Friday, November 20, 2015

Drone Whistleblowers: U.S. Assassination Program Ignites Terrorism/550 People Died in Texas Jails in 2015 Alone

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For Immediate Release
Thursday, November 19, 2015 - 12:00pm
Drone Whistleblowers: U.S. Assassination Program Ignites Terrorism
WASHINGTON - The Guardian reports: “Four former U.S. Air Force service members, with more than 20 years of experience between them operating military drones, have written an open letter to Barack Obama warning that the program of targeted killings by unmanned aircraft has become a major driving force for ISIS and other terrorist groups.
“The group of servicemen have issued an impassioned plea to the Obama administration, calling for a rethink of a military tactic that they say has ‘fueled the feelings of hatred that ignited terrorism and groups like Isis, while also serving as a fundamental recruitment tool similar to Guantánamo Bay’. …
“The four are represented legally by Jesselyn Radack, director of national security and human rights at the nonprofit ExposeFacts [a project of the Institute for Public Accuracy]. ‘This is the first time we’ve had so many people speaking out together about the drone program,’ she said, pointing out that the men were fully aware that they faced possible prosecution for speaking out.” See Guardian piece “Obama’s drone war a ‘recruitment tool’ for Isis, say US air force whistleblowers” which includes the letter from the whistleblowers and a link to the new film, “Drone.”
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Richmond County jail, Texas. (photo: Reuters)
Richmond County jail, Texas. (photo: Reuters)
550 People Died in Texas Jails in 2015 Alone
By Jessica Hamilton, Chron
20 November 15

   More than 550 people in Texas have died so far this year while in custody either at the city, county or state level, according to data from the state attorney general's office.
While more than half of those people died while under supervision of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, other deaths occurred with local police departments or sheriff's offices. TDCJ oversees many medical facilities.

    For example, of the 18 deaths in Dallas this year, 12 people died while in custody with Dallas Police Department, four died in Dallas County Sheriff's Department custody, and two died while booked with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Dallas is joined by cities such as Houston, Galveston, Richmond, San Antonio, Dickinson and Lubbock in leading the state with most custodial deaths.

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