On May 31 more than 120 immigrant detainees were shipped to a Federal prison in Sheridan, Oregon under the inhumane zero tolerance policy of the fascist Trump administration. The zero tolerance policy is a racist, xenophobic policy promoted by right wing Christan Nationalist ideologue Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions, whose nomination was personally criticized by Coretta Scott King, the wife of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr, has proven to be the tyrant many thought he would be as Attorney General, implementing one of the most heinous federal policies ever crafted regarding immigrants, including taking children away from their parents who are fleeing persecution and torture.
Sessions has also instructed the rogue Federal Agency, Immigration and Custody Enforcement otherwise known as ICE, to detain immigrants in Federal prisons indefinitely. That is how Oregonians have found themselves unwittingly complicit in a human rights catastrophe as significant as any criminal activity by a rogue agency that is incarcerating people indefinitely who have not committed any crime except seeking asylum in the land of the so called free.
This week on Prison Pipeline we will be joined by Miriam Vargas Corona, Executive Director of Unidos Bridging Community in McMinnville, Oregon to discuss the current situation regarding the Sheridan Detainees.
In the second half of the program we will be joined by the daughter of Abdelfattah Marzouk to talk about his Post Conviction Relief Hearing at the Marion County Courthouse in Salem. Marzouk, wrongfully convicted, served a ten year sentence for a crime he did not commit and now he is seeking exoneration and justice for this violation of his rights.
In March of 2006, Abdelfattah Marzouk was unable to stop his Toyota Camry after being rear-ended. With both feet on the brake pedal, he evaded traffic for several miles as his car malfunctioned and continued to accelerate down the steep hill that is Highway 99.
New evidence shows that brake failure due to the initial crash damage, coupled with defective mechanisms in his Toyota were what led to this horrific car crash and the tragic death of a wife and mother.
Mr. Marzouk was convicted of manslaughter, accused of "using his car like a bomb" and taking off down the road in a fit of rage with no regard for human life.
He served out his full 10 year sentence. A year and a half following his release from Oregon State Penitentiary, he was finally granted an inspection of his vehicle. John Sandeen discovered evidence supporting the claims Marzouk has stood by all these years.
That's this week on Prison Pipeline on KBOO Community Radio, Monday August 6th, 6:30pm at 90.7 FM in Portland or online at kboo.fm
https://www.change.org/p/exonerate-marzouk-in-toyota-defect-case
- KBOO