PONTIAC PRISONERS SUPPORT COALITION

DEC 80 NO. 13

A DAY IN COURT

AN INCIDENT

A mid-October scene of courtroom eventsvivifies the dynamics of the courtroom morethan any analysis ever could.

Shortly after a false media report thata potential witness had been shot (seeaxticle on page ), a potential jurorasked to be excused claiming fear for hislife. Much publicity followed this requestand there were many rumors that this topicwas being discussed among all the potentialjurors.

Defense lawyers started the day by de-manding that the current venire (jury pool)be brought into the courtroom and askedabout the publicity. Miller refused butagreed to ask them one at a time as theirturns occured. The defense lawyers pro-tested, saying this would get too confusing

Cont'd. on p.2

AN OVERVIEW

Cook County Cburt House is an intimi-dating structure. Judge Miller's court-room is even more so. To get into thecourtroom you must be searched twice,usually by guards who see it as their jobto act tough. Once in the courtroom youare separated from the preceedings by alarge bullet-proof glass wall. The wallis allegedly there to prevent anyone fromaiding the escape of any of the Brothers.But with over 15 armed guards and thethorough searching everyone goes throughto get inside, the likelyhood of thishappening isn't very great. Why have theybuilt this wall? Aside from the obviousattempt by Judge Miller to influence thejury by making the Brothers look dangerous,one must also wonder if this wall is there

Cont'd. on p.2

INCIDENT...cont'd. from p.1

OVERVIEW...cont'd. from p.1

and allow each juror to lie about what heor she had heard. Miller nonetheless re-fused to change his mind.

A short while later a juror, call himJuror A, was dismissed for knowing thefamily of one of the defendants. Juror Ahad denied that anything had been said inthe jury room about the danger of being ajuror on this trial.

Juror B was then brought in and askedabout the publicity about danger. He statedthat Juror A (who had just left the court-room) had been talking about this matter.Skip Gant, lawyer for Ronnie Newby, then ;

left the courtroom to informally talk toJuror A our on the street to find out whatwas really going on in the juror's room.A few minutes later Gant returned furious.

A Sheriff's deputy had followed Gant intothe street and told Juror A not to talk toGant. As a. rlesult, the juror ran off fright-ened. In the courtroom Gant demanded onceagain that the judge order the prosecutionnot to interfere with the defense investi-gation. Miller refused Gant's request andfour or five of the lawyers jumped up atonce, demanding fairness from the judge andattacking the prosecution. Gant and Breenshouted at each other and then moved towardseach other, ready to fight.

When all was again quiet, Gant again de-manded that Miller "put his foot down".Miller said, "I am going to put my foot ,down, Mr Gant." Gant replied, "I know, onme, Miller responded, "That's right."

to keep the people separated from the trial.For example, this glass wall makes it

very hard to hear the preceedings. Perhapsthe people aren't supposed to hear poten-tial jurors say things like the only so-cial contact they have had with Blackpeople is that "I supervise some Blacksin the office I work at;" or, "as a childwe had a Black nanny." In any case, thiswall seems to be there to keep the Brotherslocked IN and the people locked OUT.

Both Judge Miller and Prosecutor Baliunasare equally disturbed when people come tothe courtroom to see what's going on. Atone point, Baliunas asked Miller that ababy be removed from the courtroom Dacauseit cried a little. What with the glasswall Baliunas must have had to strain hisears to hear the baby as hard as I had toto hear what was going on in court.

The point is this. Miller has done allhe can to make "his courtroom" look inti-midating. People, both potential jurorsand people who come to see the preceedings,are made to feel that they don't belong.But we do belong! With the Brothers' law-yers facing contempt charge after contemptcharge, our presence is felt. MichaelEvans, one of the Brothers on trial, wasremoved from court merely because he wantedto speak to Miller. We must let Millerknow that the people are watching him anddemanding that justice be carried out.COME TO COURT!

JURY SELECTION:THE FRAME-UP

CONTINUESJury selection began on Sept. 17» 1980.

Before selection started Judge Miller ruledthat he would do all questioning himself.The defense had argued that it should "beallowed to question the jurors because ofthe overriding importance in this trial ofexposing racist attitudes. Judge Millerdenied the defense's request but made assur-ances that his questioning would be thoroughon the question of racism. In line withthis he allowed the defense to submit thosequestions it thought needed to be asked touncover racism. The defense submitted alengthy list of questions and the Judge,over the State's strong opposition, agreedto ask most of them. The Judge, however,has not kept his word.

