This THREAD (pls heed warning re: photos down thread) is yet another tragically damning example of the humanitarian crisis happening in our nation’s prisons. I have emphasized this crisis to the President, the AG, and the Civil Rights Div. There must be urgent and drastic action. https://t.co/13m9FDN5Ws
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@SIfill_) January 14, 2023
Prison & Punishment for Crimes
3 more people died in Houston pretrial detention today. 27 people this year. The death penalty for 27 people who’ve never convicted of anything. *Solely because they couldn’t afford to purchase their freedom. This is not okay. This is a human rights crisis.
#Missouri
— Attika (@Attika_t) November 14, 2022
Stop execution of #KevinJohnson
Petition.https://t.co/onmC51bapM
Learn More About Kevin /take action: #ClemencyForKJ Toolkit:https://t.co/Lq8yjMdjXz
Contact Gov Parson.
(573) 751-3222 (Press 2)https://t.co/3UZ5whfgAC
Execution:November 29th @GovParsonMO pic.twitter.com/zMInCuahMp
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EXCLUSIVE: Video Shows Inmate Brutally Beaten By Jail Officials https://t.co/gzYpcbXrIx via @YouTube
— glenn robinson (he/him) (@glncv) November 12, 2022
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EXCLUSIVE UPDATE: More Video Shows Staff Brutal Beating Of Inmate https://t.co/iYyJKOBJ1Y via @YouTube
— glenn robinson (he/him) (@glncv) November 15, 2022
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Glad Rep. @RashidaTlaib brought this up today. Y’all heard that right?
— Randall Woodfin (@randallwoodfin) November 15, 2022
Alabama diverted $400m in Covid $ to fund the construction of three mega-prisons.
It’s unconscionable that when our state had the opportunity to invest in public health, they went with mass incarceration. pic.twitter.com/WceCiiuaCO
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3 more people died in Houston pretrial detention today. 27 people this year. The death penalty for 27 people who’ve never convicted of anything. *Solely because they couldn’t afford to purchase their freedom.*
— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) November 22, 2022
This is not okay. This is a human rights crisis.
The prison industrial complex is modern day slavery. Arresting Black and brown people, holding them in jail before trial/conviction, subjecting them to depraved inhumane conditions while making them do labor for 9 cents an hour. What do you call that?
People are literally burning to death in Texas prisons. YET ANOTHER man had died from a cell fire, per sources & officials.
— Keri Blakinger (@keribla) August 5, 2022
This is the THIRD such death in <a year — in a prison system that has routinely flouted state fire safety standards for over a decade. THREAD:
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Arizona Department of Corrections Director David Shinn just told the state legislature we can’t shut down private prisons because too many communities rely on the cheap labor they provide and they would “collapse” without it https://t.co/p6VNS3mIVc
— Jimmy Jenkins (@JimmyJenkins) July 14, 2022
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The prison industrial complex is modern day slavery. Arresting Black and brown people, holding them in jail before trial/conviction, subjecting them to depraved inhumane conditions while making them do labor for 9 cents an hour.
— People’s City Council – Los Angeles (@PplsCityCouncil) September 9, 2022
What do you call that?
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NYC jails killed another person today, the 11th person this year and 27th person since early 2021. Judges, prosecutors, and every elected official in the state and city need to act now. Release people and stop sending people to these jails to die.
Check out Ep. 630 – Incarcerated Black men were told by the government to register to vote. Then given additional jail time for breaking the law when they did so. https://t.co/3SzolrXYRI
— glenn robinson (he/him) (@glncv) July 2, 2022
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Many thousands of incarcerated people still don’t have A/C, as the temp hits 107 degrees in parts of Texas today.
— Maurice Chammah (@MauriceChammah) July 11, 2022
I wish this @MarshallProj piece on men dying inside wasn’t relevant every summer.
w/@johncarlosfrey, @abbycellis, @sollygrana @abbycellis https://t.co/AdlJDoPzLK
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NYC jails killed another person today, the 11th person this year and 27th person since early 2021. Judges, prosecutors, and every elected official in the state and city need to act now. Release people and stop sending people to these jails to die.
— #HALTsolitary (@NYCAIC) July 15, 2022
Statement from @sabur_anisah pic.twitter.com/pKI6b0cdFm
The 13th Amendment didn’t completely abolish slavery & purposely excludes incarcerated individuals. A new ACLU report explores the use of prison labor across the U.S. & how prisoners make little to nothing for their work while incarcerated!
