Mumia Supporters Converge In Scranton - Press Release With Mention Of Major Tillery

PRESS ADVISORY
December 17, 2015

CONTACT:
Philadelphia: Pam Africa – 267-760-7344;  Joe Piette – 610-931-2615
NYC:  Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition - 212-330-8029

12/18: MUMIA SUPPORTERS CONVERGE IN SCRANTON TO DEMAND HEP C TREATMENT FOR PA PRISONERS

On Friday, December 18, a car caravan from Philadelphia, a bus from New York City, and other vehicles from Pittsburgh, Baltimore and other cities will converge in Scranton, PA to support political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal at a Federal Court hearing on Friday, December 18.

The Philadelphia car caravan will take off at 6:00am from JFK Blvd & 31st St., west of 30th St. Station, across from the BOLT & MEGA buses.

In New York City, a full bus will begin loading at 5:30am at the MLK Labor Center 1199SEIU, 310 West 43^rd Street (between 8^th – 9^th Aves.).

Federal Court Judge Robert Mariani has ordered a full evidentiary hearing to determine if the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) will be required to provide the new direct-acting, antiviral medication with a 95 percent cure rate for HCV (hepatitis c virus) to Abu-Jamal.

The hearing will take place at the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 235 N. Washington Ave, in Scranton.  The proceeding starts at 9:30am and is expected to last a full day, perhaps extending into Monday, Dec 21. 

Supporters who cannot fit into the courtroom will participate in a rally and direct action outside the courthouse, which will include speakers, banners and signs throughout the day.

On December 15, a letter including 108 members of the European Parliament and the French senate was sent to Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolfe encouraging the following, “We would like to share our concerns about the very poor health of Mr. Mumia Abu Jamal, suffering from hepatitis C, which can be fatal if not treated quickly with the appropriate care. As you know, international law provides that every human being, even a prisoner, is entitled to health care. We would be grateful for your quick intervention in order to provide to Mr. Mumia Abu-Jamal with the appropriate care, in a hospital with doctors of his choice.” The hearing takes place in the wake of this letter and thousands of signed petitions, phone calls and emails plus meetings, street actions and pressure from sympathetic state officials.

Mumia’s wife Wadiya Jamal said in a December 17 statement to Judge Mariani “One year ago today Samiya, our youngest daughter, died of cancer at the age of thirty-six. Mumia wasn’t home to see her, to hold and comfort her, her two young daughters or me. He hasn’t been to her gravesite. Mumia is in prison for life for a crime he did not commit! This past year Mumia has been critically ill. He is suffering from a horrible, itching torturous skin condition and almost died of diabetic shock. He has Hep C that the prison has refused to treat.”

The DOC currently has no standard of care for treating prisoners with HCV. Prison authorities willfully ignored Mumia's health crisis until a fellow prisoner, Major Tillery, confronted prison superintendent John Kerestes, warning him that Mumia might die unless he was hospitalized immediately.  The superintendent refused to listen, and Mumia went into a diabetic coma.  Major Tillery was shipped to another prison to be placed in solitary confinement for four and a half months.

Supporters initiated a campaign that led to the discovery of medical proof that Mumia’s ailments stem from untreated HCV that he contacted via a blood transfusion after being  shot by police 34 years ago. The DOC is denying the lifesaving treatment "until the final stages of the condition" - which would be equivalent to a death sentence for Mumia!

Abu-Jamal's legal team will make a strong case during the hearing on why Mumia and thousands of other HCV-infected prisoners in Pennsylvania need immediate treatment.  Most leading hep C specialists and national HCV organizations now recommend immediate treatment with this drug. Abu-Jamal will testify via videoconferencing - the first time in decades he will be given the opportunity to testify in court. If he is successful in winning the hep C treatment, it will set a precedent that can potentially help infected prisoners throughout Pennsylvania and other states.

Medical evidence and statistics show that HCV, if left untreated, will spread throughout communities when prisoners return home, generating a public health crisis that has a disproportionate impact on people of color and impoverished communities. The same population is also impacted negatively by the outrageously high prices charged by pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences for this lifesaving medicine.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations maintain Abu-Jamal was unfairly convicted in the 1982 killing of a Philadelphia policeman.  A solidarity movement won his removal from death row, but he is still in prison and will die of medical neglect from untreated hepatitis C unless state officials are forced to give him proper treatment.  As an innocent man, supporters demand that Mumia be released immediately.

The International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition (NYC), Educators for Mumia, Campaign to Bring Mumia Home, the International Action Center and other organizations are urging the public to attend the hearing.  

-30-

It's Time We Stepped Up to Defend Major By Ray Luc Levasseur

"It's Time We Stepped Up to Defend Major!"

