10TH AUGUST, INTERNATIONAL PRISONERS JUSTICE DAY

International Prisoners’ Justice Day August 10th, marks the anniversary of the 1974 death of Eddie Nalon, a prisoner who bled to death in a solitary confinement unit at Millhaven Maximum Security Prison, Canada, when the emergency call button in his cell failed to work. An inquest later found that the call button in that unit had been deactivated by the guards. The following year prisoners at Millhaven marked the anniversary of Eddie’s death by fasting and refusing to work. By May, 1976, the call buttons had not yet been repaired. Bobby Landers was the next to die in one of those cells. With no way to call for help, all he could do was scribble a note that described the symptoms of a heart attack.
What started as a one-time event behind the walls of Millhaven Prison has become an international day of solidarity. August 10 has been the day officially set aside for prisoners and their supporters to honour the memory of those who have died unnatural deaths in prison and express solidarity with the millions of people on the inside of prisons who are demanding changes to a criminal justice system that dehumanizes and brutalizes them. #solidarity #PrisonersVoice