Free The Angola 3
Left to Right: Herman Wallace, Robert King, and Albert Woodfox
Facing the US Prison Problem 2.3 Million Strong: An Ex-Con’s View of the Mistakes and the Solution
The United States holds tens of thousands of inmates in long-term solitary confinement. Is this torture?
“One of six monkeys isolated for three months refused to eat after release and died five days later.” After several weeks in the company of other monkeys, most of them adjusted—but not those who had been isolated for longer periods. “Twelve months of isolation almost obliterated the animals socially,” Harlow wrote. They became permanently withdrawn, and they lived as outcasts—regularly set upon, as if inviting abuse.
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The American Legislative Exchange Council
Moorebey’z Blog- Revolutionary Daily thought moorbey
- Revolutionary Daily Thought moorbey
- Malcolm X, in the Days Before the Assassination moorbey
- A New Take On An Old Story: Robyn C. Spencer’s The Revolution Has Come moorbey
- 40 Acres and a Mule Would Be at Least $6.4 Trillion Today —What the U.S. Really Owes Black Amerika moorbey
- The United States is a Racist Monument, Tear it Down! moorbey
- Police Brutality: No End Under Capitalism moorbey
- The Rejection of Michelle Jones is Harvard’s Loss moorbey
- The trade in body parts of people with albinism is driven by myth and international inaction moorbey
- War on Blacks at Wabash Valley: Shaka Shakur charged with attacking guard moorbey
Awards
- Wrongful Convictions
- Blind Injustice now available in all formats September 4, 2017My new book Blind Injustice, which delves into the psychology and politics of wrongful convictions from my days as a prosecutor and now innocence lawyer, is now available in hardcover and digital versions here. Most of my daily updates on … Continue reading →
- Untitled July 31, 2017Prosecutorial Misconduct in Southern California Southern California ranks high in reversals per capita in which prosecutorial misconduct was involved, according to a new study by the Fair Punishment Project at Harvard Law School. The study notes that the Orange County … Continue reading →
- The Terrible Old Rule that Undermines Conviction Accuracy July 31, 2017Samuel Gross has provided an insightful commentary in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 22 vote (6 to 2) in Turner vs. United States, that affirmed the murder convictions of seven men and reaffirmed “a terrible old rule that … Continue reading →
- UK: Reports Point to Ongoing Disclosure Failings – Cause of Miscarriages of Justice July 18, 2017Two very interesting reports have been published in the UK, both detailing the continuing crisis in disclosure, which is key to a just criminal process and crucial in ensuring a fair trial and preventing miscarriages of justice. Yet numerous reports and reviews always find disclosure … Continue reading →
- DNA convicts killer of 1976 murder previously ‘solved’ by police coerced confession that sent wrong man to prison. July 18, 2017A man has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for the 1976 rape and manslaughter of Janet Commins, a 15 year old girl, a crime that made national news at the time. Stephen Hough was interviewed along with all local men aged … Continue reading →
- Richard Leo on False Confessions July 15, 2017Here is a great article that interviews Professor Richard Leo about false confessions. Check it out. As you may know, Richard is one of the world’s leading experts on false confession, and his body of work can be found here … Continue reading →
- Blind Injustice Facebook Group July 10, 2017As social media platforms like Facebook seem to be supplanting blogs to some extent in terms of activity and relevance, please visit and join the Blind Injustice Facebook group here, for ongoing, daily discussions of wrongful conviction issues. This blog … Continue reading →
- 4th of July Quick Clicks… July 4, 2017A nice radio piece about the recent LeDura Watkins exoneration in Michigan Recent eyewitness ID reforms in NY state Florida searching for someone to run its first Conviction Integrity Unit Family of man convicted in Lockerbie bombings makes third attempt … Continue reading →
- Breaking News: Osaki Case Wins a Retrial! June 28, 2017Kagoshima District Court granted a retrial for Ayako Haraguchi, who always maintained her innocence. She was convicted for a 1979 murder case, and served 10 years in prison. She filed her first request for a retrial in 1995. This was … Continue reading →
- Appeals Court Concurs: Brendan Dassey’s Confession Was Involuntary June 23, 2017Yesterday, a three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a federal magistrate judge’s ruling that Wisconsin inmate Brendan Dassey’s confession in the rape and murder of Teresa Halbach (featured in the Netflix series “Making a Murderer”) … Continue reading →
- Blind Injustice now available in all formats September 4, 2017
- Unlikely Friends