 By Ray Luc Levasseur

 November 3, 2015

Ray Luc Levasseur - A former political prisoner who spent over fifteen years in solitary confinement, primarily at USP Marion and ADX Florence.





 Embedded in stone and concrete cell block walls across the American gulag is the definition of hell - “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”
     From the time of the earliest penitentiaries there have been men, women, and children of uncommon courage and resilience that have challenged their conditions of captivity. Major Tillery is among the defiant ones.
      In the landmark Pennsylvania prison case, Tillery v. Owens, Major Tillery was lead plaintiff in holding the Department of Corrections accountable for operating a prison (State Correctional Institute at Pittsburgh) where living conditions shocked the conscience. A federal judge ruled that severe overcrowding, deplorable sanitation, “shockingly deficient” medical and mental health care, and other conditions were unconstitutional. The Major Tillery case set the DOC's cruel and unusual business back a notch, and provided hope to thousands. But the DOC was slow to implement changes. Too slow for those confined to cages and boxes year after year. 
     Another PA prison – Camp Hill – rose in rebellion and much of the prison was torched. Central to the prisoner’s demands was ending the obscene overcrowding that had been allowed to fester like an untreated wound. Major Tillery was not at Camp Hill but he was punished for it because he is the embodiment of what the DOC most fears: solidarity and resistance. Major was chained, shackled and shipped to the infamous U.S. Penitentiary at Marion, Illinois. Marion was the end of the line for those labeled “worst of the worst.” 
     Major qualified by being a jailhouse lawyer with uncompromising principles and a commitment to prisoner’s rights. Characteristics that make prison bureaucrats fear for their positions and pensions. It was at Marion that I first met Major: tall, Black, proud, and undeterred by the excessive punishment he took. The PA DOC's retaliatory transfer of Major almost cost him his life. 
          One late night he was removed from the cell block on a stretcher, severely ill, and taken to a federal prison hospital in Missouri. Marion was not known for its timely response to medical and health needs. Major survived this brush with death and ultimately returned to a PA prison. Decades of struggle on behalf of others and himself passed without public recognition. Then in early 2015 Major stood his ground again with an effort to obtain much needed and critical medical care for ailing political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. 
     For using his voice to help another, Major was subjected to another retaliatory transfer and lugged to the hole. Just as I saw happen at Marion 25 years earlier Major is now sick with a serious gastrointestinal condition. He is in a prison hospital and prohibited physical and phone contact with his family. The American gulag holds near 2 1⁄2 million human beings in its class and racially driven clutches. They come from our communities bordered by swaths of asphalt here, and surrounded by potato fields there. New York City to Aroostook County, Maine. 
 Major Tillery has long stepped up to defend their rights.

 It's time we stepped up to defend Major.

######################################################

Major Tillery Back at SCI Frackville

 Still Needing Urgent Medical Care

November 5--Major Tillery is back at SCI Frackville in the “RHU Annex.” His cell block tier is considered part of general population – but in fact is in the hole. 

After four days in the hospital, treated for a bowel obstruction, with IV’s and an endoscope, Major Tillery is still suffering from gastro-intestinal problems—he is in severe pain and continues to vomit up his food.  Hospital doctors determined that he didn’t need surgery. Once discharged from the hospital, Major Tillery was dumped in the hole at SCI Dallas and transported a day later back to Frackville. There’s been no follow-up medical treatment.

 Major told attorney Rachel Wolkenstein who visited him at the prison on Tuesday afternoon, “Ever since Tillery v Owens the Department of Corrections has been trying to break me… I was sent to Frackville to die, they blame me for helping other prisoners, including Mumia Abu-Jamal. I need to stay alive and get out before I die.”  Again in a phone call on Wednesday evening Major said he feels very ill and that continues to vomit up his food.

SCI Frackville Superintendent Brenda Tritt and the medical contact at the prison maintain that Major Tillery’s medical situation is “routine” and not cause for concern.

Demand the DOC provide decent medical care to Major Tillery!
   Demand decent medical care for Major Tillery!
 Stop the Retaliation Against Major Tillery. 
He should be exonerated for the false charges of drug possession and this               misconduct removed from his record.
  Transfer Major Tillery from SCI Frackville back to SCI Mahanoy or to                  another facility in eastern Pennsylvania near his family.

Dept. Of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel (717) 728-4109

Superintendent SCI Frackville Brenda Tritt (570) 874-4516

UPDATE And Call To Action

Update: 11-2-2015 @6:04pmEST  Major Tillery was at the SCI Dallas infirmary and is currently on his way back to Frackville. Please continue to call and ask that he is transferred to Mahanoy. 

We have been informed that Major Tillery AM 9786 is in route to an infirmary. There is no additional information. Please continue to call and demand that Major's daughter and lawyer are allowed to visit him. Please See Info Below!

