Jello Biafra Speaks at
L.A. Art Benefit Gala

Ex-Dead Kennedy opposes the death penalty and America's booming ' prison industrial complex.'

by Thom White

LOS ANGELES -- September 6, 2003 -- Political advocate Jello Biafra addressed attendees at the opening night gala for "Cruel & Unusual," an art show benefit for the West Memphis 3, a trio of young men convicted in 1994 of the brutal murders of three 8-year-old boys.

The purported ringleader of the West Memphis 3 who originally confessed to the crime, Damien Echols, has been sentenced to death and now awaits an execution date. Proceeds from the exhibition at Sixspace Gallery (549 W. 23rd St., Los Angeles) go toward the costs of expensive DNA studies that may exonerate the three, and save Echols' life.

With an unpolished introduction from hostess Winona Ryder, Jello Biafra came forward to give his keynote oration. Biafra concentrated on issues at stake in the case, and at first devoted his diatribe to what would be a primary target this eve: the death penalty.

In Biafra's words, the main dilemma with the death penalty is simply, "What if they've got the wrong person?" Earthly justice is imperfect, and many are wrongly executed. A few, with the aid of new-fangled DNA evidence, have walked free after being found guilty of heinous crimes and serving years on death row.

The other two young men convicted of the horrific 1993 murders are now serving life sentences with no hope of parole. Jello described the "prison industrial complex" which is fast becoming a big business in America. More and more Americans are being thrown in prison on "minor drug offenses," raising the prison population and prison profits for state and federal contractors.

California has been a hot spot of prison industry growth. According to Biafra, despite the budget debacle that has forced the state to trim back on public services, Governor Gray Davis has not touched escalating funding for state prisons. It is all quite understandable, given that the prison guard union was one of Gray's biggest financial backers in his 2002 re-election drive.

Though Jello accused the Republicans of rigging the recall election set for October 7, he has no love lost for Governor Davis, given the Governor's pro-death penalty and pro-prison attitudes. Biafra's criticisms of Davis were only his first verbal assaults on the America's "moderate Republicrat" ruling class. Here's a brief sampling:

1. Jello's future live appearances may soon be a federal crime in America, if Sen. Joseph Biden's "RAVE Act" is not overturned.

The RAVE Act ('Reducing Americans' Vulnerability to Ecstasy' Act, now officially, the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act) was passed in April 2003 after being surreptitiously tacked onto the popular AMBER Alert law that created a 'nationwide kidnapping alert system.' The new regulations expand federal 'crack house' legislation, passed in 1986 during the first phase of the War on Drugs, to apply to one-time events, and not just to a specific locale (like a crack house).

If anyone at an event or gathering is caught using or selling drugs, the event's promoters will face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. This law offers "new tools for law enforcement in the War on Drugs" but makes putting on a rock 'n' roll concert in America a potentially illegal act.

According to BBS News, the RAVE Act has already been used to shut down a benefit show for the local chapter of NORML and Students for Sensible Drug Policy in Billings, Montana:

On May 30, the day the event was set to take place, a Billings-based DEA agent showed up at the Eagle Lodge, which had booked the concert. Waving a copy of the RAVE Act in one hand, the agent warned that the lodge could face a fine of $250,000 if someone smoked a joint during the benefit, according to Eagle Lodge manager Kelly, who asked that her last name not be used.

"He freaked me out," Kelly told DRCNet. "He didn't tell us we couldn't have the event, but he showed me the law and told us what could happen if we did. I talked to our trustees, they talked to our lawyers, and our lawyers said not to risk it, so we canceled," she said. "I felt bad. I knew the guys in the bands."

According to the Drug Policy Alliance, ... the bands were also threatened. "The bands - most of which regularly played at the venue - were also approached and warned that their participation in the event could result in a fine."

2. Although his former Dead Kennedys bandmates haven't been able to drive his record label Alternative Tentacles out of business through their legal maneuverings, the proposed Media Marketing Accountability Act could do just that.

The MMA Act was proposed by Attorney Joseph Lieberman (a politician Biafra defines succintly as "worse than Feinstein") and will require all CDs, videos, DVDs, etc., in America to be "rated" (and presumably approved) by an appointed US government commission.

This "speech licensing" law proposed by Lieberman, the quintessential "Republicrat moderate," attempts to limit "cultural pollution" and "adult material aimed at kids" but will create a new class of "illegal unrated media" that is foreign to the American ideal of freedom of speech. It could also make getting the message out even more troublesome for Jello, a man who already has amassed his fair share of court battles.

3. Jello treated upcoming elections as well. He promoted Green Party candidate Peter Camejo as a man who can solve the California budget crisis. Camejo is a financial analyst and would be able to figure out how the budget surplus of 2001 got squandered.

With the 2004 presidential race on the horizon, Biafra denounced the Bush/Cheney reign but questioned whether the substantial "Anyone but Bush" bloc should lock its support behind Vermont Governor Howard Dean.

 

Dean's support for the death penalty and US involvement in the guerrilla war in Colombia, along with his vow not to cut back on the astronomical increases in the US "Offense" department spending, make him a candidate Jello cannot with good conscience support. Aside from his reservations with Howard Dean, Biafra did not specifically support any particular anti-Bush candidate.

 

FOLLOW THE LEADER
Jello's Key Issues

• Opposed to the death penalty
• Opposed to the War on Drugs
• Opposed to the GATT and NAFTA treaties (WTO)
• Supports increased welfare entitlements
• Opposed to the conquest of Iraq
• Supports increased sales, property, and income taxes
• Supports trade protectionism -- "Free trade" creates a "race to the bottom," reduces American wages and union power, and lowers everyone to compete at third-world standards.

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