The questions submitted by the defensewere designed to probe people's feelingsabout racism, gangs and prisons. That is,they were designed to expose jurors whomight find the Brothers guilty not becauseof the evidence, but because of prejudice.This, of course, is precisely the purposeof questioning prospective jurors, and whenBlack prisoners and alleged gang members areon trial for killing white guards, thoroughin-depth questioning is absolutely crucial.Moreover, the importance of this questioningbecame even greater when, after jury selec-tion started, the press published a seriesof dishonest articles on prisons, the gangsand the shooting of witnesses. (See articleon p. ) In fact, it has become obvious thatif the jury is not thoroughly screened, theBrothers have no chance of being found notguilty.

In spite of this obvious fact, Millerhas more and more substituted his ownquestions for those submitted by the defensecounsel. Miller's questions are designednot to expose racism, but to hide it. Heasks questions like: "Would the fact thatthe defendants are Black and the victimsare white make it difficult for you torender a fair verdict?" Prospective whitejurors uniformly answer "No." What hasbeen learned — nothing.

This kind of "yes or no" questioningwhere the "right" answer is obvious exposesnothing about people's real feelings. Itis their real feelings, however, which ulti-

mately will determine the outcome of thetrialo It is only by getting people to talkabout their experiences and relationshipsthat real information can be brought tothe surface. Without this kind of inter-change, defense counsel cannot make informedor accurate judgements about which jurorscould provide a fair trial. Judge Millerhas refused to recognize this reality andhas refused to ask probing questions.

The defense has repeatedly protested- thiskind of proceedure. Judge Miller's onlyresponse has been to order them to stopmaking the same objections. This positionled to his finding Marianne Jackson, one ofthe eight Black attorneys, in contempt ofCourt. Many of the other lawyers then re-quested permission to withdraw from the caseon the grounds that they could not adequate-ly defend their clients if they were threat-ened with contempt when they did so. Thisrequest was also denied.

Miller has also been abusive to the Bro-thers when they have attempted to spe'ak forthemselves. On several occasions he haseven had the Brothers who tried to speakremoved from the court room. Miller says

Cont'd. on A

Attorney Marianne Jackson addressing theNovember 9th meeting of PPSG.

Gont'd. from p.3

Miller has also Deen abusive to the Bro-thers when they have attempted to speak forthemselves. On several occasions he haseven had the Brothers who tried to speakremoved from the court room. Miller saysthat as the Brothers have lawyers to talkfor then, they should keep quiet. This over-looks the fact that it is the Brothers andnot the lawyers whose lives are on the linn.It is unreasonable to expect men who facethe electric chair to sit meekly by whenthey have something to say which may influ-ence whether they live or die. Further,Miller's tone and attitude toward the Bro-thers Is consistently demeaning. He treatsthem not as men, but as objects. His atti-tude shows a lack of respect which will een>*.tainly be communicated to the jury.

What must be clear is that Judge Miller'sactions are another aspect in the continua-tion of the frame-up. From July 22 untiltoday, a constant part of the frame-up hasbeen the cover-up. First, immediately afterthe rebellion, the prison was placed on dead-lock. One of the results of the deadlockwas that prisoners could not consult withattorneys. Next, from the date of the in-

dictments until today, the State has balkedat giving defense attorneys access to State'switnesses. Today, during jury selection,

this pattern continu. 3 with the blocking ofattempts to get real information from poten-tial jurors.

The theme is constant and consistent - noaccess to clients, no access to witnesses,no access to jurors. The reason is clear:the state knows that hidden viit:iesses andprojudiced jurors are itn best hope for con-viction.

Judge Miller is now the focus and the keyin this part of the State's frame-up strat-egy. It is Judge Miller whose rulings dur-ing jury selection keep this strategy ofdarkness moving along. It is Judge Millerwho finds defense lawyers in contempt fordemanding access to crucial information*And it is Judge Miller who is really incontempt - in contempt of the Brothers,of the lawyers and of the truth.

The task now for supporters of the Pon-tiac Brothers is clear. We must revealJudge Miller for what he is - not a faireven-handed dispenser of justice, but apart of the State's frame-up.

