Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women

For full story, plus pictures, go to: http://prisonbooks.info/2011/11/05/raleigh-anarchists-almighty-latin-kin...

Roughly 60 protesters gathered yesterday in the freezing cold rain at the headquarters of the NC Division of Prisons in Raleigh to show our anger and resentment towards the prison system, and solidarity with prisoners struggling on the inside.

Most Americans Believe Crime in U.S. Is Worsening
Slight majority rate U.S. crime problem as highly serious; 11% say this about local crime

Here's something to think about when we talk about who goes to prison and why, esp for drug-related charges. Or, in the case of teenagers, who is more likely to get stopped and frisked and searched for drugs by the police...

About 9 percent of the white teenagers in the study sample used substances in ways that indicated they had disorders, meaning abuse or dependency. That's nearly twice the percentage of blacks nearly three times the rate for a group classified as Asian/Pacific Islander, which were mostly Asians..

This news is a couple of weeks old, but I'm sure not much has changed in the lack of services to enable moms to serve the remainder of their sentences out of prison and with their children. When we talk about reducing the need for prisons, we also need to be talking about making sure that there are resources and opportunities to keep people out of prison.

Lack of local services limits prison mom release program
Published: October 23, 2011

This Friday evening, starting at 6 pm, I will be doing a meet-and-greet, selling copies of Resistance Behind Bars and Tenacious, at the ArtWalk on Friday in Phoenix at CONSPIRE, a lovely vegan cafe and art gallery: CONSPIRE 901 N 5th St Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 237-5446 www.conspirephx.com/ If you're in Phoenix, come by and say hello!

Support A New Way of Life Reentry Project!

Join A New Way of Life Reentry Project for their Annual Fundraising Dinner at the Sheraton Universal near Universal Studios.

While finishing up the story about Pelican Bay (and other California prisoners') hunger strike, I missed what's been going on closer to home. Thanks to Lois Ahrens at the Real Cost of Prisons Project for bringing this to my attention!

New York drug-law reforms, drop in crime reduce prison population
Oct. 16, 2011
Written by Timothy O'Connor and Tim Henderson
The (Poughkeepsie) Journal News

For the past few weeks, I've been working on an article about the (just-ended) Pelican Bay (and other California prisons') hunger strike.

Angola Three News has just published an amazing interview with members of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners:

California has a rich history of prisoners, former prisoners, and their supporters taking a stand. Among these freedom fighters is the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP), self-publishers of a newsletter entitled The Fire Inside (archived here).

WORTH: 7th Annual Celebration of SisterhoodThis past winter I joined the Sister Circle for WORTH (Women on the Rise Telling Herstory), an amazing organization of formerly incarcerated women and their allies.