Items
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incarcerated
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2020-10-01
The COVID Pandemic and economic greed
I wanted to share a bit about my life during COVID. My brother is currently incarcerated, and I would travel at least once a month to visit him. Once COVID hit, visitations were canceled, and my family was forced to rely on phone calls or snail mail. My brother would call us about once a week for his own sanity and ours as well. Several things have happened these past few months, which made our situation as a family more complicated. A phone call to my brother used to cost him (or us) 40 cents a minute. When COVID hit the private company used by the prison to facilitate calls, decided to take advantage of our reliance on phone calls and upcharge their prices. Phone calls now cost over a dollar a minute. Thankfully my family does ok and phone calls are not something we are willing to let go of, but I feel for families who have to choose between food, bills or funding their calling account. I know it sounds like an extreme situation, but there are families that have lost all contact with their loved ones who are incarcerated because of COVID, and these companies are taking advantage of the pandemic. Were now paying almost twenty dollars for every ten minute conversation, trust me it adds up real quick. The worst part is that these companies have contracts with the prisons, and we (the families on the outside) have no choice or say as far as what company we are able to go through to talk to those incarcerated. As if COVID and social distancing weren't enough, I'm now missing and worrying about my brother more than usual. -
2020-04-06
04/06/2020 The Equinox Report
An inmate at San Quentin prison in San Francisco, California, has been sending letters out to someone who is posting them on this blog. Today he explains a news story he saw on Democracy Now. The story says 16 states have begun releasing prisoners but New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, has resisted even with hundreds of inmates and facility employees testing positive. -
2020-05-11
Coping With COVID-19 Crisis: Jule Hall & Lynn Novick On The Devastating Impact On Prison Education Depicted In Docuseries ‘College Behind Bars’
Once the covid pandemic settled in across the nation it was obvious that schools, preschool through university, had to be shut down. Many schools turned to online instruction and learning but this presented a problem for a large number of students who don't have the hardware or access to an internet connection. One population you wouldn't expect to also struggle with this issue are prisons. Many prisons across the country offer college to inmates. Conducted by professors who visit the prison to provide instruction. As a precaution to lessen the introduction of the virus into the prison many facilities stopped visitors including the college professors. This article discusses how this has impacted the inmates. ASU, HST580 -
2020-04-04
'We need help': Alabama prisoner pleas for assistance in fighting COVID-19
ABC News video showing video from inside an Alabama prison and the inmates inability to social distance. The prisoner on the video asks for HELP. As of the date of this video no Alabama prisoner had tested positive for the virus though at least two employees have tested positive. After the interview with the prisoner the host goes on to discuss the issue with a former female inmate and a former doctor in charge of prison health in another state. The host also interviews a sheriff who argues that releasing inmates is not safe for the community. -
2020-06-01
4,000+ Protestors Arrested During Pandemic
Protests have erupted across the U.S. in response to another death of a black man in police custody. The protests have continued for seven straight days and over 4,000 people have been arrested. This creates a larger problem during the time of covid 19. With officials concerned about the spread of the virus within incarcerated populations and releasing inmates early, are they concerned about the thousands they are arresting? Are they keeping those arrested in jail or releasing them? Is the pandemic effecting their choice? -
2020-06-01
Trump focuses on law and order instead of unity
The nation has experienced a full week of protests, some violent, in response to the killing of a black man in police custody. The president has remained silent except for a few tweets. On a call with the nation's governors he shared his feelings and appears to be more focused on how we appear to the world at large and maintaining law and order, rather than uniting the country, offering solutions, or addressing the feelings of the protestors. -
2020-04-18
Interviews inside a covid positive prison
This article interviews inmates, family of inmates, employees, and officials from the Federal Correctional Complex in Oakdale, Louisiana. The interviews were conducted orally, written, over text, and social media. Both the employees and inmates tell a story of an ill prepared system, though the prison claims to have begun preparing in January. -
2020-03-30
‘Jails Are Petri Dishes’
As the US faced the real threat of the coronavirus it became clear that "jails are petri dishes." Due to overcrowding and the large number of people that go in and out of the buildings daily it is impossible to stop the virus from coming in and spreading rapidly. Government and prison officials began discussing early release or releasing those still awaiting trial, particularly for nonviolent offenses. As with the rest of the nation the fear is that the virus will spread so quickly that the nations medical system will be overwhelmed. The same is true within the prison but the fear is that the inmates and employees of the prisons will add to the medical crises outside the prison. -
2020-05-26
Inmates claim their symptoms are ignored
In prison social distancing is impossible. Once covid enters a prison many become infected quickly. Inmates are saying their efforts to obtain medical care are being ignored and families are not being notified when their inmates become ill. Instead they are only being notified once their inmate has died from the virus. -
2020-05-14
Prison population remains stable during pandemic
In response to the inability to social distance within prisons government and prison officials have considered releasing some inmates early to slow the spread of the virus but this article states that has not happened. It points to the officials fear of inmates released early committing a crime. -
2020-05-29
Are inmates attempting to infect themselves to gain early release?
One response to the pandemic in the US has been to consider releasing some prison inmates early to quell the spread of the virus within the prison population. This is a valid strategy because social distancing in a prison is impossible. In this video it appears that inmates are all sharing a cup in an attempt to infect themselves. Is that what is actually happening? Are they doing this in hopes that they will be released?