#prisoner testimony

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"TIM BUCK IS GUILTY IN KINGSTON TRIAL: SENTENCE DEFERRED," Toronto Globe. July 7, 1933. Page 1 & 4. ----- Judge Says He Will Not Impose Maximum Punishment ---- DEFENSE COMPLIMENTED --- (Canadian Press Despatch.) Kingston, July 6 - Tim Buck, former leader of the Communist Party in Canada, was convicted today of unlawful assembly during disturbances last October, and was returned to his prison cell to await sentence on July 18. In convicting Buck, Judge G. E. Deroche said he could impose a maximum of seven years, but said he had no intention of doing so.

The diminutive radical returned to his cell, complimented on his efforts "as a lawyer, despite his unsuccessful battle to clear himself of the charges. "Your address," said a Judge, "was magnificent. You spoke for two and a half hours, but all the time you were interesting and logical. You made no extreme statements."

The Judge reviewed at great length the evidence produced both by defense and the Crown prosecutor, adding that he was quite satisfied there was a riot and Buck was a member of the unlawful assembly.

Word to Ottawa. The accused, through numerous convict witnesses, attempted to show there had been no riot, and that there had been no violence shown by the men, who, he said, were merely stag a justified demonstration against prison conditions. If word had been sent to Ottawa, instead of to the barracks, when the men left their work, there wouldn't have been much confusion, it was contended.

The only reason he had joined in the demonstration, Buck submitted, was he otherwise would have been considered a "rat"

"That seems to be something to his credit," the Judge commented, "but, of course, it is something the law cannot excuse."

Other convicts testified Buck had spoken to the prisoners milling about the buildings and had pacified to some extent their anger. Others had spoken, they said, and Buck was chosen to address the men merely because of his reputation as a speaker.

Not an Instigator. Judge Deroche said he did not believe the accused had shut off the motor in his workshop, as claimed by guards and keepers. He further said there was no evidence to show Buck was the instigator of the assembly which developed into a riot of which the Judge considered there was evidence. It probably was intended for a peaceful demonstration, he said, bus eventually it became very noisy, and damage had been done to prison property through burning locks off doors. However, he did not consider it had been as serious as portrayed in news-papers and through conversations.

"He was part of rioting crowd," the Judge concluded, "and he pleaded he either had. to take part or be a 'rat." Meanwhile, in another court, Frank Regan, K.C., charged Convict Mickey McDonald was indicted for his part in the riot because of private trouble he had with Guard Neddow. He also claimed the Crown Prosecutor had threatened to "go after the accused." Following the trial of Buck, George Peters was placed on trial on a charge of rioting and doing damage. He pleaded not guilty, and proceeded to conduct his own case. Keeper George Nolan and Instructors Dunford and Whiteland had been called as witnesses when court adjourned.

Frank Regan, K.C., counsel for McDonald, requested General D. M. Ormond, Superintendent of Penitentiaries, be called as a witness. Judge Madden said Convict McRae had asked for Hon. Hugh Gathrie, Minister of Justice; Inspector Gilbert Smith, ex-Warden J. C. Ponsford and others to be called, but his request had been refused, because such evidence would make an investigation of the internal administration of the prison, and this was not the purpose of the trial. Judge Madden refused Mr. Regan's request.

Desire for Referm. In his defense, Convict Buck spoke of the feeling among the men in the penitentiary, their desire for reform, and their efforts for a change in the institution. It was not a spirit of destruction or riot. "In most of them." he said, "It was the only way to draw attention to their grievances, the entire atmosphere. Inside those walls you're within a world inside a world; it has every thing except its own hopes. I had men in the box who had never been in court before sent to the penitentiary; men as good as the average man. They got to feel there is no hope, more or less conflicted with criminal psychology. No man can live there, subjected constantly to the grapevine system - an everlasting struggle between the rats and the men. The fuel for the blaze had been piling up a long time, and very few of the men realized Just what that spirit really was."

Convict Buck, dealing further with the spirit at the penitentiary, said that the very first day he arrived at the penitentiary, the first convict conversation he heard almost frightened him.It gave him an idea that trouble was imminent.

