More Prisons More Prisoners 2

This is Harper's idea of a multi-pronged approach to unemployment in this challenging economic climate.  It seeks to encourage a reduction in the overall figures by potentially creating more jobs for the prison industry, while simultaneously incarcerating as many of those as possible who make up the statistics; thereby removing them entirely from consideration within the unemployment rate.  You have to admit that it represents a far more aggressive strategy than the elementary one used by the Americans, where they simply stop counting people as being unemployed when they run out of benefits.

Tens of Thousands of California Prisoners Launch Mass Hunger Strike The strikers are calling for an end to long-term solitary confinement and better prison conditions.

On Monday, July 8, prisoners at the Security Housing Unit (SHU) in California’s Pelican Bay State Prison began a mass hunger strike to protest long-term solitary confinement. It is not the first time such an action has taken place. In 2011, prisoners staged two separate hunger strikes to protest their continued placement in long-term solitary confinement.

Hunger strikers issued five core demands:

1. Eliminate group punishments for individual rules violations.

2. Abolish the debriefing policy and modify active/inactive gang status criteria.

3. Comply with the recommendations of the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in Prisons (2006) regarding an end to long-term solitary confinement.

4. Provide adequate food.

5. Expand and provide constructive programs and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates....

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/07/11-6

On one extreme, people like Paul Bernardo and Clifford Olsen need to be kept off the streets. A person who grew a little pot? Obviously not. There are corporate fraudsters or white collar criminals who are acting with impunity, stealing the life savings of Canadians and others worldwide. No one would miss them and the lawyers, geologists, and accountants who enable them.

Is there a causal link between locking up criminals and the crime rate? As US incarceration rates go up, their crime rates seem to be falling. Another argument is that if you legalize abortion, crime rates go down a generation later. Locking up people to prevent them from committing more crimes is called the "prophylactic" aspect of criminal "justice".

The other cliche is that the population needs "to see justice being done", which is called the "retributive" or "punitive" aspect of criminal "justice". Some victims need to see their abusers being punished before they can get closure. An eye for an eye. This is sometimes known as the "therapeutic" aspect, "therapeutic" for the victims of crime and not the perpetrators of it.

Finally, advocates of prisons cite the "deterrent" aspect of the system. This only works if people think that they are always being watched. Throw in an "all-seeing" God who will send you to hell, even if you are not caught by police, and you will walk the straight and narrow. Most people walk the "straight and narrow" because they think they will be caught for doing otherwise.

CanadaOrangeCat wrote:

On one extreme, people like Paul Bernardo and Clifford Olsen need to be kept off the streets.

The extreme end of callous disregard for life is neither of those people. His name is Edward Burkhardt and he has killed way more people.  He is not going to jail despite being a repeat offender in negligence. His cut throat business practices killed 50 people. He needs to be jailed before his addiction to profit claims more innocent lives.

The drive for all three men is power over others and they display the same sociopathic disregard for others.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP STOP THE TORTURE:
Tell the PBSP prison authorities to return the 14 prisoner Representatives to their cells. (Their names and prison numbers are at the end of this email.)
Return all their property, especially the legal documents guards have confiscated.
Lift the ban on their attorney, Marilyn McMahon, so that she can again access her clients.
Medically monitor the men to ensure that the prison has not destroyed their health!

1. Contact Pelican Bay Warden Gregory Lewis:
*** phone: 707-465-1000 x5001
*** email: [email protected]

2. Copy to Dr. Jeffrey Beard, Secretary of CDCR
*** phone: 916-323-6001 (alternatively 916-445-5073)
*** fax: 916-442-2637
*** letter: Dr. Jeffrey Beard, Secretary CDCR, 1515 S Street, 5th Floor;
Sacramento, California 94283

3. Copy to Assistant Warden at Pelican Bay, Rawland Swift
*** phone: 465-1000 x6254
*** email: [email protected]

4. Back up: Public Information Officer at PBSP Christopher Acosta
*** office phone: 707-465-9040
*** cell phone: 707-951-0350

THE 14 PRISONER REPRESENTATIVES:
1. Todd Ashker C58191
2. Arturo Castellanos C17275
3. Sitawa/ R.N Dewberry C35671
4. Antonio Guillen P81948
5. Danny Troxell B76578
6. George Franco D46556
7. Ronnie Yandell V27927
8. Paul Redd, Jr. B72683
9. James Baridi Williamson D34288
10. Alfred Sandoval D61000
11. Louis Powell B59864
12. Alex Yrigollen H32421
13. Gabriel Huerta C80766
14. Frank Clement D07919

Please write to the Reps.* Include one sheet of paper, one envelope and one loose stamp so they can write someone outside the walls. You can address your letter with the person’s name & prison number; Pelican Bay State Prison/SHU; PO Box 7500. Crescent City, 95532.
*Mr. Arturo Castellanos may not be able to receive your letter. He’s on ‘restricted mail,’ by the prison authorities.

