Email Update Regarding Gary Tucker—He is Being Fed

We received word from Gary Tucker that he was taken to the infirmary on Friday, July 11th as a result of sustained pressure from those of us on the outside. He was attacked with chemical weapons, electro-shocked with a stun shield, and then forcibly extracted from his cell prior to being taken to the infirmary.

In the infirmary Mr. Tucker was treated by two respectful prison staff ("no racism from them") and gained 7.5 pounds in two days. He is currently residing in D-Pod, separated from those on C-Pod who had his back, and being deprived of his personal property, including documents pertaining to an assault he suffered on 1/29/08. Mr. Tucker's ongoing efforts to hold prison personnel accountable for this attack precipitated the retaliatory starvation that threatened his very life.

Mr. Tucker expressed his gratitude to all those who called and wrote on his behalf, again stating that they were trying to 'starve [him] to death.' He asks that we remain vigilant for his own safety and that of other prisoners in the Camp Hill SMU.

The Emergency Repsone Network Expands

Only one hour after the initial alert went out to our allies the prison had received 4 calls. Over the next week we estimate that over a dozen, at minimum, were made. Prison officials were caught in lies and eventually succumbed to the pressure.

The Emergency Response Network has proven itself effective, and I believe it has grown through this process. We should be encouraged and empowered by this and need to continue to take action and expand the network.

Urgent—Maintain Vigilance at Camp Hill

Over the last few weeks we have received testimony from several in the SMU at SCI Camp Hill about sadistic treatment by guards, and the threat persists. We are asking our allies to maintain vigilance and be prepared to take action again soon.

Be on the lookout for a brief one or two page summary of the patterns of abuse we've heard about from the SMU in Camp Hill in the next week or two. This will be in the form of a press release and we ask those positioned to do so to help send this out to media organizations, independent, community, and capitalist—as many as possible. We want to begin hitting as many media outlets as possible with the endless stream of corruption, state violence, and human degradation we hear of on a daily basis.

We have to continue to raise our voices and coordinate our efforts for maximum impact.

Things get worse inside every day. The entire system—from Rendell to every low-level prison employee who keeps quiet in order to receive his/her paycheck—is guilty of unforgivable crimes. A political order that gives rise to the normalization of state terror and torture cannot be allowed to continue, let alone expand.

Business as usual must stop, let's step up our efforts.

Thank you all who called, wrote, and forwarded the alert to others. Mr. Tucker is alive to continue the struggle ahead, and we all need to stick with him and each other.

Solidarity and Respect,

Bret

--
Human Rights Coalition - FedUp! Chapter
5125 Penn Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412-361-3022 xt.4 hrcfedup@gmail.com
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/fedup/