SF DEMOMore than 50 people demonstrated their

support to free the Pontiac Brothers inSan Francisco on Wednesday, November 12.The demonstration was organized by PrairieFire Organizing Committee.

Speakers at the demonstration includedMrs. Marie Tolbert, mother of Pontiac Bro-ther Gavin Tolbert; and Ahmed Obafemi,Eastern Vice-President of the Republic ofNew Afrika (RNA). Two days after thedemonstration a community forum was heldin support of the Pontiac Brothers wherethese speakers once again were heard.Around 80 people attended this spiritedevent.

A statement sent to the demonstrationby a group of Black prisoners in SanQuentin that make up the Editorial Boardof Arm the Spirit, a revolutionary prison-ers' newspaper, read in part: "This at-tempt at a mass legal lynching of Afrikan(Black) people cannot be separated fromthe racist attacks on Afrikans in Buffaloor Atlanta, or the brutal police murdersof Melvin Black, Eula Love, the two youthin Brooklyn two weeks ago, or the manyother acts of slaying of our people, whe-ther they operated under color of the lawor not."

The Pontiac Brothers also sent a state-ment to San Francisco, which stated: "Oursm?J.l voices will rock throughout this

nation, as our cries of freedom for us,and all political prisoners, will be heard.Your strength, courage and support make usswell with pride. We know we are notfighting alone in a one-sided battle aswe walk into the halls of the white man'sjustice system. We can walk tall - proud -knowing that today our voices are walking,chanting somewhere on a beautiful streetin San Francisco, demanding that the Pon-tiac Brothers be set free."

WHO'SIN CONTEMPT?

During the first two months of trial(jury selection is considered the beginningof the trial) three of the Pontiac Brothers'lawyers (all of them Black) have beencharged with contempt of court by Judge BenMiller.

On October 1, Marianne Jackson, the onlyBlack woman lawyer on the case, was held incontempt when she did not sit down and shutup during a debate with Miller about hisfailure to question the prospective jurorsadequately.

On Oct 29 Skip Gant was ordered to showcause why he should not be held in contemptfor failing to appear for court for fourdays. Skip's motion in response detailshow the inadequate and unequal compensationset by Judge Miller has left him unable tomaintain his legal practice and his family,and forced him to attend to other business.Four legal associations, the Cook CountyBar Association, the National Conference ofBlack Lawyers, the Illinois Association ofCriminal Defense Lawyers, and the ChicagoCouncil of Lawyers filed briefs with thecourt supporting this position and attemptingto explain to Judge Miller what the costsof maintaining a legal practice in Chicagoare. Miller nonetheless refused to openthe question of the fee schedule for argu-ment in connection with the contempt cita-tion. A further hearing on the contemptis pending.

On Nov 7 Leo Holt was held in contemptfor leaving the courtroom without Miller'spermission after unsuccessfully arguing foran early adjournment because of an urgentlegal obligation he could not meet underthe full-time court schedule imposed byJudge Miller. On Nov 12 Leo was again finedfor contempt for refusing to sit down andshut up during arguments about Miller'sfailure to provide office space at the court-house for the defense which was promisedabout six weeks earlier. At this point,Judge Miller went further by referring thematter to the Bar Association for possibledisciplinary action. Leo Holt is one ofthe most experienced and respected criminallawyers in Cook County. The level of con-flict developing in the courtroom is an in-dication of the intolerable bias and racismthe defense lawyers are forced to confront.

6

from the kampsThe following is a letter from Michael

Evans one of the Pontiac Brothers who iscurrently on trial for his life at CookCounty Courthouse.

Two years, three months and some dayshave went past since the unfortunate re-bellion at Pontiac Concentration Campoccurred. Since July 22, 1978 much hasbeen said in relation to prisons. Thereis no telling how many people there ,£reoutside of the walls who at one time orother knew nothing about prisons. Butthere are many today who have enough know-ledge to sit and hold conversations per-taining to the subject of prisons. Fellowhuman being, why is it that men behind thewalls have to rebel in order to get thepeople on the other side of the walls tosee that human rights are constantly beingviolated consciously and unconsciously?Why is it that history as it relates tothe condition behind the walls? Theseconditions are never exposed to the world,the public until lives have been lost ofloved ones or friends, and an "Iran crisis"happen behind the walls? Why must millionsof dollars be spent every year, only to

