Feature Archives

September 2nd Update A third young man, Joseph Daniel Maldonado, 18, from Sacramento, died at the California Youth Authority's brutal Chaderjian facility on Wednesday, August 31st. Officials reported that he had committed suicide by hanging.

August 23rd: Books not Bars reported today that on September 26th - just 35 days from today - the new head of California’s eight youth prisons may close the most brutal facility: Chad. The CYA's new director, Chief Warner, ordered his staff to stop accepting new youth at the Chad youth prison. The facility's high school lost its accreditation this year. BnB is asking for people's help to ensure that Chad is closed. Read more

September 5th was the one-year anniversary of the death of Dyron Brewer in the CYA's Chad prison for youth. A mass memorial and march were held in Stockton on Monday, September 5th, from 12pm to 3pm, to honor Dyron's life. The cause of Dyron's death is unknown, but he was the fourth prisoner to die in the CYA system last year. Durrell Feaster, Dion Whitfield, and Roberto Lombana also lost their lives inside CYA’s youth prisons in 2004.

Books Not Bars says, "We are joining together to make sure these young lives are not lost in vain.... It’s time to close the CYA’s youth prisons and build a new system of rehabilitation and support – a system these young people deserved but never received." No More Lost Lives was a day of music, poetry, speeches, honoring, and prayer. Read more

Books Not Bars Campaign

Colored Ink &The SF Peacemakers present Our Health Is Our Wealth: A Day of Film, Food, & Social Justice, on Saturday, August 20th at the Brava Theater 2789 24th St., San Francisco. Registration will begin at 11:00 am. A suggested donation of $10 will be requested. Organizers say that this will be "a festival like no other!" with healthy food, holistic health practices, film shorts, and workshops addressing community issues of health, poverty and violence, planning a solution of how to heal the community. There will be a panel presented by the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, following an excerpt of the movie "Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story" addressing Stan, the death penalty, and civil rights. Featured films include "Peace Maker in Sudan" and "Peacemakers 4 life." There will also be performances, spoken word, and live music. The event will be hosted by KPOO 89.5 FM Radio personality Pam-Pam "theimposingfigure." Read more about Our Health is Our Wealth The event will in part be a celebration of the late Idriss Stelley's birthday. Idriss was shot at 48 times and killed by the SFPD on June 13th, 2001.

More info: Colored Ink's website | SF Peacemakers | Tookie's Website | Campaign to End the Death Penalty | Idriss One Love Website | April 24th, 2004 Vigil to Remember Idriss | One-Year Anniversary of Idriss Stelley's Murder | Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed; Supes Call for Crisis Training | August 2001 Protest at Supes Meeting

Mesha Monge-Irizarry, who is the Director of the Idriss Stelley Foundation and the mother of Idriss Stelley, who was killed by San Francisco police, reports about her experience with a taser:

"Last year, I received a call from Arizona company 'Taser International,' seemingly referred through (an) unknown source to do a 'demo at ISF (Idriss Stelley Foundation).' Although it gave me a good laugh, since SF was looking into making a $1.2 million purchase for its PD department, I invited them, as well as Malaika Parker from Bay Area Police Watch.

"The 'Men in Black' as they call(ed) themselves... proceeded to a full demonstration. I told Sandra-Juanita Cooper (former CO-director of ISF) and Malaika that one of us should be tased to know exactly what we would be talking about when reporting back to the community. Neither one of them was willing to be subjected to it, so I volunteered.

"... Imagine 54,000 (volts) going through your body. Although 2 of their legitimized thugs were holding me, when a 3rd one tased me throughout the right thigh, I collapsed in unbelievable pain that truly "shocked" me...and collapsed on the floor unable to move. The pain disappeared after about 10 seconds, and muscle control was then regained... (However,) my right leg kept twitching off and on for a couple of days, slight bleeding and bruising, and a substantial increase of my diabetic peripheral neuropathy in the right leg, (which) has not improved ever since. These idiots told me 'You have balls for a woman,' as they left...I was at the time thinking of the victims repeatedly tased to unconsciousness or death. Fortunately the Taser budget was not approved in SF, until next time." Read more of Mesha's report

Through her work with the Idriss Stelley Foundation, Mesha Monge-Irizarry continues to organize for justice for family members of people who have died at the hands of law enforcement. She is working on the cases of Everardo "Lalo" Torres, Gustavus Rugley, Samuel Martinez, and Julio Ayala. Last year she attended the Citizens' Police Academy training.

The City of San Jose's Human Rights Commission sponsored a Taser Forum that was held on Thursday, August 18th. The forum took place at 6:30pm in the Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of 801 North First Street in San Jose. A panel of speakers was present, including Mona Cadena of Amnesty International, Medical Advisor Dr. Howie Michaels, and Chief Robert Davis of the San Jose Police Department. There was a public comment period after the statements by the panelists. Flyer

The San Jose Police Department Chief presented its limited Taser training and tracking recommendations to the city on Tuesday, August 9th at a San Jose City Council meeting. There were extended City Council sessions, during the course of the day. 8/9 City Council Agenda

The Taser recommendations are in response to the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury's report on tasers. The report includes the suggestion of creating a "Force Response Report" in which officers list what happened at the scene of a use of force. This would include details such as what happened before the officer used force, and what method of assault the suspect used before the officer responded with force.

Taser opponents such as the Coalition for Justice and Accountability planned to participate in public comment periods and reject the SJPD report in favor of banning Tasers. CJA's Report- Tasers: A Reassessment

On August 6th a seminar on the mental health and prison systems was held at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Berkeley. The seminar dealt with racism and police discrimination against those who have received mental health care. It also deal with abuses within the mental health care system. Speakers included Peter Maiden, Mesha Monge-Irizarry and Andrew Phelps. Peter Maiden is an investigative journalist and photographer with Indybay, who's whose recent work has focused on law enforcement abuse of the mentally ill. Mesha Monge-Irizarry is the creator of the Idriss Stelley Foundation and mother of Idriss Stelley, a young man with a psychiatric diagnosis who was killed by SF Police. Andrew Phelps talked about the police and the mental health system's abuse of Jose Rangel.
The seminar is part of the Mindfreedom San Francisco Bay Area free summer seminar series "Critical Perspectives on Psychiatry" which has thre more seminars every other weekend later this summer.
Audio From This Event | Mind Freedom

The "Forever in Our Hearts" Justice Fest 2005 was held at Saint James Park (Saint James St and First St) in downtown in San Jose on Saturday, August 6th, (Flyers). The event featured rock bands in the afternoon, funk bands in the evening, and exhibits such as the Stolen Lives Wall. The event was organized in memory of Eric Kleemeyer, who was killed by Santa Clara police in January. The F.B.I. and U.S. Attorney General are currently looking into the case to see if the case warrants further investigation. Read Eric Kleemeyer's story

Justice for Eric Kleemeyer | Justice for Eric Kleemeyer Online Journal, which includes Eric Kleemeyer's Pursuit Route from the night he was killed