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Om Puri The actor who never got his due

One of Indias finest actors, Om Puri, died in Mumbai on Friday, aged 66. Film writer Aseem Chhabra believes he never got the recognition he deserved.

In 2007 Om Puri played a significant supporting role in Mike Nichols Charlie Wilsons War: portraying a near-perfect Pakistani president Zia-ul-Haq.In one scene he spoke in a delightful Punjabi accented English and cautiously suggested to Charlie Wilson, a Congressman from Texas played by Tom Hanks, that covert aide to the mujahideen, fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, should pass through the hands of the Pakistani government.I wanted to write

something on this terrific actor, one of the few from India who straddled so many film spaces - from Bollywood to Indian art house indies, British Asian immigrant stories and big Hollywood productions.

• Om Puri: Veteran Indian actor dies aged 66

But the publicists for the film and even the studio Universal Pictures informed me that they had no images of Puri. Sadly this amazing actor had left no impression on the publicists who were mostly focused on promoting Hanks and his co-star Julia Roberts. Puri acted in over 300 film projects in India and abroad, and yet he did not get the kind of recognition that he surely deserved. He won two National Awards in India in the acting category (Arohan, 1982 and Ardh Satya, 1983), and was recognised at a number of film festivals, including a lifetime achievement medal at the prestigious Telluride Film Festival.

He was even nominated for a Bafta film award in 2000 for playing the lead in Ayub Khan Dins autobiographical British film East is East. But unfortunately in the last decade or so Puri, the actor, was largely forgotten in the west and even in India. He did play one last big role in the west - that of an Indian chef in a remote French town in The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014), opposite a feisty Helen Mirren. It was a rare moment when Puri was suddenly, albeit briefly, the focus of a film produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey.

No meaty roles

While promoting that film, Puri told me that Hindi cinema mostly concentrated on younger, good looking actors. And the industry had relegated him to roles of the father of a lead actor or a police officer. He was rarely offered meaty roles, he complained. He was always hungry for more challenging work and recognition. In another interview while promoting East is East (1999), Puri told me that his big regret was that he would never get the kind of roles given to Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro. But Om Puri was as great an actor as Hoffman and De Niro. In fact, one can say he was even better, given the number of films he acted in and the range of his performances.

His comic timing was perfect and we can see that in the cult classic indie Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983) and later on in Vishal Bhardwajs Maqbool - a modern day take on Macbeth, where Puri played one of the witches, along with his colleague and friend Naseeruddin Shah.

Also in the same time period he played a sleazy photographer in Shyam Benegals Mandi (1983).

Hollywood calling

He was the voice of an angry, frustrated cop in Ardh Satya (1983), but was equally charming and seductive with his co-star, the late Smita Patil. And in Aakrosh (1980) he was the oppressed peasant who barely uttered a word. Puri became one of the first Indian actors of his generation to crossover to the west with his work in British films - East is East, its less successful sequel West is West (2010), the rarely seen Brothers in Trouble (1995), the Hanif Kureishi scripted My Son the Fanatic (1997), and the mini-series White Teeth (2002), based on Zadie Smiths bestseller novel. That was a time when nearly every Indian or Pakistani role in a British production was offered to Puri. Hollywood came calling as well.

Mike Nichols also cast him in an important role in Wolf (1994) where Puri shared screen time with Jack Nicholson. And earlier Roland Joffé cast him in a supporting role in City of Joy (1992). In 1994, Ismail Merchant cast Puri as a hapless college professor who sets out to interview an ageing and overweight Urdu poet (Shashi Kapoor) in In Custody, based on Anita Desais Man Booker Prize shortlisted novel. Puri was perfect in the film, displaying his frustration as he observed the decline of Urdu language and poetry. But it is the sad reality of the film business, that talented men and women find it harder to get juicy roles as they get older. And Puri had to face that fact.

Om Puri died too soon. But he has left a huge body of work reflecting his four decades as a film actor. He should get the most attention that a master actor of his stature deserves.

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On the eve of Albert Woodfoxs 5th Circuit oral arguments Amnesty International demands his immediate release

MEDIA COVERAGE:  Lauren McGaughy, Times-Picayune  II  The Republic / Associated Press

After decades of appeals and counter-appeals, delays and diversions, the 5th Circuit Court will review Judge Bradys decision to overturn Alberts conviction tomorrow. 

Years and years of efforts to bring attention to this case and to see that justice is finally done will culminate in the outcome of this important hearing.

If you are intending to attend the hearing, please refer to our last newsletter for detailed information on time, place and court-room etiquette.  If youre watching from afar as so many of us are, we hope that you will join us in sending all of our prayers, thoughts and energy towards a positive ruling that will lead to Alberts release.