Another person died at Rikers today — a jail meant to hold people temporarily — the 8th person this year, the second in 24 hours. Have we become numb to the monotony of crises?
— Elizabeth Glazer (@LizGlazerNYC) June 21, 2022
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NEW 🚨: In 3 days, 3 men died after being held on Rikers Island. Here’s what we know about them. Antonio Bradley, 28, was hanging in a Bronx courthouse cell for several mins before jail officers noticed him. He was brain dead & died in a hospital June 18: https://t.co/FrG19DxmVz
— Jan Ransom (@Jan_Ransom) June 22, 2022
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the only “pre-existing condition” that is relevant is that Rikers is a torture chamber, DOC failed to take care of people forced into their care by prosecutors & courts, and the inherent violence of incarceration. https://t.co/ASqITbeyj6
— wongisms (@justwongisms) June 23, 2022
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Many people are aware that incarcerated people are forced to work at subminimum wage, but uh a lot of them are forced to work for no money at all, which sounds a lot like…https://t.co/bf4oMvPM9M
— s. e. smith (@sesmith) June 20, 2022
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In the same 24 hours, scotus made abortion illegal in half the country and the Senate of the largest, most “progressive” state in the Union confirmed that yes, they would like to keep prison slavery in place. That’s sitting heavy with me today. #ACA3 #RoeVsWade #EndTheException pic.twitter.com/vXBjVeayPC
— Abolition is Not a Metaphor (@RoshanBliss) June 25, 2022
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The 13th Amendment didn’t completely abolish slavery & purposely excludes incarcerated individuals. A new ACLU report explores the use of prison labor across the U.S. & how prisoners make little to nothing for their work while incarcerated! Full report: https://t.co/QKdnMlyNba pic.twitter.com/GbHbl2xAHX
— ACLU of Nevada (@ACLUNV) June 27, 2022
US prison workers produce $11 billion worth of goods and services for “little to no pay at all”
US has a quarter of China’s population, but more people jailed by a half million.
— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) April 17, 2022
US has more people caged just *pretrial*, presumed innocent (500,000) than everyone imprisoned in India.
“American exceptionalism.”https://t.co/dz4qFCqCVt
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3 years ago today my heart was ripped out of my chest and it’ll never be the same. https://t.co/NRGuB1vfns
— Melania Brown (@melaniabrown11) June 7, 2022
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With Juneteenth approaching, it’s a good time to discuss change. It’s not hyperbole to say the prison industrial complex is modern day slavery. The 13th amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude EXCEPT for those convicted of a crime. It’s time to end the exception https://t.co/wDFC3tBxTr
— Olayemi Olurin (@msolurin) June 16, 2022
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under the 13th amendment, slavery is legal as punishment for a crime. the prison industrial complex is one of the “innovations” of capitalism. it’s a part of the market. law enforcement does not prevent crime, it punishes it. with literal slavery. our taxes fund these atrocities. https://t.co/PjbzseKp4W
— trans rights are human rights (@KarlGerm) June 17, 2022
The cruelty is the point, the prison industrial complex is made to exploit the poor
The cruelty is the point, the prison industrial complex is made to exploit the poor https://t.co/O0gXhrM7cN
— Shaunrade (@BetterWorld86) February 24, 2022
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The number of incarcerated women was over 7X higher in 2019 than in 1980.
— The Sentencing Project (@SentencingProj) February 8, 2022
Research on female incarceration is critical to understanding the full consequences of mass incarceration and to unraveling the policies that lead to their criminalization. https://t.co/pCHksSxX4O
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Few are familiar with the prison industry and fewer know the extent of its greed. This invisibility has protected it and its exploitative practices. That ends now. A year delayed due to COVID-19, today my TED Talk is out!
— Bianca (@BiancaTylek) May 24, 2021
Thank you @TEDTalks @TEDFellow https://t.co/RGKXrZpx0l
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The NYTimes putting out the same tired coppaganda just replacing chain stores with “small businesses”. They never miss an opportunity to shill for the prison industrial complex. https://t.co/DjuCJpqAjW
— Party like it’s 1347 (@ExpectingWords) February 28, 2022
The goal of the system is to oppress…
“The goal of the system is to oppress… There are better, more cost-effective, less racist ways to get to health and safety. That’s what want. And we’re doing it all wrong.”@ScottHech explains how being a public defender turned him into an abolitionisthttps://t.co/gY3pATipvM pic.twitter.com/Le8WQwSNw1
— AWKWORD (@AWKWORDrap) December 9, 2021
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Our organization has always advocated against over-incarceration.
