Archive for the 'Inside Line' Category

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~ from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, by Jeff Dietrich

From the Los Angeles Catholic Worker

August 5, 2016

Dear Community,

“Dietrich, I’m gonna visit you some night.” Gabriel sits at the Latino table most evenings watching the Spanish-language TV. With a menacing look and numerous tattoos, he has the image of one who is familiar with both streets and jails. So, when he said he was going to come visit me some night, I was a little frightened.

The Latino table is near the C.O.s desk, and he was always there when I received mail each night. It is rare for an inmate to receive mail every night and even rarer to receive books. “I wanna get a book from you,” said Gabriel. I did not really know whether to be frightened or flattered. White nerdy types like myself who read are often an object of derision in an environment where some people don’t read.

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~ from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, by Dennis Apel

Monday, August 1, 2016

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s been a little while since I have sent something out, so it’s time for a little update. On this past Friday I celebrated, here in prison, my 66th Birthday. It was a good day in that, although I was not able to be with my family and loved ones, I was surrounded by your love and full of gratitude for all of you who have been so supportive during this time. I was also very thankful to be back on my unit after spending two weeks in the Special Housing Unit (the “SHU”). That experience was hard for me, but, again, I felt held in God’s loving hands and your hearts as well.

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~ from USP Coleman, by Leonard Peltier

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Sisters, brothers, friends and supporters:

June 26th marks 41 years since the long summer day when three young men were killed at the home of the Jumping Bull family, near Oglala, during a firefight in which I and dozens of others participated. While I did not shoot (and therefore did not kill) FBI agents Ronald Williams and Jack Coler, I nevertheless have great remorse for the loss of their young lives, the loss of my friend Joe Stuntz, and for the grieving of their loved ones. I would guess that, like me, many of my brothers and sisters who were there that day wish that somehow they could have done something to change what happened and avoid the tragic outcome of the shootout.

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~ from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, by David Omondi

May 14, 2016 Dear Friends, Love and Gratitude to all of you who continue to hold us in your hearts as we once again experience the unique blessing of incarceration. It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of Daniel Berrigan (Presente!) and so many others who have helped light the path of active […]

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~ from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, by Dennis Apel

May 16, 2016 Dear Friends, Today marks one week (is that all?!!) since I arrived at MDC. It’s been quite a transition. Every time someone asks how long I’m in for and I respond, “four months” I get a reply something like, “Oh man! That’s nothing. That’s a breeze!” But THIS breeze is movin’ real […]

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~ from Ft. Leavenworth, by Chelsea Manning: Solitary confinement is “no touch” torture and it must be abolished

from The Guardian Solitary confinement is “no touch” torture, and it must be abolished by Chelsea E. Manning I spent about nine months in an isolated cell behind a one-way mirror. It was cruel, degrading and inhumane Shortly after arriving at a makeshift military jail, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, in May 2010, I was placed […]

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~ from the Jamesville Correctional Facility, second jail letter by Mary Anne Grady Flores

On January 19, 2016 I was remanded after a county court decision upheld a lower court verdict that I was guilty of violating the terms of an order of protection while photographing 8 Catholic drone protestors at Hancock Air Force Base. Orders of protection were originally created to protect domestic violence victims and witnesses who might be subject to intimidation.

A month later while in jail I realized that Friday, February 19 was important to me for four reasons. First, it was the seventh anniversary of my brother-in-law Peter DeMott’s sudden passing, leaving my widowed sister Ellen with four daughters to raise. Peter was a rock in our family and is sorely missed. We miss his energy, his wit, his deep bass radio voice, his random acts of kindness, his recitation of poetry, his mixing hot sauce with all his food. We miss his tireless efforts of putting his body at many gates, or climbing over fences or driving into military bases or witnessing at corporate military contractors’ facilities like Lockheed Martin, to end the madness of the never ending racist colonial wars of the U.S. empire. I hold Ellen, the tireless organizer of anti-killer-drone actions at Hancock Airbase, and each of their gifted daughters in prayer and in love.

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~ from the Jamesville Correctional Facility, by Mary Anne Grady Flores

February 11, 2016

Greetings, Dear Friends —

Joy swept through our cell block, Jamesville County Jail, Pod 4, Thursday, January 28.

That evening some of the fifty-nine women in our Pod rushed up and knocked on my cell door. They reported the six o’clock news had shown twelve drone resisters handcuffed, sitting on a roadside curb, waiting to be taken into custody.

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~ from USP Coleman, by Leonard Peltier, on the 40th anniversary of his imprisonment

February 6, 2016

Greetings friends, supporters and all Native Peoples.

What can I say that I have not said before? I guess I can start by saying see you later to all of those who have passed in the last year. We Natives don’t like to mention their names. We believe that if we speak their names it disrupts their journey. They may loose their way and their spirits wander forever. If too many call out to them, they will try to come back. But their spirits know we are thinking about them, so all I will say is safe journey and I hope to see you soon.

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~ from the Sarpy County Jail, by Jessica Reznicek: Why I Acted

Why I Acted

by Jessica Reznicek

Hammer of Justice statement from the Sarpy County Jail, Papillion, Nebraska, January 11, 2016

Hello, everyone!

Thank you to all who are carrying me with them in heart and mind while I do this time here in Sarpy County Jail. It is felt deeply.

My spirit is strong these days, and I attribute this to the kindness surrounding me. Mostly I am grateful just simply to be alive and well, swinging my hammer of justice at Northrop Grumman/STRATCOM (United Stated Strategic Command).

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