...August 10, the day prisoners have set aside as a day to fast and refuse to work in a show of solidarity to remember those who have died unnecessarily — victims of murder, suicide and neglect.
...the day when organizations and individuals in the community hold demonstrations, vigils, worship services and other events in common resistance with prisoners.
...the day to raise issue with the fact that a very high rate of women are in prison for protecting themselves against their abusers. This makes it obvious that the legal system does not protect women who suffer violence at the hands of their partners.
...is the day to remember that there are a disproportionate number of Natives, African-Canadians and other minorities and marginalized people in prisons. Prisons are the ultimate form of oppression against struggles of recognition and self-determination.
...the day to raise public awareness of the demands made by prisoners to change the criminal justice system and the brutal and inhumane conditions that lead to so many prison deaths.
...the day to oppose prison violence, police violence, and violence against women and children.
...the day to publicize that, in their fight for freedom and equality, the actions of many political prisoners have been criminalized by government. As a result, there are false claims that there are no political prisoners in north american prisons.
...the day to raise public awareness of the economic and social costs of a system of criminal justice which punishes for revenge. If there is ever to be social justice, it will only come about using a model of healing justice, connecting people to the crimes and helping offenders take responsibility for their actions.
...the day to renew the struggle for HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment in prison.
...the day to remind people that the criminal justice system and the psychiatric system are mutually reinforcing methods that the state uses to control human beings.
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 in Canadian prisons.
On August 10th, 1974, Eddie Nalon bled to death in a solitary confinement unit at Milhaven Maximum Security Prison near Kingston, Ontario when the emergency call button in his cell failed to work. An inquest later found that the call buttons in that unit had been deactivated by the guards. Prisoners at Milhaven marked the anniversary of Eddie's death by fasting and refusing to work.
What started as a one time event behind the walls of Milhaven Prison has become an international day of solidarity. On this day, prisoners around the world fast, refuse to work, and remain in their cells while supporters organize community events to draw public attention to the conditions inside prisons.Prisoners' Justice Day has been embraced in every penitentiary in Canada. It has spread to become an internationally recognized memorial day for all who have died while in prison, or custody, whether they were labeled criminal or political, whether they were beaten to death or died of neglect, abuse, disease, old age, overdose, state execution, murder or suicide.
source PrisonJustice.ca