Biography
Marcel "Khali" Johnson, a Black Occupy Oakland organizer involved in food and blanket distribution at the Frank Ogawa Plaza encampment, was arrested December 16, 2011 outside Oakland City Hall in a dispute over a blanket and anti-encroachment ordinance violations. Because of an unrelated Sacramento probation hold, he was sent to Santa Rita Jail rather than released. There he was placed in solitary confinement and denied his prescribed psychiatric medication; an altercation with a corrections officer in solitary led to a felony assault charge that, layered with two prior strikes, exposed him to a potential life sentence under California's three-strikes law. The case was prosecuted aggressively by the Alameda County DA over the objections of a robust Occupy legal-defense campaign led by attorney Dan Siegel. Johnson served approximately one year in solitary at California Men's Colony (CMC) before being transferred to California State Prison Sacramento (CSP-Sac), where he remained at least through late 2014.
