Political Prisoners



Lynne Stewart, 72, noted activist and “people’s lawyer,” is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence at Carswell Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.... Posted Apr 4, 2012

The struggle to free political prisoners will focus on Washington, D.C., in April.... Posted Mar 21, 2012

From Feb. 24 to 25 at Temple University in the historically Black neighborhood of North Philadelphia, scholars, activists, community leaders and students convened on the anniversary of Dr. W.E.B. DuBois’ 144th birthday. They celebrated not only DuBois’ life as a scholar activist, but the prolific contribution of our modern scholar activist and political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal.... Posted Mar 11, 2012

An open letter from political prisoner Lynne Stewart. ... Posted Mar 5, 2012

Demonstrators chanted, “Tear down Jailhouses! Build up School Houses!” outside Heery International Inc.’s Philadelphia office as part of a national call from Occupy Oakland to Occupy for Prisoners on Feb. 20. ... Posted Mar 4, 2012

Supporters of human-rights champion and “people’s attorney” Lynne Stewart packed the courtroom in downtown Manhattan to overflowing for her Feb. 29 hearing. They were there to show support for an appeal to reduce the 10-year prison sentence Stewart began serving two years ago. Her supporters were so numerous that many could not even get into the courtroom.... Posted Mar 1, 2012

Despite police blockades and freeway ramp closings -- forcing demonstrators to hike to the rally site in front of the prison -- activists occupied the front of San Quentin Prison for several hours on Feb. 20. ... Posted Feb 27, 2012

The struggle to free Chrishaun “CeCe” McDonald in Minneapolis deserves wide publicity and support. McDonald, 23, is an African-American transgender woman who was brutally attacked by racist, anti-lesbian/gay/bi/trans/queer bigots on June 5.... Posted Feb 22, 2012

Now is the time to come out to support Lynne Stewart and demand her freedom!... Posted Feb 16, 2012

In solidarity with Dr Aafia Siddiqui, supporters packed New York’s Federal Court in Manhattan Feb. 10. ... Posted Feb 15, 2012

Political prisoner and revolutionary journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal was transferred Jan. 27 to general population in SCI-Mahanoy in Frackville, Pa. He had spent almost 30 years on Pennsylvania death row.... Posted Feb 9, 2012

A strong, well-attended demonstration demanding immediate, unconditional freedom for Native-American activist and political prisoner Leonard Peltier was held on Feb. 4 in Buffalo, N.Y... Posted Feb 8, 2012

After more than 30 years in the chambers of death, political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal has been released into the general prison population. Finally, as of Jan. 27, he is now able to embrace his loved ones and shake the hands of all those who have supported him in the struggle for freedom. ... Posted Feb 2, 2012

Here in the U.S., our “land of the free,” there are approximately 130,000 inmates now housed in privately owned prisons.... Posted Jan 5, 2012

Although Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams dropped the death sentence on Dec. 7, Mumia Abu-Jamal remains in administrative custody since being transferred from SCI Greene to SCI Mahanoy on Dec. 14. He has been kept isolated from the general population, with limited phone access and visits with family still conducted behind glass walls. ... Posted Jan 5, 2012

From a statement was issued by the Pelican Bay prisoners who went on hunger strike in 2011 to protest conditions in the “high-security” supermax housing units.... Posted Jan 5, 2012

Activists, mostly identified with the Occupy Atlanta movement, responded to a call by the International Action Center and the Campaign to End the Death Penalty for a Dec. 9 evening march and rally at the State Capitol. ... Posted Dec 15, 2011

California prison hunger strikers at Corcoran SHU have drafted a set of 10 core demands that they are proposing be adopted by the Occupy Wall Street Movement. ... Posted Dec 15, 2011

After nearly three decades on death row, former Black Panther Party member and world-renowned journalist, Mumia Abu-Jamal, was moved Dec. 11, following an announcement by Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams that he would no longer seek Abu-Jamal’s execution.... Posted Dec 14, 2011

The United States Supreme Court rejected a request from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office to overturn the most recent federal appeals court decision declaring Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence unconstitutional.... Posted Oct 12, 2011

