August 10th is a day set aside each year when prisoners and supporters
gather to honour the memory of the men and women who have died
unnatural deaths inside of Canadian prisons. On August 10th, 1974, Eddie
Nalon bled to death in a solitary confinement unit at Millhaven Maximum
Security Prison near Kingston, Ontario, when the emergency call button in
his cell failed to work. An inquest into his death found that the call
buttons in that unit had been deactivated by the guards. In the year to follow,
there was another death in this same unit. The call buttons had not been
repaired. Prisoners at Millhaven mark the anniversary of these deaths by
fasting and refusing to work.
What started as a one time event behind the walls of one prison has
become a national day of solidarity. On this day, prisoners across the
country fast, refuse to work, and remain in their cells, while supporters
organize community events to draw attention to the conditions inside of
prisons. Prisoner deaths from murder, suicide, and neglect, can and must be
prevented.
For more information go to http://www.prisonjustice.ca
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