Dangerous Convictions for PDF - ADL

Dangerous
Convictions:
AN INTRODUCTION TO EXTREMIST ACTIVITIES IN PRISONS
“Political Prisoners” are not charged for this publication, which includes articles
written by inmates and is designed to help them “stay focused on what
faces us.”
Not surprisingly, Sigrdrifa enjoys a mutually productive relationship with the
imprisoned members of The Order. Its publications provide an avenue for
members of The Order to express their views—members of The Order are frequent
contributors to its newsletters and Web site. In return, Sigrdrifa makes
sure that The Order members continue to get attention. Each member has a
page on the Sigrdrifa Web site with the address and case update, as well as
their writings or sometimes interviews.
Unlike some other groups, who are not particularly discriminating about what
it takes to be a “political prisoner,” Sigrdrifa engages in a screening process. To
be recognized by Sigrdrifa as a political prisoner or prisoner of war, a convict
must provide information about his/her case, including a pre-sentence report,
names and contact information of co-defendants, statements made in case
paperwork, and judgment and commitment papers. Other extremists are also
sometimes choosy. San Diego white supremacist and anti-Semite Alex Curtis,
former publisher (he is now in prison) of the Nationalist Observer newsletter
and Web site, praised white inmates generally as Aryan POWs, but also
engaged in a “verification” process for his list of inmates who were truly
deserving of support. The list, a sort of Who’s Who among incarcerated racists,
included members of The Order, World Church of the Creator members
Michelle Benson and Jules Fettu, serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin,
Hammerskins Louis Oddo and James Matchette, and others both in the U.S.
and abroad. Ironically, Curtis himself is now behind bars, recently convicted
of civil rights violations for a number of racist and anti-Semitic stunts.
Many publications draw support for prisoners by publishing articles or artwork
by prisoners. Jack Friend, a self-described “racially conscious” death row
inmate in San Quentin, has done the cover art for the Oklahoma-based ’zine
Blood & Iron. The Portland, Oregon, based Thule Publications, for instance,
ran a special feature in its magazine Thule titled “Character,” in which the
author shares the insight he’s gained while serving time: “I’ve learned that we
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