife.

An inquest into the case is scheduled to take place on Monday, January 10th.
_______________________________________________________
Then, we will talk with Brandi Fisher of the Alliance for Police Accountability about Jordan Miles.

On January 12, 2010, Jordan Miles, an 18 year-old senior at CAPA high school in Pittsburgh, where he was an honor student, was beaten up by police as he walked to his grandmother's house. Over the course of the attack, he was hit with a tree branch and patches of his neat locks were pulled from his hair, according to Brandi Fisher of the Justice for Jordan Miles Campaign and the Alliance for Police Accountability.

According to a statement published by Jordan Miles' family and posted on the Justice for Jordan Miles Campaign website, the police officers jumped out of their car near Miles, yelling, "Where’s the gun, where’s the money, where’s the drugs?” Because the officers were in plain clothes and their car was unmarked, Miles did not immediately assume that they were cops. Instead, he thought he was being robbed and began to run. When the cops overtook him, he was beaten, arrested and subsequently charged with 2 counts of aggravated assault, loitering and prowling at nighttime, escape and resisting arrest. Although all charges were subsequently thrown out, his face was badly swollen and he faces permanent nerve damage, and according to Brandi Fisher, still struggles emotionally as a result of what happened that night.

The one year anniversary of his brutalization by police will be marked by a vigil at 7:00pm at the site of the police attack: Tioga and Rosedale Street in Pittsburgh.

The Hole: Case 1.Russell Maroon Shoatz Seeks Release From Solitary Confinement After 21 Years.

Russell "Maroon" Shoatz, former black panther member, has been in solitary confinement for 21 years. The Pennsylvania Department Of Corrections has recommended that Russell "Maroon" Shoatz be released into the general prison population after spending 21 years in solitary confinement. However, family members say there is strong evidence to believe that Superintendent Folino may block efforts to release him. Shoatz hasn't had any infractions in the last 21 years. He is to appear before the Program Review Board on Jan 5, 2011, regarding the question of his release from solitary confinement.

We speak with the son and daughter of Russell "Maroon" Shoatz--Teresea Shoatz and Russell Shoatz III--about their father's situation.

_______________________________________________

The family asks that individuals write the officials listed below or call their offices non-stop and request Russell "Maroon" Shoatz's release into the general prison population.

Superintendent Folino: Phone 724.852.2903.

Superintendent Folino's Addresss: 169 Progress Drive, Waynesburg, PA 15370

Secretary of Pennsylvania Prisons, Shirley Moore Smeal Phone: 717-975-4918

To download a petition form letter, please CLICK HERE.