René González, one of the Cuban Five, was released from prison in Marianna, Fla., on Oct. 7.... Posted Oct 12, 2011

René González Sehwerert, one of Cuba’s five anti-terrorist heroes, will be released from prison Oct. 7, having served in full the brutal and unjust sentence he was given.... Posted Oct 10, 2011

People started lining up outside the Jonesville Baptist Church on Sept. 21 more than two hours before the Celebration of Life service for Troy Anthony Davis was scheduled to begin. ... Posted Oct 10, 2011

On Sept. 21, as the hour of Troy Davis’ legal murder grew closer, people across the country expressed their outrage at the U.S. government and the state of Georgia. Their numbers and militancy exposed the lie that is the so-called U.S. “justice” system.... Posted Oct 1, 2011

This Sept. 13 is the 40th anniversary of the Attica massacre, which followed a rebellion by 1,000 prisoners against horrendous conditions in that New York state prison. Below is a slightly abridged version of an article in the Workers World of Sept. 17, 1971. It was part of an eight-page supplement to the newspaper written by members of the Prisoners Solidarity Committee.... Posted Sep 7, 2011

This is part of a report about what went on inside Attica Prison during the rebellion written by Tom Soto of the Prisoners Solidarity Committee, who was invited by the prisoners to witness their negotiations with the authorities. Soto’s full report was published in the Workers World of Sept. 17, 1971.... Posted Sep 7, 2011

Prisoners in Georgia and California are carrying forth the legacy of the heroic Attica rebellion, which occurred 40 years ago in upstate New York.... Posted Sep 7, 2011

The heroism of now more than 6,600 California prisoners have put home-grown prison torture, clear evidence of U.S. cruelty and depravity, before the world.... Posted Jul 20, 2011

“This is a formal complaint and request for action to end 20-plus years of state-sanctioned torture in order to extract information from or cause mental illness to California inmates incarcerated indefinitely in punitive isolation at Pelican Bay State Prison Security Housing Units (PBSP-SHU). ...” Thus begins the eloquent legal complaint and human rights indictment written by prisoners incarcerated in one of California’s most notorious torture and isolation prisons — Pelican Bay State Prison.... Posted Jul 6, 2011

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has unanimously ruled that Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence is unconstitutional.... Posted Apr 27, 2011

The Black Studies Department of Cleveland State University hosted a groundbreaking “Prison Emergency Summit” on Feb. 26.... Posted Mar 5, 2011

On Jan. 28, Mumia Abu-Jamal retained the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. to represent him in the ongoing appeal of his capital murder conviction and death sentence.... Posted Feb 21, 2011

“So much energy coming is from all over. I’m just trying to hang on and ride the wave,” wrote political prisoner Bomani Shakur Jan. 6, the third day of his hunger strike at Ohio State Penitentiary.... Posted Jan 13, 2011

Gov. Haley Barbour calls the impending release of the Scott Sisters an “early” release. A release from 16 years of wrongful incarceration is most certainly not an “early” release.... Posted Jan 5, 2011

The Scott Sisters, who are African American, have spent 16 years of their lives at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility for the “crime” of taking $11 from a convenience store in December 1993. At the time of their arrest, Jamie was 22 years old and Gladys was 19 years old and pregnant. Two African-American youth, who admitted taking the money, stated at the Scott Sisters’ trial that they falsely implicated the sisters in order to receive a reduced sentence.... Posted Jan 5, 2011

Four death-sentenced prisoners, wrongfully convicted of crimes following the 1993 prison rebellion in the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, started a “rolling” hunger strike Jan. 3. The strike is to protest the highly restrictive solitary confinement where they have been placed in the supermax Ohio State Penitentiary, located in Youngstown, since 1998.... Posted Jan 3, 2011

Wrongfully convicted following a prison uprising in Lucasville, Ohio, in 1993, Brother Bomani is currently at Ohio State Penitentiary, a supermax prison, where he and other prisoners began a hunger strike on Jan. 3, 2011.... Posted Jan 3, 2011



