August 12, 2020 by V Leigh

“The rot from slavery and its aftermath are still with us, in a thousand different ways.”

A Black man will spend the rest of his life in prison for stealing hedge clippers after the Louisiana Supreme Court denied his request to have his sentence overturned last week. https://t.co/IuVmbNSjd8
— CNN (@CNN) August 6, 2020

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The Louisiana Supreme Court denied a request to review a LIFE sentence issued to a Black man convicted of trying to steal hedge clippers from a storage room in 1997. Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, the court’s lone Black justice, was the sole dissent. https://t.co/YVpQkFBP7D
— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) August 4, 2020

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Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Bernette Johnson: A life sentence for a failed attempt to steal hedge clippers is a “modern manifestation” of the “Pig Laws designed to re-enslave African Americans.” https://t.co/L4GYMz4G2R
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) August 7, 2020

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“The rot from slavery and its aftermath are still with us, in a thousand different ways.” @JoyAnnReid discussing Louisiana Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the prison sentence of a Black man who is serving life for stealing hedge clippers in 1997. https://t.co/Wa6mkTll4u
— The ReidOut (@thereidout) August 8, 2020

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The Louisiana Supreme Court refused to review the life sentence imposed on a man for attempted theft of hedge clippers. The court’s only Black justice dissented and identified this as a harsh legacy of racially-biased punishment. https://t.co/zMGbwqFMTC
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) August 7, 2020

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“If he lives another 20 years, Louisiana taxpayers will have paid almost one million dollars to punish Mr. Bryant for his failed effort to steal a set of hedge clippers,” wrote the sole dissenter in the court’s decision.https://t.co/ffTLXdB9cF
— NPR (@NPR) August 7, 2020

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August 2, 2020 by V Leigh

While we protest against police violence, let us also protest for those who die in custody

Some background: Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the *world.* Within that, black people are locked up at much higher rates. pic.twitter.com/Wcc85JCOwM
— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) May 19, 2017

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While we protest against police violence, let us also protest for those who die in custody because of negligence and indifference. https://t.co/9v7cfFUBT6
— Jenn Budd ✊🏻 (@BuddJenn) June 15, 2020

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Our client Carl Stephens was convicted in 1993 of possessing cocaine residue & stealing cigarettes – acts for which he received a 50-year sentence without the possibility of parole. On Wednesday, after 26 years of imprisonment, he walked free. Happy Liberation Day Mr. Stephens! pic.twitter.com/OMN8XRILcR
— Southern Center for Human Rights (@southerncenter) June 19, 2020

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Tucson Police in Turmoil After Death of Latino Man in Custody – The New York Times https://t.co/wFuJ73ECtD
— glenn robinson (@glncv) June 25, 2020

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May 9, 2020 by V Leigh

Covid-19 and Jail Populations

Because of COVID-19, convictions for nonviolent drug offenses are turning into death sentences. We need to quickly move those who pose no safety risk from our jails and prisons to community supervision. Lives depend on it.https://t.co/RqY4aXv0mw
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) April 29, 2020

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BREAKING: Another person incarcerated on Rikers Island has died of Covid-19.

This brings to 4 the number of people who have died of coronavirus, while incarcerated in NYC jails.

The death happened on Wednesday night and the person’s identity has not been released by DOC.
— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) April 26, 2020

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On April 7, Ohio reported just 14 cases of COVID-19 in its prison system.

By April 19, there were 2,400 cases. Six incarcerated people and one guard had died.

More than 3/4 of the 2,500 people incarcerated at Marion County Prison were infected.

MDOC needs to start testing now.
— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) April 26, 2020

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71% of the prison population – a staggering 1,828 people – at Marion County Correctional Facility in Ohio have tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus.

109 correctional staff have also tested positive and one has died. https://t.co/xH9Cn0XOED
— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) April 20, 2020

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Almost a year ago, Louisiana’s pardon board recommended that Gloria “Mama Glo” Williams, who is 74 and has been in prison almost 50 years, be granted clemency and released from prison. But the governor hasn’t acted.

