You are needed to stop the jailing of the Stop-and-Frisk Freedom Fighters and bring many more people into stopping Stop-and-Frisk. Act now. November 15 concluded the first of several outrageous trials against courageous freedom fighters who put their bodies on the line against the racist NYPD policy of stop-and-frisk. Carl Dix, Jamel Mims, Bob Parsons, and Morgan Rhodewalt were found NOT GUILTY of two heavier charges of Obstruction of Government Administration (OGA)!!! For protesting against Stop-and-Frisk at the 103rd Precinct in Queens on November 19, 2011, they had faced up to one year in jail, but no more. This is an important victory.
However, the freedom fighters were convicted of Disorderly Conduct with a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail. We cannot let our guard down. Nine other defendants face the exact same charges from November 19 last year in two upcoming trials in Queens. More trials are upcoming in Brooklyn for protesting against Stop-and-Frisk on November 1, 2011, at the 73rd Precinct, which has the highest rate of stop-and-frisk in the city. Freedom fighter Noche Diaz is still facing four+ years in four upcoming trials (two of these are with other Brooklyn and Queens defendants). All this is part of the fight against mass incarceration. And on January 7, the day of the Queens sentencing, the four freedom fighters, their lawyers and supporters will be in court demanding NO JAIL TIME for Carl Dix, Jamel Mims, Bob Parsons, and Morgan Rhodewalt!! Go to www.stopmassincarceration.org/ for more information.
We have won this first round. But what we at the Stop Mass Incarceration Network said going into this trial is still true, “If we allow them to be convicted and jailed without a massive fight, the battle against stop-and-frisk and the whole spirit of resistance will be seriously weakened. But if many, many people stand with them in this legal battle, if we beat this back, then the movement will gain further initiative pulling more people into the struggle.”
What you do matters. Without mass resistance and the actions of these people and hundreds more who put their bodies on the line in protest, stop-and-frisk would not now be so hotly contested in the city and the courts. The even more urgent truth is that standing up to defend these freedom fighters has everything to do with putting an end to the crime of stop-and-frisk and the way a whole generation is being condemned to lives of criminalization, marginalization, brutality and the spirit-crushing, human-wasting confinement of the largest prison system in the world.
However, the freedom fighters were convicted of Disorderly Conduct with a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail. We cannot let our guard down. Nine other defendants face the exact same charges from November 19 last year in two upcoming trials in Queens. More trials are upcoming in Brooklyn for protesting against Stop-and-Frisk on November 1, 2011, at the 73rd Precinct, which has the highest rate of stop-and-frisk in the city. Freedom fighter Noche Diaz is still facing four+ years in four upcoming trials (two of these are with other Brooklyn and Queens defendants). All this is part of the fight against mass incarceration. And on January 7, the day of the Queens sentencing, the four freedom fighters, their lawyers and supporters will be in court demanding NO JAIL TIME for Carl Dix, Jamel Mims, Bob Parsons, and Morgan Rhodewalt!! Go to www.stopmassincarceration.org/ for more information.
We have won this first round. But what we at the Stop Mass Incarceration Network said going into this trial is still true, “If we allow them to be convicted and jailed without a massive fight, the battle against stop-and-frisk and the whole spirit of resistance will be seriously weakened. But if many, many people stand with them in this legal battle, if we beat this back, then the movement will gain further initiative pulling more people into the struggle.”
What you do matters. Without mass resistance and the actions of these people and hundreds more who put their bodies on the line in protest, stop-and-frisk would not now be so hotly contested in the city and the courts. The even more urgent truth is that standing up to defend these freedom fighters has everything to do with putting an end to the crime of stop-and-frisk and the way a whole generation is being condemned to lives of criminalization, marginalization, brutality and the spirit-crushing, human-wasting confinement of the largest prison system in the world.
RSS Feed