Almost out of nowhere the sound of conga drums shattered the silence. Megaphones amplified the voices of young protesters crying, “Free Mumia now!”... Posted Nov 17, 2010

A critical hearing is scheduled Nov. 9 in the nearly three-decade-old case of journalist and activist Mumia Abu-Jamal, who sits on death row in Pennsylvania. Mumia was severely wounded and arrested on Dec. 9, 1981, in Philadelphia and was later charged, tried and convicted of the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner. After a grossly unjust prosecution was carried out in 1982, Mumia, a former Black Panther Party leader and MOVE organization supporter, was given the death penalty. Although Mumia’s death sentence was subsequently overturned, the prosecution has repeatedly attempted to reinstate the penalty and carry out his execution.... Posted Oct 17, 2010

Family, friends and supporters of imprisoned “people’s lawyer” Lynne Stewart marched, sang and drummed on Oct. 8 outside the lower Manhattan prison where she is being held. It was her 71st birthday, and the crowd chanted “Free Lynne Stewart” and “Happy Birthday, Lynne,” led by the booming voice of her spouse, Ralph Poynter.... Posted Oct 17, 2010

U.S. imperialism is losing its attempt to occupy and control Afghanistan. It is beginning to lose control of client state Pakistan. Now the Pentagon — in collaboration with federal courts — has gotten a little piece of revenge for its setbacks in the “Afghanistan-Pakistan” theater. It has imposed a grotesque injustice on a Pakistani woman after the corporate media demonized her.... Posted Oct 3, 2010

The nearly 29-year struggle to free political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal faces a critical juncture with the announcement that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit will review Abu-Jamal’s death sentence on Nov. 9. It is imperative that all who stand for justice and against racism and state repression pack the courtroom in Philadelphia... Posted Oct 1, 2010

Statement issued by Leonard Peltier on the occasion of his 66th birthday on Sept. 12. Peltier, who was framed up by the FBI for the shooting of two agents at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota in 1975, has been unjustly imprisoned since 1976.... Posted Sep 15, 2010

On Sept. 2, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, bowing to the pressure of online petitions, letters, calls and e-mails from thousands of supporters, commuted Kevin Keith’s death sentence to life in prison due to “real and unanswered questions.” In doing so he set aside the unanimous recommendation against clemency of the Ohio Parole Board.... Posted Sep 10, 2010

For nearly 30 long, tortuous years, Marilyn Buck was a political prisoner of the state; a captive in the federal prison system for her role in the liberation of former Black Panther Assata Shakur.... Posted Aug 29, 2010

An international campaign has been launched demanding the repatriation of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui to her homeland of Pakistan. Siddiqui is being held in a federal prison in New York City awaiting sentencing, which is currently scheduled for Sept. 23.... Posted Aug 13, 2010

On Aug. 8, star actor Danny Glover visited Gerardo Hernández, one of the Cuban Five anti-terrorist heroes now imprisoned in the United States.... Posted Aug 11, 2010

On the morning of Aug. 3, Gerardo Hernández was freed from “the hole” due to mass pressure — individual, diplomatic and legal. He has been returned to his former incarceration status. It is time for the U.S. government to free the Cuban Five and send them home.... Posted Aug 4, 2010

This past week “people’s attorney” Lynne Stewart faced the outrage of being returned to court for an even harsher sentence at the demand of reactionary judges on a higher court who had denounced her original sentence of 28 months as too lenient.... Posted Jul 21, 2010

A selection of responses from activists after the Lynne Stewart resentencing hearing July 15, when the judge gave the progressive lawyer and breast-cancer survivor a 10-year prison term.... Posted Jul 21, 2010

According to a recent exposé, a small group of U.S. death penalty abolitionist leaders tried to exclude the case of death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal from the Fourth World Congress Against the Death Penalty, held in March in Geneva, Switzerland.... Posted Jul 14, 2010

After a federal judge in White Plains, N.Y., denied bail for the Newburgh Four on June 25, the defendants’ family and friends mapped plans for a campaign to expose the government’s ongoing massive anti-Muslim campaign. ... Posted Jul 2, 2010