Urgent Call To Action - Scroll Down

MAJOR TILLERY STILL IN HOSPITAL! 

October 31—The latest information received by Major Tillery’s daughter, Kamilah Iddeen, at 8:30 am Friday morning is her father is suffering gastro-intestinal problems that may require surgery. Major Tillery is 65 years old. He has spent some 25 years of over 30 in maximum security and in the “hole.” He has been hospitalized four days with a gastro-intestinal problem that could lead to sepsis. Ms. Iddeen is authorized by her father to receive all medical information but prison officials are not allowing her to speak to him or to the doctors who are treating him at an undisclosed hospital. 

Major Tillery advocated not just for himself, but for Mumia Abu-Jamal and other prisoners suffering from a severe skin rash that was not diagnosed or treated. In retaliation, Tillery was precipitously transferred from SCI Mahanoy to SCI Frackville and then set-up and put in the hole. 

Major Tillery was recently subjected to four months in the SCI Frackville RHU (‘the hole’) on a set-up charge. In the RHU he did not have a normal diet and was denied commissary and exercise. He was ill before this latest hospitalization. Major Tillery has liver disease and a liver stent. In 2012 the family was told by prison officials that Major Tillery was dying because he had a blockage in that stent. In addition, he has high blood pressure and arthritis. For almost a year Major Tillery has complained of a continuing skin ailment that is very itchy and periodically infected. He filed repeated grievances first at SCI Mahanoy and then at SCI Frackville for medical neglect and mistreatment. All of these were denied. 

Neither SCI Frackville Superintendent Brenda Tritt or her assistant would answer Ms. Iddeen’s calls and requests to speak to her father. On Friday afternoon Kamilah Iddeen went to PA Department of Corrections (DOC) central offices in Mechanicsburg, PA to speak to a Deputy Comissioner. 

1. She was told she could not speak with anyone without a prior appointment. 
2. Then she was told that she could not make an appointment and would be “escorted out” of the building. 

Major Tillery advocated not just for himself, but for Mumia Abu-Jamal and other prisoners suffering from a severe skin rash that was not diagnosed or treated. In retaliation, Tillery was precipitously transferred from SCI Mahanoy to SCI Frackville and then set-up and put in the hole. 


Call prison officials and demand: 

• Visits with Major Tillery by his family and lawyer. 
• Provide full medical information and treatment to his family and lawyer. 
• Stop the Retaliation Against Major Tillery. He should be exonerated for the false charges of drug possession and this misconduct removed from his record. 
• Transfer Major Tillery from SCI Frackville back to SCI Mahanoy or to another facility in eastern Pennsylvania to remain near his family. 

Dept. Of Corrections Secretary
           John Wetzel (717) 728-4109 
 Superintendent SCI Frackville 
           Brenda Tritt (570) 874-4516 

 Write:
 Major Tillery AM 9786 SCI Frackville
 1111 Altamont Blvd. 
 Frackville, PA 17931

 For More Information: 
www.Justice4MajorTillery.blogspot.com

Call/Write: Kamilah Iddeen (717) 379-9009,                        Kamilah29@yahoo.com 
Nancy Lockhart (843) 412-2035,  thewrongfulconviction@gmail.com 
Rachel Wolkenstein, Esq. (917) 689-4009, RachelWolkenstein@gmail.com

Justice4MajorTillery.blogspot.com

URGENT ALERT MAJOR TILLERY IN HOSPITAL!

UPDATE: Wednesday October 28, 2015. Kamilah Iddeen, Major Tillery's daughter finally heard from the nurse at SCI Frackville this morning. From what she was told Major has serious gastrointestinal issues, is staying in the hospital. In her opinion, it "doesn't sound like a routine check-up." The prison is still refusing a visit or phone call between Major Tillery and family members or to discuss legal issues. Keep up the calls to the DOC and SCI Frackville! Sometime yesterday Major Tillery, a 65 year-old man, was rushed to the hospital from SCI Frackville. Since hearing this yesterday evening through the prison grapevine, family and attorney have tried to learn more. Today, the only thing we have been told by Superintendent Brenda Tritt is that this was “a routine admission” and Major is “receiving the appropriate medical attention.” Nothing more to to Major Tillery’s daughter, Kamilah Iddeen--not the hospital, the reason for rushing Major to the hospital, no agreement for family and legal visits.

