Selected articles on California prisons Prison guards, inmates, policy, and conservatives agreeing that government has been over-built via incarceration.
Some of these articles may have been missed, but deserve closer examination due to the billions in budgets that the human bondage industry is wasting in California.
Selected articles about California prisons
The following articles concerning prisons in California appeared within the past few days. Since my columns have a national readership, I'd like to share these important news items. Reading the news is not an act of reform until one writes a letter to an editor or posts a comment in a news forum.
All public policy is based on the public outcry, so when we as citizens are too silent, all those in power assume that all is well. In America, if we are unhappy, then it is our patriotic duty to post comments in news media forums and to show up at the Sacramento Capitol en masse to attend important hearings. When the right actions aren't taken at the right time, the situation becomes worse. I feel that these stories written by journalists other than myself deserve special attention and for comments to be made beneath where they appear.
An excellent follow up to my story by a journalist whom I never met. We came to the same conclusion.
After 18 years, Pelican Bay prison abuse case to close
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we are broke, but our money has been used to design yet another torture weapon for law enforcement to abuse. Why must I go to the UK to read this news about California? This will wake you up with a jolt (I hope)
Californian prison to test new AID laser beam to 'burn' fighting inmates
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I called for something to be done about this violation of state and federal laws in 2008 and wrote articles about it along with the Los Angeles Times. There are thousands of families at several prisons impacted but they say nothing, do nothing...I'm glad to see Change.org trying to get attention to this again. Too many people want these battles fought for them with no investment of time and money on their part. It can't work that way.
Who Killed The Capitol Cook? Teddie Rowe blames prisons official Scott Kernan for fatal neglect
In a majority-rules democracy, the people who put money and support behind candidates and advocates are the ones who rule. There are now more than three million Californians related to a state inmate or someone who is on parole/probation. As they become more educated about how the system works, it shouldn't be much longer until recalls, initiative campaigns and electing the right people in the first place will take place.
Writing is fighting, please share these links so that others may also post comments to the dedicated journalists who wrote them.
If you would like to know why, when, where, how to fight for reform of the criminal justice system, please subscribe to my daily online newsletter. Reform isn't something you wish for, it's something that you work for and writing letters to editors is just one step in the process.
B. Cayenne Bird is a 45-year veteran op-ed journalist and publisher. A descendant of Mary Todd Lincoln, and General Andrew Porter, she is passionate about human rights and criminal justice issues. A mother and grandmother with advanced degrees in Journalism, Liberal Studies, and Humanities (Cultural Anthropology) she has focused on prison reform making great strides in Calif. supporting the landmark Plata-Coleman case for a decade which resulted in major prison reform. She writes scholarly articles too but prefers op-eds.
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