The accused said that Oct. 17 he saw no notes passed about, but he was convinced there had been notes circuklating. Like a Signal. "As late is twenty to three on Oct. 17," said Buck, "I really believed that the rumored demonstration would actually be held. When the men came:down the scaffolding, it was just like a signal. The men, most of them young and impulsive, just walked out and didn't seem to realize they were leaving their work. "I believe is possible to point out there is a difference in my position as regards to my presence in the disturbance. In the position I am in, I might see trouble brewing and still be helpless; an inmate can be either a rat or a man, and to be a 'rat in the penitentiary is something terrible. I did not choose to be a 'rat!"

In the dome a man was in a peculiar position: If you left the dome you were in danger of being shot; if you stayed there you were in danger of landing in this court. Circumstances decreed that I should be there. I was convicted of being a Communist, and I was not in the machine shop of my own volition, therefore I was there when trouble started.. I was in that position when, if I had not assisted those who were in a jam, something very serious might have happened. "I changed with doing things which I certainly did not do. I am not trying to evade, but I want to point out that there were many things which I did not do. One would think the pulling of the switch in the machine shop started everything. I don't think i had anything whatever to do with the trouble."

Convict Buck reviewed the story of the happenings of the afternoon."They were like a bunch of schoolboys, carefree and full of fun," he said. "But still there was a danger. I went out because I was keenly interested in what would happen. And I believe that Deputy Warden Matt Walsh perforced a masterstroke in getting Garceau to secure the co-operation of the older men in holding back the cool heads. It was certainly a wise move and Mr. Walsh did save what could have become a critical situation."

Buck said there had been no question of danger until the troops came. With the exception of Mr. Walsh, not an officer tried to restrain the men.

"Eighty-five per cent, of the ment in the dome," said Buck, "were there merely as 'listeners.' It is true that when the troops were sent for no one was in control, but they were not out of control. Mere Boys "I think it would be safe to say a clear majority of the men in the dome were mere boys. The belief was that they should get out into the yard. At any rate a situation developed that was hanging by a thread. Up to this point I had not said one word or associated myself in any way with the trouble. I knew Garceau and his efforts to retrieve himself. In the penitentiary we are looked on a convicts. To me these men are a study, being, as I am, a student of sociology. When he asked me to speak to the men I hesitated, but not through fear. I didn't know what to say to them, but Garceau said: Tell them anything to keep them from running amok! I knew I had to give them something to do and I told them to go ahead with the barricading and to get water, for the place was a fire-trap." It may have been wrong in law, but when I look back at what might have happened. I don't think anything better could have been done."

"I spoke once, and once only, yet prosecution evidence had me making speeches everywhere." Convict Back sold he did not in any way use the language that was attributed to him by Guard Hull. "I want to say that it is no secret. Guard Hull is not liked in the institution, and has a record there," said Buck. "I don't believe he heard anyone say: 'We'll kill the screws." At any rate I certainly did not say it."

"When Gilbey told of the fight in the stone shed, you would think lynch law had broken out at my behest. The first I ever heard of it was when Gilbey told it." "Dime Novel Fantasy." "I must confess that the stories of some of the guards as to what happened in the mail-bag department sounded like a dime novel fantasy."

Convict Buck said his address in the dome and his suggestion to the officers in the machine shop that it would be safer in the mail-bag department constituted his participation in the trouble.

"I knew the attitude toward me. I knew I was pointed out as an agitator and I knew an atmosphere had been put around me, and I know that officers were told I was dangerous.

"Frankly, I think the evidence that the men coming into the machine shop were armed is merely a figment of their imagination.

"I knew that this blue uniform is a disadvantage, but I will say that those inmates who gave evidence are as reliable as any one. Why was not Sagel, the third officer in the machine shop, brought here by the Crown?

"It is true he has left Kingston, but he could have been brought here. "I want to say that I did not order Henderson out of the stone shed, and the man who did it did not use the language attributed by Guard Henderson.

"I have tried to speak with restraint, because I want to be cleared of implications of dime novel sensationalism. I want to be clear of a certain implication of hoodlumism and blackguardism. I submit my actions were right. I solemnly believe nothing better could have been done than that which I did; not merely because I did it myself.