Now she is in hospital with COVID-19https://t.co/H08f5mC6OF
— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) April 24, 2020

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What’s it like to live & work in the epicenter of one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks in the country? We talked with a dozen people detained or working inside Cook County Jail. They shared stories of terror and confusion, spreading alongside the virus. https://t.co/kH1L7us27g
— Shannon Heffernan (@shannon_h) April 30, 2020

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My first piece for @theappeal! I wrote about how this pandemic is the first time that Cook County Jail inmates’ voices are actually standing a chance to be heard over the whir of Sheriff Tom Dart’s PR machine. https://t.co/NLXoGKPWR0
— Maya Dukmasova (@mdoukmas) April 28, 2020

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Social distancing isn’t enough to prevent massive loss of life from COVID-19.

Our model shows that reducing jail populations is critical to saving nearly 100,000 lives — inside of jail AND in surrounding communities. https://t.co/ELV6Nh2FtY
— ACLU (@ACLU) April 25, 2020

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27 years. 27 years for possessing cocaine in his apartment which happened to be near a junior college. That already outrageous sentence just turned into a death sentence. https://t.co/Y0Y3HKy0T0
— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) May 3, 2020

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Top 10 Coronavirus clusters in the US? Prisons, meat packing plants, a Navy battleship. Next 10? Prisons, meat packing plants, nursing homes. Next 10? And the 10 after that? Prisons, meat packing plants and nursing homes…. https://t.co/vdXEqlVymY
— Gina Neff (@ginasue) April 30, 2020

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March 3, 2020 by V Leigh

Harvard University “continues to benefit from its historical ties to slavery through its investments in the prison-industrial complex.”

Reading costs 5
cents a minute and the prisoners earn 30 cents an hour. Reading a 330
page book costs them about $20. Prisons are designed to destroy
people’s humanity. https://t.co/yiWu2Eeid2

—
Joseph Hill (@jaceyhill) February
16, 2020

▪️ The US is the largest incarcerator in the world

▪️1 out of 3 Black boys can expect to go to prison in his lifetime

▪️50% of people in prison have some indicator of a mental health disorder

The prosecutorial system needs to change. https://t.co/0KmONR8L9X

— ACLU (@ACLU) February 23, 2020

Five Harvard students are suing the university's president, a senior fellow of Harvard Corporation, and Harvard's endowment manager over the university's investments in what they call the "prison-industrial complex." https://t.co/HkrKz3erBg

— CNN (@CNN) February 21, 2020

Harvard University “continues to benefit from its historical ties to slavery through its investments in the prison-industrial complex." https://t.co/CcUk72eUmN

— Black Enterprise (@blackenterprise) February 25, 2020

January 31, 2020 by V Leigh

Another inmate died in Mississippi’s Parchman prison

The death of India Cummings—she suffered a mental breakdown, was seen smearing food on herself+lying in a pool of her own urine—brought national attention to Erie County, NY jails. But the deaths haven't stopped: on average, 1 person dies every 6 months. https://t.co/oH0JtNzxqx

— Ethan Brown (@ethanbrown72) January 16, 2020

Yet another person has died in Parchman prison this morning. According to Mississippi DOC, Thomas Lee died of "apparent suicide."

10 people have died in Mississippi prisons, 8 in Parchman, in the last 3 weeks.

4 of the deaths were in the last 5 days.https://t.co/WS0kmFQVgj

— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) January 23, 2020

The Mississippi Governor who created Parchman prison said he made it to run as an “efficient slave plantation.” The most in-depth account of its conditions is a book named “Worse than Slavery.” It was designed to exacerbate black enslavement, as we’re seeing with each news story. https://t.co/mrKL5XMgWU

— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) January 25, 2020

The conditions in Parchman are dangerous and inhumane, and we are seeing the deadly consequences. As we fight to end mass incarceration, our government needs to meet basic human rights standards for the people under its care. #MSPrisonReformNow https://t.co/vleQMhL5yL

— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 23, 2020

We often talk about the fact that the death penalty is racist, arbitrary, and error-prone. It has an emotional and psychological toll on the people forced to carry it out — prison guards, wardens, and witnesses. https://t.co/TuUXn5D8NS

— ACLU (@ACLU) January 9, 2020

Why does the U.S. have the highest incarceration rate in the world?

Because we criminalize poverty.
Because we criminalize homelessness.
Because we criminalize addiction.

Because we make recidivism easy.
Because we make finding employment hard.

Let's imagine something better.

— Mckayla Wilkes for Congress (@MeetMckayla) January 29, 2020

January 9, 2020 by V Leigh

76% of people currently incarcerated in America’s jails have not been convicted of a crime and most are there because they cannot afford bail.

