Tag: Federal Bureau of Prisons

Political Prisoner Leonard Peltier was wrongfully imprisoned now 44 years by the system's people who can’t let him go without exposing the racist corruption of the FBI who can, and will, hurt you.

It is clear that even though a person may have served their time in prison, release from prison to a halfway house does not provide freedom. One might be “allowed” to work, but may not be allowed the tools, or Constitutional Rights, necessary for the work allowed. The penal system prevails in unrelenting oppressor control and punishment against captive people, our Black and Brown community members.

Join the rally on Sunday, March 7, 12-2 p.m., at 111 Taylor in San Francisco. This is a fight about racism, mass incarceration, private prisons, safety from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the defense of the people’s media.

The appetite of capitalism demands every dollar be extracted from the resource object, in this case, your new community advocate and editor of the SF Bay View Newspaper, Malik Washington, is the commodity, the enemy and still a prisoner in the grip of the multi-billion dollar GEO Group that runs the Taylor Center halfway house/private prison in the Tenderloin. Free Malik Washington!

When the system begins to crumble all sorts of unimaginable tactics are employed by the elite to stave off the inevitable. The capitalist patriarchy uses any and every weapon at their disposal to keep control of that which is wriggling out of its grasp. This is what change looks like.

From the Buried Alive Project, Dallas Attorney Brittany K. Barnett reflects, “I feel that we’ve spent a lot of time trying to reform things that should be completely reimagined, completely transformed. I’m almost getting allergic to the word ‘reform’ because we’re just tinkering with a broken system.”

Mandatory quarantine is a requirement for all the prisoners who arrive here at USP Pollock and all prisoners who are preparing to leave – and that means me. I am soon to be released and on my way to San Francisco and transition into accepting the baton of editor of the San Francisco Bay View newspaper.

COVID-19 test kits must be provided for employees and prisoners who work and are housed in facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. I have engaged in some investigative journalism and discovered that prison administrators at the Federal Correctional Complex at Pollock, Louisiana, have ordered screening for all federal employees entering the federal prison complex at Pollock daily, but because of a shortage of COVID-19 test kits, the BOP employees are not being tested!

Today, U.S. Rep. Bobby L. Rush, D-Illinois, sent a letter to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, calling on Director Michael Carvajal to release elderly, nonviolent prisoners in an attempt to mitigate any risk of infection to the prison population.

I feel like Schleprock, the character on “The Flintstones” with the dark cloud following him around! The U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has chosen to transfer me to USP Pollock in Louisiana, whereas I’d requested transfer to California, where a home and job are waiting.

These drastic changes like video visits and lockdowns are being gradually introduced and are creating a more inhumane environment. Will this stop the drugs and violence? I think not.

The Trump administration has an overt and covert campaign of suppression aimed at journalists, activists and servants of the people – including Comrade Malik, who plans to edit the Bay View upon his release.

October 2018 marked the 50th anniversary of the historic and remarkable organizing initiative to boycott the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Dr. Harry Edwards led the boycott efforts, as well as the creation of the Olympic Project for Human Rights, in which he involved countless Black activists from throughout the country, including H. Rap Brown. On Oct. 21, 2018, I was fortunate to interview Dr. Edwards about his 1968 organizing efforts and his affiliation with H. Rap Brown (now Jamil Al-Amin) who also played a leading and inspirational role in this historic 1968 event.

I’m a published writer, author of “Before Orange was the New Black: The Camp Hill Story.” What I’ve written could be the motivation for the excessive brutality aimed at me lately. Since October of 2017 I have endured the worst, most cruel, inhumane conditions on the highest level, from beatings to excessive force and misuse of authority. I filed complaints on several occasions. My complaints have not been taken into consideration. I’m speaking out on such conditions not only for myself but also for inmates who have endured similar or worse conditions that may not have a voice or support.

His name is Veronza Bowers Jr., a former member and captain of the original Black Panther Party. After more than 44 years in prison, 14 years beyond his mandatory release date, Veronza has faith that with his Freedom Team of top lawyers and the love of multitudes of supporters around the world, he will win his freedom soon. Political prisoners are kept in prison when the “law enforcers” they opposed decades ago carry grudges they pass down the generations, vowing those prisoners will die in prison. But the words of little Pharoah Dawson, who wrote, “Veronza, don’t die in prison!” are more powerful.

At the modern intersection of Islamophobia and the Black Lives Matter movement resides Jamil Al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown), the now forgotten civil rights activist and revolutionary leader who, 16 years ago this year, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Fulton County, Ga., Sheriff’s Deputy Ricky Leon Kinchen and the wounding of his partner, then-Sheriff’s Deputy Aldranon English, during a March 2000 gunfight.

How you can help Imam Jamil: Yahya Abdussabur, a leading supporter of Iman Jamil Al-Amin, in distributing this letter by email, writes: The letter is part of the continuing effort to gain freedom for our beloved Imam Jamil Al-Amin. As Allaah has enjoined on us, “Enjoin what is right and forbid what is evil” and as the Holy Prophet has said, “Want for your brother what you want for yourself.” Please sign this letter and encourage your jamaat, friends and associates to do the same.”

Six California prisoners wrote to me in 2015 to ask about the Hepatitis C cure, shortly after the San Francisco Bay View newspaper published my interview with activist attorney Peter Erlinder titled “US prisoners sue for constitutional right to lifesaving Hep C cure.” They’d been able to read it because the Bay View sends a print edition to prisons all over the country every month. I tried and failed to answer those letters and I’ve felt bad about it ever since. I would have swiftly responded to all the prisoners who wrote to me about the Hep C cure if I’d been able to send electronic mail.

I left CDCr wondering how PBSP could remain in shambles after 22 years of court oversight. As I started educating myself about prison reform, I stumbled upon Keramet Reiter’s 2016 book, “23/7: Pelican Bay Prison and the Rise of Long-Term Solitary Confinement.” Within those pages, I found validation and some disturbing answers. I wish this book had been available to me before I started working in CDCr.

A new day has dawned, pregnant with opportunity. For the first time, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has granted the status of “pilot program” to a prisoner-created, prisoner-run rehabilitation and reentry program, effectively offering prisoners an opportunity to control their own destiny. For many of us who have spent decades in federal prison, the Young Men Incorporated (YMI) program is a reality few could have imagined.