come to the act of a rebellion, againstanimalistic treatment? In 1712 in NewYork, the first rebellion here in the newcountry was caused because of inhumantreatment. These same conditions existtoday here in what we call the U.S.A. thatwere existant in 1712. Could it thathistory truly repeats itself, that gener-ation after generation, must live in thesame foul manner as they did two hundredyears ago to Attica, where forty threewere lost to the same conditions thatexisted in Pontiac six years later or to-day for all we know. Why is it that afterevery rebellion the news media go to theextreme to get the public to define thosecharged with the matters related to therebellion as animals? These are just manyof the questions needed to be answered.But in order to get to the bottom you muststart from the top, investigate the entireexecutive system, from (Governor) Thompsondown to your correctional officer. This isthe only possibility I see for those thatare concerned for human rights. And now Iask, why should your tax dollar be deprivingyou and yours? And you should know how it'sbeing spent and what benefit is being gainedfrom your dollar. You have all the rightin the world to know of your dollars thatyou as a citizen pay out of your workingdays. There is no doubt it is being mis-used somewhere, or you would not see re-bellions as you do. Families wouldn'thave to fear a Class X felony cause hewould have paid his debt to society andyou would have gotten your money's worthfor his or her rehabilitation.

The only face that will make theseconditions within the prison's wallschange, will have to come from you all thetax payers. To see that people don'twalk around with the concept "bury him orher, throw away the key on him or her."Your dollar will only grow to more dollarsif they throw away the key.

Humanity I think is or should be a con-cern of some one. And those behind thewalls need that concern for human rights.The concern for humanity could be my lifeor officer Doe's life in the next rebel-lion. We don't need an Attica, in the stateof Illinois. It's bad enough we had aPontiac rebellion.

photo/Alarte Mack

This photo, taken in Dec. 1979. is of a gun tower tinder construction at PontiacPrison. These are the "improvements" Thompson, Franzen, et al have produced asa response to the rebellion. But the rebellion was a response to racism andother intolerable living conditions. And more gun towers won't stop more re-bellions. As the Brothers at Attica stated, "We are men, we are not beasts, anddo not intend to be beaten and driven as such." This was the message of prison-ers ten years ago. It is the message of prisoners today. Thompson, Franzen,and the rest must understand it.

1Ocont. from p. 9

to death just days after he had been aquittedof all charges. Despite overwhelming evi-dence that his murder had nothing to do withthe Pontiac cases, both the Tribune and TheSun-Times deliberately distorted the situa-tion to suggest a non-existing relationship.(See PPSG Newsletter #12)

Then, on Oct. 5i just a few days afterjury selection started, The Sun-Times wasat it again with another series (this onein 3 parts starting on Sunday) on Blackgangs. What a coincidence that this seriesshould begin just about the same time as juryselection. And what another coincidence thatThe Sun-Times refused to print our ad (forwhich we were willing to pay them a hugeamount of money) because they did not wantus to influence the jury! !!

A few days later a Black man named BenJohnson (also known as Ben Robinson) wasshot. Once again the media tied Johnson'sshooting to the trials suggesting that hewas shot because he was a witness against

the Brothers. Although the police deniedthat such a relationship existed, and al-though Johnson had withdrawn his testimonyagainst the Brothers, the media persisted.

In addition to hoping this propagandawill have an impact on the courtroom pro-ceedings, the prosecution no doubt hasother goals in mind. Namely, to prey on andintensify the racism of white people and,most importantly, to drive a wedge between,the Black community and the Brothers.

ConclusionSo there you have it - the good, the bad,

and Channel 7« *As the case continues, mediacoverage will no doubt expand and intensify.We urge our readers to protest unfair mediacoverage and to notify PPSC about suchcoverage as well as about the protests againstsuch coverage. The "free and public" presshas never been free or public to the PontiacBrothers. Perhaps if we work together wecan alter this relationship just a littlebit - just enough to suggest to the publicwhat the truth about Pontiac really is.

II "

mJUSTICE

<D•H

-2

11THE POHTIAC FRAME-UP

On July 22, 1978, prisoners at Pontiac State Penitentiary in Pontiac, Illinois, rose up against the inhuman conditions and racismof the prison. The causes of this spontaneous rebellion were so obvious that the director of the Illinois prisons said, "It came a yearlater than most of us anticipated. You can only crowd so many people into a warehouse for so long before something happens."3 guards were killed and 3 others injured; damages were estimated at $4 million. Many prisoners were injured by guards and NationalGuardsmen retaking the prison.

