CURRENT SITUATION OF UNITED STATES POLITICAL PRISONER HERMAN BELL
Message from Nancy Jacot-Bell
August 2008
Herman Bell arrived in the Bay Area from New York in late May 2007 to face this extremely unjust prosecution of eight former Black Panthers and community activists from the late 1960s forward.
This prosecution is based on revenge and intimidation of anyone who attempts to change things for the better in this steadily devolving society -- not to mention throwing California and San Francisco taxpayers' resources down the toilet in a very big way.
Every day since May '07 has been a complete nightmare for Herman and our family. Confinement in the SF County jail has been devastating to what little quality of life Herman -- as well as Jalil Muntaqim who is also confined there -- has experienced in New York prisons for three decades.
Herman was in general population in New York for almost the entire 35 years of his imprisonment – walking about the prison freely, jogging on the yard, coaching football and basketball, attending the few outside events held, such as poetry readings, attending college and achieving both his Bachelor's and Master's degrees, tutoring other prisoners in Black History and English writing skills, attending release-on-parole preparation groups, and enjoying contact visits with his family and friends. He even managed to continue his community service through an organic food project called "Victory Gardens."
All of a sudden, overnight, this same man has to be chained and shackled everywhere he goes like he's some kind of monster, has to visit behind glass and over a phone, and he's locked in his cell 24/7 except for a couple hours of exercise a week and the limited visits on the weekend. He hasn't had any fresh air now since he arrived in late May '07, except for two visits to a doctor.
Even worse, Herman has lost over 20 pounds and is always so hungry. He says the food there is the worst he has ever experienced anywhere.
My husband and I speak on the phone every night, and just thinking of the extremely inhumane deprivations he is suffering is very painful. He's leading a very bleak existence; yet he is still always striving to reach out to others, to better their lives, offering his very valuable viewpoints in the form of various articles and poetry, and most of all demonstrating undaunted courage and compassion in the face of relentless punishment for his choice to struggle for a better world.
Our granddaughters, Sage, 6, and Simone, 3, were used to climbing up on Grandpa's lap, laughing, tickling, hugging, singing, falling asleep in Grandpa's arms. So it was and is very difficult for them to have to visit him behind glass, over the phone. At first they would leave the visits crying, and the baby would even try to tear away the glass with her little fingers. It's been very difficult for Herman and me too, as we have had contact visits for decades.
Now it's been well over a year since we've even held each other's hand. Nevertheless, our family is there every Saturday for our visits with Grandpa – our son Kamel, our daughter-in-law Kihana, our precious little girls, and me. The jail will only allow three people per visit, so we even have to break up our family into the only two 25-minute visiting slots he is permitted on weekends/holidays only.
However, we do manage to make the absolute most of our time together, every single visit. We shall continue to bring joy into each other's lives and lift each other's spirits until one of these days, our Grandpa, Dad, Husband can come home.
NOTE: Herman Bell and Jail Muntaqim (aka Anthony Bottom) have been unjustly incarcerated in New York prisons for 35 and 37 years, respectively, are currently eligible for parole and by rights should have been returned to NY for parole hearings in July. Instead, they are being kept in 24/7 lockup in the SF County Jail on still more charges stemming from a "cold case" of the murder of a police officer in August, 1971. For more information, go to www.freethesf8.org.
