Prison Industrial Complex
The Prison Industrial Complex in Indigenous California
by
Stormy Ogden
Ogden describes the historical legacy of the racism, abuse and mistreatment of Native American peoples in the United States at the hands of the U.S. government. She connects their history with the current imprisonment of Native Americans, including her own story to demonstrate the oppressive impact of incarceration. Keywords: Prison Life, Native American Prisoners, Prison Industrial Complex, Personal Narrative, Racism, .
Mapping The Way Home: Reducing Barriers to Women’s Reentry After Prison
by
Patricia O’Brien
O’Brien describes the difficulties that women face in returning to the community after prison. She addresses the major areas of concern in women’s reentry: relationships with their families and children, housing, relationships, substance abuse and recovery, and employment. For each of these areas, O’Brien lists specific policy changes that could have a positive effect on women’s abilities to rebuild their lives upon their return.
United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
by
Bonnie Kerness
These past years hve been full of thousands of calls and complaints of increasingly distrubing nature from prisoners and their families throughout the United States. The proportion of those complaints coming from women has risen, with women describing conditions of confinement, which are torture.
Life’s Turning Points
by
Karen Johnson
Karen tells how her life has taken an unexpected turn through incarceration. Trying to hold on to the bonds of wife and mother while doing time.
Freedom Fantasy
by
Sara Olson
In March, 2008 I was released from Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, California after over six years in prison. I won a writ, a portion of one anyway, in October, 2007 in Los Angeles that agreed with my attorneys that the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) had violated my double jeopardy right by adding a year to a sentence that a real court had already addressed. I got half-time, so six months were deducted from my sentence and the BPH commanded staff at CCWF to release me March 17, as the court had ordered.
A Modern Modest Proposal
by
Sara Olson
The systems of federal and state and corporate imprisonment, the Prison/Industrial Complex, are growth industries in the United States. While there has been much attention worldwide to the human rights travesty of massive American incarceration, criticism has brought no reduction, only growth in the numbers. Incarceration is aimed at a certain group of people Blacks, Latinos, and the poor.
Environmental Essay
by
Sara Olson
The systems of federal and state and corporate imprisonment, the Prison/Industrial Complex, are growth industries in the United States. While there has been much attention worldwide to the human rights travesty of massive American incarceration, criticism has brought no reduction, only growth in the numbers. Incarceration is aimed at a certain group of people Blacks, Latinos, and the poor.
The Conditions in Women’s Prisons
by
Sara Olson
Today in California, there are 22,000 women, inmates and parolees, whose convictions are for, on the whole, non-violent and drug-related crimes. Women normally plea-bargain their cases. Even for violent crimes, we are usually sentenced as aiders and abettors. Because we are fallen women, our sentences tend to be longer than those for men convicted of the same crimes. When it comes to murder, women primarily kill abusers who have been torturing them for many years. Public financing for women’s prisons is money misspent.
Fourth of July at CCWF July 2006
by
Sara Olson
Olson tell of a Fourth of July and Life at CCWF When you come into the CDC, it’s a whole different world. It’s like t third world country. You’re completely cut off from civilization. I was freaked out when I got here. I was sure some of the prisoners were men. ‘Are they men? I asked. I had no idea You’re isolated.
Are We Really Innocent Before Proven Guilty?
by
Jennifer Price
Jennifer tells her experience in the criminal justice system. In my experience a Public Defender is more like a ‘figurehead’, appointed to the poor to give the illusion of fair representation and justice for all. My Public Defender advised me to accept one of the plea bargains. I looked at him and said, “But I am not guilty”. He said that didn’t really matter because I looked guilty”.
Reproductive Rights in Theory and Practice: The Meaning of Roe v. Wade for Women in Prison
by
Rachel Roth
This article is an overview of women’s health care in jails and prisons, with special attention to access to reproductive health services. It was written for the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the theme is that no one really has a “right” or a “choice” if she doesn’t have access to the resources needed to carry out that choice. The article highlights two recent studies that are the result of collaborations between prisoners’ rights groups and public health students.
Women’s Rights Dont Stop at the Jailhouse Door
by
Rachel Roth
This article is a discussion of incarcerated women’s abortion rights. The article also discusses the difficulties of carrying a pregnancy to term on the inside and the risk that women will lose their parental rights if they have to put their children in foster care.
