Author Archives: Jimbo Jambo

The Rankest Riot: Saskatchewan Prison Uprising One Year Later

On December 14, 2016, at least 185 prisoners at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary in Canada refused to attend their normally-scheduled activities and instead masked up, destroyed surveillance cameras in the area, erected barricades, set fires, destroyed significant portions of the prison and smashed a hole in the floor so they could move to different units. The Correctional Service Canada has since estimated the damages to the prison at approximately $3.6 million. Six prisoners were shot with live ammunition by guards during the uprising, but all survived…

In relaying these descriptions of the inhumane conditions at Saskatchewan Penitentiary, we are not advocating for modern and compassionate imprisonment, nor are we saying that prisoners who are not facing overtly disgusting conditions of confinement do not have valid reasons to rebel. What we are saying is the caging of human life is a horror and those who seek to maintain their humanity must not look away when confronted with descriptions of these modern-day Bedlams.

Click here for the full article.

New Mail Policy in Michigan Prisons

New Mail Policy in Michigan Prisons:
Billionaires Profit at the Expense of Prisoners, their Families and Friends, and U.S. Postal Service

First posted at Rand Gould’s website, here.

When the state is most corrupt the laws are multiplied. –Tacitus

Effective November 1st, 2017, the Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) has instituted a new mail policy, which they falsely claim will stem the flow of contraband, primarily the controlled substances suboxone and fentanyl, into Michigan prisons, when they well-know over 80 percent of all contraband is smuggled into prisons by employees, as confirmed by multiple studies. If the MDOC really wanted to stop drugs and other contraband, such as cell phones and tobacco, from entering its prisons, then they would search all MDOC employees just as thoroughly upon entry as they do prisoners’ families and friends when visiting. Consequently, one can only conclude that stopping contraband is not the goal of this new policy, merely the excuse for it, and a cynical person might easily think this new policy’s goal is to enable MDOC employees to corner the remaining 20 percent of the contraband market.

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