Major Tillery has liver disease and a liver shunt, arthritis with chronic back and hip pain, and a festering skin rash and open sores. Major Tillery has filed grievance after grievance objecting to the lack of medical treatment and refusal to renew needed medical devices. Major Tillery has been imprisoned for 30 years, 25 in the hole and in the most severe super max prisons in the country. For prison officials his crime is his advocacy for other prisoners and leadership capabilities, including challenging abusive prison conditions and inadequate medical treatment. He has been subject to retaliation by prison authorities since he began his successful legal effort to stop the overcrowding and curb the inhumane conditions in SCI Pittsburgh over 25 years ago. See, Tillery v. Owens (1990) In early 2015, Major complained about the spreading skin disease at SCI Mahanoy, where he was then imprisoned. He stood up for Mumia Abu-Jamal and other prisoners who were suffering from this. For his acts of solidarity, Major Tillery was transferred to SCI Frackville and then put in the hole on falsified charges. After four months with limited food rations, deprived of commissary, contact visits and allowed less than one-hour a day of exercise, Major was released into general population. This was two months less than his prison sentence of six months in the hole – the prison’s response to an international campaign for Major!  Now Major is in the hospital. He is not being allowed contact with his family or attorney. They are not being given any real information on his condition. Call prison officials and demand: Visits with Major Tillery by his family and lawyer. Full medical information and treatment should be provided to his family and lawyer. Stop the Retaliation Against Major Tillery. He should be exonerated for the false charges of drug possession and this misconduct removed from his record. Transfer Major Tillery from SCI Frackville back to SCI Mahanoy or to another facility in eastern Pennsylvania to remain near his family. Dept. Of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel           (717) 728-4109  Superintendent Brenda Tritt, SCI Frackville           (570) 874-4516  Write to Major Tillery AM 9786 SCI Frackville 1111 Altamont Blvd. Frackville, Pa. 17931 For More Information, Go To: Justice4MajorTillery/blogspot Call/Write: Kamilah Iddeen (Major Tillery’s daughter) (717) 379-9009,Kamilah29@yahoo.com Nancy Lockhart (843) 412-2035, thewrongfulconviction@gmail.com Rachel Wolkenstein, Esq. (917) 689-4009, RachelWolkenstein@gmail.com Justice4MajorTillery.blogspot.com

Now, After Protests, the Prison Backed Down! Major Tillery Returned to General Polulation!

"Major is in the hole, not because of drugs, but because of something prison administrators hate and fear among all things: prisoner unity, prisoner solidarity." -Mumia Abu-Jamal. LISTEN and Read Mumia tell this story: “Messing with Major."     
       

Major George Tillery is a Pennsylvania lifer, turning 65 on September 5, 2015, who confronted SCI Mahanoy Superintendent John Kerestes over Mumia Abu-Jamal's deteriorating health. Weeks before Mumia went into diabetic shock, elder Tillery told the Mahanoy superintendent to get Mumia to the hospital, stating, "Mumia is dying." Prison authorities retaliated against Major Tillery--repeatedly ransacked his cell and denied him medical treatment for seeking medical assistance for Mumia and other prisoners. Tillery was transferred to SCI Frackville, and then falsely charged with drug possession for receiving a letter with a drug concealed under the stamp. (Stamps are taken off mail at this institution before being given to inmates.) Major Tillery was disciplined and given six months in "the hole" (RHU)--solitary confinement without phone calls, commissary or medical attention.

On September 1, after international protest and demands were made to Pa Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel and SCI Frackville Superintendent Brenda Tritt, Major Tillery was moved back into general population at SCI Frackville. Tillery spent four months in horrific and life-threatening conditions in the hole for his act of solidarity with Mumia and other prisoners, challenging the pervasive medical neglect and mistreatment in prison. In a call to attorney Rachel Wolkenstein, Major Tillery thanked all those who showed their support and protested this retaliation. He told Superintendent Tritt that he wanted full exoneration of these false charges. The Prison will use this misconduct record against him in the future to send him back to the hole. He asked for continued action. Call prison officials and demand that: Major Tillery be exonerated for this set-up charge of drug possession and the misconduct be removed from his record. Major Tillery be transferred back to SCI Mahanoy or to another facility in eastern Pennsylvania to remain near his family. Major Tillery be given medical treatment for his severe skin ailment. Dept. Of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel           (717) 728-4109  Superintendent Brenda Tritt, SCI Frackville            (570) 874-4516  Write to Major Tillery AM 9786 SCI Frackville 1111 Altamont Blvd. Frackville, Pa. 17931 For More Information, Go To: www.Justice4MajorTillery.blogspot.com Call/Write: Kamilah Iddeen (Major Tillery’s daughter) (717) 379-9009, Kamilah29@yahoo.com Nancy Lockhart (843) 412-2035, thewrongfulconviction@gmail.com Rachel Wolkenstein, Esq. (917) 689-4009, RachelWolkenstein@gmail.com

Messing With Major By Mumia Abu-Jamal

Messing With Major

[col. writ. 8/14/15] © ’15 Mumia Abu-Jamal

 

His name is Major - (his real name); Major Tillery of West Philadelphia.