We have to believe that all the hard work to shed light on this horrific case will ultimately lead to Alberts freedom.
Join us in focusing all our attention on this final and crucial hearing to bring Albert home.

Free Albert Woodfox and all political prisoners!

(PHOTO: Artwork displayed at Herman Wallace’s memorial service, with Herman calling for Alberts release. See more photos of the memorial service by Ann Harkness.)

Featured below are statements released January 6, 2014 by both Amnesty USA and Amnesty Internationals Media Centre, on the eve of Albert Woodfoxs oral arguments before the Fifth Circuit Court in New Orleans on Tuesday, January 7 (see also postings by Amnesty Suisse and France).

Following that is an email action alert sent on January 3 that declared "Drop the vengeance! Free Albert Woodfox!" It called on supporters to sign the petition calling on Alberts immediate release.

Amnesty International USA Calls on Louisiana to Release Albert Woodfox

Contact: Natalie Butz, nbutz@aiusa.org, 202-675-8761, @AIUSAmedia

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - On the eve of a federal court of appeals hearing on the case of Albert Woodfox, Amnesty International USA is calling on authorities in Louisiana to immediately release Woodfox from prison where he has spent over four decades in solitary confinement.

"Louisiana cannot extend the abuses and injustice against Albert Woodfox another day," said Steven W. Hawkins, executive director, Amnesty International USA. "Louisiana authorities are leading a campaign of vengeance instead of upholding justice. Keeping Woodfox in solitary confinement for over four decades is a dark stain on human rights in the United States and globally. Louisiana must withdraw its legal appeal and allow the federal court ruling to stand. Should this not occur, the Court of Appeal should rule in the interests of justice and pave the way for Albert Woodfoxs release."

On January 7, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal court that oversees appeals in Louisiana and other states) will rule whether to uphold a federal district judges ruling issued last February that overturned Woodfoxs conviction. The state of Louisiana has appealed asking for the federal court to reinstate the sentence.

"The state of Louisianas action is not in the interests of justice," said Tessa Murphy, USA campaigner at Amnesty International. "Its insistence on keeping Albert Woodfox behind bars after decades in solitary confinement amounts to a campaign of vengeance, paid with taxpayers money. The conviction has been overturned three times in what is a deeply flawed case, yet Louisiana has opposed every remedy ordered by the courts."

Albert Woodfox was placed in solitary confinement over 41 years ago in Louisiana State Penitentiary, known to many as "Angola." During this time, he has been confined to a small cell for 23 hours a day, denied access to meaningful social interaction and rehabilitation programs.

Prison records show that Woodfox has not committed any serious disciplinary infractions for decades and that he doesnt pose a threat to himself or others.

He and Herman Wallace were both convicted of the 1972 murder of prison guard Brent Miller. There was no physical evidence to link them to the crime and their convictions relied primarily on the dubious testimony of a sole eyewitness who received favorable treatment, and was eventually pardoned, for his testimony. The case against them was based on flawed evidence and riddled with procedural errors that have been extensively documented over the years.

Both men robustly denied any involvement in the crime. They believe they were falsely implicated in the murder because of their political activism in prison as members of the Black Panther Party.

Herman Wallace was released in October 2013 just days before he died of liver cancer. A federal judge overturned his conviction on the basis of the systematic exclusion of women from the grand jury during his 1974 trial.

"A remedy to the injustice inflicted on Albert Woodfox by the state is long overdue," said Murphy. "Herman Wallace gained his freedom only to die within days. Justice must not again be so cruelly delayed."

After the death of Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfoxs co-defendant in the "Angola 3" case, Amnesty International launched a campaign calling on the state of Louisiana to release Albert Woodfox from prison by means of withdrawing its appeal against the U.S. District Courts ruling.

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million members in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.

(PHOTO: Herman Wallace, on left, with Albert Woodfox, on right)

USA: End four-decade campaign of vengeance and release Albert Woodfox

(Released by the Amnesty International Media Centre on January 6, 2014)

Authorities in the US state of Louisiana must end their campaign of vengeance against Albert Woodfox and release him after nearly four decades of cruel solitary confinement, Amnesty International said on the eve of a Federal Court of Appeals hearing on his case.

“The state of Louisiana’s action is not in the interests of justice. Its insistence in keeping Albert Woodfox behind bars after decades in solitary confinement amounts to a campaign of vengeance, paid with taxpayers’ money,” said Tessa Murphy, USA campaigner at Amnesty International.

“It is incomprehensible that the state continues to keep him behind bars. This conviction has been overturned three times in what is a deeply flawed case, yet Louisiana has opposed every remedy ordered by the courts.”