Thank you so much for your solidarity,
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition: Pledge of Resistance work group
(for more info, http://www.prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com)

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Retaliation Continues Against Hunger Strike, Coalition Refutes CDCR’s Gang Myths

Oakland, July 22, 2013 – As the California prison hunger strike enters its 3rd week, reports of retaliation against strikers have increased.  Last week it was reported that prison officials had moved at least 14 strikers from the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay to Administrative Segregation (Ad-Seg), confiscated confidential legal documents, and forced cold air into their cells.  Later in the week, legal advocate Marilyn McMahon and one of her paralegals were summarily banned from visiting any California prison.  Reports that strikers have been moved to Ad-Seg or to entirely different facilities have also been coming from Corcoran State Prison.  The denial of medical care to strikers, especially those with preexisting health conditions, remains a widespread concern for families and advocates.

Meanwhile, the California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) continues to claim that the hunger strike is a massive gang conspiracy.....

https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2013/07/22/retaliat...

HUNGER STRIKE DAY 16: CDCR Refuses to Negotiate, Strikers Issue New Statement

With the California prisoner hunger strike in its 3rd week, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and medical receiver officials agreed to meet with a mediation team working on behalf of the hunger strikers.  While the mediators were hopeful that the CDCR would discuss negotiations around the strikers‘ demands, they were quickly disappointed and dismayed by the CDCR’s conduct.

“The CDCR refused to let family members of strikers who are part of our team join in the discussions, they refused to negotiate or even address the strikers’ five demands, and they failed in any way to appreciate the urgency of this situation,” said mediator Ron Ahnen.  The mediation team’s meeting with the federal health receiver’s office overseeing the California prison system left some assurances that the strikers would receive due medical care and left open prospects for future communication and discussions.

“This is a matter of life and death for both the strikers and their families,” said mediator Barbara Becnel.  “We object in the strongest possible terms to the complacency of the CDCR.”  Mediators have urged CDCR Secretary Beard to meet with them as soon as possible.  His office has yet to respond....

https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/hunger-s...

Letters from Inside

Letter from PBSP dated July 28, 21st day of hunger strike: He’s lost over 40 pounds “and getting smaller by the day” — all fat gone, body eating muscle now. “There are several who already fell out from effects of the HS and we have some who have been placed in the hospital and the prison specialty clinic. But there are many of us who will see this out to the end. We are still strong.”

Postcard from PBSP dated July 29: “[…] they moved 14 of the reps [and others accused of being reps] to Administrative Segregation to further isolate them. The top brass ordered […] by the top brass out of Sacramento. […] But nothing changed, my sista. We are now on our 21st day and maintaining our course.”...

https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2013/08/05/letters-...

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Oakland Protestors Released

Photo of the folks who went to jail yesterday for occupying the State Building in Oakland. Taken in the wee hours of the AM, right after they got out of Santa Rita.

Activists Lock Down at State Building, Call for Brown, CDCR to Negotiate with Prison Hunger Strikers and
Police Arrest 7 Prison Hunger Strike Supporters at State Building.

Mediators Talk with Prisoners as Hunger Strike Reaches One Month, Situation Critical, Negotiations Crucial

Today, August 8 2013,  marks one month for prisoners on hunger strike throughout the California prison system.  Earlier today, the mediation team working on behalf of the strikers was able to speak to the prisoners at Pelican Bay who initially called for the strike.  Just moments ago members of the mediation team issued the following statement:

All of the members of our mediation team were able to speak with hunger strike representatives at Pelican Bay for two-and-a-half hours.   All four representatives are totally united and resolute.  They were clear that this peaceful protest is not about them—it is about making real, fundamental changes to an incredibly unjust system. 

They haven’t eaten for 32 days but they are cogent, focused, and committed.

We were able to work together to develop new ideas about how to move forward, which we’ll be acting on over the next few days.  The mediation team will be staying in contact with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and issuing statements daily.

Reports from prisoners at Pelican Bay indicate escalated mistreatment from guards in the Administrative Segregation and Security Housing Units.  Prisoners report being verbally abused by guards and over hearing them discussing orders “to treat some prisoners really nicely and others really badly.”   Despite the abuse, prisoners remain steadfast in continuing their protest.  “They are obviously feeling the effects of not having eaten in over a month, but they remain strong and in high spirits” said Anne Weills, a lawyer representing strikers at Pelican Bay. “They are fighting for themselves, their fellow prisoners, and those who will come after them.  They are incredibly inspired by all the support they’ve received, and are steadfast in their commitments to improving conditions.”...

https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/mediator...

As California Prisoner Hunger Strike Reaches Critical Moment, Families and Advocates Return to Capitol, Demand Action from State Government

All eyes are on California, as prisoners across the state’s vast prison system hit their 38th day of hunger strike in protest of the torturous conditions of solitary confinement.  Prisoners’ loved ones and supporters joined 100 people on the steps of the state capitol Wednesday afternoon, August 14, to demand swift and resolute action from California decision makers.  Activists also set up a life-sized replica of a Security Housing Unit (SHU) cell, encouraging the governor, legislators, and members of the public to experience for just a few minutes what thousands of California prisons live through, many for decades.