"I think it will be agreed that under the circumstances, I could not do otherwise. I played no part in the condition and I had to choose between trying to help the situation or quitting, and I must say I do not regret it.

"This is a court of law. If any quality was strained in the case against me it certainly was not the qualities of mercy or sportsmanship. I am compelled to ask, Is it because.of the protests against my being in prison that attempts are being made to justify my being placed in that Institution and to brand me as a hoodlum and a blackguard?" Crown Counsel's Address. T. J. Rigney, Crown counsel, addressed Judge G. E. Deroche, presiding at the trial.

Mr. Rigney pointed out that the trial had created unusual attention.The question of authority had been involved, but only involved Buck as one of a number. There was also the question of the ideas of the convicts as to prison management, and the rules and regulations.

Mr. Rigney held that the convicts had constituted themselves as an unlawful assembly, and from that developed a riot in which damage was done, and in which the accused had participated. Evidence of unlawful assembly had been established. The Warden forced his way into the assembly. This had been established. He addressed the men and advised them to go back to work. The War-den had attempted to leave and was prevented from so doing, and was a prisoner of the convicts, which in it-self was an unlawful act.

#kingston ontario #kingston penitentiary #prison riot #riotous assembly #prison agitator #prisoner testimony #words from the inside #tim buck #1933 prisoner trials #1932 kp riot #great depression in canada #crime and punishment in canada #history of crime and punishment in canada #address to the jury

[pictureswithboxes]

The thing about franmaya is that they’re both the type of people to get mad at their significant other because of something that happened in a dream.

#Maya wakes in a cold sweat and shouts at Fran for ‘divorcing her and stealing custody of Pearl and their albino blind ferret named sandwich’ #and fran is all like ‘ve don’t have a ferret and Pearl is 19’ #Fran still is banished to the couch tho #where she dreams that Maya gave false testimony at a murder trial and sent an innocent man to prison #she storms into the bedroom and accuses her of perjury #they’ve been giving each other the silent treatment for a week now bc of it #Ace attorney #franmaya #Bailey post tm

[cagedinpublishing]

November 20th, 2023

In my travels through life, I've come to realize that a lot of issues I suffer from come from the traumatic experiences of life itself. At the young age of four, I witnessed domestic violence, child abuse (some of which landed me in the hospital) -- I was displaced from life at an early age. As I've gotten older, I did blame everyone for my faults.

But when you're confined and you're forced to look at yourself through these concrete mirrors, it is a constant reminder that you messed up. And it's no one's fault but your own.

How do you admit that to someone if you can't admit it to yourself?

My aunt taught me the rights and wrongs of life, but because the wrongs were never explained to me, I became rebellious -- I became everything that was dished out to me. I punished women for the actions of my mother. I bullied the weak because I was bullied by my father. I took all the bad things that happened to me and used it to treat other people who really loved me messed up. So now I sit alone in prison, remaking myself and trying to apologize to as many people as I can so that I can sleep at night; and there are a lot of sleepless nights.

When I found out that I had mental health issues, I was already into my second decade of my prison sentence. That was a heavy blow because of the stigma that surrounds it. It's not something loosely or easily talked about.

But I am willing to face this thing head on. I don't know how bad I am -- but for me to like or enjoy being locked in solitary, that shows how bad it is and can be. Some prisoners in here cannot take the solitude because their minds drift in and out of the wrongs they've done and they can't be alone with their own thoughts. So sometimes you will get sudden outbursts from them, which means that they will be forcefully removed from their cells and taken off to the hole, which administration calls "restrictive housing."

This can be further damaging to the mind. Mentally ill people are trapped in a system that's incapable of delivering the long-term care that many prisoners need.

I've begun my mental health healing journey by hearing and reading stories about famous people overcoming their battles, such as tennis champion Naomi Osaka and NBA player Kevin Love.

So with the little things I've done, I've tried and reached out to as many people to whom I've caused discomfort. I've even started writing urban fiction novels as part of the process. Finding a hobby sometimes is the best therapy -- don't take my word for it, though; I have no degree in this field.

