Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

Dear Friends of Free Battered Women,

I'm thrilled to let you know that another incarcerated domestic violence survivor has been released from state prison! Maureen Carroll was released on October 20th, due to a successful *habeas* writ challenging the Governor's reversal of her 2008 release on parole. Ms.

Freedom Dance Party! Please also go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fpndd64jlI -- a short and wonderful video about Assata and this event.

For those of you in New York who are planning to go out and do so, the election has a (not widely-known) proposition that would allow the contracting out of prison labor in New York State:

"The New York State Constitution currently prohibits the farming out, contracting, giving away or selling of prisoner labor to any person, firm, association, or corporation. The proposed amendment would authorize the Legislature to pass legislation to permit inmates in state and local correctional facilities to perform work for nonprofit organizations.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on Tuesday ruled that the Sheriff's Office cannot force jail inmates to prepay the cost of being transported to a clinic to obtain an abortion.

Judge Robert Oberbillig said he felt "compelled" to add the ruling to an existing injunction against the Sheriff's Office forbidding it from demanding court orders before taking inmates to abortion clinics.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio appealed that 2005 injunction all the way to the U.S.

Issue #18 of Tenacious: Art & Writings from Women in Prison is now out!

50+ pages of art and writings from women incarcerated throughout the country, including:

• an open letter to NJ lawmakers from a woman incarcerated in New Jersey
• the moving of a prison
• a dental nightmare in prison
• one woman's journey from abusive relationship to imprisonment
• one woman's defiant farewell letter to the segregation unit that held her for years
• losing faith in the prison system
• one woman's account of learning to love her

I recently did an interview for Angola 3 News about solitary confinement and incarcerated women.

Here's a snippet:

Torturing Women Prisoners -- an interview with Victoria Law

make/shift magazine reviewed both Resistance Behind Bars and Tenacious in its latest issue!

Dear Friends and Allies:

On Friday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit (the federal level appellate court that reviews decisions from federal district courts in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, and Arkansas) issued the long-awaited decision in Nelson v. Norris. In this case, Shawanna Nelson argued that being forced to go through the final stages of labor with both legs shackled to her hospital bed was cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the 8th Amendment to the Constitution.

Read or download the pdf here: http://issuu.com/gjredpill/docs/07_05

I'll be appearing on Adamant Eve, feminist news show on CJSR 88.5, Edmonton’s community radio station, at 5:30 (MST) this Friday, October 2nd. More about the show can be found on their blogspot.

In addition, there's a short feature in the Vue Weekly:

Women behind bars