A federal judge in White Plains, N.Y., “indefinitely postponed” the trial of the Newburgh 4 on June 15. The four are charged with plotting to bomb a Bronx synagogue and a Jewish community center and shoot down military planes at Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, N.Y. Judge Colleen McMahon angrily criticized prosecutors for covering up an investigator’s report showing the “plot” was the work of a government agent, working for the FBI.... Posted Jun 28, 2010

Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater was packed on June 16 and 17 for the New York premiere of the documentary “In the Land of the Free,” which tells the chilling story of the Angola 3 — members of the Black Panther Party who were targeted for their struggle against atrocious conditions at the hellhole known as Angola penitentiary in Louisiana.... Posted Jun 28, 2010

An important demonstration is scheduled for June 21 in Washington, D.C.... Posted Jun 10, 2010

“Separate and unequal, spent years under federal surveillance for uplifting his people, when the pigs got fed-up the brother got set-up,” Hasan Salaam rapped on May 28 during a CD-release benefit for political prisoner Tarek Mehanna. Another performer featured on the album, Jen Waller, sang, “I never hurt nobody, I never broke no laws, but if you struggle for freedom, better hope you don’t get caught.”... Posted Jun 10, 2010

Carlos Alberto Torres, 57, has spent most of his life in U.S. prisons. He organized and fought for the independence of Puerto Rico. For this, he was found guilty by a U.S. court of conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government.... Posted Jun 7, 2010

Capping off a weekend of global celebrations of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal’s 56th birthday on April 24, supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., on April 26.... Posted Apr 29, 2010

Anyone who still believes that the U.S. is the most democratic and just country in the world has only to examine the shocking case of the Scott sisters to be disabused of that erroneous notion. While this case is becoming more and more well-known by word of mouth, mainly on the Internet, the 16-year-old case has never received the national and international media attention that it so richly deserves. The facts of the case will explain the reason why.... Posted Apr 29, 2010

In New York City a young man is being held under conditions that are described in international law as severe torture. This prisoner, named Fahad Hashmi, has not been convicted of any crime and has no prior criminal record. Yet he has been held in almost total extended isolation for the past three years.... Posted Apr 21, 2010

Writers for Mumia, an afternoon of readings and testimonials by poets, playwrights, journalists, book authors, wordsmiths and activists, will be held April 24 from 2:30 to 6 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church, 512 W. 126th St. in Harlem. The New York Chapter of the National Writers Union and the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition of New York City are co-sponsoring the event.... Posted Apr 8, 2010

Mumia Abu-Jamal faces perhaps the most crucial period since 1999 when then-Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Ridge signed the last of the two death warrants for Mumia, the first being in 1995.... Posted Feb 24, 2010

On the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, people came out to champion U.S. political prisoner and freedom fighter Mumia Abu-Jamal and other political prisoners . The Feb. 21 benefit in Oakland, Calif., was for Prison Radio, which carries commentaries online of political prisoners.... Posted Feb 24, 2010

Activists from Philadelphia, across the U.S. and around the world participated in a video conferencing and live teach-in Feb. 13 to take up the next stage in the struggle to free Mumia Abu-Jamal. The hall at the Abiding Truth Ministries Church was full despite nearly 50 inches of snow that hampered public transportation and put parking in the city at a premium.... Posted Feb 17, 2010

In light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door for reinstatement of the death penalty for political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, activists from the Philadelphia region, across the U.S. and around the globe will take part in an important teach-in in Philadelphia on Feb. 13, to take up the next stage in the struggle to free Mumia.... Posted Feb 10, 2010

On Dec. 9, supporters of political journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal marked the 28th year of his incarceration on Pennsylvania’s death row, more determined than ever to fight for his exoneration.... Posted Dec 17, 2009

Visiting a prisoner is not easy, for either a family member or a political activist. Often the only way is to take a special bus round trip to one of the many prisons located, like Auburn, in a rural setting. A prison bus from New York City to Auburn takes six hours each way and leaves in the middle of the night from Lexington Avenue and 125th Street for a 9 a.m. visit. After corresponding with Jalil Muntaqim for more than four years, it was exciting to finally meet him this fall. Happily, he turned out to be exactly the same person as he is in his letters.... Posted Dec 11, 2009