I want to thank you for taking the time out to read my blog. I will be sharing short stories and a little bit more about myself and my growth. So be on the lookout for my first urban novel later next year! Have a good day and a blessed week.

From Eric Humes -- Caged In Publishing

Eric Humes #119468 CSP POBOX 777 Cañon City, CO 81215 USA

#prison #inmate #prisonblog #inmateblog #incarcerated #prison abolition #police violence #blog #testimony #caged in publishing #colorado #personal #fyp

[dullahandyke]

OH BOOOOO THE EXCON 'PRISON BAD' SEGMENT IS SPECIFICALLY ABT AN IRISH BLOKE IN AN IRANIAN PRISON... I thought we were talking abt Irish prisons :/

#that woulda been incredibly left wing for rté i shoulda guessed #like 'i knew a guy who wasnt told of his dads desth for a week bcos he was in prison' yeah that checks out as an ireland thing #fucks saaaaake why r we talking abt this shit like it exclusively happens in The Foreign Countries #sick n tired of this shite #need to start listening to that irish prison testimonial podcast again even if it was segmented weirdly

[trans4trans]

this fucking case man.

#it’s going to be a pain in the ass to argue. #basically. inmate A gets strangled by inmate B im the prison laundry room. but because there isn’t any video surveillance in said room #and inmate A told the officers minutes after inmate B tried to kill him that it was inmate B #inmate B is trying to argue that because the supreme court allowed the officers to use inmate A’s statements in their testimony #that his 6th amendment right to confrontation was violated #and therefore his case should be appealed because he lost #but inmate A didn’t want to testify against inmate B because he doesn’t consider himself a victim + there was no crime + hes paranoid and #he even said that the jury should acquit inmate B. and the defense theory of the case is that inmate A had injured himself on purpose #so that he could get pain medication + special treatment #but the thing is is that okay there wasn’t any cameras in the laundry room itself but there was one on the outside and the footage shows #that inmate B was pacing around outside of it + went inside + emerged a few minutes later + inmate A came out injured and struggling #urgh it’s all going to be technicalities in this one. which means i’m going to have to study so much case law u_u #better call yolo

[rotzaprachim]

i’m having a moment about how little many people here seem to know about the shoah so 

#like. do not quote me on this but many many MANY details about the structure function and interaction between men on narkina 5 #imho i think they looked at survivor testimonies at least. #people like wow insane how good this writing is they're sooo good at creating prison camp worldbuilding like mate. they did not make much of #that up

[usauthoritarianism]

#police #COs #correctional officers #abolish prisons #us authoritarianism #inmate #testimonials #human rights abuses #uSA #mass incarceration #prison abolition #authoritarianism #corruption #prison #jail #largest prison population

[reasoningdaily]

Testimony Of Blind Witness Lands Innocent Black Man In Prison For More Than a Decade

Darien Harris was cleared of murder charges and freed from prison after spending more than 10 years in prison after a blind witness accused him of being the suspect

#youtube #false arrest #Darien Harris #Testimony Of Blind Witness Lands Innocent Black Man In Prison For More Than a Decade #False charges

[ukrainianvoices]

A Ukrainian former POW speaks of the horrific time he spent at the russian prisons.

#Ukraine #prisoner of war #russia #torture #alexander antonenko #gulagu.net #testimony #part 2 #just one of many #stories #heroes #you can turn on english subtitles

[penmanshipeb]

More vids can be seen of this on Facebook and Instagram Jimmy Townsend or Penmanshipeb

#booksbooksbooks #book reading #memoir #marjorie harvey #christian blog #knowledge #testimony #black excellence #authors #writerscommunity #truth #christianity #hope #autobiography #black men #novel #prison #enrichment #jesus christ #readers #storytelling #life story #what happened #amazon #thoughts #spilled truth #self discovery #child abuse #personal growth #nonfiction

[wilwheaton]

Quite a few Americans like the idea of strongman rule. Why not a dictator who will get things done? I lived in eastern Europe when memories of communism were fresh. I have visited regions in Ukraine where Russia imposed its occupation regime. I have spent decades reading testimonies of people who lived under Nazi or Stalinist rule. I have seen death pits, some old, some freshly dug. And I have friends who have lived under authoritarian regimes, including political prisoners and survivors of torture. Some of the people I trusted most have been assassinated. So I think that there is an answer to this question. Strongman rule is a fantasy. Essential to it is the idea that a strongman will be your strongman. He won't. In a democracy, elected representatives listen to constituents. We take this for granted, and imagine that a dictator would owe us something. But the vote you cast for him affirms your irrelevance. The whole point is that the strongman owes us nothing. We get abused and we get used to it.

