US States Alabama — In response to a call to action from a coalition of prisoners, including the Free Alabama Movement and Unheard Voices OTCJ, Kinetik Justice and Swift Justice, four prisoners went on a hunger strike at the Limestone Correctional Facility in protest against corruption, abuse, and the lack of accountability for the inhumane conditions in the state’s prisons, Truthout reports. Pennsylvania — As part of the Clean Slate law passed last year, state officials began seal- ing 30 million records that did not result in … [Read more...] about NEWS BRIEFS
News Briefs
NEWS BRIEFS
US States 1. Vermont—The ACLU of Vermont and the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School filed a class action lawsuit challenging the state’s refusal to treat hundreds of inmates with Hepatitis C, Vermont Business Magazine reports. The law- suit claims that the inmates are systematically denied medication that would cure their chronic Hepatitis C, which they claim violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment as well as the Americans with Dis- abilities Act. The inmates are asking the … [Read more...] about NEWS BRIEFS
Upcoming Events for San Quentin in July
San Quentin Day of Peace July 13th Lower Yard Ken Burns documentary July 24th Protestant Chapel 11:00-1:00pm San Quentin Barbershop Dialogue July 26th Protestant Chapel 10:00-3:00pm San Quentin Education Graduation July 26th San Quentin Yard Show July 27th Lower Yard … [Read more...] about Upcoming Events for San Quentin in July
NEWS BRIEFS
1. Alabama—The Department of Justice issued a report that showed how overcrowding, poor conditions, inadequate staffing, and deliberate indifference from prison officials contributed to a rise in violence, sexual abuse, and extortion, The Appeal reports. The problem became known after prisoners held hunger strikes and posted videos showing abuse on the internet. Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband and three U.S. attorneys wrote a letter to Governor Kay Ivey that said, “In particular we have reasonable cause to believe that Alabama … [Read more...] about NEWS BRIEFS
Wall City Volume 2: If you want it all – look here!
Everyone who donates $40 or more to San Quentin News this year will get a free gift – a full color 32-page Wall City magazine Volume 2– written and created by inmates. This is the second volume of Wall City – the San Quentin News publication focused on keeping you informed on criminal justice and rehabilitation issues. The all-new spring 2019 magazine gift is in addition to our gift of twelve months of the San Quentin News newspaper delivered to you. Generous contributions from readers like you are vital in fulfilling our … [Read more...] about Wall City Volume 2: If you want it all – look here!
News Briefs
1. Muscatine, Iowa – Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said that more states should let people with felony records vote while they’re in prison in an article in the Des Moines Register. “I think that is absolutely the direction we should go,” Sanders said in response to a question regarding voting from prison. 2. Nevada – An estimated 90,000 Nevadans were un- able to vote in the 2016 election because of prior convictions, or about 4% of the voting age population, reports The Nevada Independent. A new bill would … [Read more...] about News Briefs
NEWS BRIEFS
1. South Carolina –There were at least 10 suicides in the state’s prisons last year— the cause of two deaths have not yet been determined, re- ports The Post and Courier. In addition, there were nine homicides — including seven at Lee Correctional, making last year the deadliest year in the history of the state’s prisons. Prison homicides and suicides have risen in the state for at least five years in a row even as the inmate population declined. 2. Cleveland, Ohio –The state’s prison system is so short of staff that interns evaluate the … [Read more...] about NEWS BRIEFS
News Briefs
California in United States Adelanto, California — Last November, 11 U.S. senators, including 2020 presidential prospect Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, sent letters to Geo Group and CoreCivic criticizing the “perverse profit incentive at the core of the private prison business,” reports Reuters. Detainees are paid $1-a-day salary at the privately run Adelanto Detention Facility, however, a can of tuna sells for $3.25 in the facility’s commissary — four times the price at a Target store near the small desert town of Adelanto; ramen … [Read more...] about News Briefs
News Briefs
Alabama – State lawmakers took steps to change Alabama’s execution method from lethal injections to nitrogen hypoxia, Criminal Legal News reports. The change ended a lawsuit filed by eight Death Row prisoners who chose execution by nitrogen hypoxia over lethal injection.Arkansas – A trial judge dismissed all charges against former Death Row prisoner Rickey Dale Newman and set him free on Oct. 11. Newman spent nearly 17 years incarcerated following the February 2001 murder of a transient woman, the Death Penalty Information Center reports. He … [Read more...] about News Briefs
AROUND THE WORLD
January 2019 SQN ADVISER JAN PERRY AT YOSEMITE PARK PUP Staff Dmitriy Orlov, Lauren Hall, Heather Hart, Allison Lopez, Jared Rothenberg, Neil Terpkosh, David Cowan, and Amy Jamgochian at the National Conference on Higher Education in Indianapolis … [Read more...] about AROUND THE WORLD