Last week the ACLU wrote a letter to the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) asking them to overturn their ban on Chokehold by Paul Butler, a book that examines the racial disparities of the prison system and advocates abolition of…
Tag: prison
Cartoonist Musa Kart in Prison Unjustly, Again
Almost exactly one year after award-winning editorial cartoonist was released from prison to await appeal, he has turned himself in to serve a sentence for “supporting terrorism” with his colleagues from the Turkish paper Cumhuriyet. The official charge leveled against…
WA Slyly Forbids Nonprofit Book Donation to Prisoners
Without warning, Washington state’s Department of Corrections (WA DOC) enacted a policy banning direct book and comics donations from nonprofits to people incarcerated in the state. WA DOC claims this change is necessary to due to lack of resources available…
Comics, Manga, and More Censored in Louisiana Prisons
Comics, manga, and art books figure heavily in the list of 950 books and periodicals banned by the Louisiana Department of Corrections (LDOC). The list itself was uncovered by The Times-Picayune following a public records request. Many inmate advocate groups…
Mississippi Jail Censors Everything Except the Bible
The Human Rights Defense Center and Mississippi Center for Justice have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the inmates at Forrest County Jail, stating that all books and periodicals other than the Bible and occasionally other Christian publications, have been…
Maryland Restricts Inmates Access to Books
Maryland prisons are infringing on inmates right to read under the guise of reducing drug smuggling. In a statewide policy, Maryland prisoners may no longer receive books sent by friends, relatives, online retailers, and nonprofits, limiting the access of 20,000…
Last Week for Guantanamo Art
This week could be your last chance to ever see the art exhibit from Guantanamo Bay detainees, it closes Friday, January 26th. Since the November shift in policy from the U.S. military, art made by inmates is no longer allowed…
Guantánamo Bay Art Show Causes Pentagon Policy Crackdown
Since early October, an unassuming exhibit of 36 paintings, drawings, and sculptures has lined two beige hallways on the sixth floor of Haaren Hall, part of John Jay College of Criminal Justice’s campus. The catalog is photocopied and stapled together, available…
CRNI Asks European Leaders to Seek Justice for Imprisoned Turkish Journalists
Turkish cartoonist Musa Kart and several of his colleagues from Cumhuriyet newspaper have now spent over six months in prison, joining about 130 other journalists similarly detained in the media crackdown following Turkey’s attempted coup last July. In advance of…
Egyptian Court Vacates Ahmed Naji Conviction, Orders Retrial
An Egyptian court yesterday ordered a retrial for novelist Ahmed Naji, who spent 10 months in prison for “violating public modesty” with an excerpt from his book Use of Life which was reprinted in the state-owned Akhbar al-Adab newspaper. Naji…