Keith LaMar, also known as Bomani Shakur, is a prisoner on Ohio’s Death Row. He is facing execution in autumn 2023 after being framed in prison due to his advocacy for other prisoners and his refusal to snitch on others in the aftermath of the 1993 Lucasville Uprising. He has consistently expressed solidarity with other Lucasville prisoners and has engaged in struggles for his rights, especially his ability to communicate with the world outside the prison walls. This week, LaMar went on hunger strike to protest the policies of GTL, a private prison phone provider we have covered before, and prison’s denial of phone access. He won his demands on the third day and suspended his strike. We are proud to share these reflections from while he was still on strike, regarding his current situation as well as an entire history of struggles for dignity, communication, and survival.
We close this episode with two other segments from our earlier episodes on LaMar. First, we have his thoughts from our 2016 episode, followed by a statement he wrote in 2019 in response to his execution date being set.
You can learn about his recent jazz album collaboration with Albert Marques, Freedom First, on their website. You can hear our episode on LaMar’s case here.