On 7 January, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the Federal Court that oversees appeals in Louisiana and other states) will rule whether to uphold a federal district judge’s ruling issued last February that overturned Woodfox’s conviction. The state of Louisiana has appealed asking for the Federal court to reinstate the sentence.

“Louisiana should withdraw its legal appeal and allow the federal court ruling to stand. Should this not occur, the Court of Appeal should rule in the interests of justice and pave the way for Albert Woodfox’s release,” said Tessa Murphy.

Albert Woodfox was placed in solitary confinement over 41 years ago in Louisiana State Penitentiary, known to many as “Angola”. During this time, he has been confined to a small cell for 23 hours a day, denied access to meaningful social interaction and rehabilitation programmes.

Prison records show that Woodfox has not committed any serious disciplinary infractions for decades and that he doesn’t pose a threat to himself or others.

He and Herman Wallace were both convicted of the 1972 murder of prison guard Brent Miller. There was no physical evidence to link them to the crime and their convictions relied primarily on the dubious testimony of a sole eyewitness who received favourable treatment in return for his testimony. The case against them was based on flawed evidence and riddled with procedural errors that have been extensively documented over the years.

Both men robustly denied any involvement in the crime. They believe they were falsely implicated in the murder because of their political activism in prison as members of the Black Panther Party.

Herman Wallace was released in October 2013 just days before he died of liver cancer. A federal judge overturned his conviction on the basis of the systematic exclusion of women from the grand jury during his 1974 trial.

“A remedy to the injustice inflicted on Albert Woodfox by the state is long overdue,” said Tessa Murphy.

“Herman Wallace gained his freedom only to die within days. Justice must not again be so cruelly delayed.”

Background information

Louisiana must end its campaign of vengeance against Albert Woodfox (press release).

Justice deferred to the end (press release).

USA: 100 years in solitary: The Angola 3 and their fight for justice (report).

After the death of Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox’s co-defendant in the “Angola 3 case”, Amnesty International launched a campaign calling on the state of Louisiana to release Albert Woodfox from prison by means of withdrawing their appeal against the US District Court’s ruling.

AI Index: PRE01/001/2014

(PHOTO: Michael Mable, the brother of Albert Woodfox, speaks at the press conference and delivery of petition to free Albert at the Louisiana State Capitol on Oct.21, 2013.)

Drop the vengeance! Free Albert Woodfox!

(Email Action Alert sent by Amnesty USA on Friday, January 3, 2014)

This could be the end of Albert Woodfoxs 40-year plus prison nightmare, if you act now.

On Tuesday morning, Jan. 7, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans will hold a hearing to determine Alberts fate. Will they finally act on the 2013 ruling that overturned his conviction and set him free, or shut the door and send him back to another unthinkable year in solitary confinement?

Federal courts have overturned Alberts conviction 3 times. The state of Louisiana has appealed 3 times.

Enough is enough.

Tell the state of Louisiana to end its campaign of vengeance and let Albert go.

Nothing can justify the cruel treatment that Louisiana authorities have inflicted on Albert, one of the famed Angola 3 prisoners.

For decades, the authorities have punished Albert with solitary confinement. Hes survived 40 years living in a tiny cell for 23 hours a day, denied meaningful human contact and rehabilitation.

In a deeply flawed verdict, Albert was convicted of murder even though no physical evidence ties him to the crime, the state lost potentially exculpatory evidence, and authorities bribed their key witness.

Albert maintains he was put in solitary confinement in retaliation for organizing prisoners against segregation and other abuses in Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as "Angola".

Its simply unconscionable for the state to hold this man one day longer.

Please help Amnesty International demand freedom for Albert Woodfox. 

Please take action before the Jan. 7 hearing.

Thanks for standing by Albert, and for all you do to defend human dignity for all.

Sincerely,

Jasmine Heiss
Campaigner, Individuals and Communities at Risk
Amnesty International USA

(PHOTO: Amnesty USAs Jasmine Heiss spoke at the Louisiana State Capitol on Oct. 21, 2013.)

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Opening the Box Sarah Shourd on Herman Wallace California Hunger Strikers and the Horror of Solitary Confinement

READ:  Herman Wallace and Nelson Mandela: A Tale of Two Heroes (Ebony Magazine)

Please take Action for Herman Wallace of the Angola 3 by joining Amnesty Internationals call to release him on humanitarian grounds! There are action pages for the: USA, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, and everywhere else.

(Recent photo of Herman: No Shackles!)