Although he had a reputation as a gangster, in prison such things matter little. It’s as a jailhouse lawyer that he shook the prison walls in the case known as Tillery v. Owens, a ground-breaking prison conditions case where double-dealing (or the placement of four men in a cell) was declared unconstitutional. The prison medical department was declared unconstitutional and living conditions in part of the prison were declared a violation of the constitution.

 

Shortly after his glorious win, Major Tillery was sent to a prison in another state;

Retaliation? 

Sure looks like it.

 

Several months ago, Major saw me in the library, and expressed shock at my appearance, my carriage, and my level of wakefulness. He argued with me, insisting I go to the prison infirmary.

 

I resisted, saying I was ok, or would be in a few days. Major said, “Dude - I’m looking at you - your skin is shedding; you are so tired you can’t stay awake. You ain’t cool, Mu!”

 

He went further. He walked up to the prison superintendent, warning him that if Jamal wasn’t hospitalized immediately, he might die.

The warden responded, “I suggest you worry less about another prisoner, and more about yourself.”

Major responded immediately: “That’s what I’m doing, cuz that’s my brother - and I want for my brother what I want for myself!”

 

From that day forward, Tillery was hit by daily harassments, daily shakedowns, and he was removed from his job of Peer Facilitator.

He was transferred - first to the other side of the prison, and soon thereafter, to nearby SCI- Frackville. Once there, he got another surprise: he received a misconduct for drug-trafficking (of suboxone), using stamps. He was given 6 months in the hole!

 

Here’s the only problem with such a charge. At Frackville (as in Mahanoy), all stamps are ripped off of envelopes by the mailroom before prisoners receive their mail.

Tillery demanded he be charged by the State Police to prove the falsity of the charge. The prison refused to do so.

Retaliation?

Sure looks like it.

 

To make matters worse, Major Tillery, and dozens of other men, are also suffering from skin rashes and getting little relief.

 

Major is in the hole not because of drugs, but because of something prison administrators hate and fear above all things: prisoner unity; prisoner solidarity.

 

On Sept. 5, 2015, Tillery will turn 65 years old, in the hole for blatant retaliation.

 

© ‘15maj

Urgent Call To Action: Major Tillery's Health Is Worse

Major Tillery is having breathing problems, because of air quality. He is also having numbness and pain down his left arm. Call the individuals below and explain this. Leave a message if necessary. 

 Superintendent Brenda Tritt, SCI Frackville           (570) 874-4516 

 Dept. Of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel           (717) 728-4109 

 Contact PA Gov. Tom Wolf: (717)-787-2500

•  State that you are calling about Major Tillery #AM9786, to demand he obtains medical care and that he is released from the RHU and placed back in general population. Inform them that you are aware that he is in the hole and being denied medication in retaliation for speaking up for other prisoners. 

 2. Write Major a letter of solidarity: Major's Birthday Is Sept. 5,                2015

 Dear Major Tillery, 

 We honor your brave act of solidarity on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal. You urged him to seek medical care and challenged the Prison Superintendent to protect his life. You helped save the life of a fellow prisoner and for that act of solidarity they are trying to bury you in the bowels of SCI Frackville under false charges. No matter how hard they try they cannot hide you under the weight of lies and intimidation. The power of the truth must come to light. Thank you Major Tillery for your courageous service. We salute you! 

 Major George Tillery AM 9786 SCI
 Frackville, 1111 Altamont Blvd
 Frackville, PA 17931

Updated Article.

Major George Tillery

An Unsung Hero In Solitary Confinement On Trumped Up Charges!

"I was moved to another cell where heat is coming out of the vents and emits some kind of fumes

that smell like car gas." "The Window Is Sealed" - Major Tillery

By Nancy Lockhart, M.J.

Major George Tillery #AM9786

Frackville, Pennsylvania -- Major George Tillery is a Pennsylvania lifer who confronted SCI Mahanoy Superintendent John Kerestes over Mumia Abu-Jamal's deteriorating health. Elder Tillery told the Mahanoy superintendent to get Mumia to the hospital, stating "Mumia is dying." Major Tillery faces acts of retaliation daily as a result of seeking medical assistance for Mumia and others. Tillery has been transferred to SCI Frackville, placed in "the hole" (RHU), on false charges of receiving a letter with stamps concealing drugs. Stamps are taken off of mail at this institution before being distributed to inmates.