- Can Forgiveness Help? October 16, 2014Talking about the latest shooting tragedy in Santa Barbara with Living Your Inspired Life host, Susan Burrell. I’ve learned from others I interviewed that rarely is forgiveness immediate. We need to grieve and anger and frustration often come along with that. But sometimes, thru the pain, we arrive at forgiveness as the choice that heals Continue ReadingUnlikely Friends
- Jackson Hole News & Guide – Crook, Cop He Shot Are Now Friends October 27, 2013“In the three decades after Jackson Hole resident Mark Farnham shot state trooper Stephen Watt five times the two have become fast friends. Now their story is making it to television. Farnham was living in Jackson in 1982 when, motivated by deep debt, he decided to rob a bank in Craig, Colo. During Farnham’s escape, Continue ReadingUnlikely Friends
- Science of the Mind Coverage – Crossing the Chasm: Radical Forgiveness in Action October 21, 2013“When we go beyond ideas of right and wrong, as Rumi says, we enter a “field.” That field is oneness. Its seeds of peace, renewal, and love find fertile ground in our souls. To forgive is to allow these seeds to grow. Unlikely Friends, a documentary film by acclaimed director leslie Neale, presents remarkable stories Continue ReadingUnlikely Friends
- Huffington Post Coverage – The Other F Word October 16, 2013Unlikely Friends director, Leslie Neale, write a blog on forgiveness in the Huffington Post: “No, not that F word! I’m talking about forgiveness — letting go, turning the other cheek. That thing our predominantly Judeo/Christian society teaches us to do but rarely means for us to practice, especially when we or our loved ones have Continue ReadingUnlikely Friends
- An Editor Reflects: Paul Westmacott September 9, 2013I have often wondered where my film career would take me. So many times, I feel that the project picks me rather than me picking the project. It’s sometimes a vulnerable feeling, as an editor, to think that one is not necessarily in control of their career path. But I have been very fortunate thus Continue ReadingUnlikely Friends
- Shift Network Features Unlikely Friends August 28, 2013“I think it was selfishness that brought me to make films about criminal justice reform. I was eight months pregnant when I witnessed a program of transformational healing for inmates at a Louisiana State Penitentiary. While sitting in a circle with hardened criminals, I immediately realized that the “monsters” I sat with could have been Continue Reading […]Unlikely Friends
- Summer of Peace Interview August 12, 2013This interview is part of the Summer of Peace Summit a free global telesummit featuring interviews of many of the world’s leading peace builders! The Summer of Peace is a call to action – inviting us all and providing specific actions and steps we can take to create both inner peace in our own lives Continue ReadingUnlikely Friends
- Reaction to San Francisco Screening July 17, 2013What an amazing film. It was my story. I was nearly killed 7 years ago in a robbery by 4 guys on the street, one of whom was most responsible and got the biggest rap, attempted murder. I spent four years trying to find a way to meet him when I finally met Rochelle Edwards Continue ReadingUnlikely Friends
- CBS Los Angeles April 30, 2013Andrea Fujii gives the full report on the L.A. Benefit screening of Unlikely Friends.Unlikely Friends
- LA Progressive April 30, 2013Unlikely Friends: When Victims and Perpetrators Meet A few years back, after I spent an evening at a halfway house for men on parole, Sister Mary Sean Hodges challenged me. She has worked tirelessly through the Office of Restorative Justice, LA Archdiocese, on behalf of incarcerated men and women and those seeking to reenter society. Continue ReadingUnlikely Friends
- Can Forgiveness Help? October 16, 2014
- Texas Prison Bid’ness
- ICE wants permission to destroy records of immigrant abuseImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wants approval for its timetable on retaining or destroying records related to detention operations, reports the ACLU. ICE reached out to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which decides how federal agencies maintain their records. ICE wishes to change their policy on destroying 11 types of rec […]
- As Hurricane Harvey approaches, ICE abandons over 50 women & children at a bus stationImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abandoned about 50 immigrant women and children at a bus station in San Antonio, reports the Rivard Report. The 50 women and children were all Central Americans who had come to the U.S. seeking asylum. Once they arrived to the U.S. border, they were taken to family detention centers while their asylum cases were proc […]
- Private prison companies continue to expand under TrumpThe private prison business is booming under President Trump, reports the Houston Chronicle. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump promised to crack down on undocumented immigrants in the U.S. In the first three months of Trump's presidency, over 113,000 immigrants were locked up across the country in 180 different facilities. The Houston Chronic […]
