A FIGHT FOR THE VALUE OF LIFE
For years I have known that the quest my sister (Windy Hempstead) and I
have set out on to obtain justice for the murder of poor, black, mentally
disabled, Muslim, prisoner Darren Rainey was going to be a hard one. Why?
Because I’ve learned throughout my life that most people in this World
don’t believe the lives of certain people have the same value/worth as
others. Most people discriminate or are
racist against certain races and groups and the people they discriminate
against or are racist against, they place below themselves and put a lesser
value on their lives. Out of the 6
classes of people I can think of that are most disliked in America (especially
the South) Darren Rainey fit into 5 of the 6 groups. Poor people, African American people,
mentally disabled people, Muslim people and prisoners are 5 of the 6 most
disliked peoples in America. Rainey was
a poor, black, mentally disabled, Muslim, prisoner and that is why my sister
(Windy) and I knew this would be a hard fight.
I think what people are failing to see is that the fight for justice for
Rainey is not just a fight for Rainey, it’s a fight for the value of life; it’s a fight to show that all life has
value; it’s a fight for all poor people,
all black people, all mentally disabled people, all Muslim people and all prisoners. Will you please join Windy, Jeremy and me in
this fight for the value of life? Just
like your life has value, Rainey’s life has value, and all life has value. I’m asking that you please send emails to
Alicia Garza, Rev. Al Sharpton of The National Action Network, Rev. Jesse
Jackson of The Rainbow Push Coalition and any member of the Black Lives Matter
movement you know and ask them for help in obtaining justice for the murder of
Darren Rainey.
Please share this blog with your friends and anybody you think could help
us in obtaining justice for the murder of Darren Rainey. Please sign our petition on Change.org
Caged Crusader
-------------------
Here's something practical anyone can do: Print out some of these flyers and start passing them around. Tell people about what happened to Darren Rainey and help Harold Hempstead with his long struggles to shine the light of public knowledge onto some very dark events in the Florida prison system. These flyers are for the petition drafted by the 'Caged Crusader' calling for the murder of Darren Rainey to be investigated at the highest level:
Free Speech Poster
Jeremy Schanche interviewed by Cat Watters, People's Internet Radio, NYC, on the film of Harold Hempstead's evidence affidavit on the events of 23rd June, 2012 at Dade Correctional Institution, Transitional Care Unit where Mr Rainey died.
Here's the film I made
Last year I interviewed Harold Hempstead and I was very interested by what he said about his beliefs on the value of human life. Harold is a Christian and although I am looking at the World through a different philosophy, I am in agreement with him on many things. I'm inspired by his respect for all human life, as I think it's the best way for humans to view each other. Darren Rainey was of the Muslim faith, but this in no way stopped Harold from dedicating himself to helping Rainey.
On 17th March 2017, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle released the official report on Darren Rainey's death - in my opinion it's a pack of lies. When you compare it to The Huffington Posts' article discussing the forensic evidence, you'd think they were describing two different events.
This is a fight for the value of all human life - please join us. Many people have already given years of work to this struggle, Inmate-witnesses risking brutal retaliation for speaking out, journalists who've looked into this case and uncovered a pattern of corruption and suspicious custody-deaths, civil-rights lawyers and human rights groups challenging the legality of the state's actions, religious groups witnessing the truth and spreading the word and the independent activists working on the case in different capacities, some of whom I know give so much of themselves to this kind of work.
Though the above groups are approaching the case of Darren Rainey's death from differing perspectives, I believe there is a common unity of purpose, a shared motivation of outrage at an act of extreme barbarity that simply cannot be tolerated or excused away. I see the death of Darren Rainey as a historic turning-point. In a World that is sadly so accustomed to cruelty and murder, the nature of Mr Rainey's death was so inhuman that it seemed to signify and symbolize all the killings we've been hearing about in these times. If Darren Rainey's death becomes the focus of a continuing and growing movement for justice, then his brutal killing will take on far more significance than it already has.
There's many ways people can contribute to this cause. Follow the Caged Crusader's blog, to study the evidence and keep informed of new statements and reports. Print out and display the above posters in public, or, even better, make your own. In the electronic age, where people are conditioned to get their information through a screen, a poster on a wall has more impact than ever. In dry countries, posters can be glued to walls with PVA glue using a house-painting brush. If you live in Britain, lamination is advisable.
If you are a US citizen you can raise this issue with your representatives. Non-US citizens are of course free to email the black Civil Rights leaders mentioned above, asking them to add their support to the movement for justice for Darren Rainey.
Raising awareness of this issue with human rights and religious groups in your own country would also be very helpful. This will gradually increase the pressure on US authorities to treat this crime seriously. There is already a federal investigation looking into the death of Darren Rainey, but with an extreme reactionary racist like Sessions for Attorney General, US justice is going to need all the help it can get from the public. I think we can all see clearly which direction the new regime is pushing the USA towards. You certainly hear people talking about it enough - well why not do something about it? Get involved with the movement for justice, get involved with the resistance and show those in power that they will not crush our humanity. Do it for Darren Rainey.
No comments:
Post a Comment