Saturday, April 14, 2012

Help end 21 Years of Solitary for Russell Maroon Shoats

Russell Maroon Shoats is a 68-year-old prisoner at the State
Correctional Institution (SCI) Greene in southwestern Pennsylvania,
where he has been held in solitary confinement for 21 years. Maroon
has spent nearly 40 years in the Pennsylvania prison system, 30 of
them in solitary confinement. During this time, he has earned a
reputation amongst prison staff and prisoners as a leader because of
his consistent support for human rights inside and outside the prison walls.

Supporters of Russell Maroon Shoats have launched a campaign to have
him released from his torturous solitary confinement. A
letter-writing and petition campaign
http://www.change.org/petitions/pa-doc-secretary-john-wetzel-sci-greene-superintendent-louis-folino-release-russell-maroon-shoats-from-solitary-confinement

has been launched and supported by the Human Rights Coalition
http://www.hrcoalition.org/, a prison abolition organization
co-founded by Maroon, along with CCR and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG).

Please join us in calling on prison officials to end the solitary
confinement torture of Russell Maroon Shoats by immediately releasing
him into the general population of the prison. He has been unable to
hold his children or grandchildren or interact with others in a
humane setting during this entire time, despite not having violated
prison rules in two decades. He has suffered severe psychological
anguish and his physical health has been worsened by the stress of
prolonged isolation.
Visit the campaign's website here
http://russellmaroonshoats.wordpress.com/ and sign up for email
updates by clicking the "Follow" link at the bottom right.

Thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,
*Annette Warren Dickerson*
CCR Director of Education and Outreach

No comments: