Attica Prisoners’ Demands
L. D. Barkley was chosen to read the list of rights from prisoners who thought about the changes they wanted to make within the prison walls. These changes and demands included:
The Five Demands"1. We want complete amnesty, meaning freedom from any physical, mental, and legal reprisals.
2. We want now, speedy and safe transportation out of confinement, to a non-imperialistic country. 3. We demand that the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT intervene, so that we will be under direct FEDERAL JURISDICTION. 4. We demand the reconstruction of ATTICA PRISON to be done by inmates and/or inmate supervision. 5. We urgently demand immediate negotiation through Wm. M. Kunstler, Attorney-at-Law, 588 Ninth Ave., NYC, Assemblyman Arthur O. Eve of Buffalo, the Solidarity Committee, Minister Farrakhan of MUHAMMAD SPEAKS, Pal ante, The Young Lords Party Paper, the Black Panther Party, Clarence Jones of the Amsterdam News, Tom Wicker of NY Times, Richard Roth of the Courier Express, the Fortune Society, David Anderson of the Urban League of Rochester, Blond-Eva Bond of NI-CAP, and Jim Ingram of Democrat Chronicle of Detroit, Michigan. We guarantee the safe passage of all people to and from this institution. We invite all the people to come here and witness this degradation, so that they can better know how to bring this degradation to an end." L. D. Barkley reads the list of prisoners' rights.
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THE 15 PRACTICAL PROPOSALS
"1. Apply the New York State minimum wage law to all state institutions. STOP SLAVE LABOR.
2. Allow all New York State prisoners to be politically active, without intimidation or reprisals. 3. Give us true religious freedom. 4. End all censorship of newspapers, magazines, letters, and other publications coming from the publisher. 5. Allow all inmates, at their own expense, to communicate with anyone they please. 6. When an inmate reaches conditional release date, give him a full release without parole. 7. Cease administrative resentencing of inmates returned for parole violations. 8. Institute realistic rehabilitation programs for all inmates according to their offense and personal needs. 9. Educate all correctional officers to the needs of the inmates, i.e., understanding rather than punishment. 10. Give us a healthy diet, stop feeding us so much pork, and give us some fresh fruit daily. 11. Modernize the inmate education system. 12. Give us a doctor that will examine and treat all inmates that request treatment. 13. Have an institutional delegation comprised of one inmate from each company authorized to speak to the institution administration concerning grievances (QUARTERLY). 14. Give us less cell time and more recreation with better recreational equipment and facilities. 15. Remove inside walls, making one open yard, and no more segregation or punishment." |