Listen to Mumia Abu-Jamal tell the story, published by Prison Radio, on August 20, 2015 Click And Listen To Elder Mumia Abu Jamal "Major is in the hole, not because of drugs, but because of something prison administrators hate and fear among all things:

prisoner unity, prisoner solidarity." ~ Mumia Abu-Jamal

Tillery turns 65 years old on September 5, 2015 and has been denied medication needed for his failing liver, high blood pressure and a rash which continues to worsen. SCI Frackville has denied him medication and legal phone calls. Tillery continues to suffer because he chose to perform the duties of a humanitarian.

According to Tillery's attorney, Rachel H. Wolkenstein, ..."At SCI Mahanoy and SCI Frackville retaliatory action has been taken against Major Tillery's exercise of constitutionally protected First Amendment rights of access to the courts, filing of grievances relating to medical neglect of himself and others on his cell block and for bringing to the attention of SCI Mahanoy Superintendent John Krestes the grave medical condition of a fellow inmate, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who subsequently went into diabetic shock requiring treatment with an insulin drip in a hospital ICU. "

In a letter to DOC Secretary John Wetzel, Attorney Wolkenstein states that Tillery ..."received a Certificate of Achievement for his Peer Specialist Training in November of 2014 and was assigned to the specialist job of "peer specialist." During the past twelve years he has not had a misconduct – until the retaliatory action taken against him at SCI Frackville on April 30, 2015. He has been working on new legal challenges to his 1985 conviction."

"The most recent and serious retaliatory action occurred on April 30, 2015 at SCI Frackville when Major Tillery was falsely charged with receiving a "letter with positive test result for suboxone." In his 32 years in prison Major Tillery has not had even one misconduct for drugs or dirty urine."

I'd like to reiterate these facts, Major Tillery was retaliated against, moved from SCI Mahanoy and placed in solitary confinement at SCI Frackville because he chose to assist Mumia Abu-Jamal and other prisoners. He is accused of receiving a letter which tested positive for suboxone under a stamp. All stamps are removed from mail entering this institution. He has been denied adequate medical care, the rash on his body is getting worse and heat mixed with vapors that smell like gas is being pumped through the vent while the one window in his cell is sealed. Update August 23, 2015: Major Tillery has been moved to another cell where cool air comes through the vents and there are less fumes. In a letter dated 8-17-15 Tillery states that "The rash has spread and now has scabs and black spots."

From the pen of an unsung hero in solitary confinement,

In The Name Of Allah

The Merciful

Peace.

..."I'm still in The Hole waiting to see what the D.O.C. Will do with The evidence they were presented with about how i was set up by Staff at S.C.I. Frackville. ...I was move to another cell where the vent emits some kind of fumes that smell like car gas.

"And There's no cold water to drink. ...while at S.C.I. Mahanoy I was threaten by my unit manager Griffin stated if i kept complaining about Mumia or writing Grievances, she would Try and have me desinated a Muslim combatant." "... I have a Metal Food slot which the guards put a toilet brush on my food slot so i won't eat. They know on Ramadan you only get one meal. This happens twice a week. Plus my rash the same one Mumia had is getting worst. "

Tillery filed Grievance# 567683 On February 26, 2015 and it was denied. The grievance response focuses mainly on the toilet brush. Tillery has made clear the response is an untruth, that there is no disinfectant and the toilet brush is used by hundreds of cells. It is inhumane that the prison would place this toilet brush right above the slot which his plate slides through.

Among all other retaliatory practices "The D.O.C. Has started up their old smear campaign telling people I was a leader in The Black Mafia. Which is a lie. I was a member in the nation of Islam in the 60's and 70's which is well documented. ... Peace, Major."

On July 21, 2015 Major Tillery Writes,

... I was placed in a cell with the windows sealed. And hot air out of the vent. Yes I'm still in The Hole. I will never give up the fight for prisoners. I still have the rash and yes the fumes are still strong in the heat. ...They still have not given me my orthopedic boots back. So my hip which is degenerate is getting worse." He goes on to state – "They know that I have respiratory problems and even the young prisoners have fallen out due to the sealed windows and hot air with fumes out of the vent. Update August 23, 2015: Major Tillery has been moved to another cell where cool air comes through the vents and there are less fumes. In a letter dated 8-17-15 Tillery states that "The rash has spread and now has scabs and black spots.

Please assist Major George Tillery #AM 9786 by contacting the individuals below.

Contact DOC John E. Wetzel's Secretary: (717) 728-4109 Ask her to take a message for DOC Secretary John Wetzel. Explain that Major Tillery languishes in solitary confinement without his medication or medical treatment. Explain that he suffers medical neglect. Last, request that Major Tillery is taken back to SCI Mahanoy and placed in general population. He does not deserve solitary confinement.

Contact PA Gov. Tom Wolf: 717-787-2500. Explain that Major Tillery languishes in solitary confinement without his medication or medical treatment. Explain that he suffers medical neglect. Last, request that Major Tillery is taken back to SCI Mahanoy and placed in general population. He does not deserve solitary confinement. His treatment is a violation of human rights. It is unethical and inhumane.

