August 31, 2015
The longest held prisoner in Solitary Confinement: 46 years in Solitary, 51 years in prison
by Allegra Taylor
Aug. 12, 2015, I sat waiting for the mail to come as I did each day.
This day it was different because for the first time my dad was in his
first lockdown on the mainline. He had only been there 15 days –
abruptly moved on July 29 after a meeting with the DRB (Departmental
Review Board) on July 28. Each day I waited to hear from him hoping and
praying he was OK. Finally the mailman delivered the letter I was
waiting for.
This
is “the hug” that rewarded Hugo Pinell after 46 years of being barred
from touching a friendly human being. Allegra, who had the pictures
taken Aug. 2, says her father asked that if these photos were published,
“the hug” should come first. In his last letter to her, written two
days before he died, he wrote: “I felt uncomfortable posing for our
first photo. I was nervous; somehow I mustered up a smile. Then you got
almost behind me, put your arms around me and I felt wonderful.”
“Hi, Preciosa. Thinking of you always and loving you more with each
heartbeat. Sending more love to the family and to All other true loved
ones. It is Monday morning and it appears that the program is getting
back to normal because more prisoners were let out for work assignments,
but nothing official. No yard today; I know for sure because it is
12:00 p.m. and we usually go out at 11 a.m.
“My Sweetheart Daughter, I love you, love you honey. I felt
uncomfortable posing for our first photo. I was nervous; somehow I
mustered up a smile. Then you got almost behind me, put your arms around
me and I felt wonderful. Do take much care, give everyone more love and
Yogi Bear hugs, and keep loving me.“More hugs, kisses, and love,
“Your Daddy, Hugo L. Antonio”
Just a couple of hours after receiving my Dad’s letter, wherein he
was telling me not to worry because he was OK and the lockdown had been
placed on modified program; the phone rang and I answered it – to hear
the news of my Dad being killed.My heart was instantly broken. I fell to my knees … they killed my Daddy!
The news reports started coming in. On every television channel, they
were talking about him being the most notorious and the most dangerous
man in the CDCR (California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation). To hear them describe my Dad that way was akin to
killing him over and over again.
They referred to him as inmate A88401. To mainstream media, he was
just another inmate, the worst of the worst. To so many, including many
of the inmates, he was considered a living legend. He was considered to
be the one who could not be broken.
Allegra
Taylor and her father, world renowned, beloved political prisoner Hugo
L.A. Pinell, pose in the visiting room at New Folsom Prison just outside
Sacramento on Aug. 2.
My Dad was the best dad in the world. He used to say: “Honey I can’t
give you much because I am here, and you are out there. The one thing I
can give you is love.” Those words became the beginning of the best days
of my life.
Each and every weekend I couldn’t wait to see him. My Dad was soft
spoken and honest in sharing with me anything I wanted to know about the
past, the present and the future.He was the committed one, the one with vision and fortitude. To those who knew him personally, he was even more: He was the first born son, first grandchild, the big brother, the uncle, the nephew, and even the cousin. To me he was simply DAD!
We had the best times together in our visits. He would talk and I
listened. I talked and he listened. We cried and laughed together.
We went on imaginary trips back to San Francisco to our old
neighborhood to Mission Delores Park, always together. It was our way of
escaping the reality that he was in there and I was out here.He would sing songs to me in English and in Spanish. He would tell me how blessed he felt to have me in his life and how spending time with me felt like a reward for the time he had invested in becoming a new man.
My Dad was a class act of love. No matter what he endured, he kept
pushing on. He often stated that the continuous love and support he
received was his backbone.
No matter what he endured, he kept pushing on.
My Dad shall be remembered as unifier of people. He lived, fought and died with purpose. His conviction as a humanitarian made him a revolutionary and an agent for change. His principal sense of integrity and love was the foundation of his strength.My Dad shall be remembered as unifier of people. He lived, fought and died with purpose. His conviction as a humanitarian made him a revolutionary and an agent for change. His principal sense of integrity and love was the foundation of his strength.
In Loving Memory of my Dad
Allegra Taylor is the only child of hero and martyr Hugo Pinell. She can be reached via the Bay View.
Free All Political Prisoners!
www.jerichony.org
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