Tag Archives: midwest

Disturbance at Nebraska State Penitentiary Followed Change in Mealtime Procedures

From Omaha World Herald

A prison disturbance Tuesday that required the firing of a warning shot to quell it followed a change in mealtime procedures at the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

The change restricted the number of inmates who could eat in the dining hall at any given time and went into effect at the evening meal on Tuesday. Afterward, some inmates ignored multiple orders to return to their housing unit.

Groups of inmates throughout the prison then became defiant and verbally aggressive, according to a Corrections Department press release. After a group of inmates gathered and converged on staff, a warning shot was fired from a tower.

Continue reading →

Milwaukee IWOC calls for a national day of action in solidarity with the Dying to Live hunger strike at Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI).

 “…Well the past few days have been hard. Apart from the pain, humiliation, and sick process I have to go through 3 times per day in this force-feeding, I am okay. The weather though make it hard. It makes you dizzy and sick. Plus it makes you hungry as well. I try not to think of food or else you break,”

– Cesar DeLeon’s most recent letter to Milwaukee IWOC.

Cesar DeLeon and LaRon McKinley-Bey began refusing food on June 7. They called their protest Dying to Live, and demanded an end to indefinite solitary confinement, what the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WI DOC) calls Administrative Confinement (AC). On June 17 the DOC requested and got approval to force feed the hunger striking prisoners.

Milwaukee IWOC (The Incarcerated Worker’s Organizing Committee of the IWW) has been supporting this protest, in coalition with other groups for 60 days now. We have marched on the DOC twice, held rallies in Milwaukee and Madison, shamed DOC Secretary Jon Litscher at a public meeting he chaired, passed out hundreds of flyers and held banners over freeways many times. The DOC has conceded nothing, and conditions for the prisoners have remained abysmal.

June 10, Milwaukee, Photo credit: Sam Caravana. Published by Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

June 10, Milwaukee, Photo credit: Sam Caravana. Published by Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

Now Milwaukee IWOC is calling for national solidarity and mobilization to back up our next action. On Aug 13, we will mobilize against the WI DOC and we need others to amplify the signal and make the Dying to Live protest a national issue.

Why get involved?



Cesar DeLeon is a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) a militant labor union whose slogan is “An Injury to One is an Injury to All”. Cesar and LaRon have had tubes shoved down their noses to force bottles of ensure into their stomachs well over 100 times at this point. For a while, the staff doctor had advised that feeding three times a day was excessive, and changed the practice to once every couple of days, so we’re not clear on the actual number of
tube feedings. Continue reading →

Call-in For Zolo Azania

From New York City Jericho Movement

Dear Friends,We are writing to you today on behalf of political prisoner Zolo Azania. After 35 years of incarceration, 27 of them on death row, Zolo is finally due to be released in February, 2017. Regrettably, this final year has been made difficult for him. Zolo has brought to our attention a number of troubling matters and has requested that concerned individuals contact the Indiana Department of Corrections on his behalf.

It is our understanding that in recent months, violations of Zolo’s basic rights have included:

  • Confiscation (or destruction) of his personal property including his Holy Qur’an, dictionary, prayer cap and beads, art supplies, toothbrush and other items.

 

  • Prevention from participation in religious programming: Islamic faith based programs such as Jumu’ah service (Friday prayer) and Taleem (Muslim study class).

 

  • Irregular payment or denial of compensation at his minimum wage prison job, a job guaranteed to him by IDOC Commissioner Lemmon.

Zolo has consistently demonstrated good conduct and has received above average work evaluations. He does not deserve to be treated in this manner.

Please contact the Indiana Department of Corrections at 317-233-5541 or 232-5755 or email Commissioner Lemmon (blemmon@idoc.in.gov) and ask that Zolo’s concerns be addressed and remedied.

You can write
Zolo Azania #4969
Miami Correctional Facility
3038 West 850 South
Bunker Hill, IN 46914-9810

Bend the Bars Conference

From Bend the Bars 2016

On September 9, 2016, prisoners across the U.S. are initiating a wave of strikes and other forms of resistance to confinement and forced labor. It’s vital that we get organized on the outside to meaningfully support their resistance.

Bend the Bars will bring together a diversity of people who have a stake in supporting prisoners’ organizing and fighting against the prison system. We envision two days of workshops and discussions to share skills, meet each other, and build our strength. Throughout these days, we’ll highlight the voices of prisoners and ex-prisoners. And, importantly, there will be a public demonstration to make sure prisoners know that we have their backs.

More is coming soon! Details, invite, workshops, logistics, and more!

Save the date: August 26-29
Columbus, OHIO
bendthebars (a) riseup.net