- Settlement reached with ICE over medical evaluationsA settlement has been reached between immigration officials and pro bono attorneys regarding medical evaluations at the Dilley family detention center, Texas, reports the San Antonio Express. The lawsuit, filed in June, was from the Dilley Pro Bono Project, which works to provide legal services to women and children detained in Dilley, Texas. The lawsuit sta […]
- Private prison guard caught sleeping on the jobWillacy County Regional Detention Facility A private prison guard was photographed sleeping while guarding an inmate in a Texas hospital, reports KRGV 5 news. The unnamed guard worked at the Willacy County State Jail, which is operated by the private prison company CoreCivic (formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America). The guard was watching over […]
- Dozens are transferred to a private prison referred to as "Hell"The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is transferring dozens of women to a private prison in Texas, reports Buzzfeed News. A spokesperson with DHS confirmed that the department had begun transferring women from a facility operated by CoreCivic in New Mexico. That facility is closing due to a consistently low number of prisoners. The women will be transf […]
- Thousands of sweltering prisoners to be moved to air-conditioned unitsIn Houston, a federal judge approved moving more than one thousand prisoners to various private prisons that have air conditioning, reports the Texas Tribune. The judge signed off on Texas' court-ordered proposal to move medically sensitive prisoners from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's (TDCJ) Pack Unit, which has no air conditioner. The […]
- For-profit transitional home won't pay their billsA for-profit transitional home in Dallas County has not paid the county for emergency medical help since last October, reports Fox 4 News. The Avalon Dallas Transitional Home, which houses individuals recently released from prison with no place to live, has made excessive 911 calls for medical aid. However, the for-profit company that operates the facility, […]
- Are detention facilities residences? Texas judge says no, demands GEO pay up on extra taxes. A lawsuit by a private prison company seeking a refund of sales tax has been denied, according to documents from the Third District of the Texas Court of Appeals. The GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies in the U.S., filed a lawsuit against Glenn Hegar, Comptroller of Public Accounts for the State of Texas, and Ken Paxton, the state Attorne […]
- Harris County ends use of private prisonsHarris County has brought all of its outsourced prisoners back to Harris County, reports Houston Public Media. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, who was elected in January, brought prisoners back from private prisons to Harris County within three months of his election. Though private prisons are notorious for the mistreatment of their prisoners, Sheriff Gonzalez said he […]
- ICE wants permission to destroy records of immigrant abuse
- The Prison Enquirer
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Category Archives: Solitary Confinement
Report Shows Even More Evidence Of The Misuse Of Solitary Confinement
WASHINGTON — A report released this week by the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in New York, provides yet more evidence of the misuse of solitary confinement. The researchers add to a growing body of evidence that … Continue reading
Is Solitary Confinement a Form of Torture? Q&A with journalist James Ridgeway
“Obama says we don’t torture, but a lot of this is straight-up torture,” says journalism legend James Ridgeway. “We call Guantanamo and Afghanistan torture and we never look at our own stuff.” Ridgeway is talking about the growing use – … Continue reading
Posted in Angola 3, Control Unit, History, Insanity, Mental Health, Sensory Deprivation, SHU, Solitary Confinement, Solitary Watch, Torture
Tagged abuse, Angola Three, lockdown, Mental health, SHU, Solitary confinement, Solitary Watch
‘It’s Torture’: Pirate Bay Founder Kept In Solitary Awaiting Hacking Trial
Published on Dec 17, 2013 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has slammed Sweden over Gottfrid Svartholm’s case. Since his transfer to a Danish prison, the Pirate Bay founder has been kept in solitary confinement and denied access to mail and reading material. … Continue reading
RIP Herman Wallace – The “Muhammad Ali of the Criminal Justice System”
This morning we lost without a doubt the biggest, bravest, and brashest personality in the political prisoner world. It is with great sadness that we write with the news of Herman Wallace’s passing. Herman never did anything half way. He embraced his many … Continue reading
Free At Last! Herman Wallace Has Finally Been Released
After a long, dramatic day, we are humbled to report that the indomitable, irrepressible Herman Wallace has just been released after spending over 4 decades in solitary confinement. Even after Judge Jackson’s late evening ruling denying the State’s attempt at a stay and again ordering … Continue reading
