Political Prisoner and Prison Rebel Birthdays for July

Inspired by the spirit of the Political Prisoners Birthday crew, here’s a short listing of some rebel prisoners who have upcoming birthdays in July.

For an introduction on how to write to prisoners and some things to do and not to do, go here. If you have the time, please also check IWOC’s listing of prisoners facing retaliation for prison strike-related organizing.

In recent years, July 25th has also been commemorated as an international day of solidarity with Jock Palfreeman and all antifascist prisoners, so you might want to do something for that, like raising funds for the International Antifascist Defence Fund or the Bulgarian Prisoners’ Association, emailing Belarus ABC to ask them to translate your message and pass it on to one of the several Belarusian antifascist prisoners, or whatever else seems appropriate to you.

Happy birthday to our comrades Ilya Romanov and Oleg Sentsov from Russia, and to Nina Droz Franco from Puerto Rico, who’ll be celebrating their birthdays in freedom this year!

On a less positive note, everyone should support the defendants facing charges related to their alleged participation in the George Floyd uprising – this list of our imprisoned comrades needs to be getting shorter, not longer. So far, I’m only aware of an organized defence campaign for Colin and Urooj in New York, but there must be many others out there facing serious charges with less organized support. At the time of writing, both Colin and Urooj have been bailed out.

SAMANTHA SHADER #83823-053
MDC BROOKLYN
P.O. BOX 329002
BROOKLYN, NY, 11232

Please do not write anything to pre-trial defendants that could in any way have a negative impact on their trial, and keep an eye out for changes in their status

Eric King has also been facing a particularly brutal time of it lately, and is currently under incredibly harsh restrictions. Please support any calls coming from his support crew, and donate to his legal fund ahead of his upcoming trial.

If you would like to buy a nicely-designed face mask while also raising money for a Lucasville Uprising prisoner’s legal costs, Greg Curry has you covered – check out his store here.

Much as I hate to see even more of our lives and communications being enclosed by tech companies, it seems inescapable at the moment, so for anyone who doesn’t want to leave their house to buy stamps/cards/envelopes or to send mail, a reminder that many prisoners can be contacted electronically, via Jpay or similar services.

Gage Halupowski

Gage was arrested at a counter demonstration against a far-Right rally in Portland, Oregonon June 29th, 2019. Gage accepted a non-cooperation plea deal, plead guilty to an assault charge, and was sentenced to nearly 6 years in prison.

If you’re looking for different ways to engage with Gage when sitting down to write that first letter, here are a few things to keep in mind – not only is he an anti fascist but he also is a radical environmentalist and an anarchist. So, discussing history,  politics or the ideologies of those movements as well could be a good place to start. He is also a fan of the fantasy novel series, The Wheel of Time and looks forward to reading all 12 books in the series while he’s in, so if you’ve read those or would like to he’d love to discuss them with you.

Oregon uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to Gage then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: July 1

Address:

Gage Halupowski #21894460

Snake River Correctional Institution
777 Stanton Blvd.
Ontario, OR 97914-83305
United States

Corey Smith

A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the state has now dropped its attempts to criminalize Corey Smith in relation to the uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved to Pennsylvania, where he is being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted Release List) on vague and questionable grounds. More than two years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NU0456”.

Birthday: July 14

Address:

Smart Communications/PADOC
Corey Smith
NU0456
SCI Camp Hill
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733

Dakota Moss

Ferguson-related prisoner sentenced to 20 years for stealing guns for people to use during the non-indictment riots in November 2014.

The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to Gage then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: July 17th

Address:

Dakota Moss #11400-025
USP Terre Haute
PO Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808

Kevin Berry

A former Vaughn 17 defendant. While the court found Kevin Berry not guilty on all charges in relation to the uprising, he is facing continued retaliation, as he has been moved to Pennsylvania, where he is being held on lockdown indefinitely (via placement on PA’s Restricted Release List) on vague and questionable grounds. More than two years later, these prisoners are still being abused for staying in solidarity with one another against the state.

Kevin Berry is a contributor to the Vaughn 17 “Live From the Trenches” zine, and also wrote a June 11th statement for last year’s day of solidarity with long-term anarchist prisoners.

Pennsylvania uses Connect Network/GTL, so you can contact him online by going to connectnetwork.com, selecting “Add a facility”, choosing “State: Pennsylvania, Facility: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections”, going into the “messaging” service, and then adding him as a contact by searching his name or “NT0583”.

Birthday: July 17th

Address:

Smart Communications/PADOC
Kevin Berry, NT0583
SCI Benner Township
PO Box 33028
St Petersburg, FL 33733

Keith “Malik” Washington

Malik is the Assistant Editor of the San Francisco Bay View, and an anarchist and abolitionist prison organizer, who has worked with groups including the IWW/Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, various ABC groups, Fight Toxic Prisons, and the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement. He has been subjected to an extended period of solitary confinement as a reprisal for his outspoken organizing and writing. Malik’s writings have frequently featured on It’s Going Down, among other places, and you can find his statement for the most recent June 11 day of solidarity here.

There’s rumours of an online fundraiser event for the Bay View being organized for his birthday weekend, so keep an eye on the Bay View or Blue Ridge ABC for more on that as it’s confirmed.

The Federal system uses Corrlinks, a system where a prisoner must send a request to connect to someone on the outside before they can exchange emails, so if you’re not already connected to Malik then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: July 19th

Address:

Keith “Malik” Washington
#34481-037
USP Pollock
P.O. Box 2099
Pollock, LA 71467

Derek Cannon

Derek Cannon is serving life without parole after being wrongly convicted of murder during the 1993 Lucasville Uprising, based on the testimony of jailhouse witnesses who have since confessed to lying about the case. For more about Derek’s case, see “Let Lucasville Uprising Prisoners Tell Their Own Stories!” in the NLG Review. Due to his connection to the uprising, he is still a frequent target for staff harassment, even decades later.

Ohio uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Ohio, Inmate ID: 221663”.

Birthday: July 21st

Address:

Derek Cannon
#221-663
OSP
878 Coitsville Hubbard Rd
Youngstown OH 44505