Doug is one of the Cleveland 4, sentenced to 11 and a half years after FBI entrapment stemming from Occupy Cleveland.

It was during the reign of Ronald Reagan, a decade that signaled the rapid decline of all that still lay natural, sane, and pure.  Central America was brutalized, unions were busted, record number of millionaires became billionaires, punk rock took the offensive, and on May 31, 1985 Douglas Wright entered this world.                            

Dr. Rafil A. Dhafir is an American Iraqi-born physician, who was targeted along with many other Muslims post 9/11 in the Bush administration’s “War on Terrorism.”  He started the charity Help the Needy, to respond to the humanitarian crisis created by the Gulf War and US Sanctions on Iraq.  The US government originally charged the charity and Dhafir with violations of the US sanctions.  When he refused a plea bargain, the government falsely charged the charity with fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and a variety of other nonviolent crimes.

Chuck Sims Africa is a member of the black liberation group MOVE and part of the MOVE 9, nine MOVE members all falsely accused for the murder of a police officer who was shot by friendly fire when the Philadelphia police raided their house.

Personal Background

In his own words: "More than any other content, I enjoy a letter in which the writer touches on their own experiences. The synchronicity so often revealed in these letters, resonating with my life as well as letters from other folks, has a profound beauty which reveals new connections, where seemingly isolated incidents become patterns.

Francesco, one of the comrades arrested following the events on October 15 2011 in Rome, has been accused of breaking his bail conditions and sent back to jail. Three months later released on house arrest again.

Rome, Italy, October 15 2011: anger explodes uncontrollable during a demonstration against the austerity measures imposed by the government to tackle its economic crisis.