Opening the Box: Sarah Shourd on Herman Wallace, California Hunger Strikers and the Horror of Solitary Confinement

By Angola 3 News

Last month, we were devastated to learn that the Angola 3’s Herman Wallace had been diagnosed with liver cancer, and that he was continuing to be held in isolation in a locked room at Hunt Correctional Centers prison infirmary. Reflecting on his confinement while battling cancer, Herman said: "My own body has now become a tool of torture against me."

On July 10, Amnesty International launched a campaign directed at Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, calling for Herman’s immediate release on humanitarian grounds (take action here). "After decades of cruel conditions and a conviction that continues to be challenged by the courts, he should be released immediately to his family so that he can be cared for humanely during his last months," said Amnesty USA campaigner Tessa Murphy.

In recent years, Amnesty has initiated other campaigns challenging the over 41 years spent in solitary confinement by Herman and Albert Woodfox, also of the Angola 3, including the April 17, 2012 delivery of a 67,000 signature petition to LA Governor Jindal demanding Albert and Hermans immediate release from solitary. Earlier this year, Amnesty called on Louisiana Attorney General James Caldwell to not appeal the US District Court’s overturning of Albert’s conviction. More recently, accompanying their call for Herman’s release, Amnesty also expressed concern about “the worsening conditions of confinement” for Albert at David Wade Correctional Center, where he remains in solitary confinement. “For approximately two months, Woodfox has been subjected to additional punitive measures – including strip searches each time he leaves or enters his cell, being escorted in ankle and wrist restraints, restricted phone access, and non-contact visits through a perforated metal screen. Temperatures in the prison cells are reportedly extremely high, regularly reaching up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit,” wrote Amnesty.

Public outrage intensified on Friday, July 12, when a letter citing the Angola 3 case, was sent to the Civil Rights Division of the US Justice Department by Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the full U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, and Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-La.). The letter called for an investigation of the Louisiana Departments of Corrections for its “abysmal history of protecting the rights of its prisoners,” of which the “tragic story of the Angola 3 is a case in point.”

About Herman Wallace, the Congressmen wrote: “We have heard that he lost over 50 pounds within 6 months.  Despite that dramatic weight loss, and at 72 years old, the prison did nothing to treat or diagnose him until he was sent to an emergency room on June 14.   Given the late stage of his diagnosis, his treatment options are now limited.  He is frail and ill, but is still being treated as if he is a threat to security, and we hear that he remains under lockdown conditions. This is unconscionable.”

Within hours of the letter’s release, Herman Wallace was transferred out of solitary confinement, when Louisiana’s Hunt prison reduced his classification from maximum to medium security. Herman is now staying at the prison hospital in a 10-bunk dorm, with access to a day room, and does not have to wear leg irons anymore. While celebrating the more human conditions, Herman and the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3 emphasize that the transfer from solitary is not enough. They are asking folks to continue supporting Amnesty International’s call for humane release. The Angola 3’s Robert H. King, himself released in 2001 after 29 years in solitary confinement, says, “The wind is at our back and with your continued help our objective will be realized - freedom is in sight.”

The case of the Angola 3 is at the center of a 42-day fundraising drive begun for a touring play, entitled Opening the Box, that will focus on the use of prolonged solitary confinement in US prisons. The choice of fundraising for 42 days is a tribute to the almost 42 years spent in solitary by Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox. The writer and producer of Opening the Box, Sarah Shourd, is herself a survivor, having spent 410 days in solitary confinement while held as a political hostage by the Iranian Government from 2009-2010. After returning to the US, she successfully fought for the release of her now-husband Shane Bauer and friend Josh Fatal.

Conceived specifically “to add to the momentum of a burgeoning movement” against solitary, Shourd will be working with Solitary Watch to “collect real stories from a diverse spectrum of people living in solitary confinement today--immigrants, children, lifers and women. Then, Im going to write a play about it and go on tour.”

“While watching this play, I want the audience to breathe along with a young man having a panic attack after being denied a visit with his mother, to crawl inside the skin of an immigrant detainee terrified of being deported and to travel with a lifer on a magic carpet of memory--only to be pulled back into the stark, implacable reality of the hole. By hearing these stories, my hope is that the audience will be able to relate to the men and women enduring this torture in our prisons, to their pain but also to their resistance to the dehumanizing forces around them, their incredible resilience...and their refusal to be institutionalized,” explains Shourd.

In this interview, which Shourd dedicates to Herman Wallace, we take a closer look at her project, Opening the Box, as well as the ongoing prisoner hunger strike in California, the Angola 3 case, and the politics of prisons in the US. Currently based in Oakland, California, Shourd is an author and Contributing Editor at Solitary Watch. Before being captured by the Iranian government, Shourd was living in a Palestinian Refugee Camp in Damascus, Syria, working as a journalist and teaching for the Iraqi Student Project. She’s written for The New York Times, CNN, Newsweeks Daily Beast and has a blog on Huffington Post. Her memoir (co-authored by Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal) will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in Spring 2014. To learn more visit sarahshourd.com and/or follow her on Twiiter @SShourd.

