BK/NY – Tuesday, February 2nd – Letter Writing Dinner for Jay Chase

WHAT: Political Prisoner Letter-Writing Dinner
WHEN: 7pm sharp, Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016
WHERE: The Base – 1302 Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11221 (directions below)
NOTE: The Base is on the ground floor, is wheelchair accessible, and has a gender neutral toilet.
COST: Free

Jay Chase needs the love and support of our community now more than ever. Next week, the NATO 3 prisoner has a court date for a trial that may lead to him dying in prison. Jay is one of a group of activists who were entrapped by two undercover Chicago cops in 2012 leading up to protests of the NATO summit and found guilty of possession of an incendiary device with the intent to commit arson, possession of an incendiary device with the knowledge that another intended to commit arson and mob action. Jay received the longest sentence of the NATO 3 (8 years) and is the only one still locked up. He is currently facing charges for the alleged battery of a prison guard.

During the 2 years that he was imprisoned before his conviction, Jay was met with the awful diagnosis of Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s is a neurodegenerative disease that affects cognition, muscle coordination, and behavior. Although the disease is incurable, its symptoms are usually treatable to a certain extent through different therapies and medications. Jay has not received any of the proper treatments for this disease. Those who knew Jay before his imprisonment began have already seen the physical decline that is typical with an untreated Huntington’s diagnosis. Severely impaired judgement and impulse control from the disease has compounded the already hostile environment created by the State and its prison system. Jay has written to folks describing brutal beatings that have occurred at the hands of prison guards since the diagnosis of his disease and subsequent filing of new charges. He has also faced punishment in the form of a one year bid in solitary confinement and the loss/restriction of several other privileges. At his last court date in December, Jay arrived to his hearing bruised and swollen. The charges he is facing have a minimum of 3 years if convicted. If he remains in these conditions, he may not have even that long to live.

Jay’s support crew is asking that folks pack the courtroom out for his next pretrial hearing on February 3rd at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse. If you live in Chicago, you should be there.  If you know people in Chicago, you should tell them to go. If you will be here in NY on Tuesday night, you should join us in writing letters to Jay.In the event that you are unable to join us, you can send letters of support to Jay at:
Jared Chase M44710
Pontiac Correctional Center
Post Office Box 99
Pontiac, Illinois 61764

The deal, as always, is that you come bringing only yourself (and your friends and comrades), and we provide you with a delicious vegan meal, information about the prisoners as well as all of the letter-writing materials and prisoner-letter-writing info you could ever want to use in one evening. In return, you write a thoughtful letter to a political prisoner or prisoner of war of your choosing or, better yet, keep up a long-term correspondence. We’ll also provide some brief updates and pass around birthday cards for the PP/POWs whose birthdays fall in the next two weeks thanks to the PP/POW Birthday Calendar.

Directions:
Getting to The Base is simple:
From the M Train:
Central Avenue Stop: Walk east on Myrtle Avenue (away from Hart Street, toward Cedar Street). We’re about two blocks down on the south side of the street.

Knickerbocker Avenue Stop: Walk west on Myrtle Avenue (away from Harman Street, toward Himrod Street). We’re about three blocks down on the south side of the street.

From the L Train:
DeKalb Avenue Stop: Walk south on Stockholm Street (away from Wyckoff Avenue, toward Irving Avenue). We’re about four blocks down, at the intersection of Stockholm Street and Myrtle Avenue.

From the J Train:
Myrtle Avenue Stop: Transfer to the M train and follow the above directions