Marking Prison Justice Day, on the inside and outside

August 10th is an important day for prisoners. It is Prison Justice Day, a memorial day for those living in prison, their families and the community to remember those who have died behind bars.

Prisoners mark the annual day by fasting and refusing to work.  On the outside community groups organize to raise awareness about inside conditions.

Started in Kingston, Ontario, the day has been around since 1975. [6]  But how the prison system has responded to the day has changed over the years. 

Jim is someone who has experienced Prison Justice Day (PJD) from both sides of the bars.  Jim is a lifer, meaning he is serving a life sentence. Now on the outside Jim works with Lifeline, an organization that supports lifers to make it on the outside. More recently, Jim has been organizing a project to send PJD shirts inside to prisoners….and has been experiencing new roadblocks from the system who aren’t too eager for prisoners to be marking August 10th.

Stark Raven spoke with Jim about his thoughts on PJD and tell us about how some prisons aren't allowing prisoners to access the PJD shirts.

Find out more about Prison Justice Day at www.prisonjustice.ca [7]

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