61 year old Stephen Wayne Cole is the third person to die at the Bexar County jail in 12 months after being booked on a trespassing charge. Cole was held at the Texas jail because he couldn’t afford a $40 bond. https://t.co/lvSnZwqFZN

— Ethan Brown (@ethanbrown72) December 28, 2019

All Mississippi prisons remain locked down after five inmates violently died in state prisons in one week https://t.co/qIG7tDIn39 pic.twitter.com/a50yk8YYvm

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 4, 2020

Meanwhile people who are homeless and charged with trespassing on non-residential property – as opposed to police officers committing home invasions – are dying in jail sometimes after being held for months because they cannot afford bonds of under $100. https://t.co/pXAnZemMxT

— Rebecca Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) January 2, 2020

BREAKING: After Fairfax County’s new prosecutor announces plan to drop prosecutions for pot possession, judge denies motion to dismiss first case. Says cases need to be evaluated on individual basis.

— justin jouvenal (@jjouvenal) January 2, 2020

At least five people have died in Mississippi prisons in the past week and it’s the result of longstanding issues that have been ignored for far too long — including chronic understaffing and failure to protect incarcerated individuals from harm. https://t.co/DmmDsb892d

— Real Justice (@RealJusticePAC) January 8, 2020

Greetings from today's contentious Metro Council meeting. Still on the agenda: presentation from CorrectHealth, the firm overseeing jail medical care, which has come under fire for an inmate death rate more than twice the national average. Background here: https://t.co/XzSp5f16ME

— Lea Skene (@lea_skene) January 8, 2020

Texas executes man whose trial featured false testimony https://t.co/wR9cfkraEr

— Shaun King (@shaunking) December 12, 2019

76% of people currently incarcerated in America’s jails have not been convicted of a crime and most are there because they cannot afford bail. https://t.co/dwyq4ULBnC https://t.co/Kp3XtNpe3n

— Samuel Sinyangwe (@samswey) December 28, 2019

December 11, 2019 by V Leigh

CRACK VS. HEROIN An unfair system arrested millions of blacks, urged compassion for whites

Baltimore's reform DA indicts 25 prison guards for excessive force, intimidation, evidence tampering, participation in a criminal gang, and other crimes. https://t.co/c54y4NF4qq

— David Menschel (@davidminpdx) December 4, 2019

None of the politicians who brand themselves “fiscally responsible” ever raise concern about rushing to shower ICE & CBP w/ $billions with 0 guardrails or oversight.

None of them ask about how we pay for corrupt contracts or mass incarceration.

Ask yourself why that is.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 28, 2019

I have $1,000 for the unblurred version of this photo of these new West Virginia prison guards doing the Nazi salute.

Email it to me at shaun@thenorthstar.com and I’ll pay you anonymously. pic.twitter.com/GLyfLnyGTY

— Shaun King (@shaunking) December 6, 2019

NYPD commander tells officers to think of white and Asian people as “soft targets” and instructs them to instead target Blacks and Latinos for minor offenses like jumping the turnstile.

This is racial profiling in the era of de Blasio.https://t.co/4mNMSvsoU9

— Kristen Clarke (@KristenClarkeJD) December 7, 2019

In my view, it would be insane to argue that our criminal justice system is not racist, broken, and in need of serious reform. https://t.co/bP3YfGlHaz

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 7, 2019

CRACK VS. HEROIN
An unfair system arrested millions of blacks, urged compassion for whites – https://t.co/uq4MH9l1y7

— DcSlumdog (@DcSlumdog) December 10, 2019

December 3, 2019 by V Leigh

It makes no rational sense to invest more in keeping people in prison than keeping them in school.

And… cutting the current population down by 50% doesn't even get us close to the U.S. incarceration rate in 1970 which was much much lower. A 50% cut means the U.S. will STILL remain the largest jailer in the world. People need to understand this. https://t.co/A7T2m2I2i3

— #AbolitionMeansNoPrisons (@prisonculture) November 14, 2019

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People incarcerated in West Virginia prisons will soon be charged $3 an hour to read books and $15 an hour for video visitation with their families.

Prisoners in West Virginia are paid between 4 and 58 cents an hour for their labor.

https://t.co/va319pC5M8

— Rebecca J. Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) November 23, 2019

Three men who were falsely convicted of murder in Maryland have been freed. They have served 36 years in prison. They were sentenced in 1984 for killing a 14-year-old boy.