(PHOTO: Sarah Shourd speaks in support of solitary survivor Bradley Manning)

Angola 3 News:         Why did you choose to spotlight the case of the Angola 3 with 42 days of fundraising?

Sarah Shourd:           I only knew a little about the Angola 3 before I was detained in Iran, but I thought about them when I was inside. I also thought about Mumia Abu Jamal, Nelson Mandela, my friend Jafar Saidi (who is being held in a Pennsylvania prison) and all the other prisoners I’d heard of being held in prolonged isolation. I reasoned that if these people found the strength to endure weeks, months or even decades alone, then that meant I could get through it too. Their example helped me believe that it was possible to survive indefinite solitary confinement, that with enough discipline and focus, I could learn to stay afloat, to ward off depression & hopelessness and even confront each day with some sort of dignity and purpose.

Now that I’ve studied Herman and Albert’s case, I know there is absolutely no evidence that either of them is guilty of the crime (murdering a guard) that landed them in solitary 41 years ago. The 70’s were an extremely volatile and politicized time inside Angola prison and prisons around the country. Herman, Albert and Robert were organizing and resisting mistreatment by guards inside Angola—and I believe that’s why they were targeted by prison officials and used to set an example.

Herman and Albert were given a sentence on top of their original sentence—life in solitary confinement. This ruling was made internally, without judge or jury, which in my opinion is unconstitutional.

A3N:   Following Herman Wallace’s recent cancer diagnosis and continued isolation, we are mobilizing public support for compassionate release. Can you say something in support of Herman’s medical release?

SS:      Herman deserves a release on compassionate, medical grounds more than any other prisoner I’ve ever heard of. It couldn’t be more obvious that he’s no danger to anyone and the yet extent of suffering that’s been heaped upon him over the last four decades is beyond comprehension. No human being, under any circumstances, should be subject to this kind of cruelty.

That said, there’s no changing what’s already been done. The best hope for Herman is that he be allowed to taste freedom and be with his loved ones for the last months or years of his life. After 41 years, Herman deserves much, much more than that—but all we can really hope for is that government officials decide to grant Herman a compassionate, medical release the most expedient way possible. This is the only way to make right even a fraction of the wrong that’s been done— before it’s too late.

A3N:   Last week, on the other side of the country, California prisoners began a hunger strike, following up on the demands first made by hunger strikers in 2011. How did the 2011 hunger strike affect you, following your release from Iran?

SS:      I’d been fighting non-stop for over a year when my now-husband Shane Bauer and friend Josh Fatal were finally released from prison in Iran. Just weeks later, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture, Juan Mendez, issued a report condemning the long-term use of isolation on prisoners and calling it torture. Mendez went on to say that any period over 15 days in solitary can cause permanent psychological damage and should be subject to strict, mandatory review.

A few weeks later, the largest hunger strikes in history erupted in my home state, California. It was such an intense, mixed time for me. After more than two years since our initial arrests, the three of us were all finally together, free and back in the US. Yet, I was acutely aware of the tens of thousands of people in my own country, who were needlessly suffering the same kind of torture that the three of us had been subjected to.

I began speaking and writing about solitary confinement, connecting my own experience to what I saw happening around me. I knew the fight for justice wasn’t over for me—this was now a lifelong commitment.

A3N:   What do you think of the current hunger strike? Do you support the strike’s criticism of prison authorities’ response to the 2011 strike?

SS:      I’m angry that ten of thousands of prisoners have been forced to begin hunger striking again, but they have no other choice. The response from California prison authorities to the demands of the prison hunger strikers in 2011 was sorely inadequate. In fact, no tangible changes have been made at all. Prisoners in our country have next to no rights—they have to risk their health, safety and even their own lives in order to be heard.

I’m impressed, but by no means surprised, by how widespread resistance to solitary confinement has become inside our prisons—with 29,000 people refusing their food on the very first day. I think the renewal of this hunger strike is a sign that prisoners have reached a tipping point. They’ve made their grievances visible, so that now politicians, prison officials and the public can no longer afford to ignore the horrors happening inside our prisons.

A3N:   With over 2.4 million prisoners today, the US now has the most total prisoners and the highest incarceration rate in the world. How do you think this unprecedented level of mass incarceration relates to the widespread use of long-term solitary confinement?