Some 100 people gathered at the town square in Lumpkin, Ga., on Nov. 20 to protest the conditions at the nearby Stewart Detention Center, a privately owned prison that holds 1,800 immigrants awaiting deportation.... Posted Dec 3, 2009

Dec. 9 marks the 28th anniversary of the imprisonment of political prisoner and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. To observe this important anniversary and support ongoing efforts to free Mumia, the Philadelphia International Action Center will host a showing of the 2008 documentary, “In Prison My Whole Life.”... Posted Dec 3, 2009

Over 25,000 letters calling on U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct a civil rights investigation of the 28-year conspiracy to execute death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal were delivered to the doors of the Department of Justice in Washington at the end of a spirited march and rally on Nov. 12.... Posted Nov 18, 2009

Electricity was in the air Oct. 24 as hundreds of people filled the south steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin to shout loud and clear: “Todd Willingham was innocent!” Gathering for the 10th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty, abolitionists from all over Texas, around the country, and a few from overseas turned out in record numbers to demand that Texas Gov. Rick Perry immediately stop all executions in Texas.... Posted Oct 29, 2009

The death penalty in the United States should be abolished because it functions as a potent agent of racism and class oppression. African Americans and Latino/as represent the majority of those on death row. And executions are reserved almost exclusively for the poor. Ninety percent of those awaiting execution could not afford to hire a trial attorney.... Posted Sep 9, 2009

A wave of outrage swept the progressive community worldwide at the news that Native political prisoner Leonard Peltier was denied parole on Aug. 21. The U.S. government said Peltier will not be eligible for another parole hearing until 2024, when he will be 79 years old. Peltier, framed up by the FBI for the 1975 shooting of two FBI agents at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, has been unjustly imprisoned since 1976. He is an international symbol of the U.S. government’s refusal to respect Native nations and sovereignty and a symbol of the corruption of the U.S. criminal “justice” system.... Posted Aug 27, 2009

On Aug. 21 the Solidarity Center in New York City was filled with five hours of inspiring sounds: music and spoken word from talented artists (photo above) brought together to support the case of political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, known worldwide as the “voice of the voiceless.”... Posted Aug 27, 2009

Texas already had a reputation for executing death row prisoners at a rate unparalleled anywhere else in the United States. But progressive activists, attorneys, judges and legal ethicists did a double-take on Sept. 25, 2007, when Texas’ highest criminal judge responded to a plea for 20 extra minutes to file an appeal for a prisoner set for execution at 6 p.m. that evening with “Tell them we close at 5.”... Posted Aug 27, 2009

Imprisoned Palestinian national leader Ahmad Sa’adat, the general secretary of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was transferred on Aug. 11 to Ramon prison in the Naqab desert from Asqalan prison, where he had been held for a number of months. He remains in isolation; prior to his transfer from Asqalan, he had been held since Aug. 1 in a tiny isolation cell of 140 cm. by 240 cm. after being penalized for communicating with another prisoner in the isolation unit.... Posted Aug 20, 2009

Troy Davis, 40, who has been imprisoned for half his life, may finally have a chance to prove his innocence. The Supreme Court, in a highly unusual ruling, on Aug. 17 ordered a federal judge in Georgia to hold a hearing at which Davis could present evidence to disprove that he killed an Atlanta police officer in 1989.... Posted Aug 19, 2009

Supporters of the San Francisco 8 rallied Aug. 10 to demand that all charges be dropped against the last remaining defendant in this case, Francisco Torres.... Posted Aug 13, 2009

“When I was 15, my friends started going to jail,” says Victoria Law, a native New Yorker. “Chinatown’s gangs were recruiting in the high schools in Queens, and faced with the choice of stultifying days learning nothing in overcrowded classrooms or easy money, many of my friends dropped out to join a gang.”... Posted Aug 13, 2009

It’s been two and a half years since the San Francisco 8— eight former members of the Black Panther Party—were cast into California jails and threatened with life sentences stemming from the 1971 shooting of a cop.... Posted Aug 8, 2009

