Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Black and White and Dead All Over: The Lucasville Insurrection

Black and white prisoners come together against prison authorities

Summary:
Most people get a fair amount of fun out of their lives, but on balance life is suffering, and only the very young or the very foolish imagine otherwise. -George Orwell
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5 inmates were railroaded for a prison uprising. They are: Siddique Abdullah Hasan (formerly known as Carlos Sanders), Namir Abdul Mateen (formerly known as James Were), Keith Lamar, Jason Robb, and George Skatzes. Hasan, Mateen, and Lamar are black. Hasan and Mateen are Sunni Muslims. Robb and Skatzes are members of the Aryan Brotherhood. Both groups put aside their differences and came together against injustice. The following words were spraypainted on prison walls as described in testimony by prison guards after the prison riot had ended: "Black and White Together", "Convict unity", "Blacks and whites, whites and blacks, unity."

They picked these 5 because they were chosen by the imates to speak on their behalf and who negotiated a ceasefire with the authorities. Prison authorities needed a scapegoat. All the Lucasville 5 prisoners are still being held awaiting their uncertain fates.

Warning quite the long read below...but very interesting.