Censorship in the 21st Century:
San Quentin Prison Style
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A Doggone Shame Message from innocent death row prisoner in San Quentin State Prison, Kevin Cooper, to April 9th and 10th antiwar demonstrations in New York and San Francisco There cannot be more of a cold blooded, and premeditated act of murder than that of a state sponsored execution, as in the Death Penalty! Unless it’s the cold blooded and premeditated act of war that one government in a country declares upon another. In both cases it’s the poor people who are murdered, and physically tortured during these man-made acts. In both instances the planning for such an event can, and often does, take years. Time however, doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. This is because of the length of time both of these crimes against humanity have been in effect. These two historic crimes against humanity are connected because it’s the rich who have always controlled who lives and who dies, and to me that’s a doggone shame! Apparently, poor people and working class people all over the world feel the same way to a degree because they are fighting the oppressors who are killing them even if it’s an economic death that they are facing, dealing with, and fighting against. Isn’t economics part of war and part of a class system, which is part of the death penalty? All of it part of oppression! |
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution grants all citizens of this country the right to freedom of speech. We also have the constitutional right to protest for our rights using free speech, as well as to speak out against any action being done to us by the state or federal government.
Apparently there is at least one San Quentin prison guard who either doesn’t know this, or doesn’t care about this hard-fought constitutional right. Or, maybe he or she was ignoring it in order to impose their will against my speaking out against this historic and horrific crime against humanity—the American institution of capital punishment.
On Thursday, March 3, 2011, I was to do a “Live From Death Row” telephone call to speak, live, to a group of college students in Indiana. I made the call at 4:00 P.M. and began my opening statement about the racism and classism that is involved with the death penalty in this country. I even managed to answer a few questions that were asked by students, and while answering one of these questions the telephone call was disconnected by the prison guard who was monitoring the telephone call.
I had not been on the phone ten minutes before that call was ended. But within the time that I was on the phone I did tell the students these truths: every person who these volunteer executioners strap down to a table, chair or gurney to torture and murder in the name of the law is a poor person, no matter what color their skin, or sex, or religion. It appears that the powers that be within this country only execute poor people.
So this truth, and the fact that I said that I am an innocent man, as well as the fact that I live in a cage the size of a bathroom, or smaller, was enough to make this prison guard cut off my phone call!
What this prison guard doesn’t know is this: Now every one of those college students who took time to come and learn about America’s pride and joy, it’s death penalty system, have learned that I was not lying about this system! Because I can’t even do what the First Amendment says that I can do, even as a prisoner on San Quentin’s death row—exercise my constitutional right to free speech!
For more information on Kevin Cooper, visit: www.freekevincooper.org