Contact, Superintendent Brenda Tritt: 570-874-4516. Explain that Majory Tillery is being medically neglected, the rash is spreading with scabs and black spots. Major Tillery has not obtained his medication and his orthopediac boots have been taken away. Let Superintendent Tritt know that the prison has refused to allow Tillery's attorney to photograph the worsening rash.

Visit: http://www.justice4majortillery.blogspot.com/ and obtain updates.

_____________________

About Nancy Lockhart

I've publicized many cases, spearheaded campaigns and completed strategical determinations with positive measurable results. Imam Jamil Al-Amin,Willie Manning and Marissa Alexander are among a few. Global support grew for Imam Jamil Al-Amin's medical treatment and transfer, a stay of execution for Willie Manning, and a team of pro bono attorneys for Marissa Alexander. I hold a Master of Jurisprudence from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, a Certificate of Technology and Writing from Bread Loaf School Of English – Vermont and a B.A. Degree From Clark Atlanta University. Please visit www.NancyLockhart.net and donate "Help Me To Expand Assistance To Victims Of Injustices." http://gogetfunding.com/help-me-to-assist-victims-of-injustice/

Action Alert! Stand with Major Tillery - Mumia Abu-Jamal Via Prison Radio

Click To Listen - Messing With Major By Mumia Abu Jamal

Major Tillery stood up to the prison administration: he confronted them in no uncertain terms, noting that Mumia must get to the hospital in time - before he dies. SCI Mahanory Superintendent Kerestes told Major to mind his own business, to which Major replied 'Mumia is my business'. Please join us in standing in solidarity with Major Tillery,who has been transferred and put in solitary confinement as punishment for demanding that Mumia receive medical care.

 "Major is in the hole, not because of drugs, but because of something prison administrators hate and fear among all things: prisoner unity, prisoner solidarity." - Mumia Abu-Jamal 

 1. Call prison officials to demand that Major Tillery be released          from solitary confinement!
 Superintendent Brenda Tritt, SCI Frackville (570) 874-4516 
 Dept. Of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel (717) 728-4109 

•  State that you are calling about Major Tillery #AM9786, to demand he be released from the RHU and placed back in general population. 
• Inform them that you aware that he is in the hole and being denied medication in retaliation for speaking up for another prisoner. 

 2. Write Major a letter of solidarity:

 Dear Major Tillery, 

 We honor your brave act of solidarity on behalf of Mumia Abu-Jamal. You urged him to seek medical care and challenged the Prison Superintendent to protect his life. You helped save the life of a fellow prisoner and for that act of solidarity they are trying to bury you in the bowels of SCI Frackville under false charges. No matter how hard they try they cannot hide you under the weight of lies and intimidation. The power of the truth must come to light. Thank you Major Tillery for your courageous service. We salute you! 

 Major George Tillery AM 9786 SCI
 Frackville, 1111 Altamont Blvd
 Frackville, PA 17931

URGENT CALL TO ACTION! Major George Tillery: (For Publication. Appropriate Credits Please).

Major George Tillery

An Unsung Hero

"I was moved to another cell where heat is coming out of the vents and emits some kind of fumes that smell like car gas." "The Window Is Sealed" - Major Tillery

By Nancy Lockhart, M.J.

Frackville, Pennsylvania -- Major George Tillery is a Pennsylvania lifer who confronted SCI Mahanoy Superintendent John Kerestes over Mumia Abu-Jamal's deteriorating health. Elder Tillery told the Mahanoy superintendent to get Mumia to the hospital, stating "Mumia is dying." Major Tillery faces acts of retaliation daily as a result of seeking medical assistance for Mumia and others. Tillery has been transferred to SCI Frackville, placed in "the hole" (RHU), on false charges of receiving a letter with stamps concealing drugs. Stamps are taken off of mail at this institution before being distributed to inmates.

Tillery turns 65 years old on September 5, 2015 and has been denied medication needed for his failing liver, high blood pressure and a rash which continues worsen. SCI Frackville has denied him medication and legal phone calls. Tillery continues to suffer because he chose to perform the duties of a humanitarian.

According to Tillery's attorney, Rachel H. Wolkenstein, ..."At SCI Mahanoy and SCI Frackville retaliatory action has been taken against Major Tillery's exercise of constitutionally protected First Amendment rights of access to the courts, filing of grievances relating to medical neglect of himself and others on his cell block and for bringing to the attention of SCI Mahanoy Superintendent John Krestes the grave medical condition of a fellow inmate, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who subsequently went into diabetic shock requiring treatment with an insulin drip in a hospital ICU. "

In a letter to DOC Secretary John Wetzel, Attorney Wolkenstein states that Tillery ..."received a Certificate of Achievement for his Peer Specialist Training in November of 2014 and was assigned to the specialist job of "peer specialist." During the past twelve years he has not had a misconduct – until the retaliatory action taken against him at SCI Frackville on April 30, 2015. He has been working on new legal challenges to his 1985 conviction."

