Photos: Willow
This is a call for spiritual solidarity with Leslie Demeniuk and for all those unjustly imprisoned on Earth, past, present and future.
Leslie is a 48-year-old woman currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole at Lowell Correctional Institution, a women's prison in Ocala, Florida.
(Lowell Correctional Institution has been described as "a special hell for women," where it is common for female inmates
to die under suspicious circumstances. There have been accusations by prisoners of sexual exploitation, beatings, and torture of inmates by guards.)
Leslie is a victim of the pharmaceuticals industry – of
their dangerous and deadly drugs, of their lies, of their cover-ups, and of
their diabolical greed, which places profit over human life. Leslie
is a victim of the patriarchal hierarchy known as the medical establishment,
where doctors and medical professionals often refuse to listen to patients, arrogantly (or at the very least,
ignorantly) continuing with practices that contravene the Hippocratic Oath to
do no harm:
"I will apply diatetic measures for the benefit of the sick
according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.
I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor
will I make a suggestion to this effect."
It is the pharmaceuticals executives of GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer
Inc. who should be
serving this prison time, not Leslie. Leslie – like millions of others around the world – is a victim of a reckless and irresponsible
industry focused on profit, rather than real care and consideration for
human beings.
In 2001, Leslie was going through a divorce and custody battle and was
experiencing depression - a natural reaction considering the circumstances.
Leslie saw a nurse practitioner at a local clinic and was given trial samples of
the new generation anti-depressant Zoloft (manufactured and sold by Pfizer Inc.),
as well as the anti-anxiety medication Xanax.
(Of course, the instant reaction from the mainstream medical establishment is: drugs.)
(Of course, the instant reaction from the mainstream medical establishment is: drugs.)