The Strongman Fantasy - by Timothy Snyder

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"DECLARE VANDERYAGT NOT ACTIVE IN "RIOT"," Toronto Star. July 4, 1933. Page 3. ---- Fellow Convict Admits Helping to Barricade Dome Doors --- Special to The Star Kingston, Ont., July 4. - Evidence that convict Adrian Vanderyagt had not been an active participant in the alleged prison riots of October 1932, was given in court to-day. It is expected Vanderyagt's trial will be concluded to-day. Convict George Robinson quoted Vanderyagt as having said to him, "My time is too valuable to mix in this business; I get out of here in June." Robinson said he had seen the accused several times during the afternoon of Oct. 17 and the latter had not been taking any active part in the demonstration. Witness admitted, under cross examination, that he himself had helped barricade the doors. At the request of J. M. Simpson. counsel for the accused, Judge Madden gave Robinson protection of the court while he was on the witness stand. The prisoners in the shop dome were no more disorderly than an audience filing out of a theatre, Convict Jesse Gibbons told Col. Keiller MacKay, crown prosecutor. "Do you mean to say that the men were talking in an ordinary voice?" asked Col. MacKay. "Yes, I mean just that." Col. MacKay accused J. M. Simpson, defence counsel, of raising some objection whenever one of the defence witnesses appeared to be in "an awkward or embarrassing position." "Never in my life have I been interrupted so much during a trial," protested Col. MacKay. "I insist that my learned friend withdraw that statement," said Mr. Simpson. "He is intimating that I am obstructing the course of justice." Convict William Short said that when he saw Vanderyagt the latter was sitting in a wheelbarrow and paying no attention to what was going on around him.

That the guards in charge of the stone shed were like "a bunch of lost sheep" after the trouble started was the evidence given by Convict George Dixon. Didn't Want to Join Convict Cecil Smith corroborated previous evidence that Vanderyagt did not want to join in the riot be cause he had only eight months of his sentence to serve. Smith admitted. however, that he had advised the accused to assist in barricading the doors in order to avoid incurring the anger of fellow convicts. Vanderyagt assisted in loading one stone banker on to a cart and that ended his participation in the barricading. "You're a king, aren't you?" asked Col. MacKay. "No, but I'd like to be," said Smith. "Aren't you known as a king?" "Yes, I'm known among the convicts and others as king of the bootleggers." "You have been mixed up in a dozen rackets, have you not?" "Sure, bootlegging, rum running, anything at which I could earn an honest dollar." Smith testified that he had pald out hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines before he was committed to the penitentiary. Court then adjourned.

#kingston penitentiary #kingston ontario #1933 prisoner trials #prison riot #prisoner testimony #eyewitness testimony #words from the inside #1932 kp riot #great depression in canada #crime and punishment in canada #history of crime and punishment in canada #riotous assembly #destruction of property

[fairuzfan]

Hey, so I just saw your "Normalize making IDF soldiers social pariahs" post (the replied on it were turned off so I couldn't say this there). I am by no means disagreeing with and I am definitely not saying that this applies to every IDF soldier or even the Canadian cyclist mentioned, but I really do want to point out that conscription is a Thing in Israel and nobody has a choice whether or not they serve - and also that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of current IDF soldiers who are willingly serving who hate the war in Palestine as much as we do

