For more news about the 2013 prisoner strikes, see: Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition California Prison Focus The Rock Newsletter Solitary Watch: News from a Nation Under Lockdown Some background documents: The New Boss Looks A Lot Like The Old Boss (by Ed Mead, March 2012) The 2011 Hunger Strikes …
We are nearing the start of the 2013 prisoner strikes in the united states, set to begin in just six days. This will be the next chapter in the book of resistance that – for many of us – began in 2011, when thousands (and at one point, over 12,000) …
Introduction by Isaac Ontiveros, Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition After a mediation meeting June 19 ordered by a federal judge between prisoners being held in solitary confinement at Pelican Bay State Prison and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), prisoners issued the following statement. Wednesday’s mediation stems from …
The following is from a letter just received from Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, of the New Afrikan Black Panther Party Prison Chapter. As previously reported here, Rashid was recently transferred from Oregon to Texas, likely in retaliation for his ongoing work reporting on and challenging abuses by the prisoncrats. As can …
On August 18, 2006, seven Black/New Afrikan lesbians from Newark, New Jersey went to Manhattan’s West Village for a night out on the town. As is all too typical, while they were out minding their business a male bystander began to harass and finally assaulted them, making sexist and homophobic …
In just a few weeks, prisoners across California – and perhaps across the united states – are going to embark on a strike against isolation torture and for basic improvements in their conditions. This is a follow-up to the 2011 California prisoner hunger strikes, in which over 12,000 people participated, …
Oakland— Less than a month before state-wide hunger strikes are set to resume, The California Department of Corrections has instituted a new policy at Pelican Bay State Prison which has resulted in chronic sleep deprivation for prisoners in solitary confinement. Both guards and prisoners complained to lawyers conducting legal visits …
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is clearly panicked at the prospect of prisoner hunger strikes and possible work stoppages this summer, and is already retaliating against prisoners’ organizing for basic human rights. As an attorney who works with California prisoners explained a few days ago: Starting this …
Editorial by Ed Mead Censorship California’s written regulations require that CDCR issue the written reasons for a rejection or censorship of any publication. Those regulations require that the publisher be notified within 15 days of the rejection. California Prison Focus received notice of the rejection of their last issue of Prison Focus from Pelican Bay about …
WHEREAS The Prisoners of Pelican Bay Prison have declared a prison hunger and work strike starting on Monday July 8th 2013 based off their 5 basic demands; WHEREAS, in July 2011 and in October 2011, California state prisoners organized two statewide hunger strikes as a protest against inhumane conditions as …