When prisoners stand up

For decades, being tough on crime has been a go-to mantra for American politicians regardless of party affiliation. Frequently that means increasing prison terms and choosing retributive justice over rehabilitation in the treatment of prisoners. Over the weekend prisoners in Georgia staged a peaceful strike in protest of these conditions.

It appears that the strike was coordinated among thousands of prisoners using illicit cell phones which they also used to communicate with the media during the strike. According to a press release, their demands included:

• A LIVING WAGE FOR WORK: In violation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude, the DOC [Department of Corrections] demands prisoners work for free.
• EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: For the great majority of prisoners, the DOC denies all opportunities for education beyond the GED, despite the benefit to both prisoners and society.
• DECENT HEALTH CARE: In violation of the 8th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments, the DOC denies adequate medical care to prisoners, charges excessive fees for the most minimal care and is responsible for extraordinary pain and suffering.
• AN END TO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS: In further violation of the 8th Amendment, the DOC is responsible for cruel prisoner punishments for minor infractions of rules.
• DECENT LIVING CONDITIONS: Georgia prisoners are confined in over-crowded, substandard conditions, with little heat in winter and oppressive heat in summer.
• NUTRITIONAL MEALS: Vegetables and fruit are in short supply in DOC facilities while starches and fatty foods are plentiful.
• VOCATIONAL AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES: The DOC has stripped its facilities of all opportunities for skills training, self-improvement and proper exercise.
• ACCESS TO FAMILIES: The DOC has disconnected thousands of prisoners from their families by imposing excessive telephone charges and innumerable barriers to visitation.
• JUST PAROLE DECISIONS: The Parole Board capriciously and regularly denies parole to the majority of prisoners despite evidence of eligibility.

None of these demands appear to be outrageous, and in fact seem like fair expectations for people who have been remanded to the custody of the state. However the issue of public perception and bias remain. As it is, while some local media outlets covered the three day strike – probably the largest prisoner strike in US history – most mainstream outlets did not. Instead most of the coverage has come from blogs and specialty outlets, especially from within the African American community. This lack of interest speaks volumes about many things, including the continuing racial divide in the US. But it also shows that if change is going to come, the first battle is to get people to care about the worthiness of the cause.

For more information on the strike, check out these sites:

Davey D’s Hip Hop Corner

CommonDreams.org

Prison Law Blog

San Francisco Bay View