Tag: prisons

Inmates Can’t Receive Donated Books Anymore, They Have to Buy Them

magistrate-of-mediocrity:

sitta-pusilla:

enoughtohold:

thechanelmuse:

Instead of inmates being able to receive donated books in the mail from family members and community groups, inmates at three New York prisons now have to purchase books selected by six, state-approved vendors. And the selection is limited. And expensive, activists say.

Novels cost $11.25 from one vendor.

A book about chess costs $29.95 from another.

And about a quarter of the titles are coloring books.

According to the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the directive is in an effort to restrict contraband from entering the prison “through a more controlled inmate package program.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office has made the point that inmates still have access to prison libraries, but some say it’s not enough. “The problem with prison libraries is that [the prisons] control who has access to them,” said Amy Peterson with NYC Books Through Bars. “So people who are in solitary confinement don’t have access to prison libraries.”

Peterson’s group has been mailing books to prisoners all over the country for nearly two decades, with a focus on New York. “We get letters from people saying they had to borrow a stamp in order to write to us. So if these people can’t even afford postage, we don’t know how they’re going to be able to afford buying books from a vendor,” she said.

Read more

From the NY Daily News:

Over the past several days, inmate advocates pointed out that the vendors combined offered only five romance novels, 14 religious texts, 24 drawing or coloring books, 21 puzzle books, 11 how-to books, one dictionary, and one thesaurus.

“No books that help people learn to overcome addictions or learn how to improve as parents. No Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, Maya Angelou, or other literature that helps people connect with what it means to be human. No texts that help provide skills essential to finding and maintaining work after release from prison. No books about health, about history, about almost anything inside or outside the prison walls,” advocacy group Books Behind Bars complained in a letter to the governor.

Actions you can take that I’ve found so far:

Another monstrous action by a monstrous criminal justice system. I hope there’s a massive lawsuit in the works that will bring more public attention.

I fucking hate the for-profit prison corporations. They’re shit and they treat inmates as less than human. Fuck every single private prison.

Inmates Can’t Receive Donated Books Anymore, They Have to Buy Them

[Text, from Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee:

ACTION ALERT: CALL HMP RISLEY Prisoners on G wing at HMP Risley have been without running water for three days. They have only been given one two-Litre bottle of water and are not able to flush their toilets. They need outside solidarity to force the prison to act.

Please call the prison urgently on: 01925 733000 ]

The situation was apparently still ongoing around 3 p.m. 27 Dec 2017.

Affected inmates at HMP Risley say their toilets have not been flushed during the period, which has also seen them locked in cells for 22 hours a day because of a lack of unpaid work and activities.

Ken Clarke: ‘absurd’ that defunct prison scheme still keeps people in jail

In letters to the programme, Ward said he was “rotting” in the system. According to the BBC, his case has not been reviewed for two years, and because of a lack of psychiatric assessment he might have to wait another year for a parole board hearing.

“I find prison hard to cope with, being trapped in a box,” Ward wrote. “Prison is not fit to accommodate people like me with mental health problems. It’s made me worse. How can I change in a place like this? I wake up every morning scared of what the day may hold.”

One of the (many) big problems with that whole idea all along, AFAICT. His case is not unusual. Take people with often acknowledged mental health problems, lock them up in a destabilizing environment, and then refuse to let them out again until/unless they essentially stop showing obvious signs of those same mental health problems 🤔

I mean, people not directly affected tend to get more worked up when it does involve the prison system. That shouldn’t happen to anyone. And it’s disturbing that no provisions have been made to end the existing indefinite sentences.

Ken Clarke: ‘absurd’ that defunct prison scheme still keeps people in jail

thenewinquiry:

“Deaf inmates are punished for missing count or mealtimes, though the announcements are made over loudspeakers they cannot hear. They are beaten by guards for misunderstanding orders, and, when they successfully lip-read one interaction and fail the next, they are beaten for ‘feigning’ their hearing loss. In addition, because prisons rarely provide certified ASL interpreters, the inmates struggle to defend themselves at disciplinary proceedings and have limited or no access to medical, mental health, or justice center professionals. They also lack access to any tailored social, educational, or rehabilitative programming. This, by design, is the nature of prisons—undesirables are hidden, with limited attempts at reintegration or socialization between the incarcerated and society (translating, on its face at least, to less manpower and money spent by the corrections system).”

Ableism, the English to Prison Pipeline, and the Plight of Deaf Inmates

Source: thenewinquiry

Prison food worker: ‘I was fired for refusing to serve rotten potatoes’

black90schild:

cartnsncreal:

Looks like a PSA is needed in here.

Potatoes produce Solanine as a defense mechanism. Rotten potatoes can be an abundant source of solanine. Solanine is poisonous.

Ingesting small amounts can cause nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps, burning of the throat, cardiac dysrhythmia, nightmares, headache, dizziness, itching, eczema, thyroid problems, inflammation and pain in the joints. Moderate amounts can cause hallucinations, loss of sensation, paralysis, fever, jaundice, dilated pupils, hypothermia, and death.

Back in the 90s, there was a company called VitaPro that made pig feed. Unfortunately for this company, one of their products was deemed ‘unsafe’ to use as pig feed, so they found a way to sell it to the Texas prison system instead. TDCJ agreed to buy the hazardous pig feed and serve to to inmates for a kickback on the product sold. A win-win for the two companies, VitaPro got to sell what was otherwise a worthless product, while TDCJ officials got ‘meat’ for the inmates at a discount and got to pad their own pockets with the kickbacks, saving the state money and making themselves rich.

