Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

You're invited to a special staged reading performance of :

MUNCHED

BY KIM PORTER

How do we know what really goes on in California's prisons? Is there any place where transparency and accountability are more important than a system that puts tens of thousands of people under the control of a state institution and spends over $9 billion of our money each year?

Assembly Bill 1270 restores the ability of journalists to conduct pre-arranged interviews with individual prisoners and to exchange confidential correspondence with them.

From CURB: Californians for a Responsible Budget

July 23rd, 2012

Sacramento: The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is formally opposing AB 1270 (Ammiano), legislation that would increase transparency and media access to California’s notorious state prison system, citing cost as their main concern.

“We do not share CDCR’s belief that increasing transparency in prison operations would have adverse budget consequences, as they suggested in their letter of opposition last week,” said Karen Shain, Policy

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-governor-of-ma-stop-the-spending-of-...

Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick, has planned, with the legislatures approval, a $550 Million bond revenue allocation to build and expand county jails for women and prisons for aging and dying prisoners.

by Lauren Kelley

Originally published on Alternet

Valerie Nabors, a former inmate of the Florence McClure Women's Correctional Center, is suing the Nevada Department of Corrections over allegations that she was shackled while in labor, in violation of state law and against the advice of medical professionals.

I hope this translates to a release date for Sara Kruzan and all other juveniles who have been sentenced to life without parole:

Justices Reject Life Without Parole for Juveniles

But let's remember the fight is not over! While we celebrate this stepping stone towards getting rid of the gigantic monster that the prison system has become, let us remember that juveniles aren't the only ones sent to prison for life.

from the Sunday New York Times' editorial section:

Alabama's White Elephant

Federal taxpayers have spent almost $250 million on a new federal prison for women in Aliceville, Ala., that should never have been built.

NYC people!! Marilyn Buck poetry book release party: Wed, June 27, Bluestockings Books

Weekend Edition June 1-3, 2012 Counterpunch
Michigan’s Abu Ghraib?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE–MAY 31, 2012

Press Contact:

Debbie Reyes, California Prison Moratorium Project, 559-367-6020