SS:      Before I spent 410 days in solitary confinement, I knew that isolating a person was a cruel form of punishment. Still, it wasn’t until I experienced it myself that I realized it was torture. Long periods with little to no human contact violates a person’s psyche in the deepest, most insidious way—a way that usually leaves no physical marks but leaves most people psychologically damaged and changed forever

I see solitary confinement as the deep end of our very broken prison system. It’s the worst punishment our system dolls out. It’s also used routinely, often arbitrarily and with little to no oversight.

There are other ways to run prisons that are better for both prisoners’ individual health and public safety. However, instead of trying to deal with serious issues like prison violence (by inmates and guards) constructively, in U.S. we lock ten of thousands of people alone in cages where they lose their minds, often hurt themselves and commit suicide at a much higher rate than in the general prison population.

Still, prison authorities can’t keep them locked up forever. The majority of people that have been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement will one day be released back into society, where little to no services exist to help them recover, reintegrate and move forward in a positive way. That’s why so many ex-prisoners reoffend and the cycle continues.

Our prison system has veered so far from the path of rehabilitation over the last 30 years, there’s hardly even an attempt on behalf of prison authorities to give the impression they’re trying to provide inmates with resources or opportunities to change. Instead, prisoners are treated like raw material instead of human beings, warehoused away like surplus goods.

A3N:   Who, in particular gets targeted for solitary and why?

SS:      Solitary confinement is a perfect illustration of what our prison system has become. It’s used as a control strategy against anyone who presents any kind of hassle to prison officials and/or needs services that our prison system has neglected to provide. Guards use any excuse to get rid of people by sending them to the ‘hole,’ such as petty drug use, profanity and/or any small, petty (often non-violent) infraction.

The real reason many people wind up in solitary is because they have unpopular or threatening political beliefs, because they’re gay or transgender and need so-called ‘protection,’ because they’ve reported rape or abuse by prison officials and/or simply because they are mentally ill.

Human Rights Watch estimates that one-third to one-half of inmates in isolation had some form of mental illness before they were put there. Using solitary confinement instead of providing mental health and other rehabilitative services is inhumane, not to mention extremely negligent. This practice doesn’t serve society and that’s why we need to hold prison officials accountable and end this practice.

A3N:   Looking from an international perspective, how do other countries differ regarding the use of prolonged solitary confinement?

SS:      Many countries around the world only use solitary in their prisons as a very last resort. England, for example, tried implementing solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure. When prison violence increased, and they realized how expensive and cruel this practice was, they simply stopped relying on it. Today there are a few dozen prisoners held in prolonged solitary in the UK—compared to our estimated 80,000 on any given day.

The reason this mistake was caught and largely corrected in England was simple—they have a system of oversight in place, a government body that closely monitors what happens inside their prisons and keeps the public informed. In the U.S. we have nothing like this in place. As a result, this practice has gotten out of control and we’ve become by far the largest offender of this inhumane, senseless practice in the world.

A3N:   Why is theater a useful medium for telling these stories? How do you foresee this helping to build momentum against the practice of solitary confinement?

SS:      I believe a play can reach a new and different segment of the population with a human rights issue that should be of grave concern to everyone in our country. ‘Opening the Box’ also has the potential of humanizing this issue in a visceral, embodied way that an article or report can’t.

In the late 90s a play called The Exonerated—based on true stories of innocent death row survivors— came out and quickly spread like wildfire. Half a million people saw this play and actors like Susan Sarandon & Danny Glover did cameos and the Governor of Illinois was so affected by seeing the play he decided to commute all the existing death row sentences in his state to life in prison.

I believe that hearing, seeing and reading real, complex stories of people living through the daily hell of solitary confinement (there is also a book in the works, slated to be published in conjunction with the play) has the potential of effecting people in a way they can’t and won’t forget. The play is not only about entertainment, of course, we want it to be a catalyst for action, a humble effort to contribute to a nation-wide movement—one that’s gained more momentum in the last few years than it did over the last century.

‘Opening the Box’ is also a deeply personal journey—an attempt to understand what happened to me during the year I spent in solitary and to connect my own suffering to that of so many others.

--Angola 3 News is a project of the International Coalition to Free the Angola 3. Our website is www.angola3news.com where we provide the latest news about the Angola 3. We are also creating our own media projects, which spotlight the issues central to the story of the Angola 3, like racism, repression, prisons, human rights, solitary confinement as torture, and more.

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On Wednesday October 13 9 am 4 pm Will Wood Home Haiti It would be introduced The public kitc

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OH SNAP! PICS I dont mean to start anything but is this the new style with Akungba Chicks LOOL

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OTGP PART 2 THE PEOPLE

THE GREAT THING ABOUT THE OTGP APART FROM THE CARS & THE NURBURGRING IS THE PEOPLE.

