03/27/2013
Three Day Conference Re-Examines 1993 Prison Uprising
What: Re-Examining Lucasville Conference
When: Friday, April 19, 7 to 9 pm
Saturday April 20, 9 am to 10 pm
Sunday April 21, 9 am to 12 noon
Where: Columbus State Community College, OHIO
Location on Campus to Be Determined
Contact: Ben Turk RedBirdPrisonAbolition@gmail.com
614 704 4699
Web: Re-ExaminingLucasville.org
Cost: Suggested donation, $10-50- no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Three Day Conference Re-Examines 1993 Prison Uprising
Twenty years after one of the longest prison uprisings in US history, legal experts, historians and activists will gather to expose injustices resulting in death sentences for five men and lengthy prison terms for many others. The Re-Examining Lucasville Conference will explore the context in which the uprising occurred and present a comprehensive examination of what happened during the Uprising from April 11-21, 1993 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) in Lucasville, Ohio and the legal proceedings that followed. During this eleven day uprising, ten people lost their lives before the prisoners were able to negotiate a peaceful surrender to state authorities. The State of Ohio promptly violated key parts of that agreement and targetted certain prisoners for prosecution.
The event will begin Friday night with the screening of a short documentary film by Derrick Jones, including footage from the uprising and interviews with activists and government officials. This includes an interview with then state prosecutor Daniel Hogan, who admits he does not know and thinks they will never know who actually killed hostage Officer Vallandingham, a crime for which he and other prosecutors sent four men to death row.
Attendees will then hear from some of those men and from others who have been held in solitary confinement since the uprising. Jason Robb, Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Bomani Shakur (also known as Keith Lamar) and Greg Curry will speak from the Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP) on Friday night.
On Saturday, the conference will dig into a close examination of the uprising. Men who were incarcerated at SOCF in April of 1993 will share their stories. Prominent Ohio lawyers and other experts will unfold the layers of injustice the State of Ohio engaged in to secure convictions following the uprising. Advocates and experts from across the US will connect the Lucasville Uprising with nationwide prison issues.
- Attorney Mark Donatelli, who represented defendants after the New Mexico prison uprising in 1980, will discuss the horrendous conditions that preceded the disturbance and contributed to successful plea negotiations.
- Attorney Niki Schwartz, who represented prisoners in concluding a peaceful settlement of the Lucasville uprising, will speak about the prosecution’s failure to abide by some of its most important provisions.
- Attorney Rick Kerger, who represented Siddique Abdullah Hasan in state court until taken off the case by the trial court judge, will speak about the struggle to provide unbiased and effective representation for individual defendants.
- Attorney Phyllis Crocker, dean at the Cleveland Marshall Law School, chairperson of the 2007 Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team of the American Bar Association, and currently serving on the task force appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court to examine the death penalty, will describe the changing scene with regard to the death penalty in Ohio.
On Sunday, attendees will participate in an interactive strategy session and will be invited to take action, joining the struggle for the Lucasville Uprising Prisoners. Conference organizers believe that a critical examination of the Lucasville Uprising will expose deeply unjust and inhumane practices that the Ohio prison system continues to engage in today. The Lucasville Uprising Prisoners continue to fight these injustices, and they hope the conference will broaden support, not only for their struggle, but for the struggles of all Ohioans who are targeted by this system.
Media representatives who would like to interview conference organizers or prisoners should contact Ben Turk at 614-704-4699 or insurgent.ben@gmail.com. More information about the uprising, including radio interviews with some of the prisoners can be found online at LucasvilleAmnesty.org.
See full schedule below for details.
RE-EXAMINING LUCASVILLE SCHEDULE Friday, April 19, 7 to 9:30 p.m., Chairperson, Bob Fitrakis Welcome Derrick Jones, documentary film, The Great Incarcerator: Part 2, The Shadow of Lucasville Lucasville Uprising Prisoners speak.
Saturday, April 20, 9 to noon, Chairperson, Alice Lynd 9:00 - 9:55 a.m., two skits drawn from transcripts: The Making of a Snitch,” Highway Patrol interview with man who became an informant; “The Death-Qualified Jury,” exclusion of potential jurors 10:00 - 10:55 a.m., Survivors of Lucasville, Conditions at Lucasville before the Uprising 11:00 a.m. - noon, Struggle in the Courts Attorney Vicki Werneke, Capital Habeas Unit, Federal Public Defender, on complicity and obstacles in habeas representation Staughton Lynd, attorney and author of Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising Saturday, April 20, noon to 1 p.m., Lunch, to be provided.
Saturday, April 20, 1 to 3 p.m., Layers of Injustice, Chairperson, Staughton Lynd Attorney Mark Donatelli, represented defendants after New Mexico prison uprising Attorney Niki Schwartz, represented prisoners in Lucasville negotiations Attorney Rick Kerger, represented Hasan in state court until taken off case by trial court judge Dean Phyllis Crocker, Cleveland Marshall Law School, chaired ABA panel on death penalty in Ohio, member of task force appointed by Ohio Supreme Court to examine death penalty.
Saturday, April 20, 3 to 5 p.m., breakout sessions Bonnie Kerness and Ojore Lutalo, art work and video “Sneak Peek” on isolation as a political tool in New Jersey prison Central Ohio Prisoner Advocates (COPA) and Redbird Prison Abolition, current conditions in Ohio prisons Others to be announced Saturday, April 20, 7 to 9:30 p.m. Derrick Jones, documentary film, The Great Incarcerator: Part 1, Dark Little Secrets Entertainment Open Mic Poetry and Music.