Solitary confinement for students will continue: Oregon schools easily bypass ban on “isolation booths”
“You have two adults dragging you into a room and locking the door behind you and you’re just a little kid and you don’t know what’s going on…” via Police State USA – PORTLAND, OR — Last year, a parent’s … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Confined Kids, Ethics, Insanity, Public Safety, Reform, Solitary Confinement, Torture
Tagged Isolation booth, Oregon, PORTLAND, Solitary confinement, State school
11 Comments
Opening the Box: Sarah Shourd on Herman Wallace, California Hunger Strikers and the Horror of Solitary Confinement
Last month, we were devastated to learn that the Angola 3’s Herman Wallace had been diagnosed with liver cancer, and that he was continuing to be held in isolation in a locked room at Hunt Correctional Center’s prison infirmary. Reflecting on … Continue reading
The Horrible Psychology of Solitary Confinement
“You can’t starve people. You can’t put them into a hotbox or maim them,” she continued. “If you could do brain scans to show that people suffer permanent damage, that could make solitary look less like some form of distress, … Continue reading
California Prisoners Launch New Hunger Strike to Protest Solitary Confinement
Solitary Watch – “Hundreds of people held in California prisons are expected to launch their third large-scale hunger strike in two years today. The current strike, announced by leaders at Pelican Bay State Prison on February 14th, is seen as a resumption … Continue reading
Petition | California State Assembly: Pass SB 61 to Limit Solitary Confinement of Youth in California | Change.org
Dear Friends, We urge you to take a moment for California’s youth. One final hurdle remains for passage of Senate Bill 61, a bill to limit the harmful practice of placing young people in solitary confinement in California. Your support … Continue reading
Spirituality In Dark Places
Spirituality in Dark Places explores the spiritual consequences and ethics of modern solitary confinement. Jeffreys emphasizes how solitary confinement damages our spiritual lives, focusing particularly on how it destroys our relationship to time and undermines our creativity. Solitary inmates experience … Continue reading
ACLU Demands DHS End Solitary Confinement of Children | ACLU – Colorado
ACLU Demands Department of Human Services End Solitary Confinement of Children in Pueblo Residential Treatment Center Prolonged seclusion of children at El Pueblo Boys and Girls Ranch violates Department’s child care regulations DENVER – In a letter sent today, the … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, ACLU, Colorado, Confined Kids, Solitary Confinement
2 Comments
Colo. governor orders audit of sentence records as Investigators search for links in three killings
By Erica Goode and Dan Frosch | NEW YORK TIMES APRIL 05, 2013 When Tom Clements, the head of Colorado’s prison system, was shot to death at his front door last month, the killing seemed a planned assassination … Continue reading
Posted in Abuse, Colorado, Control Unit, SHU, Solitary Confinement, Solitary Watch, Surviving Solitary, Torture
1 Comment
The Horrifying Existence Of Solitary Confinement
“If we believe in basic human rights and dignity for all human beings, then we surely must object to solitary confinement.” Excerpts, SFBay View – “Imagine being locked in a cage alone for 22 ½ hours a day, sometimes for … Continue reading
Solitary confinement isn’t the solution for immigrant detainees – latimes.com
Solitary confinement in immigration detention centers across the nation is often overused and arbitrarily applied. According to data obtained by the National Immigrant Justice Center, as many as 300 immigrants, or about 1% of all detainees in the 50 largest … Continue reading
Former juvenile prisoner fights against locking away teens in solitary confinement
Rock Center Teens held in adult jails and prisons are often kept in solitary confinement for their own protection. On Friday’s edition of Rock Center, Ted Koppel investigated the mental health risks of solitary confinement on teenagers. Ted Koppel sat … Continue reading
Posted in Confined Kids, Control Unit, Mental Health, Solitary Confinement, Surviving Solitary
Tagged Juvenile Solitary
6 Comments
Criminal Justice System’s Dark Secret: Teenagers In Solitary Confinement
“For each of the past five years, roughly 100,000 juveniles have been held in adult jails and prisons, according to data from the Department of Justice.” ~~ “Ninety-one percent of the children who are serving time in adult jails and … Continue reading
New Mexico Man “Forgotten” In Solitary Confinement For 2 Years Gets $15.5 Million Dollar Settlement
This is a story from right here in our home county. Notice the slant of this article…starting with the original title, “New Mexico inmate left in solitary confinement for 2 years gets $15.5 million” which implies he had been convicted … Continue reading
Posted in New Mexico, Solitary Confinement, Torture
Tagged $15.5 million, Dona Ana County, New Mexico, Slevin, Solitary confinement
5 Comments
MisBehavedWoman
Steve McFarland
