Four of the five were actually involved in negotiating a resolution of grievances and ending the uprising. The fifth, Bomani Shakur, was one who simply refused to testify falsely. None of the Five had any involvement in these killings or the decision to carry them out. Other inmates had their sentences reduced in exchange for perjured testimony, which some of them have now recanted. When the African-American and specifically the Muslim defendants were on trial, the prosecution appealed to racism and anti-Islamic prejudice.
They have been in solitary confinement for almost 15 years and their appeals are running out.
Twenty-five other prisoners are still in prison in connection with the Lucasville uprising, with sentences ranging from 25 years to life. In many cases, charges were brought against these men because they would not provide false testimony against the Five. Some of these prisoners are also in solitary confinement.
YOU CAN HELP REVERSE THIS HORRIBLE INJUSTICE! JOIN US FOR TWO EVENTS HONORING DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.'S BIRTHDAY
*Gather at 12:00 on January 19 for a press conference at 1:00 pm at St. Augustine Episcopal Church, 614 Parmalee Ave., in Youngstown, OH. The Lucasville prisoners have joined with prisoner advocacy organizations to launch a campaign for contact visits with family members and loved ones for all death-sentenced prisoners. Eleven states allow regular full contact visits for death row prisoners but Ohio does not. For prisoners in solitary, hugs should be a human right!
*Demonstrate January 19 at 2:00 PM outside the Ohio State Penitentiary (OSP). OSP is a supermax prison located at 878 Coitsville-Hubbard Rd., Youngstown, OH. Four of the Lucasville Five are held in OSP as well as most of Ohio’s 183 other death row prisoners.
Transportation is being organized from Cleveland. For bus reservations or more info, call (216) 481-6671 or email pfcenter@sbcglobal.net.
*On February 4, participate in the National Unity Day of Action. Demand that Ohio Governor Ted Strickland overturn the wrongful convictions of all prisoners with charges related to the Lucasville rebellion. Write to him at Riffe Center, 30th Floor, 77 S. High Street, 30th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215, FAX (614) 466-9354, call him at (614) 466-3555 or email him at http://governor.ohio.gov/.
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