[Ppnews] Prisoners of New Orleans need your help now

[Political Prisoner News]

To All CR members, Allies, and Comrades of New Orleans,

Prisoners and Families of New Orleans needs your help immediately!
If you haven't heard already Hurricane Gustav is headed for New Orleans
and is predicted to be a category 3 hurricane, the same as Hurricane 
Katrina.  There will possibly be a mandate for all people (outside of 
prisons and jails) of New Orleans to evacuate starting tomorrow 
August 29th, the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. It is 
predicted that hurricane Gustav will pose great flooding potential 
regardless of its category rating, the levee that broke by elected 
official's decisions during Hurricane Katrina has not been fixed to 
it's potential, or replaced.

The over crowding Orleans Parish Prison, located in New Orleans, 
holds 2, 500 prisoners (this count is not certain, due to lack of 
information given to the public.) Although not official, we have 
information that the Prisoners of Orleans Parish Prison will be 
evacuating to Angola Prison and Hunt Prison in the next coming days 
and are also prisons that can be affected by Hurricane Gustav due to 
overcrowding.

During Hurricane Katrina there were prisoners able to evacuate and 
others who remained locked in their cells with a minimal chance of 
survival. Prisoners were left in flooded cells, with no food, and had 
minimal ventilation, to say the least. Family members, of prisoners 
who were held at Orleans Parish Prison, are still in the fight to 
locate their loved ones who had been evacuated to other prisons 
during Katrina. Due to the flooding, lack of organization and care 
from New Orleans Department of Corrections and elected officials, 
prisoner's records were also missing. As a result, prisoner's 
constitutional rights have been violated.
This abuse can not happen again!

What will happen to the prisoners of Orleans Parish Prison located in 
New Orleans this time?

Critical Resistance (CR) is demanding that the elected officials of 
New Orleans will not create the same devastating wrongs as they did 
to the prisoners of Orleans Parish Prison during hurricane Katrina.

    1. we demand a full and safe evacuation of all prisoners
    2. we demand to know what the evacuation plan for prisoners is
    3. we demand to see a public document about that plan immediately
    4. we demand information about how we can find people after an evacuation

We are urging every member, ally and comrade of New Orleans across 
the country, to make at least one call to:

Sheriff Malrin Gusman: 504.827.8505
(James Carter's secretary said "Orleans Parish Prison is Gusman's prison")
James Carter: 504.658.1030
(Criminal Justice Council Member who is able to put pressure on the 
sheriff even if they say they can't)
You can also send an email: JCarter at cityofno.com <mailto:JCarter at cityofno.com>
please put in your email subject: How will you protect prisoners this time?

Please call as many times as you can to put pressure on them and let 
them know our demands and it is their job to be accountable to us!!!!!!!!

For further information from us please contact Critical Resistance New Orleans:
Mayaba: 917.385.5472 or mayaba at criticalresistance.org
Koolblack: 504.813.4714 or koolblack at criticalresistance.org

(If you can't get through due to evacuation please contact: 
pilar at criticalresistance.org 
<mailto:pilar at criticalresistance.org><mailto:pilar at criticalresistance.org> 
for further information)

In solidarity,
Critical Resistance



Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

415 863-9977

www.Freedomarchives.org  
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