I MET MANY FOLKS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ...

INCLUDING THESE 2 LEGENDARY PORSCHE DRIVERS.

 DEREK BELL & WALTER ROHRL.

PORSCHE HAD SET UP A MET & GREET & INCLUDED ME IN THE FUN !

 I WILL BE HONEST IT DID FEEL A LITTLE STRANGE BEING IN THE COMPANY OF SUCH GREATNESS..

 LOTS OF PEOPLE STOPPED ON BY 

 SOME DID SOME FILMING ....

 IT WAS GREAT SPENDING TIME WITH THESE 2 GUYS 

AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHERS THAT STOPPED BY TO SAY HI AND SUPPORT

 ALSO MANY THANKS TO PORSCHE AG

i got to have dinner with Derek at the saturday night event

  heard many great stories...

the next day i got a drive in his 924 

over to the green Hell 

 the plan was to take a few laps with DB .......

MORE ON THAT A LATER DATE....

cheeRS

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Out with the Old In with the New Bulletin Board Style!

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Out of the Sketchbook

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OUTLANDER BEHIND THE SCENES–PART III

 

 

Outlander’s first season with 16 episodes is now over.  The second season, which takes place mostly in 18th century Paris,  has just started filming and won’t be shown for at least an entire year – we call that time spent waiting – Droughtlander!  If you are a fan of the Diana Gabaldon books, waiting an entire year is going to be terrible.  The only fun will be trying to find filming locations while the new season is being shot and of course rereading Book Two – “Dragonfly In Amber” – on which the new season is based.

So, this is the last Outlander post for another year and will focus on the three prettiest sets of Season One.  I saved these for last and they are really all beautiful for different reasons.

 

First – The Wedding:

The wedding takes place in an old Kirk where an ill Priest has to be forced to marry Claire and Jamie that very next day instead of waiting a few weeks. 

The filming of the wedding scene took place at the Glencorse Kirk outside of Edinburgh.  The church was built in 1665 and it had a very famous  congregant – Robert Louis Stevenson.

The Kirk has recently been restored, it’s roof was missing amongst other things.  Today it is a popular wedding venue.

 

 

REALITY:  Glencross Kirk, old graves surround the church, all so ancient that none stand tall and straight.

 

OUTLANDER SET:  The Kirk decorated by the Outlander production crew – they made it look even older with moss, weeds,  and dead ivy!

 

 

They even added fake broken windows over the Kirk’s real windows.  These were custom made for the Outlander wedding.

 

 

Inside, the Kirk looks even older and more abandoned.

 

The pulpit decorated by the production crew.  After filming, the Kirk had only two days to get it all cleaned up for a wedding!  Two days!  I’m positive the film crew cleaned it up and not the Church, but still – not much time to quiet a bride’s nerves.

 

REALITY:  Here is how the Kirk actually looks, with its restored ceiling, during a “real” wedding.

 

OUTLANDER SET:  And here is the sick Priest who wanted to prolong the wedding a few weeks, but was out voted by the aggressive Scottish Highlanders.

 

                                                            

The Kirk – made to look dirty and abandoned.

 

The most important part design aspect of the wedding was without a doubt – Claire’s dress.  In the movie, Ned the lawyer had only a day to find her dress, so he went shopping at the nearest House of Ill Repute.  Of course!  Doesn’t everyone go shopping at the local prostitutes store?!!  Well, Ned does go there and it just so happens that some time ago a customer paid for services with a dress that had never been worn.  SURE!!!!  AND, it just so happens that the dress is GORGEOUS!   And to make matters even better, after Ned buys the dress, he gets to taste the goods – so to speak – and then brings his “date” to the wedding!!!

 

AND…here is Ned shopping at the House of Ill Repute for a wedding dress.  You can see the sheer cream sleeve peeking out.  The prostitute on the left becomes the nerdy lawyer Ned’s “date” at the wedding.

All jokes aside, the dress is very important to the scene and to the costume director – Terry Dresbach.  Terry is married to the producer of Outlander – Ron Moore – and if Ron did not show this outfit to the best of his abilities, Terry would have probably divorced him.  After all, the director could choose to shoot Claire from the neck up, he could surround her with other actors – he could make sure that no one even notices this dress!  

Now understand – Terry read Outlander 20 years ago, she is the one who persuaded Ron to produce it, and she has dreamed of how this dress would look – for years and years, so rest assured, Ron made sure we saw this dress!!!

 

Nerdy lawyer Ned and his “date” all dressed up, respectfully, for the event.