Beyond Gender-Specific Intervention: Theory-driven Praxis
by
Laurie Schaffner
Laurie Schaffner’s essay challenges the ways that juvenile justice programs aim to help girls by working in ‘gender responsive’ ways. She claims these programs often do little besides training young girls to ‘have manners’ and ‘talk about their feelings,’ as opposed to critically understanding the ways in which gender functions. Schaffner suggests that gender-specific interventions should be responsive to young women’s lived realities, including experiences of racism and poverty.
Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness for Incarcerated Women”
by
Karen Shain
Administrative Director of San Francisco-based Legal Services for Prisoners with Children Karen Shain unfolds the meaning of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for women living behind bars. Paying particular attention to the poor healthcare provided in California jails, Shain addresses the issue of international human rights and the violation of these international standards in jails and prisons in the U.S.
Why A Book About Women In Prison: (Excerpt From Women Behind Bars) “Health Care Can Be Deadly”
by
Silja Talvi
This question is entirely valid, the deeper I began to delve into the underlying reasons for the rapid growth of girls and women in lock-up, the more insight I gained into a world that few outsiders see, much less understand. Once I began to pay particularly close attention to the ways in which females in the criminal justice system were portrayed in the media, it became clear to me that stereotypes and judgments about “fallen women” from centuries ago were still holding fast.
Living Conditions Here in the CCWF
by
Patricia Wright
This article tells of the unfair treatment, unsanitary, and overcrowding living conditions of CCWF and how the inmates are forced to live in these conditions. California has the largest female institution in America and it is still overcrowded. The overcrowdings of the institution leads to daily fights, unsanitary chow halls, and a exhausted staff to run the institution.
Masked Racism: Reflections on the Prison Industrial Complex
by
Angela Davis
In this essay, Angela Davis discusses the operation and impact of the Prison Industrial Complex. Through her examination of the economy of incarceration, Davis demonstrates how private corporations benefit from the incarceration of increasing numbers of people of color. Davis argues that although the prison boom has increased the profits of global corporations, it “devours the social wealth” of our communities by draining them of their human and economic resources.
The Vermont Women’s Prison Project
by
Judy Harden
and Mary Field Belenky
Based on extensive interviews with both staff and incarcerated women in one Vermont prison, this article examines the supportive relationships women form with one another and with “good” guards. The authors discuss the women’s and guards’ stories about positive changes within women’s behavior and outlook during their incarceration, emphasizing the importance of new-found relationships and trust in supporting such changes.
Suicide City
by
Sara Olson
In March, 2008 I was released from Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, California after over six years in prison. I won a writ, a portion of one anyway, in October, 2007 in Los Angeles that agreed with my attorneys that the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) had violated my double jeopardy right by adding a year to a sentence that a real court had already addressed. I got half-time, so six months were deducted from my sentence and the BPH commanded staff at CCWF to release me March 17, as the court had ordered.
Disabled in Prison
by
Delores Garcia
By telling her own story, Delores Garcia exposes the injustices to which many disabled prisoners are subjected. Incarcerated far from home, Ms. Garcia is isolated from family and friends as she struggles to receive the medical treatment necessary to keep her alive.
Voices in Time
by
Salome Chasnoff
This essay from Feminist Studies, looks at Voices in Time is about a multimedia installation that artistically recreates a furnished prison cell, echoing with women’s stories. It was featured in Beyondmedia Education’s “30 Days of Art and Education on Women’s Incarceration” and continues to tour Chicago and surrounding areas.
Prison Life: A Day
by
Marilyn Buck
Marilyn Buck illustrates a prisoner’s determined efforts to reaffirm her own humanity in the face of constant indignities by describing one day of her own life in prison. Buck is a political prisoner serving eighty years in prison. She has been an active supporter of the Black Liberation movement and other struggles for self-determination.
Bill of Health Rights for Incarcerated Girls
by
Health and Medicine Policy Research Group
and Girl Talk
This bill of rights was created through a participatory research and action project by young women who were incarcerated in Cook County’s Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. It has been used to support young women’s work to improve conditions within the detention center.
Excerpt from Banished Pride
by
Gina Autrey
I have a hard time trusting others. My friendship is not something that is given freely. I can count on one hand the people who I truly consider to be my friend.
Two Immigrants Who Followed the Path to Citizenship Tell Stories of Detention and Deportation
by
Amy Goodman
and Carolina Fulecio Hernandez
This interview by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now explores women’s experiences with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including detention and deportation. Carolina Fulecio Hernandez describes her arrest by ICE agents, followed by detention and deportation to Guatemala. Sharon Nyantekyi describes her detention at a private detention facility run by Corrections Corporation of America.
Native American Prisoners, Personal Narrative, Prison Life, Prison-Industrial Complex, Racism