Baltimore state attorney Marilyn Mosby said “police and prosecutorial misconduct” was to blame. pic.twitter.com/8YUBC5i7Np

— AJ+ (@ajplus) November 26, 2019

Yes, it’s a gateway to a prison cell and a permanent record for a disproportionate number of black and brown men. But, go ahead Mr Crime Bill, we wouldn’t want to starve the beast known as the prison industrial complex… https://t.co/lG5mQNyxGF

— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) November 18, 2019

Last year South Carolina spent:

$21,756 per prison inmate
$11,552 per student

It makes no rational sense to invest more in keeping people in prison than keeping them in school.

As president, I will do everything I can to reverse this absurdity.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 1, 2019

October 30, 2019 by V Leigh

Sentencing and New Fact Sheet on Private Prisons in the United States

A man who had spent 1,181 days in the Fulton County Jail was released Wednesday after he was found not guilty of 21 felonies.

His attorney said the man only wanted to buy a $10 bag of marijuana, which nearly cost him his life and freedom. https://t.co/rlwiLh50ix

— AJC (@ajc) October 10, 2019

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What a difference a DA makes. Man walks out of prison after 28 years, 10th man exonerated under Philly's reform DA Larry Krasner.

Cops involved had a “pattern and practice” of coercing confessions. https://t.co/rh7xXfQBbT https://t.co/50XtUdqvhq

— David Menschel (@davidminpdx) October 10, 2019

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A Texas jury has found prison guard Lou Joffrion not guilty in the killing of David Witt, who was incarcerated at Darrington Unit. The DA charged Joffrion after video showed he slammed Witt, who was handcuffed, into the concrete floor so hard it killed him.https://t.co/1jCObTIlya

— Rebecca J. Kavanagh (@DrRJKavanagh) October 14, 2019

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The Sentencing Project along with more than 250 other signatories signed an open letter to Wisconsin @GovEvers requesting clemency for Brendan Dassey, whose murder conviction was featured in Netflix's Making a Murderer. #bringbrendanhome #FreeBrendanDassey https://t.co/fb3Ya1gNkh

— Sentencing Project (@SentencingProj) October 25, 2019

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NEW FACT SHEET: 28 states and the federal government incarcerated 121,718 people in #privateprisons in 2017, representing 8.2% of the total state and federal prison population. https://t.co/K9ULb35siC pic.twitter.com/yixp7dhg8O

— Sentencing Project (@SentencingProj) October 24, 2019

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July 23, 2019 by V Leigh

“Why did you do this to me?”

LaToni Daniel had been held pre-trial in Coosa County Jail in Alabama since 2017. A month ago, she gave birth to baby boy. Since she has no memory of having sex while incarcerated, her lawyers believe she was raped by a jail employee while unconscious. https://t.co/dzvVSP98Yn

— The Appeal (@theappeal) July 1, 2019

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Three staffers suspended at the St. Louis County jail after fourth death involving the jail this year. Daniel Stout spent just eight days at the jail—he died after his attempts to seek medical care for his ulcer were refused. https://t.co/P4mmL4n3rd

— Ethan Brown (@ethanbrown72) June 19, 2019

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Cleveland Jail ‘Torture’ Video Victim Sues Cuyahoga County, Officers | News One https://t.co/nSBl7C7Lbd

— glenn robinson (@glncv) July 13, 2019

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Mario Ramos has been incarcerated at Rikers Island and mental hospitals for the past 32 years without ever being convicted of a crime. https://t.co/ARsZiQw3fr via @theappeal

— Sentencing Project (@SentencingProj) June 22, 2018

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Oppression Monitor Daily

A Community Village Site

Prison & Punishment for Crimes

“The rot from slavery and its aftermath are still with us, in a thousand different ways.”

Like this:

While we protest against police violence, let us also protest for those who die in custody

Like this:

Covid-19 and Jail Populations

Like this:

Harvard University “continues to benefit from its historical ties to slavery through its investments in the prison-industrial complex.”

Like this:

Another inmate died in Mississippi’s Parchman prison

Like this:

76% of people currently incarcerated in America’s jails have not been convicted of a crime and most are there because they cannot afford bail.

Like this:

CRACK VS. HEROIN An unfair system arrested millions of blacks, urged compassion for whites

Like this:

It makes no rational sense to invest more in keeping people in prison than keeping them in school.

Like this:

Sentencing and New Fact Sheet on Private Prisons in the United States

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“Why did you do this to me?”

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