<html>
<body>
<font size=3><br>
From: "Portland Victory Gardens Project"
<pvg@riseup.net><br><br>
<br>
Hello friends and fellow Victory Gardeners,<br><br>
We are sending out this quick email to notify you about information<br>
recently released to the public regarding serious allegations of
human<br>
rights abuse and politically motivated persecution in the Maine
State<br>
Prison.<br><br>
Over the past year, Portland based journalist, Lance Tapley, has written
a<br>
series of articles investigating evidence of torture and other gross<br>
violations of human rights in the Maine State prison. Some of the
most<br>
serious abuses against prisoners include:<br><br>
- Stays for long periods of time (often naked and blind-folded) in
metal<br>
"restraint" chairs.<br><br>
- Sleep deprivation<br><br>
- Persecution of politicized, activist prisoners-- putting them in<br>
solitary/supermax and in the recent case of Deane Brown, transferring
him<br>
suddenly to a notoriously violent prison in Maryland.<br><br>
In two articles in this week's edition of the Portland Phoenix,
Lance<br>
Tapley explains how his attempts at investigating these matters has
been<br>
very difficult, due to the lack of cooperation from prison officials
and<br>
the administration of Governor John Baldacci.<br><br>
While this news may not be surprising to those already familiar with<br>
America and Maine's prison systems-- it may come as a shock to
others. We<br>
are after all, lead to believe in school and on TV that these type
of<br>
things don't happen in "the land of the free."<br><br>
This public exposure, however, presents us with a good opportunity
to<br>
further expose the prison system as a cruel enforcer of economic<br>
injustice, class oppression, and racism.<br><br>
We are asking people to read the December 14, 2006 Portland Phoenix<br>
article "Lockdown" (also see the sidebar "Stonewalling is
normal"), and<br>
write to Governor John Baldacci and Corrections Commisioner Martin<br>
Magnusson demanding that they bring Deane Brown back to Maine, and
cease<br>
the use of "restraint chairs" and other torture
techniques.<br><br>
Also, a new legal collective is forming in Maine to address these
problems<br>
in an ongoing manner. They will be holding legal trainings and
their<br>
first meeting in Augusta in early Januray. It is open to anyone who
is<br>
interested. For more info, please email
davidbidler@yahoo.com.<br><br>
Here is a link to the article:<br>
<a href="http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid29730.aspx" eudora="autourl">
http://www.thephoenix.com/article_ektid29730.aspx<br><br>
</a>Please direct correspondence to:<br><br>
Governor John Baldacci<br>
1 State House Station<br>
Augusta, Maine 04333-0001<br><br>
Phone: <x-tab> </x-tab>(207) 287-3531<br>
Fax: <x-tab> </x-tab>(207) 287-1034<br>
Email: <x-tab> </x-tab>governor@maine.gov<br><br>
and<br><br>
Commissioner Martin Magnusson<br>
Maine Department of Corrections<br>
Central Office<br>
25 Tyson Drive 3rd flr<br>
111 State House Station<br>
Augusta, Maine 04333-0111<br><br>
Telephone: 207/287-2711<br>
Fax: 207/287-4370<br>
TTY: 207/287-2360<br><br>
<br><br>
Portland Victory Gardens Project<br>
PO Box 1992<br>
Portland, Maine 04104<br>
(207) 761-1504<br><br>
Free the Land! Free all U.S. Political Prisoners!<br>
All Power to the People!<br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=3 color="#FF0000">The Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br>
(415) 863-9977<br>
</font><font size=3>
<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
www.freedomarchives.org</a></font></body>
</html>