Support Tom Manning’s Parole Bid

Political Prisoner from the United Freedom Front, Tom Manning comes up for parole in November and has asked people to submit letters supporting his release on parole. According to Tom, “if folks can just write their own letters expressing each ones ideas rather than all of them sounding like they read a form letter – so that they put their own voice down on paper,” that would be best.

NYC ABC supports Tom’s bid for freedom using whatever means he chooses and are hoping you can take a minute to write a letter on his behalf. Please be polite––expressing your disdain for Tom’s incarceration or your political beliefs is not appropriate for these letters. Tom has been down since 1985 and we need him home.

Your letter should reference Thomas Manning #10373-016 and be sent to:

United States Parole Commission
90 K Street NE, Third Floor
Washington, District of Columbia 20530

Please make a copy and send it to:
Tom Manning 10373-016
FMC Butner
Post Office Box 1600
Butner, North Carolina 27509

Biography
Thomas Manning is a revolutionary who was active in the United Freedom Front, a clandestine anti-imperialist organization that carried out targeted bombings of corporate buildings, courthouses and military facilities and also carried out bank robberies to fund revolutionary projects.   He was unjustly sentenced to 80 years in prison for killing a New Jersey state trooper in self-defense.

Life in Prison
Tom, like many political prisoners, has been designated a “high max” prisoner, which lead him to be on continual lockdown for the first 12 years in prison. Tom has also been subject to physical abuse and denied medical attention while in prison. In 2006, his artwork was taken down from a show entitled “Can’t Jail the Spirit” at the University of Southern Maine following pressure right-wing activists.

Click here to get Tom’s new books of paintings, For Love and Liberty.

Click here for more information on Tom and here to read some of his poetry and other writing.

Campaign to Secure Parole for Robert Seth Hayes

 

Like many long-term comrades in New York State (NYS), political prisoner Robert Seth Hayes is coming before the parole board this summer. This will be Seth’s tenth appearance before such a board. We are asking that you participate in his freedom campaign per his request in whatever way works for you. While we harbor no false hope in this parole campaign and those of other NYS comrades like Herman Bell, Jalil Muntaquim, and Maliki Shakur Latine, we always respond to calls for solidarity and will continue to push the parole board to let our people come home.

Despite setbacks in the movement to implement a genuine, fair and just parole system in New York (such as this recent court decision), there is resistance to the endless politicizing and denials of the parole system. Groups like RAPP (Release Aging People in Prison)–founded and run in part by former prisoners–are making great strides educating the public and highlighting specific examples of elder prisoners and the need for parole reform. Time will tell whether or not the state of New York will make a significant change in how it implements parole for all prisoners and specifically, the NYS political prisoners.

Letter-writing Campaign for Sekou Kambui

Sekou Cinque T. M. Kambui (state name William J. Turk) has requested a letter-writing campaign asserting his innocence in preparation for his upcoming parole hearing, that may happen as soon as April 2014. Time is of the essence and NYC ABC is asking folks for a last minute push in this ongoing campaign.

Sekou maintains that he has committed no crime, and yet has been under the heel of the State since 1975, when he was accused of murdering a wealthy white oil-man and a KKK member in Alabama. He was pulled over in January of 1975 and accused of and arrested for the December 1974 murder after a pistol was found in his car. After his first trial, multiple witnesses later reported that they had been coerced into testifying against Sekou. Further, every defense witness was driven out of the state by police intimidation. No proven murder weapon has been found, and neither Sekou nor the pistol found in his car has never been linked to the crime scene.

Sekou was a member of the Black Panther Party and an organizer with a variety of organizations, including Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Republic of New Afrika. As a result of his activism, Sekou was caught up in the COINTELPRO dragnet— part the State’s effort to suppress dissent and make activism criminal. He must be freed!

So, what can you do? The first thing could not be simpler. Sign this petition (also available at http://j.mp/Sekou_Kambui) . What next, you ask? Take the time to write a letter to the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. We’ve even included a sample letter after the break to get you started. Letters should be sent to:
Offices of Chestnut, Sanders, Sanders, Pettaway & Campbell, L.L.C.
ATTN: Attorney Faya Ora Rose Toure
1 Union Street
Post Office Box 1290
Selma, Alabama 36702-1290