The entire prison population was then put on deadlock — locked in their cells 24 hours a day without showers, visits, recreation,work, or basic necessities like soap and toilet paper. The deadlock continued for 8 months.

The "investigation" that was carried out under deadlock conditions consisted principally of attempts to coerce prisoners totestify against selected scapegoats by threats and bribery. Not until 3 months after the rebellion did State officials begin to claimthat the prisons were "run by the gangs" and that the Pontiac rebellion had been a "gang"'conspiracy. This phony story both tookthe responsibility off Governor Thompson apd the State officials running the prison and placed it on Black and Latin prisoners andprejudiced the public against the men to be indicted.

Administrative charges were brought against 67 prisoners, each of whom was sentenced U> a year in segregation and loss ofone year good time without a single witness being presented.

On March 5, 1979, an all-whit-; grand jury handed down indictments against 31 prisoners — all Black and Latin. 17 were chargedwith murder and 14 with other felonies. The State's Attorney had already announced that he would seek the death penalty for anyprisoner convicted of murder, making this the largest mass death penalty case in the U.S.

WHO WE AREThe Pontiac Prisoners Support Coalition is a broad-based

coalition of community and human rights organizations. ThePPSC is organizing in primarily white communities while otherorganizations are working in Black and Latin communities.

We share the conviction that the Pontiac Rebellion was anatural and predictable response to tlie inhuman treatment ofprisoners, most of whom are Black and Latin.

We understand that this inhuman treatment begins on theoutside, in the community, where Black and Latin people livewith many different forms of oppression. Those men andwomen who organize against this oppression are warehousedinto cages in overcrowded prisons and jails where slave labor,inhuman conditions and arbitrary rules are enforced b\tguards.

We know that the indictments against the Pontiac 31 'atethe product of a frame-up carried out under coercive condi-tions and not a genuine investigation.

The PPSC respects and supports the initiatives of prisoners,takes leadership from them, and unites with them on thefollowing demands:

* Abolish all inhuman and abusive conditions at Pontiac andother Illinois prisons.

* Repeal Class X legislation.

* Revoke the death penalty.

* Expose the investigation and its coercive strategy to scape-goat prisoners.

* End the deadlocks.

* Drop the indictments.

* Free the Pontiac Brothers!

We have taken responsibility for:

* Educating white people about the racist nature of theprison system.

* Combatting anti-prisoner, racist attitudes and practices.

* Winning support for the demands of the prisoners.

•* Providing ongoing political and legal support for thePontiac Brothers.

ACT NOW! WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Name

Address_

Pnone

I want to work on one of the PPSC committees.I can arrange for PPSC to show its slideshow or givetalks to people or groups I know.I enclose $10.00 for a 1-year subscription to the PPSCNewsletter.I enclose a $ donation to the Pontiac BrothersDefense Fund.

RETURN THIS FORM TO: PPSCc/o Alliance to End Repression407 South Dearborn Street, Room 1000Chicago, Illinois 60605

OR CALL: (312)427-4064

VICTORY: CaseDismissed

On Aug 2?, 1980 Hurries Johnson was triedin a bench trial which lasted about 2-f- hrsin Bloomington, Illinois. Judge JamesKnecht heard the testimony of ONE witness,a prisoner now housed at Joliet CorrectionalCenter. Hurries' lawyer, Buddy Clark, cross-examined this witness for ly hrs, touchingon his previous very serious criminal historyand his reasons for testifying. Most nota-bly, he received from the State and IllinoisDept of Law Enforcement (IDLE) 90 days goodtime before testifying (and hoped for andwas due to receive 90 days after' the trial).He also received a transfer to Joliet whichis still a maximum security institution butat allows him to receive family visitswhich are very important to him and whichhe couldn't receive under deadlock atPontiac. The State rested its case with theone witness. Buddy moved for a directedverdict of not guilty because the State hadnot sustained its burden of proving Hurries'guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The judgegranted the motion. We won this one!

Of the 1̂ - Brothers facing lesser charges,only the trial of Willie Hardy remains. Asthe others it will take place in Bloomington.

FREE THE PONTIAC BROTHERS

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