Haven’t Had a Digest Post in a While, Now

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By BitcoDavid

Former Parchman Farm warden passes at 67

Donald Cabana was the warden of what many consider to be the harshest prison in the United States. He was also a staunch anti-death penalty advocate. He was known for saying, “There is a part of the warden that dies with his prisoner.” — NYT. In 1998, he wrote a memoir, Death at Midnight: Confession of an Executioner. Inmates considered him tough but fair, and never sadistic or unnecessarily cruel. He brought about many reforms in Mississippi as well as at the numerous other prisons in which he worked.

Mr. Cabana worked in corrections for over a quarter century, before switching to a career as an educator, largely in protest of the death penalty.

Cabana died Monday, October 7th, of an intestinal infection.

The obituary appears in the New York Times.

Golf glove translates sign

My ASL app only shows signs from English words. So if you don’t know a certain sign, you type in the word, and it shows you the sign. I’d like to write an app that recognizes signs and reads out the English word – so if you see someone using a sign you don’t recognize, all you have to do is sign it into your phone-cam, and the app would read it and tell you the word. With that in mind, check out this video.

And if you like that, check this out.

Saturday Morning Live

Saturday Morning Live

Lynn Stewart writes from prison on her 74th birthday

It is certainly sobering to be celebrating the start of my 74 year mired down in this prison. It is even more so when there is my life line that must be considered. Nonetheless, I remain my ebullient self and face my fight and my future with optimism. Part of the reason for this is the wonderful mail I receive daily from people all over the U.S. and the world. From Tasmania to Tel Aviv (!?) people write and tell me of the role I play and have played in their lives. It is overwhelming sometimes.

Today, I have asked you all to rally once again on my behalf. (Little did we know they would close down the federal government last week. A conspiracy to keep me here? smile). By coming out and making another statement on my behalf, I think you are taking a stand for everyone behind bars. They can lock us down but they cannot lock us away from the people, who are now coming to have a different sense of the futility and cruelty of the prison system, and who will take action if called upon. I am happy to be the poster girl, oops, woman for this. I know it will never be a some time thing for me and that when I am in the world again (and I WILL BE IN THE WORLD AGAIN !) this struggle is one that I must continue. I hope we all give a heartfelt wish for health and release for Herman Wallace, a valiant warrior, our brother comrade, who is dying in Angola, after 40 years of solitary. [Herman Wallace died a free man shortly after his release.]

Hoping that it is a glorious day wherever you are hearing this–my mom always remarked that the Sunday I was born was perfect weather. I guess I am waxing nostalgic but blow out the candles and have a bite of the birthday cake and know that I am indebted to all of you and to our movement for the fabulous and courageous support you have shown me over these years. We go on to victory for one elder woman (me) but also to express our outrage at this heartless system.

Lynne Stewart,
Prisoner # 53504-054

Visit the Justice for Lynne Stewart website: www.lynnestewart.org for birthday messages from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Fr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, Ed Asner, Dick Gregory, Medea Benjamin and Code Pink, Richard Falk, Chris Hedges, Zachary Sklar, Ralph Schoenman and many more people around the world.

Felix Pushes 700 signatures

Felix Garcia Should Be Granted a Full Pardon

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/453/783/026/felix-garcia-should-be-granted-a-full-pardon/

Felix Garcia, the innocent Deaf man who’s already served over 30 years has gotten 690 signatures on the petition started by DeafInPrison.com. We’ve got only 310 signatures to go, before we can send the petition to Pam Bondi, Rick Scott, and the members of Florida’s cabinet.  I know Ms. Bondi’s champing at the bit to do the right thing by Felix, and all she needs is this petition on her desk.

Won’t you consider signing this important petition? Felix is a genuinely warm and decent Human being. He’s self educated and gifted with computers. Felix has helped numerous other inmates, both Hearing and Deaf, adjust to prison life, and he’s written software in use by the Florida D.O.C. He was framed for murder by his family, and deserves his freedom.

BitcoDavid is a blogger and a blog site consultant. In former lives, he was an audio engineer, a videographer, a teacher – even a cab driver. He is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and a Pro/Am boxer. He has spent years working with diet and exercise to combat obesity and obesity related illness.

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