[opirgyork] Prisoner Justice Week 2010 Events

[OPIRG York]

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PRISONERS JUSTICE DAY 2010
August 10th, 2010 marks the 35th anniversary of Prisoners Justice Day 
.On August 10th, 1974 Eddie Nalon bled to death in a solitary 
confinement unit at Millhaven Penitentiary in Kingston, Ontario. The 
emergency call button in his cell failed to work. An inquest into his 
death found that many call buttons in the unit were broken. The guards 
had also deactivated the receiving mechanism in the control tower. In 
1975 on the first anniversary of Eddie's death, prisoners at Millhaven 
went on a one-day hunger strike, refused work and held a memorial 
service, even at risk of punishment.
On May 21, 1976 another prisoner, Bobby Landers, died in the same 
segregation unit at Millhaven. Landers, active in the struggle for 
Prisoners Rights at Archambault Penitentiary, was involuntarily 
transferred to Millhaven and thrown in the hole. He had a heart attack, 
but the call buttons had still not been repaired and staff ignored his 
pleas.
Prisoners continue to observe August 10th each year. Community groups 
and family members gather outside prisons in solidarity. It is a day of 
protest against all deaths in custody, the inhumane use of solitary 
confinement, racist policing, the detention and deportation of 
immigrants and refugees, the taking of land through colonization and the 
criminalization of First Nations defence of their territories, the 
denial of justice for Aboriginal women and transpeople, the disabling 
effects of prison, the cruelty of psychiatric incarceration, poverty and 
homelessness, the separation of families, security certificates, tasers 
for prison guards and cops, the over-incarceration for people who use 
drugs or involved in sex work, the over-incarceration of people living 
with disabilities (especially people with mental health issues and 
learning disabilities) and the medical neglect of prisoners with 
HIV/AIDS and the lack of harm reduction in prison. It is a call for 
alternatives to incarceration - at a time when governments are enacting 
repressive U.S. style get-tough-on-crime laws to build more prisons 
despite a falling crime rate.
Join us for speakers, performers and a candlelight vigil at dusk when we 
read the names of prisoners who have died.
_*Tuesday, August 10, 2010 6:30pm *_
_*Outside the Toronto Don Jail 550 Gerrard Street East*_
*Other events on August 10th include*:

August 10th is the day prisoners and their supporters honour the memory 
of those who have died in prison, and express solidarity with those who 
demand changes to a criminal justice system that dehumanizes and 
brutalizes them. As members of the community we are reminded to “hate 
the sin – yet love the sinner”, and so we shall gather on this day to 
honour every inmate of prisons everywhere and hope you will be able to 
join us.

Please join us as we honour Prisoners Justice Day
Tuesday August 10, 2010
11 am – 6 pm
Holy Trinity Anglican Church
(10 Trinity Square, Bay & Queen – behind the Eaton Centre)

Sponsored by:
Toronto Bishop’s Working Group on Justice and Corrections
The Bridge Prison Ministry
John Howard Society – Toronto
Toronto Restorative Justice Conference
Toronto Harm Reduction Task Force
Holy Trinity Anglican Church

*South Riverdale Community Health Center*

August 10th 2010 marks the 35th year of Prisoners Justice Day. On this 
day we remember those who have died behind bars. It is a day where 
prisoners refuse to work, and communities come together to publicly 
oppose prison, police violence, and the criminalization of our communities.
A vigil, discussion and free supper will be held at South Riverdale 
Community Health Centre on August 10th from 4-5:30 pm in the A/B room. 
Afterwards we will walk in procession to the Don Jail for the 6:30pm 
vigil. Please share this information with community members and partner 
organizations. All staff and community members are welcome to attend.

If you are interested in volunteering with food preparation and set-up
for this event, please let us know.
Molly Bannerman - mbanner... 
<http://groups.google.ca/groups/unlock?_done=/group/prisonersjusticetoronto/browse_thread/thread/fca130f435b9bfd0&msg=515c5b2216299714>@srchc.com 
<http://srchc.com>
Zoe Dodd - zd... 
<http://groups.google.ca/groups/unlock?_done=/group/prisonersjusticetoronto/browse_thread/thread/fca130f435b9bfd0&msg=515c5b2216299714>@srchc.com 
<http://srchc.com>
South Riverdale Community Health Centre
955 Queen Street East
toronto
at Carlaw Street


June 14, 1976

To all Prisoners and Concerned Peoples from across Canada:
On August 10th, 1976, the Prisoners of Millhaven Maximum Security Prison 
will stage a one day hunger strike in remembrance of our two fallen 
comrades, EDWARD NALON and ROBERT LANDERS, who died in Millhaven 
segregation on August 10th, 1974 and May 21st, 1976, respectively, and 
in remembrance of all our fellow comrades and brothers and sisters from 
prisons across the country who died in the hands of an apathetic prison 
system and its people.Furthermore, it is a protest against the Millhaven 
Administration, the Canadian Penitentiary Service, and the Members of 
Parliament for their continued indifference to the recommendation of the 
Inquest Jury made at the inquest into Edward Nalon´s death. The 
recommendations concerned Emergency First Aid Procedure, medical and 
psychiatric treatment for solitary confinement prisoners and that the 
emergency signal systems in the cells and the time clock which assures 
regularity in range patrols be made functional and that steps be taken 
to provide that they remain functional. None of these recommendations 
were enacted by the above mentioned authorities.We protest against the 
continuous inhumane use of solitary confinement and the repeated 
whitewashing by spineless individuals in the Government who are forever 
having inquiries into the use of solitary and its effects on a person´s 
mental and physical state and then hide the real facts of its use from 
the people.We call upon our Brothers and Sisters from all prisons across 
the country, and upon all concerned peoples of Canada, to give their 
support to our one day hunger strike in remembrance of our comrades and 
to UNITE AS ONE VOICE IN OUR STRUGGLE for better 
understanding...compassion and EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL.
Signed, Jack McNeil & Howard Brown
For the Prisoners of Millhaven