"The most recent and serious retaliatory action occurred on April 30, 2015 at SCI Frackville when Major Tillery was falsely charged with receiving a "letter with positive test result for suboxone." In his 32 years in prison Major Tillery has not had even one misconduct for drugs or dirty urine."

I'd like to reiterate these facts, Major Tillery was retaliated against, moved from SCI Mahanoy and placed in "the hole" at SCI Frackville. He is accused of receiving a letter which tested positive for suboxone under a stamp. All stamps are removed from mail entering this institution. He has been denied adequate medical care, the rash on his body is getting worse and heat mixed with vapors that smell like gas is being pumped through the vent while the one window in his cell is sealed.

From the pen of an unsung hero,

In The Name Of Allah

The Merciful

Peace.

..."I'm still in The Hole waiting to see what the D.O.C. Will do with The evidence they were presented with about how i was set up by Staff at S.C.I. Frackville. ...I was move to another cell where the vent emits some kind of fumes that smell like car gas.

"And There's no cold water to drink. ...while at S.C.I. Mahanoy I was threaten by my unit manager Griffin stated if i kept complaining about Mumia or writing Grievances, she would Try and have me desinated a Muslim combatant." "... I have a Metal Food slot which the guards put a toilet brush on my food slot so i won't eat. They know on Ramadan you only get one meal. This happens twice a week. Plus my rash the same one Mumia had is getting worst. "

Tillery filed Grievance# 567683 On February 26, 2015 and it was denied. The grievance response focuses mainly on the toilet brush. Tillery has made clear the response is an untruth, that there is no disinfectant and the toilet brush is used by hundreds of cells. It is inhumane that the prison would place this toilet brush right above the slot which his plate slides through.

Among all other retaliatory practices "The D.O.C. Has started up their old smear campaign telling people I was a leader in The Black Mafia. Which is a lie. I was a member in the nation of Islam in the 60's and 70's which is well documented. ... Peace, Major."

On July 21, 2015 Major Tillery Writes,

... I was placed in a cell with the windows sealed. And hot air out of the vent. Yes I'm still in The Hole. I will never give up the fight for prisoners. I still have the rash and yes the fumes are still strong in the heat. ...They still have not given me my orthopedic boots back. So my hip which is degenerate is getting worse." He goes on to state – "They know that I have respiratory problems and even the young prisoners have fallen out due to the sealed windows and hot air with fumes out of the vent.

You can assist Major George Tillery by contacting the individuals below.

Contact DOC John E. Wetzel's Secretary: (717) 728-4109 Ask her to take a message for DOC Secretary John Wetzel. Explain that Major Tillery languishes in a prison cell with sealed windows and hot air with fumes coming out of the vent. Also explain that he suffers medical neglect. Last, request that Major Tillery is taken back to SCI Mahanoy and placed in general population.

Contact PA Gov. Tom Wolf: 717-787-2500 and by e-mail at: governor@pa.gov Explain that Major Tillery languishes in a prison cell with heated fumes coming through the vent. The Window is Sealed. He suffers medical neglect. His treatment is a violation of human rights. It is unethical and inhumane.

Contact Theron Perez, Chief Counsel Pennsylvania Department of Corrections: 717 – 728-7763

Ask the secretary to accept a message for Chief Counsel Theron Perez. Explain that elder Major Tillery faces retaliation in the forms of medical neglect and torture. Further explain that Elder Tillery was moved to a cell where heat and toxic fumes are pumped from the vent. Request that he is moved back to SCI Mahanoy into general population.

Visit: http://www.justice4majortillery.blogspot.com/ and obtain updates.

_____________________

About The Author

I've publicized many cases, spearheaded campaigns and completed strategical determinations with positive measurable results. Imam Jamil Al-Amin,Willie Manning and Marissa Alexander are among a few. Global support grew for Imam Jamil Al-Amin's medical treatment and transfer, a stay of execution for Willie Manning, and a team of pro bono attorneys for Marissa Alexander. I hold a Master of Jurisprudence from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, a Certificate of Technology and Writing from Bread Loaf School Of English – Vermont and a B.A. Degree From Clark Atlanta University. Please visit www.NancyLockhart.net and donate "Help Me To Expand Assistance To Victims Of Injustices." http://gogetfunding.com/help-me-to-assist-victims-of-injustice/