On Saturday, August 19, 50-100 people gathered in Kanas City to participate in the national "Millions for Prisoners' Human Rights" rally against prison slavery and suffering, called by Jailhouse Lawyers Speaks and the IamWE Prison Advocacy Network. Alison, of the KC Greens, writes:
Last weekend, an estimated 40,000 people gathered in Boston to opposite white supremacists and fascists, and support prisoners' demands for an end to prison slavery and suffering.
Comrade Kado exposes an attempt at retaliation by prison staff
A statement of strategy for 2018 from the Free Alabama Movement.
A Day in Hell – Enduring Texas' Criminal Injustice System
By Noah “Comrade Kado” Coffin
The recent work by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) has caught the attention of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), bringing their support to the effort to unionize incarcerated workers. At their recent convention in late May the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists voted to support the IWW in the struggle, growing the prisoner unionization movement that has, until now, been overlooked by trade unions. The CBTU brings with it support for the implementation of collective bargaining and a minimum wage for prisoners, which can be viewed as a step toward prison abolition in regards to near-slave labor which prisoners currently perform.
Imagine spending 23 hours each day alone in a 6x9 ft space. Crowd into it a toilet/sink combo, rusty iron set of bunk beds, and overhead lockers... layers of peeling paint in multiple colors, showing the years of neglect, black mould, roaches, rats, along with spiders and bugs I can't even identify – then you'll have some idea of what home looks like to many people here in Texas' Eastham Unit.
Thanks to all who participated in Friday’s phonezap action to bring heat relief to the brothers in Corcoran!
We got reports all day from people who were calling and emailing Corcoran officials and there’s no doubt the prison bosses felt the pressure. We’ve got word back already via a family member of someone inside:
During this heatwave in California, families in touch with their loved ones inside Corcoran are urgently asking for help. Triple-digit weather has been affecting the area and prisoners are being confined to their hot cells, and denied access to fans and medical accommodations. They are also being denied their programs, because guards refuse to withstand the heat to supervise them.
Since March 2017, prisoners in Tecumseh Correctional Institution have been forcibly and illegally moved to a housing unit more restrictive than solitary confinement. The creation of Unit 2B was spontaneous and reactionary after a riot at the facility early in the month. It is strategically called a “close management” unit, thereby evading the regulatory oversight of being classified as solitary confinement. The conditions of 2B include 1 hour out of cell each day, and 40 minutes in the yard each week. Prisoners are double-celled, having to spend 23 hours each day in close quarters with another prisoner.