TL;DR - Deciding to treat an entire group of people as social pariahs is what got us into this mess in the first place - the actions of one doesn't speak for the group

you can dodge a draft, muhammad ali did it and went to jail. Tal in israel did it and he went to prison for 30 days. i dont really have any sympathy for idf soldiers. i dont super care that theyre conscripted, if they actually really did disagree enough they would leave the army. Here's a testimony from a former IDF soldier who left the IDF after they realized that they were participating in the murder of children and families. To emphasize, I think IDF soldiers who participated in the IDF and are taking active steps to counter their past should not be treated like social pariahs.

joining the army is not treated with the scorn it should be. like at all. so if we show people that you cant live in peace if you participated in the harassment and murder of palestinians, then less people will be willing to put themselves in "danger" and not join the army. because even if they weren't committing the most obvious form of genocide now, they still harrass and accost palestinians as their least lethal form of intimidation that they regularly participate in, even outside of gaza.

What got us into this mess is the colonization of palestine and racism. You can choose to be a soldier or not.

[cagedinpublishing]

October 22nd, 2023

Have you ever risen from sleep and wondered why your heart aches; why it yearns for something it can't have? Like some peace of mind, or friendship, or an answer to why you've treated people rotten. Maybe it's simply why at times you feel lonely? As I write this, I still haven't found those answers.

I've been sitting in a cell for the last twenty years, trying to figure out the answers to some of those questions.

My name is Eric Emmanuel Humes Jr. I'm a 48-year-old man, serving multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole, in addition to an added 81 years to be served consecutively.

As I dig back into my past, I can say that I've dealt with physical and emotional abuse as a child, which led to drug abuse as an adult. I was passed around to various family members because when one couldn't handle me, they would send me to the next one in line. Not once has anyone asked what's going on with me. Even if they did, I wouldn't have been able to tell them because I didn't know.

With the fading years of my life, I think I finally found out. I think that I am mentally unstable -- something that I likely will never be able to receive a diagnosis for because the Colorado Department of Corrections fails us in our mental wellness every day. When we're dealing with these internal issues that we don't have the language to describe, we're on our own. I'd certainly like to know what's going on with me.

In the coming weeks, I will talk about the mental health challenges in the Colorado Prison System, and I invite you to ask any questions that you might have. They'll be delivered to me by email and I'll be able to respond -- I only ask that there be no questions about my conviction, seeing as how I'm still currently in litigation with the court system.

Thank you for taking the time out to read this brief introduction to the Two Weeks Blog.

Sincerely,

Eric E. Humes Jr. #119468 Colorado State Penitentiary POBOX 777 Cañon City, CO 81215 USA

#prison #inmate #behind bars #personal #testimony #usa #pen pals #snail mail #blog #blogger #colorado #fypage

[robzombies-hotwife]

wait a minute. sometime in the past few years, completely subconsciously, the treatment of prisoners and immigrants became very, very important to me to the point of being ingrained furiously in my soul. when did this happen. what do I do with this anger.

#realized more than vague leftism that there are some issues that I feel very strongly and passionately about #being an esl teacher didn't MAKE me passionate about immigration issues but spending 40+ hours a week with immigrants sure didn't hurt #and realizing how fucked up and cruel the u.s. prison system is from video testimonials by former prisoners just made me angrier #area woman realizes that she genuinely 100% stands for something

[sayruq]

Palestinian men detained by Israeli forces since the start of the war in Gaza have told Middle East Eye how they were physically tortured with dogs and electricity, subjected to mock executions, and held in humiliating and degrading conditions. In testimonies to MEE, one man, who was taken by Israeli forces from a school in Gaza where he had sought refuge with his family, described how he had been handcuffed, blindfolded, and detained in a metal cage for 42 days. During interrogations, he said he had been given electric shocks, as well as scratched and bitten by army dogs. Other men also described being electrocuted, attacked by dogs, doused with cold water, denied food and water, deprived of sleep, and subjected to constant loud music. “They did not spare anyone. There were 14-year-old boys and 80-year-old men,” said one of the men, Moaz Muhammad Khamis Miqdad, who was taken prisoner in Gaza City in December and held for more than 30 days.

#yemen #jerusalem #tel aviv #current events #palestine #free palestine #gaza #free gaza #news on gaza #palestine news #news update #war news #war on gaza #torture #war crimes #genocide #gaza genocide