Action Alert: Call to End Book Ban for Two Animal Rights Prisoners

Tyler Lang and Kevin Olliff are two animal rights activists who were arrested in rural Illinois for “possession of burglary tools.” There is no evidence linking them to any crime or intended crime, nor were they arrested on anyone’s property, and their history as animal advocates is the only basis for these serious felony charges. A few weeks after their arrest, prisoners in Woodford County were banned from receiving books.

from supportkevinandtyler.com

Five weeks after being instituted, the book ban at Woodford County Jail is wearing on Tyler & Kevin, and the boredom is taking a psychological toll. We are asking supporters to place massive pressure on the jail to reverse this pointless ban that is causing Kevin & Tyler unnecessary psychological torment and almost unbearable boredom.

We have tried for weeks to work with the jail, to no end. So we are trying a new approach.

Michael “Mike” Waterworth, the person responsible for the book ban, gets to go home at night and forget all about the prisoners he leaves to waste away in their cells without any productive way to pass their time. So we are making his home number available.

Call Michael Waterworth at his home (after 6pm Central Time)

• Home phone: 309-367-2696

For all calls during business hours, call these jail numbers:

• Jail: 309-467-2116
• Sheriff Pierceall: 309-467-2375

Four ways to make your calls effective:

• Call multiple times. If you call once, please call back two or three more times.
• Call all three numbers.
• Remind them denying prisoners books is illegal.
• Remind them Kevin and Tyler’s supporters are not going away until the book ban is lifted.

Call volume has a big impact: 100 of their supporters calling 3 times a day for the next 3 days is nearly 1,000 calls. It only takes a minute.

The latest on the book ban

For 5 weeks Kevin & Tyler attempted to remedy this unnecessary punitive measure from the inside, by working with Michael Waterworth, the person in charge with day to day operations. After weeks of telling them to “be patient” and that he’s “working on it,” Waterforth recently declared flatly that the book ban would not be reversed.

What’s worse, after telling Kevin Olliff for weeks that his hands were tied and his superiors were responsible for the ban, this week he told Kevin the decision was his and the book ban would remain (i.e. that he had lied).

Waterworth doesn’t even seem to believe that his book ban is illegal (read one lawyers analysis of the book ban here).

We have in the past referred to the Woodford County Jail as a lawless operation, and the more learn the more true this is. For example, a veteran guard at the jail admitted openly that all attorney-client privileged legal mail is read by the guards. This is a flagrant violation of the law.

Please start the calls now

• Michael Waterworth home phone: 309-367-2696

For all calls during business hours, call these jail numbers:

• Jail: 309-467-2116
• Sheriff Pierceall: 309-467-2375

Let’s hold this lawless jail accountable.

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Please send Kevin & Tyler a letter of support (include your email address if you wish to correspond via email):

Kevin Johnson #4565
Woodford County Jail
111 E Court St.
Eureka, IL 61530

Tyler Lang #4564
Woodford County Jail
111 E Court St.
Eureka, IL 61530