Political Prisoners and Prison Rebel Birthdays for January

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

For an 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.

Wishing a very happy birthday to Jeremy Hammond, who will be celebrating in freedom this month! Please keep sending mail and books to Eric King, who’s off his mail ban for now but may end up being hit with another one soon. Chicano anarchist political prisoner Xinachtli is coming up for parole in the new year, you can find details on how to support his application at the end of this recent article he wrote. There are a number of ongoing clemency campaigns that could use some support, including ones for the aging political prisoners Russell Maroon Shoatz, Ed Poindexter, and David Gilbert. Two of the Kings Bay Plowshares 7 have just begun prison sentences, with others expecting sentencing soon. Mumia Abu Jamal has won a victory in court against an attempt to replace his prosecutor with an even harsher and more vicious one, although his road to freedom remains long and difficult.

In international news, 22 anarchist groups from around the world have issued a joint statement in solidarity with the prisoners from the 2019 revolt in Chile. January 22^nd is the Trans Prisoner Day of Action and Solidarity, so you may want to think about doing something for that.

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. The status of pre-trial defendants changes frequently, but to the best of my knowledge they currently include:

Lore-Elisabeth Blumenthal #70002-066
FDC Philadelphia
P.O. Box 562
Philadelphia, PA 19105

David Elmakayes #77782-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105

Shawn Collins #69989-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105

Steven Pennycooke #69988-066
FDC Philadelphia,
PO Box 562,
Philadelphia, PA 19105

Matthew White
Washington County Jail
15015 62nd St. N
P.O. Box 3801
Stillwater, MN 55082

Montez Lee
Washington County Jail
15015 62nd St. N
P.O. Box 3801
Stillwater, MN 55082

Loren Reed #36045508
CAFCC
P.O. Box 6300
Florence, AZ 85132

John Wade
#14762509
PO Box 730
Lovejoy, GA 30250

Finally, 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.

Fran Thompson

Serving life plus 10 years for killing a man who broke into her home in self-defense. Before her imprisonment, Fran was an eco, animal and anti-nuke campaigner and it is believed this biased the court against her.

Nebraska uses Jpay, so you should be able to send her a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Nebraska, Inmate ID: 93341”.

Birthday: January 4

Address:

Fran Thompson #93341
Nebraska Correctional Center for Women
1107 Recharge Rd.
York, NE 68467-8003
USA

Siddique Abdullah Hasan (Carlos Sanders)

Long-time prison rebel on Death Row for his role in the Lucasville Uprising of 1993. Facing heavy retaliation, including attempts to smear him as a terrorist, for his ongoing organizing and support of prison strikes. You can learn more about Siddique in his own words by listening to his interviews on the Final Straw.

Ohio uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Ohio, Inmate ID: R130559”.

Birthday: January 4

Address:

Siddique Abdullah Hasan (Address envelope to Carlos A. Sanders)
#R130559
Ohio State Penitentiary
PO Box 1436
Youngstown, Ohio 44505

Abdul Azeez (Warren Ballentine)

Abdul is one of the Virgin Island 3 serving 8 consecutive life sentences after being tortured into a false confession then wrongly imprisoned since 2001 when his sentence was vacated. He was 23 at the time of his arrest in 1972. Now in his 60s, he has several chronic health issues that are difficult to treat inside prison.

Abdul is in a prison run by CoreCivic/CCA, who appear to use 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 Abdul then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: January 9

Address:

Abdul Aziz (address envelope to Warren Ballantine)
#16-047
Citrus County Detention Facility
2604 West Woodland Ridge Drive
Lecanto, Florida 34461

Joseph “Shine White” Stewart

Joseph “Shine White” Stewart is a revolutionary prisoner in North Carolina who was sent to solitary confinement for his prominent role in the 2018 prison strikes. Many of his writings have been published by the Atlanta Anarchist Black Cross.

North Carolina does not appear to have an inmate email service.

Birthday: January 14

Address:

Joseph Stewart #0802041
Alexander Correctional Institution
633 Old Landfill Road
Taylorsville, NC 28681

Sundiata Acoli (Clark Squire)

Former Black Panther/Black Liberation Army prisoner, co-defendant of Assata Shakur, serving life plus 30 years for a shootout between the BLA and New Jersey state troopers. Sundiata was just denied parole again, and is expecting to be given a 10 to 30 year hit, despite already being in his 80s, having served 47 years in prison with a very positive record.

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 Sundiata then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: January 14

Address:

Sundiata Acoli #39794-066 (address envelope to Clark Squire)
FCI Cumberland
P.O. BOX 1000
Cumberland, MD 21501
USA

Joseph “Joe-Joe” Bowen

Black Liberation Army (BLA) Prisoner of War, serving two life sentences for the assassination of a prison warden and deputy warden, as well as an attempted prison break which resulted in a five-day standoff.

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 “AM-4272”.

Birthday: January 15

Address:

In 2018, the PA Dept of Corrections instituted a restrictive mail policy where all mail to prisoners must be sent through a mail processing facility in Florida where all correspondence is scanned, copied and then the copy is mailed to the prisoner. There is an active campaign to get Gov. Wolf to repeal the restrictive policy so that friends and family members can send mail such as greeting cards again.

Smart Communications/PADOC
Joseph Bowen #AM-4272
SCI Fayette
P.O. Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733
United States

Jacob Montgomery

Ferguson uprising prisoner, serving a 13-year sentence which is partly for looting during the Ferguson riots of November 2014, along with unrelated robbery and burglary charges.

Missouri uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Missouri, Inmate ID: 1287870”.

Birthday: January 17

Address:

Jacob Montgomery #1287870
Western Missouri Correctional Center
609 East Pence Road,
Cameron, MO 64429
USA

Abdush-Shahid Faruq (Timothy Grinnel)

Abdush-Shahid Faruq is one of the prisoners wrongfully convicted in the aftermath of the historic Lucasville Uprising.

Ohio uses Jpay, so you can send him a message by going to jpay.com, clicking “inmate search”, then selecting “State: Ohio, Inmate ID: 218140”.

Birthday: January 23

Address:

Timothy Grinnel #218-140
Madison Correctional Institution
1851 State Route 56
London, OH 43140

Marius Mason

Marius Mason is an anarchist, environmental and animal rights activist currently serving nearly 22 years in federal prison for acts of property damage carried out in defense of the planet.

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 Marius then you’re best off just sending him a card or a letter.

Birthday: January 26

Address:

Marie (Marius) Mason 04672-061
FCI Danbury
Route 37
Danbury, CT 06811

photo: LexScope via Unsplash