Blogs

Martori Farms: Abusive Conditions at a Key Wal-Mart Supplier

A couple of weeks ago, I reposted news about women from the Perryville Unit being forced to work at Martori Farms in Arizona.

These inhumane and abusive practices have not changed. The women have not accepted these abuses quietly. They have launched complaints to prison administrators:

"Women have made their complaints on inmate letters and verbally to the lieutenant, sergeant, captains, deputy warden, counselors, supervisors and the major.

the gates are opening! (and a petition to free Marisol Garcia)

from California Coalition for Women Prisoners:

The gates are opening!

Since Brown took office, people who have been denied for years are finally getting out of prison.

on a more hopeful (and helpful) note...women's organizing against gender violence

If we're talking about abolishing prisons, we need to also talk about how to create safety without relying on the prisons or police (or brute strength). While such a task may seem daunting, communities both past and present have stepped up to the challenge:

Where Abolition Meets Action: Women Organizing Against Gender Violence

unfortunately, sexual abuse and preventable deaths are still all-too-common in prison

from this week's Human Rights Coalition's PA Prison Report

Sexual harassment and medical neglect at women's state prison: Two recent reports from women incarcerated at SCI Muncy women's prison describe how on certain units, male prison guards are permitted to come into the bathrooms while the women are using the toilet or showering, and that shower curtains are not tall enough to maintain privacy.The women describe these policies as inappropriate and harmful to their feelings of safety and privacy.One woman reported that male guards have b

California and NY seeking to reduce prison sentencing

Shorter prison time sought for abused women in NY

Resisting Gender Violence and the Prison Industrial Complex--an interview

With all the travel, events and event-planning of the past few months, I forgot to post the interview I did with Angola 3 News. It's since been reposted in several places and even published in the January 2011 issue of Z Magazine.

audio & video for past events

Part 1 of a presentation I gave at the 3rd Annual Law & Disorder conference in Portland in 2012: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=JqrZBaafYXs
Part 2 of the presentation (which moves into present-day mass incarceration) is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGs9Jla8GLo&feature=relmfu

Prisoners and Formerly Incarcerated Persons v the USA

Urge CA Governor Brown to Allow the Release of Marisol Garcia on Parole

from Deirdre Wilson at the California Coalition for Women Prisoners:

Ms. Garcia's story is heart-breaking - she has worked very hard to heal from childhood physical and sexual abuse, human trafficking, and terrorization of herself and her children at the hands of her ‘crime partner’. She accepts responsibility for her crime, expresses remorse for her actions, and has maintained an outstanding disciplinary record for the past 18 years.

This is the second time that the Board has found Ms.

Virginia women's prison testifies on rape report

from The Wall Street Journal Report:

The leaders of a Virginia prison with one of the highest reported percentages of inmate rape and sexual misconduct in the country said Tuesday they have worked to correct the problem with management changes and more investigators and cameras.

The officials from Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women, the largest prison for women in Virginia, testified before a Department of Justice panel created to examine sexual victimization in prisons and jails across the country.

Perryville Voices: Women's Work at Martori Farms (Arizona prisons)

Peg Plews reports on incarcerated women being forced to work at Martori Farms in Arizona:
Note that refusal to accept these jobs is grounds for transfer to a higher security yard or detention unit- is that what we want to be spending our corrections money on, instead of programs and health care for these women?...
an excerpt from a letter from one woman:
I work on a work crew for Martori Farms. We work 6 days a week for 8 hrs. It’s a mandatory overtime job.
Syndicate content