Tuesday, March 19, 2024
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Tags Virginia Department of Corrections

Tag: Virginia Department of Corrections

My return to Virginia: A tribute to people power

This is what commitment looks like – day to day, every day – Truth to Power, by any means necessary.

Free Uhuru! Supporters ask Gov. Northam to grant him clemency

Justice for Uhuru Coordinating Committee (JUCC) is ramping up efforts to free unjustly sentenced Uhuru Baraka Rowe, and take down Virginia’s Richmond Circuit Court Judge James B. Wilkinson for egregious judicial bias and racism in sentencing of Black people.

Urgent call to action: Rashid says, ‘They are trying to kill...

From Pendleton Correctional Facility in Indiana, Kevin ‘Rashid’ Johnson is pleading for help after being attacked by another prisoner, his personal property being confiscated by prison staff and finally receiving disciplinary charges against him.

Stop the retaliatory abuse against Kevin ‘Rashid’ Johnson now!

Demand justice! Demand respect! Demand humanity! Kevin “Rashid” Johnson, made a target of abusive and retaliatory practices back in May for publicizing the dangerous, inhumane and unsanitary conditions perpetrated upon himself and fellow prisoners at Pendleton Correctional Facility, continues to suffer retaliation for speaking truth!

Rashid transferred to Sussex II Prison; his life in danger, he...

Rashid wasn’t transferred out of state; instead, he was transferred to Sussex II, another Virginia prison. He has been put under extraordinarily bad conditions, and we need everyone who can to start calling into that prison to make demands on his behalf. The focus should be on his medical emergency. He needs to be taken to medical to have his blood pressure checked and in order for any adjustments to be made to his medications.

Criminalizing ‘Panther Love’ and the New Wave COINTELPRO tactics in Texas...

We continue to see and hear lies coming from U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies in respect to their hyper-surveillance of groups and individuals who are New Afrikans and who engage in constitutionally protected activities such as protests, rallies, marches, litigation and political efforts. With this essay, I seek to give a detailed explanation into the ongoing campaign of retaliation and harassment the members of the NABPP-PC have been subjected to.

My struggle for freedom in the midst of Virginia’s Truth-in-Sentencing and...

I am a 38-year-old Black male from the city of Richmond, Virginia, who has been incarcerated for over 20 consecutive years. I am serving a 93-year prison sentence without the possibility of parole for my participation in a robbery that resulted in the shooting deaths of two innocent people. Having exhausted all available post-conviction remedies in the courts, prisoners like me have few avenues to regain our freedom here in the commonwealth of Virginia.

Prison closings in Virginia mean worse conditions for prisoners

Prisons are closing in Virginia. Officials say they can’t afford to keep them open. We need to get the Virginia Department of Corrections to make some changes, because although we are incarcerated and have been convicted of crimes that have led us to where we are, I’d like to be treated like a human, not an animal. If we continue to voice our opinions, hopefully it’ll eventually make something happen. Until then, same fight, different cage.

Prison guards face civil suit in attack on Virginia prisoner Frank...

On Monday, Oct. 28, a jury began hearing testimony in a civil suit filed against four prison guards in Wise County, Virginia, for an attack on Wallens Ridge prisoner Frank Reid in July 2009. Reid filed the suit after defeating prison officials’ charges of aggravated assault in the same incident. Reid is charging the guards with violating his constitutional rights as a prisoner of the Virginia Department of Corrections (VA-DOC).

The Texas Department of Cowboy Justice: A case of lawless law...

It’s been made quite clear that I’m here in Texas in direct response to my having brought undesired public scrutiny to Oregon’s and Virginia’s prisons. This is an account of what I’ve experienced and witnessed in just a couple of weeks here, which can only be described as Cowboy Justice – as lawless as the Wild West. It is also an appeal to public support and activism.

Prisoners at Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison on hunger strike

On May 22, brave prisoners at Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison began a hunger strike. A recently released prisoner discusses torture at Red Onion: “having your fingers broken, being bitten by dogs, being strapped to beds for days, being forced to defecate on yourself – I mean all of this has led to these men demanding to be treated as human beings.”

From bad to worse

On Jan. 20, I was transferred from Virginia’s Red Onion to Wallens Ridge State Prison. This transfer came on the heels of a Dec. 12 incident where a large portion of my hair was ripped out by a Red Onion guard. I’m now being faced with a series of threats by a staff known to abuse and even kill prisoners.