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School of the Americas protestors:
It's time to support them in prison |
| School of the Americas protesters held
without rights
They spoke up for us and now it's time that we
speak up for them!
Source: Sojourners 2002 (c) http://www.sojo.net
[8-29-02]
On July 12, 2002, a federal court in Georgia found 36
SOA Watch activists guilty and sentenced them for speaking out against
the School of the Americas (SOA) in a nonviolent protest on the Fort
Benning military reservation. Twenty- nine received prison terms ranging
from three months to the maximum of six months - one more attempt to
silence the movement to close the SOA, and to prevent others from
speaking out. Toni Flynn, 56, a Catholic Worker and mother of four from
Valyermo, CA, Peter Gelderloos, 20, an activist from Harrisonburg, VA,
and Father Jerry Zawada, 65, a Franciscan priest from Cedar Lake, IN,
were taken to Crisp County Jail in Georgia. It was assumed that this was
to be a brief stop in transit to a federal prison near their homes.
Now, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has
designated Crisp County Jail as the location where the three will serve
the remainder of their six-month sentences. The three have reported
deplorable conditions in this jail including dangerous medical neglect.
The Crisp County Jail does not comply with federal standards for the
treatment of prisoners. The Crisp County Jail does not permit visits on
weekends and the visitation facilities do not meet the BOP criteria (see
federal code citation below).
Federal Code citation: 28 Code of Federal Regulations,
Sections 540.41 and 540.42, provide requirements for proper visitation
facilities and visiting times for inmates. "At a minimum, the
Warden shall establish visiting hours at the institution on Saturdays,
Sundays, and holidays" (Section 540.42(a)). It is the policy of the
BOP "to encourage visiting by family, friends, and community groups
to maintain the morale of the inmate and to develop closer relationships
between the inmate and family members or others in the community"
(Section 540.40).
Here's what you can do:
 | Write a letter to the Southeast Regional Director
of the BOP to demand that the SOA Watch Prisoners of Conscience be
moved to a facility near their home and that the situation at Crisp
County Jail has to change for all prisoners. In doing research on
the Net it appears that there has been more litigation concerning
Georgia County jails than any other state. |
Fax and snail-mail your letter to:
R.E. Holt
Southeast Regional Director
Federal Bureau of Prisons
3800 Camp Creek Parkway, S.W.
Building 2000
Atlanta, GA 30331-6226
Fax: (678) 686-1229
| Contact your congressperson. Point out that while
SOA- trained killers continue to act with impunity, nonviolent
people of conscience are in prison under harsh conditions. Urge your
congressperson to contact R.E. Holt to inquire about the conditions
in Crisp County Jail that are in violation of federal law, and to
demand that Peter, Toni, and Jerry be moved to a facility in
compliance with federal standards. If your representative is a
co-sponsor of HR 1810 (the bill to close the SOA), thank them for
their support. If not, take this opportunity to ask them to sign on.
Click here for more legislative information and a list of co-
sponsors.
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| Come
to Fort Benning, Nov. 15-17, 2002, and take the place of those
who have been incarcerated. |
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Visit
our lively
new website! |
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GA actions
ratified (or not) by the presbyteries
A number of the most important actions of the 219th
General Assembly have now been acted upon by the presbyteries,
confirming most of them as amendments to the PC(USA) Book of Order.
We provided resources to help inform the
reflection and debate, along with updates on the voting.
Our three areas of primary interest have been:
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Amendment 10-A,
which removes the current ban on
lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender persons being considered as
possible candidates for ordination as elder or ministers.
Approved! |
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Amendment 10-2,
which would add the Belhar Confession to our Book of
Confessions. Disapproved, because as an amendment
to the Book of Confessions it needed a 2/3 vote, and did not
receive that. |
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Amendment
10-1, which adopts the new Form of Government
that was approved by the Assembly. Approved. |
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If you like what
you find here,
we hope you'll help us keep Voices for Justice going ... and
growing!
Please consider making a special
contribution -- large or small -- to help us continue and improve
this service.
Click here to send a
gift online, using your credit card, through PayPal.
Or send your check, made
out to "Presbyterian Voices for Justice" and marked "web site," to
our PVJ Treasurer:
Darcy Hawk
4007 Gibsonia Road
Gibsonia, PA 15044-8312 |
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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