Category: Prisons

Prisons — Depends On Where You Stand: Glenn Kaiser Interviews UPLC’s Alan Mills

I’m cameraman and video editor, neither job being my primary skill set, in this Glenn Kaiser interview of activist prison lawyer Alan Mills. Both men are my friends, and both forgive me. Bonus: music written by Glenn and myself (lyrics) at the tail end. More information about Alan’s organization, Uptown People’s Law Center. And, to visit Glenn Kaiser‘s site. The […]

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“Blood Dried in the Sun”: Four Novelists on Being Black and Dealing with Police

“Blood Dried in the Sun”: Four Novelists on Being Black and Dealing with Police

Violence against blacks by police. Yesterday, one black man murdered in Minnesota and one murdered in Louisiana. Many yesterdays here in Chicago. Not a time to hear my own white male voice. Where race is concerned this is doubly true. I thought I’d simply post four black novelists’ words here instead. Need it be said that black fiction is often truer […]

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Torture Behind Bars – The Prison Crisis in America (video w/ Alan Mills)

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Big Government in Texas Executes Man with 61 IQ

Big Government in Texas Executes Man with 61 IQ

[Lost the extensive comments to this post in the move to our new blog… I’ll try to restore ’em at some point. Sorry about that. — jon] Despite appeals from both religious and ethical leaders across the world, the State of Texas has again executed a prisoner. To quote Amnesty International, According to his most recent test, Marvin Wilson has […]

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Again The Electric Chair!? – Tennessee is Wrong to Re-institute It

Again The Electric Chair!? – Tennessee is Wrong to Re-institute It

So… when lethal injection doesn’t work due to the drugs being “unavailable” (due to companies not wanting their product linked with state-sanctioned murder)… Tennessee has now made using the Electric Chair mandatory. You know, that vicious obscenity that is a proven torture device? Seven other states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Virginia, still authorize use of […]

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Nelson Mandela’s Passing — Memories, Reflections, and Gratitude from One JPUSA Member

Nelson Mandela’s Passing — Memories, Reflections, and Gratitude from One JPUSA Member

It felt more emotional than I’d expected… personal, even. Nelson Mandela is dead. A great, great man has passed out of this world. And I am reminded again of all the history South Africa and the United States share regarding both racial injustice and the heroes such injustice forged. Mr. Mandela was South Africa’s George Washington, Martin Luther King, and […]

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Guantanamo: Doing to Others…

Guantanamo: Doing to Others…

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is, don’t put people in prison without a trial or even specific accusations of wrong-doing. “Walking while Muslim” or “Walking while a bearded male in Iraq / Afghanistan” is not a good reason to put someone into solitary confinement for (in many cases) over a decade. What if […]

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