Irene Huerta’s husband has been in solitary for 28 years and is currently on hunger strike.  Huerta is part of a mediation team that is trying to keep channels of communication open between strikers and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), with hopes of reaching an end to the strike.  “It is important for us to be here today.  It is day 38 and our loved ones could die soon if no one steps up to do anything,” says Huerta.  She joins many others in condemning the CDCR’s continued attacks on strikers, along with Governor Brown’s total silence on the entire issue.  “For Brown to say nothing at all, at such a critical moment, that is a slap in the face.  To say anything at all, even to speak against the strike, that’s one thing.  But to remain silent when people’s lives are on the line and their families are worried sick? There is nothing worse.”....

https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2013/08/14/as-calif...

California jails: “Solitary confinement can amount to cruel punishment, even torture” – UN rights expert

GENEVA (23 August 2013) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan E. Méndez, today urged the United States Government to abolish the use of prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement. There are approximately 80,000 prisoners in the United States of America who are subjected to solitary confinement, nearly 12,000 are in isolation in the state of California.

“Even if solitary confinement is applied for short periods of time, it often causes mental and physical suffering or humiliation, amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and if the resulting pain or sufferings are severe, solitary confinement even amounts to torture,” Mr. Méndez stressed as nearly 200 inmates in Californian detention centres approach their fifth consecutive week on hunger strike against cruel, inhuman and degrading prison conditions.

“I urge the US Government to adopt concrete measures to eliminate the use of prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement under all circumstances,” he said, “including an absolute ban of solitary confinement of any duration for juveniles, persons with psychosocial disabilities or other disabilities or health conditions, pregnant women, women with infants and breastfeeding mothers as well as those serving a life sentence and prisoners on death row.”...

https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2013/08/23/californ...

The Shame of the State Prison Medicine and the California Hunger Strike

The Federal court decision on August 19 giving the state permission to force-feed hunger strikers deemed “at risk of near-term death or great bodily injury” is a shameful one. It violates long-established international law. The World Medical Association confirms force-feeding as an inhuman and degrading treatment that qualifies as torture by the European Court of Human Rights. Today’s order allows prisoners who previously executed “do not resuscitate” directives to be excluded, unless they were signed for the purpose of taking part in the hunger strike. It also allows officials to ignore such a directive if they determine “it was the result of coercion.”

The fact that such a sweeping order came at the request not only of corrections officials but of the court-appointed receiver’s office which oversees health care in the prisons is profoundly disturbing to those of us in the health professions who believe that our patients, including patients who are prisoners, have the right to reject unwanted medical treatment and their autonomy should be respected.

This hunger strike is historic; it will be remembered for years to come as a moment when prisoners united across deep racial divisions to assert, with their bodies on the line, what it means to be human fighting against an inhuman system. It is a moment when the prison medical department could have shown that it has been rehabilitated. It could have demonstrated its independence from the custodial culture that has overwhelmed it for so many years.  Prison medical staff had the opportunity to play a protective role for their patients who are risking their health and possibly their lives by for an end to long-term solitary confinement.  It’s a loss for everyone that they have allied themselves so shamefully with an intransigent prison administration that continues to deny the humanity of those in its custody....

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/08/27/prison-medicine-and-the-californi...

..nicely put jerrym!

Prisoner Hunger Strike Fight Moves to Courts, Community Rallies in Support

In the wake of one of the largest hunger strikes in US history, prisoners will continue their fight in the courtroom Thursday afternoon.  Lawyers will present oral arguments in Ashker v. Brown, a federal lawsuit on behalf of prisoners at the Pelican Bay State Prison in California. They will be seeking to certify a class of all prisoners serving indeterminate terms at the Pelican Bay Security Housing Unit (SHU), and a subclass of all prisoners who have been held at the Pelican Bay SHU for more than 10 years.  Supporters will hold a press conference and rally at the Federal Building in Oakland before today’s proceedings....

https://prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/2013/09/26/prisoner...

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California prison hunger strike leader: 'If necessary we'll resume. This is war'

Exclusive: From solitary confinement at the brutal Pelican Bay, Todd Ashker led a protest that shook the US penal system

Todd Ashker enters the visitation cubicle and a metal door slides shut behind him. He places his hands into a slot so a guard on the other side can unlock the handcuffs. He rubs his wrists and sits on the fixed stool. Scars and tattoos cover his arms. The hair is grey and close cropped, the moustache almost white. He is much thinner than the muscled, bulked-up prisoner I have seen in photos.

A thick glass window separates us and a surveillance camera peeps down, recording the scene. Ashker picks up the phone. I pick up mine. The voice is strong, with a vaguely mid-western lilt. "So. You're here."

Here is Pelican Bay state prison, an outpost of concrete and razor wire in a forest near California's border with Oregon. A beautiful, rugged landscape where Pacific waves crash against cliffs of redwood. You don't see any of that from the super-maximum security jail. Except for the blue guard towers it is drained of colour, a grey sameness coating gravel, fences and buildings.

It was built to isolate "the worst of the worst", the most dangerous murderers and gang leaders. Ashker, 50, has spent most of his life here: "They'll never let me out. I'm going to die here, I know that. But I have a choice. I can slowly rot or I can fight. Fight to change things."...

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/27/california-prison-hunger-st...