University of Virginia Library

Demonstrators Protest Prison Conditions

BY JIM MASSEY

About 35 members of the
Charlottesville Defense Committee, the
Radical Student Union and the staff of
the Virginia Weekly rallied in front of the
Rotunda and marched to the
Charlottesville City Jail on Saturday in
support of the inmates at the Attica State
Prison in New York and the prisoners in
the Charlottesville jail.

A statement released by the group earlier
this week stated that the purpose of the
demonstration would be to "show solidarity
with the prisoners of Attica and with their
justified rebellion against the inhuman, racist
and unjust conditions in the institution; to
condemn the slaughter of the men in the
institution: to condemn the slaughter of the
Attica prisoners and guards by New York
Governor Nelson Rockefeller's henchmen; to
support the demands presented by the rebelling
prisoners and to call for their immediate
implementation."

Penal Conditions

At the rally on the steps of the Rotunda,
Sue Higa, a member of the Prisoner's Solidarity
Committee of New York, denounced the
conditions of the nation's penal institutions and
the social system which helps to fill the nation's
jails with "85 percent non-whites."

Tom Soto of the Prisoners Solidarity
Committee was one of the few persons invited
to Attica Prison by the rebelling inmates at the
beginning of the uprising. He spent four days
talking with the prisoners.

The Prisoners Solidarity Committee,
according to their newsletter of September 17,
"was formed less than a year ago, when

prisoners at Auburn. N.Y., wrote to
organizations on the outside for help. Youth
Against War and Fascism responded, and soon
helped form the Prisoners Solidarity
Committee. The committee has expanded to
many cities since then, and includes relatives of
prisoners and released prisoners themselves."

The Prisoners Solidarity Committee charged
that "the demands of the prisoners were never
seriously considered, and the most fundamental
of the demands, amnesty was never considered
by the State. To the prisoners, this was crucial
as many were in danger of being framed up on
murder charges for the death of a sympathetic
guard killed by other guards when the rebellion
broke out."

"Horror Stories"

The newsletter further alleged, 'the
capitalist press was full of horror stories of
hostages with their throats cut, mutilations and
executions. The racist hysteria against the
prisoners' uprising was being carefully fanned."
However, it claimed, "the truth came out-the
guards were all killed in the same murderous
assault by police and national guards on the
prisoners."

Miss High told the crowd on the steps
of the Rotunda that "the conditions under
which the Attica prisoners are forced to live
caused the riot." Attica is an isolated prison,
Miss High said, and families are allowed only 15
minutes of visitation privileges per week.

Low Wages

The Attica inmates receive medical care
from "horse doctors" she added, citing the case
of a Puerto Rican prisoner who recently died
there. According to Miss High, the inmate spoke
very little English, was unable to explain the
symptoms of his illness and was dismissed by
the prison doctor, and died the following day.
She also condemned the 40 cents per day wages
paid to the prisoners of Attica.

The real criminals are the billionaires and
corporations which exploit the people." she
shouted to the crowd.

The Charlottesville Police Department stated
that there would be no official comment on the
demonstration until later today.