— Alliance for Safety and Justice (@SafeandJustUSA) April 9, 2020
But what #COVID19 uncovered is: our country’s obsession with locking people up in jails and prisons as a first response to everything is NOT a solution–it actually endangers us all.
THREAD
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Today I’m filming a segment for a brilliant documentary on Rikers Island penitentiary.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) January 28, 2022
🚨 The cost of incarceration there is a staggering $556,539 per year PER PERSON, or $1,525 a day. CRAZY!!
Tuition, room, and board at HARVARD is $75,891.
You get what you invest in.
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I live across the street from this Days Inn and, unless someone’s learned something I haven’t, I don’t have the faintest idea what juvenile incarceration laws have to do with what happened. It’s beyond shameful to use a woman’s death to propagate unrelated—and harmful—policy https://t.co/OybdpwxPwr
— Elyssa Feder (@elyssafeder) January 27, 2022
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“Biden’s visit…is an opportunity for this nation’s leader to witness firsthand the horrendous conditions NYers endure each day on Rikers Island — conditions that should serve as a reminder of why incarceration is not a panacea for public safety concerns.”https://t.co/F4GGGAXQf3
— The Legal Aid Society (@LegalAidNYC) January 28, 2022
New year, new annual report! from The Bail Project
70% of people in jail are there for one reason: living in poverty.
— Brave New Films (@bravenewfilms) December 6, 2021
Low-income Americans are sitting in jails for days, months, and even years simply because they can’t afford to pay high bail amounts.
And the bail industry is raking in billions. pic.twitter.com/AqlPkD7KxQ
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As you read these words, there are 400,000 human beings in cages separated from their families solely because they cannot pay cash bail, and the U.S. and the Philippines are the only two countries in the world that allow a for-profit cash bail industry.
— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) December 6, 2021
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End cash bail.
— Jill Lehmann (@justiceseeker78) December 17, 2021
“Three people were out on bond following an investigation that alleged insurance fraud, credit card fraud and prostitution at a well-known Des Moines bail bond service.”https://t.co/Pr2t1Fsv4y
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New year, new annual report! 👏 Hear from our clients, have a look at our financials, our plans for the future, and more.
— The Bail Project (@bailproject) December 13, 2021
Read it here: https://t.co/fuRzGujIsE pic.twitter.com/nxHIuEbG3o
Mass Incarceration: This is a moral outrage
In New York, Black people are 5 times more likely than whites to be incarcerated for technical violations.
— Prison Policy Init. (@PrisonPolicy) September 15, 2020
That’s incarceration for noncriminal behaviors that violate (often onerous and overly burdensome) probation/parole rules. https://t.co/1kOHNd4NCs
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The whistleblowing complaints of medical neglect, further findings, & a new @Kare11 investigation has led to the director of the Minnesota’s Department of Corrections (DOC) Inspection and Enforcement Unit being placed on administrative leave.
— Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) September 29, 2020
New Report: https://t.co/lY6YAAh0zW pic.twitter.com/4IvVEedhaS
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Most of the 700,000 people in jail are still eligible to vote, because they are in pretrial detention or serving sentences for minor offenses. But few can actually do so. “The de facto disenfranchisement of jailed citizens is a democratic failure.” https://t.co/7qhmD7Ltag
— The Appeal (@theappeal) October 24, 2020
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80 percent of those who died of Covid-19 in Texas county jails were never convicted of a crime, a new report finds https://t.co/EjLpTPPQ4E
— Vox (@voxdotcom) November 12, 2020
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“80 percent of those who died of Covid-19 in Texas county jails were never convicted of a crime”
— Robert Greenwald (@robertgreenwald) November 16, 2020
This is a moral outrage. https://t.co/rJMEpSxSsj
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New Orleans voters just elected a district attorney who has committed to ending mass incarceration.
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 6, 2020
Local elections matter. https://t.co/bksYgf6xTN
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Defund the police isn’t just a slogan.
— Max Berger (@maxberger) December 2, 2020
It’s a demand to shift resources from incarceration and criminalization to education and emancipation.
It might not be good politics right now — but neither was abolition for decades before the civil war. Movements shift public opinion.