Leonard Peltier, like Mumia Abu-Jamal, has become known around the world as a symbol of U.S. government injustice toward the peoples it has abused and betrayed over centuries. Peltier has a full parole hearing coming up on July 28—the first one since 1993. It is important that all those fighting racism and injustice let the government know that they support Peltier’s release from prison.... Posted Jul 23, 2009

The New York Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition organized a press conference across the street from the national NAACP conference held in mid-town Manhattan on the morning of July 13. According to the coalition’s press release, the main goal of the picket line was to call on the NAACP “to fulfill a promise it made in 2004, in a resolution that passed unanimously, to the international community for a ‘new and fair trial’” for Mumia.... Posted Jul 15, 2009

On April 6, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal from death-row journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of white Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner at a 1982 trial deemed unfair by Amnesty International, the EuropeanParliament, the Japanese Diet, Nelson Mandela, and numerous others.... Posted Jul 8, 2009

The following June 19 letter was sent by former Congressperson Cynthia McKinney to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to request that the Justice Department conduct a civil rights investigation of the case of death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.... Posted Jul 8, 2009

The U.S. Supreme Court released a much-anticipated announcement on June 29 about the appeal of death-row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis. A short statement said the Court had not reached a decision.... Posted Jul 8, 2009

A press conference and vigil were held at the San Francisco federal building June 26 to support Leonard Peltier and his upcoming parole effort on July 28. Supporters are being asked to write letters on behalf of Peltier, a leader of the American Indian Movement and one of the longest-held political prisoners in the U.S.... Posted Jul 2, 2009

Marches and rallies were held in state capitals and other cities June 27 to mark the National Day of Action for the Wrongly Convicted. Organizers of the actions, including families whose loved ones were put to death or died in prison, said that up to 10 percent of the 2.3 million-strong U.S. prison population may be wrongfully convicted.... Posted Jul 2, 2009

Martina Davis-Correia, the sister of Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis, addressed the delegates at the 34th International Longshore and Warehouse Union Convention in Seattle on June 10. She called for support of a resolution entitled “Racist Oppression and the Death Penalty.”... Posted Jun 29, 2009

Kari Ann Cowan, Peltier's niece, reported on July 19 from the prison at Lewisburg that Leonard may have suffered a heart attack. She stated, "He had a hard time breathing. He was in his cell and had an ache in his chest. He was kinda scared he was having a heart attack. He raised his hands, breathed slowly and finally felt better." ... Posted Jun 20, 2009

Leonard Peltier, a fighter for the liberation of the Indigenous peoples of North America and the world, has been locked away in federal prison for more than three decades.... Posted Jun 17, 2009

U.S. Representatives John Lewis and Hank Johnson, accompanied by NAACP National President Ben Jealous, visited Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis for close to two hours on May 29. Speaking to a crowd of Davis’ supporters outside the prison walls in Jackson, Ga., the three leaders, convinced of his innocence, pledged to pursue other means to bring justice in Davis’ case.... Posted Jun 4, 2009

More than 100 vigils, rallies, marches and other actions were held across the U.S. and in other countries worldwide on May 19 in support of Troy Anthony Davis, the Georgia man facing execution for a crime he has always denied committing.... Posted May 27, 2009

“Jailhouse Lawyers: Prisoners Defending Prisoners v. the USA.” Wow! Before I say what it is, let me say where it belongs: right next to Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States.”... Posted May 21, 2009

On May 19, in cities across the U.S. and globally, demonstrations, rallies, petition drives and other actions brought worldwide pressure on Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to stop the wrongful imprisonment and execution of Troy Anthony Davis.... Posted May 20, 2009

On May 9, three members of the Georgia Detention Watch made a second solidarity trip to the Etowah Detention Center in Gadsden, Ala., to deliver hundreds of pairs of cotton underwear to women immigrant detainees.... Posted May 17, 2009

The struggle to free death-row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal is heating up in New York City. On May 8, an emergency, militant street meeting took place in front of Harlem’s Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building to demand that elected officials call upon U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department to conduct a civil rights investigation into constitutional rights violations against Mumia. Congressperson Charles Rangel, who represents the Harlem community, has come out in support of the call for the investigation.... Posted May 14, 2009