If someone is in prison, they are paying for their crime. To feed them rotten food and treat them as less than human reflects terribly on everyone as a society. If we treated prison more for rehabilitation than punishment, we would benefit.

When is the US going to realize that its prison system is a giant crime factory?

Get him his job back

Prison food worker: ‘I was fired for refusing to serve rotten potatoes’

crossmirage:

katamariguy1:

clatterbane:

gabrielthefool:

I’ve been perusing a list of books banned in prisons by Michigan
Department of Corrections. I shouldn’t be astounded at the level of
control and dehumanization in such a list, but somehow I am.

Prisoners aren’t allowed to read about Tai Chi. All martial arts are
banned, to the point they can’t even read a bio on Bruce Lee. They can’t
get books on Dungeons and Dragons either. Fantasy role-playing is banned. Can’t creatively engage your body or mind.

But let’s say they want to learn computer skills, or the basics of electrical circuits and wiring, so they
have something they can build on when they get out. Nope. Both of those
topics are a threat to the security of the institution. You can’t even
get your hands on a book on general DIY repairs. Maybe you want to learn
to write grants? Grant Writing for Dummies is a no-go too.

Let’s say you’re a pagan. Want to read Buckland’s big blue book? Nope. It’s flagged “Bondage.” That’s it.

Can’t read Che, Malcolm X, Sun Tzu, Huey Newton, or Frantz Fanon. Can’t
read the Encyclopedia of Country Living, or Backwoods Home Magazine’s
guide to emergency preparedness and survival. No Classic Trains, and no
atlases. No Field and Stream magazine.

Our prison system is designed to break people and keep them broken so they can provide slave labor. That’s it.

[the list]

Just a few more interesting inclusions from skimming the first half of the list, with the reasons given for the bans:

Atlas of the World, Oxford University Press (“Maps, threat to safety/security institution” – They might learn about more places to escape to?)

Bookkeeping for Dummies, by Lita Epstein (“The book may facilitate criminal activity because the book includes tax forms which may be used to facilitate the filing of false or fraudulent tax documents.”)

Build Your Own Website the Right Way Using HTML & CSS, by Ian Lloyd (“This book provides detailed instruction on computer codes and languages and how to use them to setup and manage websites, which poses a threat to the security, good order or discipline of” – cut off there)

Loss of Honor: How the Insidious Practices of the Michigan Department of Corrections Can Ruin a Lifetime of Reputation (“Threat to the order and security of the institution; provides detailed information about staff and operations at OCF” – Mostly included because that one is funnier than it should be.)

Can’t wait for the notes explaining why they deserve it because they’re criminals

The Necronomicon is a “threat to the order and security of the institution”??? How tf would Lovecraft fanfic do that

gabrielthefool:

I’ve been perusing a list of books banned in prisons by Michigan
Department of Corrections. I shouldn’t be astounded at the level of
control and dehumanization in such a list, but somehow I am.

Prisoners aren’t allowed to read about Tai Chi. All martial arts are
banned, to the point they can’t even read a bio on Bruce Lee. They can’t
get books on Dungeons and Dragons either. Fantasy role-playing is banned. Can’t creatively engage your body or mind.

But let’s say they want to learn computer skills, or the basics of electrical circuits and wiring, so they
have something they can build on when they get out. Nope. Both of those
topics are a threat to the security of the institution. You can’t even
get your hands on a book on general DIY repairs. Maybe you want to learn
to write grants? Grant Writing for Dummies is a no-go too.

Let’s say you’re a pagan. Want to read Buckland’s big blue book? Nope. It’s flagged “Bondage.” That’s it.

Can’t read Che, Malcolm X, Sun Tzu, Huey Newton, or Frantz Fanon. Can’t
read the Encyclopedia of Country Living, or Backwoods Home Magazine’s
guide to emergency preparedness and survival. No Classic Trains, and no
atlases. No Field and Stream magazine.

Our prison system is designed to break people and keep them broken so they can provide slave labor. That’s it.

[the list]

Just a few more interesting inclusions from skimming the first half of the list, with the reasons given for the bans:

Atlas of the World, Oxford University Press (“Maps, threat to safety/security institution” – They might learn about more places to escape to?)

Bookkeeping for Dummies, by Lita Epstein (“The book may facilitate criminal activity because the book includes tax forms which may be used to facilitate the filing of false or fraudulent tax documents.”)

Build Your Own Website the Right Way Using HTML & CSS, by Ian Lloyd (“This book provides detailed instruction on computer codes and languages and how to use them to setup and manage websites, which poses a threat to the security, good order or discipline of” – cut off there)

Loss of Honor: How the Insidious Practices of the Michigan Department of Corrections Can Ruin a Lifetime of Reputation (“Threat to the order and security of the institution; provides detailed information about staff and operations at OCF” – Mostly included because that one is funnier than it should be.)

thenewinquiry:

“Deaf inmates are punished for missing count or mealtimes, though the announcements are made over loudspeakers they cannot hear. They are beaten by guards for misunderstanding orders, and, when they successfully lip-read one interaction and fail the next, they are beaten for ‘feigning’ their hearing loss. In addition, because prisons rarely provide certified ASL interpreters, the inmates struggle to defend themselves at disciplinary proceedings and have limited or no access to medical, mental health, or justice center professionals. They also lack access to any tailored social, educational, or rehabilitative programming. This, by design, is the nature of prisons—undesirables are hidden, with limited attempts at reintegration or socialization between the incarcerated and society (translating, on its face at least, to less manpower and money spent by the corrections system).”

Ableism, the English to Prison Pipeline, and the Plight of Deaf Inmates

Source: thenewinquiry