Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty: June 29 – July 2, 2011

“Starvin’ For Justice” 

Join us for the 18th Anual Fast and Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty. The four-day Fast & Vigil takes place on the sidewalk in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, considered by many to be the heart of the legalized killing machines in this country.  We hope you will consider joining the dozens of anti-death penalty activists who come regularly from across the U.S. and Canada – from Florida to Alaska and everywhere in-between – to join together for public education and outreach at the steps of the Supreme Court.

Click here for more details & click here to see the full schedule of events!

TASSC Survivor Week June 19–26, 2011

WE REMEMBER: The Names. The Faces. The Souls of the Tortured. The Disappeared. The Lost. So They Are Not Forgotten.

June 20, Monday. Survivor Journeys: Immigration, Detention, Asylum and Family Reunification. Where: TASSC Office.

June 21, Tuesday. Creating a Coalition of Care for Trauma and Torture Survivors. Where: George Washington University.

June 22, Wednesday. Building Justice: Transitional and Indigenous Applications in Post-war Contexts. Where: Catholic University of America.

June 23, Thursday. Congressional Advocacy Day and Congressional Briefing. Where: Capitol Hill.

June 24, Friday. Survivor Gathering.

June 25, Saturday, 14th Annual TASSC Vigil. Where: Lafayette Park.

Visit tassc.org for more details

Witness Against Torture

From June 22-25, Witness Against Torture will return to our nation’s capitol.     

 

When it comes to Guantanamo Bay, the politics of fear and cynicism have won out over any promised hope or change.- Letter to the Editor in the Washington Post on April 28, 2011 by Matthew W. Daloisio

We must continue to speak and act against the ongoing crime of Guantanamo!

We walk in shame and grief and anger.

We walk mindful of broken promises, hollow words, and bankrupt institutions.

We walk for men torn from their families and homelands, tortured and abused by this nation, still detained without charge or trial after all these years.

We walk because we know that torture is wrong, that the indefinite detention of people without charge is wrong, and that vilification of South Asians and Muslims is wrong.

We walk because we cannot and will not accept injustice, forsake hope, and forget the humanity of the men detained by the United States at Guantanamo, Bagram, and other detention sites.

22 June 2011: DAY OF PREPARATION
12-2 vigil @ the Department of Justice
5pm dinner @ St. Stephen’s
6:30pm action planning at location TBA

23 June 2011: DAY OF ACTION
11am Solemn procession from the White House to the Department of Justice to the Supreme Court to Congress

24 June 2011: DAY OF FASTING
12pm-2pm vigil @ the Department of Justice

25 June 2011: DAY OF SOLIDARITY
7am-7pm vigil @ the White House with the Torture Abolition Survivor’s Support Coalition as part of their week for survivors of torture

 
  www.witnesstorture.org

Michael Walli: Y-12 Nuclear Resister

Twelve conscientious citizens stood trial in federal court in Knoxville, Tennessee on May 9th, 2011, on charges of criminal trespass for their July 5, 2010 act of nonviolent civil resistance in protest of continuing nuclear weapons production at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Steve Baggarly of Norfolk, Virginia  – Brad Lyttle of Chicago, Illinois – Jackie Hudson of Poulsbo, Washington – Bill Bichsel of Seattle, Washington – Bonnie Urfer of Luck, Wisconsin -Mary Dennis Lentsch of Washburn, Tennessee – Beth Rosdatter of Lexington, Kentucky – Carol Gilbert and Ardeth Platte of Baltimore, Maryland – Michael Walli of Duluth, Minnesota – Dennis DuVall of Prescott, Arizona – Jean Gump of Bloomington, Michigan

Eight of the twelve Y-12 nuclear resisters convicted of federal trespass on May 11 in Knoxville, Tennessee will remain in custody until their sentencing, after the seven not already in custody declared they would no longer accept supervised release. They were arrested last summer on the federal side of the fence at the Y-12 nuclear weapons complex in Oak Ridge, at the conclusion of the Resistance for a Nuclear Free Future gathering:
http://www.nukeresister.org/2010/07/08/resistance-for-a-nuclear-free-future-%E2%80%93-report-on-the-july-3-5-2010-gathering-and-action/

Michael Walli is a member here at the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker in Washington D.C., is the primary care taker of our gardens and trees and a beloved friend to all. He gladly welcomes mail from anyone who wishes to be in touch with him.

Michael has a sentencing date set for September 19, 2011 for the DOE Y-12 Complex Resistance Action.

Michael Walli
ID  4444
Irwin County Detention Center
132 Cotton Dr.
Ocilla,  GA  31774

Click here for all the latest news on the Y-12 Resisters