Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, Under Attack
Kevin “Rashid” Johnson’s name will be familiar to readers of Socialist Viewpoint, which has published cogent articles and artwork by him for many years. Rashid writes about prison conditions in the U.S. and has exposed atrocities carried out by prison officials—even murders of prisoners. The last issue of Socialist Viewpoint (July/August 2021) carried an article by Rashid entitled “Interstate Prison Transfers, Weapons of Political Repression,” in which he discusses his own punitive transfers from Virginia, to Oregon, to Texas, to Florida, to Indiana, all in retaliation for standing up for prisoners’ rights. But now, Ohio can be added to the list because on July 28th, Rashid was transferred again, this time to the notorious Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, where, in April of 1993, nine prisoners were killed in an eleven-day standoff with prison staff.
The transfer was carried out with cruel conditions: Rashid has not received any of his property, including his legal documents (while he is in the midst of legal actions with court deadlines,) writing materials, hygiene products, clothing, “not even a pair of shoes.” And his stay in Lucasville began with restrictions on his right to communicate and to use the commissary.
Rashid has provided to his comrade and partner, Shupavu, information about his situation and what kind of help he needs:
“He wants us to focus on identifying where his property is at, if it was shipped and on what date, and also fighting this bogus 30-day restriction from phone, email, and commissary. He literally has nothing.
“Also, in addition to his property there was $400 on his trust account at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility [in Indiana] that we need to locate.”
Shupavu explains Rashid’s situation: “This is an attempt to prevent Rashid from responding in a case that he brought against the Indiana Department of Corrections regarding abuse in solitary confinement. The Department of Corrections in Indiana submitted false evidence in the case and Rashid was in the process of responding and having them sanctioned for that.” [They already had to pay over $150,000 for being found guilty of submitting false evidence in another case concerning a prisoner who later died.]
“The transfer from Wabash Valley Correctional Facility to Ohio, the unexpected move to Lucasville [July 28th] after spending only two weeks of what was supposed to be a four-to-six week stay at the CRC [the Ohio prison reception facility,] in addition to the brand new charges today [July 29] are an attempt to prevent him from responding to the case in Indiana either by phone or mail. He received a 30-day restriction from the phone, email kiosk, and commissary today for allegedly telling the guards that he was going to send someone to kill them (Rashid doesn’t even talk like that!) What this means is that he will not be able to contact anyone on the outside by phone or email for 30 days. The commissary restriction is to prevent him from buying paper and pencil to write with and be able to respond to the court case.”
On August 2, 2021, Shupavu reported:
“Rashid’s cell has been searched twice this morning as they believe that he is still communicating with the outside. The other prisoners have been instructed not to talk to him or assist him in any way. The pigs are attempting to sow division per usual.”
Also on August 2, Shupavu reported some very disturbing information:
“Just got word again that they’ve moved Rashid to the area where the Aryans are. They have threatened him and said explicitly what they intend on doing. Sergeant Joshua McAllister told Rashid exactly ‘I’m an old school dirty cop. I’ve been doing this since I was a teenager. We know how to set it up and make it look justified. You must not know about us. We are worse than the Klan….We have a unit called J-1 where we execute inmates. We starve ’em. We hang ’em...”
The way we can support and defend Rashid is by contacting the prison authorities to demand:
- Rashid must have all his property restored to him immediately (including legal papers and personal material.)
- Restore phone, email, and commissary immediately.
When communicating with prison staff in the different states please refer to the prisoner identification number for Kevin Johnson (Rashid), which is different in each state:
- For Virginia: #1007485
- For Indiana: #264847
- For Ohio: #A787991
Please contact:
Ronald Erdos, Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Warden (Lucasville)
(740) 259-5544
**Joseph Walters, Dep. Director Virginia Department Of Corrections
(804) 887-7982
joseph.walters@vadoc.virginia.gov
**James Parks, Interstate Compact Administrator, Virginia
James.parks@vadoc.virginia.gov
Charlene Burkett, Director DOC Ombudsman Bureau (Indiana)
(317) 234-3190
402 W. Washington St. Room W479
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Frank Vanihel, Warden
Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, Indiana
(812) 398-5050
**Contact Virginia Department Of Corrections authorities because Virginia prisoners transferred on inter-state compacts are supposed to have all the rights of Virginia prisoners. Rashid was originally incarcerated in Virginia before transfers to Oregon, Texas, Florida, Indiana, and now, Ohio.
Write to Kevin “Rashid” Johnson:
Kevin Rashid Johnson
D.O.C. #A787991
P.O. Box 45699
Lucasville, OH 45699