Call for Court Support With the Vaughn 17

Call from the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement (RAM) and Vaughn 17 Support Philly to show solidarity with the Vaughn 17.

Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement’s RAM-NYC, RAM Philadelphia and Vaughn 17 Support Philly are organizing court support for the brave comrades inside the walls: The Vaughn 17. We are calling on prison abolitionists and revolutionary comrades to attend the trial in a strong showing of solidarity in Wilmington, Delaware.

The first group starts trial Oct. 8, 2018, and the final group starts Feb. 11, 2019. We are now calling for volunteers for the trial starting Oct. 8, for jury selection starts Oct. 8 and the trial Oct. 22. We will be holding banners outside the courthouse, attending the trial and, as the main supporters in that room, taking notes on the proceedings. Join this orientation to schedule a date to come and find out how to do court support. Come show the prison rebels they are not alone!

Get in touch with us for any questions about court support, at [email protected].

Background

The state’s ability to criminalize Black and Brown people and railroad people into a life of torture and submission continues unabated. Yet we are living in a historic moment where many inside and outside the prison walls have committed themselves to the struggle for prison abolition and liberation.

On Feb. 1, 2017, after a series of peaceful protests yielded no results, incarcerated comrades took over a building at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Delaware to demand slight improvements in their treatment. After a 20-hour stand-off, the prison’s response was to literally bulldoze their barricades and figuratively bulldoze their demands, retaliating with constant beatings, destruction of prisoner property, and denial of food and medical care.

Furthermore, the state has accused 17 of the incarcerated with egregious offenses even though these charges have no basis in reality. The state’s response shows once again that any prisoners standing up for themselves, to regain dignity and achieve decent treatment, is a threat. And the state will collectively punish everyone and anyone to hide its barbarism. The only role of prison guards, wardens and the Department of Corrections (DOC) is the perpetuation of slavery and subjugation.

In response to the just demands of the protest, the state is trying to convict 17 people with trumped up charges. Despite the most insidious intentions of the state, the co-defendants charged are standing strong together in solidarity and are jointly and sincerely proclaiming their innocence.

We can make a huge difference supporting the Vaughn 17! The co-defendants have expressed the positive impact of the support they have been getting already. This is an opportunity to stand by them in an even more meaningful way: to look into their faces in the courtroom and show them that comrades will stand by everyone facing state repression.

We will be organizing people to attend their trial, to hold banners outside the courthouse and to take notes on the proceedings, so their lives won’t be shoved into the darkness without a fight!

Read the statements and letters of the defendants: https://itsgoingdown.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/VAUGHN-READ.pdf.

Write a letter of support to the defendants: https://itsgoingdown.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/vaughn-update918.pdf.

The trial will be held at New Castle County Courthouse, 500 N. King St., Wilmington, DE 19801.