On May 19, from Alaska to West Virginia and from Argentina to Uganda, high school and college students, faith-based groups and progressive community organizations are organizing vigils, rallies and petition drives as well as the vital means of communication to bring worldwide pressure on Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Pardons and Parole Board to stop the execution of Troy Anthony Davis.... Posted May 14, 2009

To commemorate the 55th birthday of African-American political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal, local meetings were held around the country to help publicize the recent release of his sixth book, “Jailhouse Lawyers—Prisoners Defending Prisoners v. the U.S.A.”... Posted May 1, 2009

“Innocence matters.” These two words express the mantra of the international movement to stop the execution of Troy Anthony Davis. Davis’s conviction in the killing of off-duty Savannah policeman Mark McPhail in August 1989 is solely based on tainted eyewitness testimony. Davis has consistently and repeatedly asserted his innocence.... Posted Apr 22, 2009

Political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal will be 55 on April 24. His family, friends and supporters are observing the day with a worldwide “Honk for Mumia” and other displays of resistance to demand freedom for this world-famous African-American journalist held on Pennsylvania’s death row.... Posted Apr 22, 2009

An e-mail campaign launched on April 15 by the New York Free Mumia Coalition, International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, Millions for Mumia and the International Action Center to demand that the Justice Department initiate a civil rights investigation addressing a 27-year history of prosecutorial and judicial violations of Mumia’s constitutional rights.... Posted Apr 22, 2009

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Mumia Abu-Jamal’s appeal for a new trial without even giving any reasons. ... Posted Apr 8, 2009

During a jailhouse interview in 1978 a Philadelphia radical awaiting trial for a policeman’s death advanced a salient observation about a fundamental flaw in America’s legal system. The “system just makes and breaks laws as it sees fit!” noted this radical, who for years had battled Philadelphia authorities arbitrarily bending and breaking laws to brutally assault his organization.... Posted Apr 2, 2009

Albert Woodfox, one of the three political prisoners known as the Angola 3, has been in solitary confinement for 36 years after a politically motivated murder conviction. Supporters, including some from as far as Maine and California, wore black T-shirts that proclaimed “I am Albert Woodfox” and “I am Herman Wallace,” the other member of the Angola 3 who has not been released.... Posted Mar 15, 2009

Texas activists carrying colorful signs and banners formed a loud, militant demonstration in front of the T. Don Hutto Residential Facility on March 7, chanting, “CCA [Corrections Corporation of America], shut it down!” “Free the children, shut it down!” and “ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], shut it down!”... Posted Mar 11, 2009

A case of judicial corruption in Pennsylvania has once again exposed the true nature of the profit-driven prison industrial complex and the warehousing of poor youth.... Posted Feb 19, 2009

Immigrant prisoners at the Reeves County Detention Center, a private prison in Pecos, Texas, took over the prison on Jan. 31 after they attempted to meet with prison officials regarding a seriously ill detainee being held in solitary confinement. When their demand that this prisoner be immediately taken to a hospital was ignored, a spontaneous rebellion began.... Posted Feb 19, 2009

Feb. 6 was the 33rd anniversary of the arrest of Native political prisoner Leonard Peltier.... Posted Feb 14, 2009

From a Jan. 31 statement by imprisoned Native leader Leonard Peltier on his return to Lewisburg prison from Canaan, where he had been brutally beaten.... Posted Feb 4, 2009

When Leonard Peltier arrived at Canaan Federal Prison in Pennsylvania after being transferred from another facility in the state, he was brutally assaulted by a group of inmates. A letter from Peltier’s sister, Betty Peltier-Solano, says he suffered numerous head blows and “blood was everywhere.” She also said one of his fingers has been broken. He has been put in solitary confinement.... Posted Jan 29, 2009







My rage was nourished by the hate I saw and felt from mainstream society and white people, a hate based on my black skin and my historical place at the nadir of America’s social caste.... Posted Oct 2, 2008


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