Tag Archives: prisons

Manchester Says No to a New “Mega-Prison”

From IWOC UK

[On] Wednesday August 10th, Manchester residents and supporters marked International Prisoner Justice day by demanding that local councils reject proposals for a new “mega-prison”. The group assembled at Manchester Town Hall in Albert Square and marched to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) offices, engaging with passers-by to build resistance to the plans.

The Conservative Government is pushing GMCA to find a site for a huge new “resettlement jail”, ignoring evidence against the effectiveness of custodial sentences, and the research-led calls for a nation-wide ban on new prison construction. Campaigners believe that, rather than wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on constructing and operating a new prison, Manchester would be better served by community-based solutions which tackle the root causes of harmful behaviour such as improved mental health care, homelessness support and working conditions.

The informal, grass-roots “Manchester No Prisons” group plans to continue its work: building solidarity with prisoners across the North-West and beyond, educating ourselves about the prison-industrial complex and humane alternatives to incarceration, and pressuring Manchester councils to build communities, not more prisons. Find the group on Facebook or e-mail noprisonsmcr@riseup.net to see how you can get involved!

Continuous Rebellion, A Letter From Prisoner and Comrade Michael Kimble

From Anarchy Live

[Note: Below is a text from anarchist comrade Michael Kimble, who just got thrown into segregation for allegedly participating in the most recent rebellion at Holman Prison.]

At the moment I’m writing from segregation (lockup) after being stripped, handcuffed, slapped, and placed here by the CERT (riot squad) on Monday, August 1, 2016 at approximately 11:45 pm. It’s now Wednesday and I haven’t been given my personal property (shoes/slides, soap, deodorant, clothes, toothbrush, etc.) nor have I received a 72 hour investigation notice as to why I’m being held in segregation.

I’m assuming that I’m being held for being involved in a rebellion (riot) that popped off on August 1, 2016 at around 3:06 pm. Initially there was a fight between prisoners, but escalated into a rebellion against the guards when they tried to intervene after being told numerous times that things were under control.

The guards didn’t listen and was chased out of C-dorm, which has become a space of self-governance and resistance against prison officials. Fires were set, control units taken.

I’m one of about ten prisoners who was also placed in segregation.

So, if you don’t hear from me personally, it means that all my property, including letters, addresses, phone numbers, have been destroyed or lost. I’ve had to borrow writing materials to get this out.

You can write Michael at,

Michael Kimble # 00138017

Holman 3700
Atmore, AL 36503-3700

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 →

The Prison Builder’s Dilemma: Economics And Ethics Clash In Eastern Kentucky

From Ohio Valley Resource

You are Letcher County, Kentucky. You are rural, mountainous, and in the heart of the central Appalachian coalfields. Your economy is not in good shape. Fox News has called your largest town “the poster child for the war on coal.” You are offered funds to build a new federal prison. It could bring jobs but also brings up troubling moral issues. What do you do?

Call it the prison builder’s dilemma: Letcher County and other rural areas are wrestling with a choice between a potential economic boost and the ethical burden of becoming the nation’s jailers.

Coalfield economies have been hit hard by the industry’s recent decline and eastern Kentucky’s 5th Congressional District has been among the most affected. Today it has the second lowest median household income in the country, and the second-lowest rate of labor force participation. In recent years, a big chunk of the money flowing into the region has come through the Bureau of Prisons. Three federal penitentiaries have been built in the district, and now, money has been set aside to build a fourth— in Letcher County.

“I Don’t Know Anything Better”

Elwood Cornett is a retired educator and preacher of the distinctly Appalachian Old Regular Baptist tradition. More recently, he’s been serving as the head of the Letcher County Planning Commission, and a leader in the effort to bring a federal prison to Letcher County. Continue reading →