Sunday, April 21, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, Building Support, Chairperson, Ben Turk Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio: Mumia Abu Jamal support campaign Wide-ranging discussion about strategy and possible future actions # # #
What: Re-Examining Lucasville Conference
When: Friday, April 19, 7 to 9 pm
Saturday April 20, 9 am to 10 pm
Sunday April 21, 9 am to 12 noon
Where: Columbus State Community College, OHIO
Location on Campus to Be Determined
Contact: Ben Turk RedBirdPrisonAbolition@gmail.com
614 704 4699
Web: Re-ExaminingLucasville.org
Cost: Suggested donation, $10-50- no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Three Day Conference Re-Examines 1993 Prison Uprising
Twenty years after one of the longest prison uprisings in US history, legal experts, historians and activists will gather to expose injustices resulting in death sentences for five men and lengthy prison terms for many others. The Re-Examining Lucasville Conference will explore the context in which the uprising occurred and present a comprehensive examination of what happened during the Uprising from April 11-21, 1993 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) in Lucasville, Ohio and the legal proceedings that followed. During this eleven day uprising, ten people lost their lives before the prisoners were able to negotiate a peaceful surrender to state authorities. The State of Ohio promptly violated key parts of that agreement and targetted certain prisoners for prosecution.
The event will begin Friday night with the screening of a short documentary film by Derrick Jones, including footage from the uprising and interviews with activists and government officials. This includes an interview with then state prosecutor Daniel Hogan, who admits he does not know and thinks they will never know who actually killed hostage Officer Vallandingham, a crime for which he and other prosecutors sent four men to death row.
Attendees will then hear from some of those men and from others who have been held in solitary confinement since the uprising. Jason Robb, Siddique Abdullah Hasan, Bomani Shakur (also known as Keith Lamar) and Greg Curry will speak from the Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP) on Friday night.
On Saturday, the conference will dig into a close examination of the uprising. Men who were incarcerated at SOCF in April of 1993 will share their stories. Prominent Ohio lawyers and other experts will unfold the layers of injustice the State of Ohio engaged in to secure convictions following the uprising. Advocates and experts from across the US will connect the Lucasville Uprising with nationwide prison issues.
- Attorney Mark Donatelli, who represented defendants after the New Mexico prison uprising in 1980, will discuss the horrendous conditions that preceded the disturbance and contributed to successful plea negotiations.
- Attorney Niki Schwartz, who represented prisoners in concluding a peaceful settlement of the Lucasville uprising, will speak about the prosecution’s failure to abide by some of its most important provisions.
- Attorney Rick Kerger, who represented Siddique Abdullah Hasan in state court until taken off the case by the trial court judge, will speak about the struggle to provide unbiased and effective representation for individual defendants.
- Attorney Phyllis Crocker, dean at the Cleveland Marshall Law School, chairperson of the 2007 Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Team of the American Bar Association, and currently serving on the task force appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court to examine the death penalty, will describe the changing scene with regard to the death penalty in Ohio.
On Sunday, attendees will participate in an interactive strategy session and will be invited to take action, joining the struggle for the Lucasville Uprising Prisoners. Conference organizers believe that a critical examination of the Lucasville Uprising will expose deeply unjust and inhumane practices that the Ohio prison system continues to engage in today. The Lucasville Uprising Prisoners continue to fight these injustices, and they hope the conference will broaden support, not only for their struggle, but for the struggles of all Ohioans who are targeted by this system.
Media representatives who would like to interview conference organizers or prisoners should contact Ben Turk at 614-704-4699 or insurgent.ben@gmail.com. More information about the uprising, including radio interviews with some of the prisoners can be found online at LucasvilleAmnesty.org.
See full schedule below for details.
RE-EXAMINING LUCASVILLE SCHEDULE Friday, April 19, 7 to 9:30 p.m., Chairperson, Bob Fitrakis Welcome Derrick Jones, documentary film, The Great Incarcerator: Part 2, The Shadow of Lucasville Lucasville Uprising Prisoners speak.
Saturday, April 20, 9 to noon, Chairperson, Alice Lynd 9:00 - 9:55 a.m., two skits drawn from transcripts: The Making of a Snitch,” Highway Patrol interview with man who became an informant; “The Death-Qualified Jury,” exclusion of potential jurors 10:00 - 10:55 a.m., Survivors of Lucasville, Conditions at Lucasville before the Uprising 11:00 a.m. - noon, Struggle in the Courts Attorney Vicki Werneke, Capital Habeas Unit, Federal Public Defender, on complicity and obstacles in habeas representation Staughton Lynd, attorney and author of Lucasville: The Untold Story of a Prison Uprising Saturday, April 20, noon to 1 p.m., Lunch, to be provided.
Saturday, April 20, 1 to 3 p.m., Layers of Injustice, Chairperson, Staughton Lynd Attorney Mark Donatelli, represented defendants after New Mexico prison uprising Attorney Niki Schwartz, represented prisoners in Lucasville negotiations Attorney Rick Kerger, represented Hasan in state court until taken off case by trial court judge Dean Phyllis Crocker, Cleveland Marshall Law School, chaired ABA panel on death penalty in Ohio, member of task force appointed by Ohio Supreme Court to examine death penalty.
Saturday, April 20, 3 to 5 p.m., breakout sessions Bonnie Kerness and Ojore Lutalo, art work and video “Sneak Peek” on isolation as a political tool in New Jersey prison Central Ohio Prisoner Advocates (COPA) and Redbird Prison Abolition, current conditions in Ohio prisons Others to be announced Saturday, April 20, 7 to 9:30 p.m. Derrick Jones, documentary film, The Great Incarcerator: Part 1, Dark Little Secrets Entertainment Open Mic Poetry and Music.
Sunday, April 21, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, Building Support, Chairperson, Ben Turk Noelle Hanrahan, Prison Radio: Mumia Abu Jamal support campaign Wide-ranging discussion about strategy and possible future actions # # #