Now, Ron is a great husband.  Terry and Ron have a wonderful relationship and Ron is someone who loves and respects women – especially his wife.  He knew this episode – The Wedding – was one of the most important and most anticipated ones in the series.  To get it right, he hired all women to work on it.  There is a female Anne Kenney who wrote the script and a female Anna Foerster who directed it, so Ron really wanted to get it right – and he did.

 

The Dress Reveal:

Notice how Claire first comes out – all covered up by her cloak.  We can’t see the dress yet.   This is all by design.  The entire reveal of the dress is done slowly – bit by bit.

 

First, the cloak is slowly pulled back from Claire’s shoulder where we get a glimpse of the bodice.

 

Slowly, the unwrapping of Claire continues…

 

Until finally we see the entire bodice with the hand embroidered silvered leaves…

 

When the cloak falls off her shoulders, we see the lovely gauze sleeves, with hand sheered edges, and the lovely pleats around the hips.

 

The camera continues around the body to the back to show the gorgeous pleats, too many to even count….

 

And then, the cameras continues back around to the front again.

 

While the camera pans down the skirt with the falling leaves…

 

Until we reach the hem where all the leaves have fallen.

 

And here – the complete dress. 

The skirt was made of silvered jute linen.  On the stomacher and silk linen lining, the leaves and acorns were hand embroidered with silver metal thread.   Included amongst all the leaves is one hidden dog bone, for Terry’s Scottish puppy.   Instead of sequins which were not used in the 18th century, pieces of mica were shaved and placed into the middle lining of the ivory silk linen to create a shimmer.  And – the bodice once had another layer that left Claire not quite so bare.  During shooting, the cape was taken on and off so many times, this extremely sheer lining was destroyed.  Terry stood on the sidelines and had to cut the destroyed fabric off bit by bit until barely any was left at all.

 

The bodice on this 18th century dress was used as inspiration for Claire’s sheared bodice.

 

And this dress was used as another inspiration – isn’t it beautiful?!

 

The dress weighs 66 pounds and took four months to sew – by hand.  To get the actress Caitriona Balfe from the trailer to the set – a golf cart was rigged up so that it had an roof enclosure in case it poured Scottish rain on the day of the shoot.  It had to be tall enough so that Caitrionak could stand up in the cart – Terry Dresbach would not allow her to sit and risk wrinkling the skirt.

 

 

And, the stunning back with the laces and pleats.  All the costumes are made authentically.  There were no zippers in the 1700s, so no zippers are found in any of the costumes.  Terry makes everything the way it was made back then.

 

We finally get a look at the entire dress when the bride groom comes to the Kirk.  In the background you can see the derelict look to the Kirk that the Production team added – all the moss and sticks.

 

And finally the wedding can proceed – but not until Claire learns Jamie’s real name.  No, he isn’t Jamie MacTavish.  He is really James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser – Laird Broch Tuarach.

 

Here the couple enter the Kirk for the ceremony.

 

 

The Kirk decorated for the wedding with candles and oils.

 

The photos were taken in the actual Kirk but, the ceremony was shot again when it was dark outside.

 

The ceremony was filmed in the Kirk in candlelight only.

 

The magical, candlelit ceremony.

 

Jamie wears his kilt – but it’s special in that his friends were able to find some fabric of the Fraser tartan – he usually wears MacKenzie tartan.  He does have to return the tartan after the ceremony, but for now, he gets to wear his own plaid.  The sleeves received a silvered embroidery trim and his stock pin was made of diamonds to add a bit of sparkle.

 

An early, rejected sketch of the wedding gown.

 

The final sketch with material swatches attached.

 

Working on the embroidered silver thread leaves, with the dog bone in the middle!

 

And to celebrate the first season – some of the beautiful Outlander costumes went on display in Los Angeles at The Arbor.  Front and center were the wedding outfits.  Ron D. Moore, Executive Producer opened the event which was attended by hundreds of Outlander fans.

 

The Wedding Night:

After the wedding, the night was spent with the virgin Jamie and the more experienced, already married Claire Randall.   Jamie was the nervous one!  Claire had changed into a night dress which was constructed as any other dress.   The set was beautiful – filmed again in candlelight with mostly muted colors.

 

The room is large with the oval shaped roof with rafters – very reminiscent of Geillis Duncan’s boat shaped study in Culross.  Now, I don’t know if it is the same set but see if you don’t think they are the same.  Above is the honeymoon suite.  Below is Geillis’ study:

 

Geillis Duncan:  One side – of Geillis’ study.

 

Geillis Duncan:   And the other side of Geillis’ study – I think this is where the window is in the honeymoon suite. 

 

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