jawara McIntosh, son of legendary reggae artist Peter Tosh, He was beaten into a coma in the Bergen County Jail, in New Jersey, while serving a six-month sentence on charges related to marijuana use.
As published by the official portal Peter Tosh.com and replicated in other news sites, Jawara's mother, Melody Cunningham and her nine siblings, including his sister Niambe McIntosh, Peter Tosh Estate Administrator, They are promoting a campaign via networks asking for justice on behalf of the young artist. further, announced that they will file a civil rights lawsuit against said prison facility for directly participating and / or for not preventing Jawara from ending up in a coma after the beating he received, while in compound custody.
The family will be represented by the civil rights attorney, Jasmine Rand, recognized for fighting police brutality and justice system inequalities against blacks, having previously represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown - both cases of black men killed at the hands of the police or under judicial irregularities -, and attorney Shelley Stangler, who has also led multiple civil rights cases. Other leaders such as the Reverend Al Sharpton and Ndaba Mandela, grandson of Nelson Mandela, have already expressed their support to Jawara and family for the brutal events committed in the past 21 February of 2017.
The grandson of the remembered African leader, I was Mandela, made a call to raise his voice and recalled that just like his grandfather Nelson Mandela, "Peter Tosh was a true revolutionary. Peter staunchly opposed the apartheid regime by performing anti-apartheid concerts at a time when my grandfather was imprisoned for fighting for the equal rights of black South Africans. Now, his son Jawara remains in a coma after being brutally beaten while in custody on marijuana charges. We cannot be silent in the face of such inhumanity”.
Jawara McIntosh has 37 year old, and like his father he is a reggae artist known by the name Tosh 1. Jawara identifies as Rastafari and has raised the flag for the legalization of marijuana - just like his father- having recently performed at the Freedom Rally in Boston, Massachusetts. Cannabis is a sacred herb for Rastas, has many known medicinal properties and values. Peter Tosh is the author of the classic “Legalize It”, song that became the soundtrack of the movement towards the legalization of cannabis, one of the first activists for this cause in the late sixties.
Meanwhile, the family lawyer, Jasmine Rand, declared: “many states and nations have started the process of legalizing cannabis in recognition of its medicinal value, spiritual, industrial and recreational; But too many people are still deprived of their liberty on cannabis-related charges, which ends in mass incarcerations, police brutality and murders. The criminalization of cannabis legalizes the deprivation of human rights “.
Finally, Jawara's family stated that “our family will fight harder now than ever to legalize it. We know that our father is here with us today strengthening our voices to fight for his son Jawara and for our brothers and sisters around the world in prison., brutalized or killed by an herb that has the power to heal nations “.
