A dozen deaths at Rikers Island Jail this year alone. 5 suicides, some within days of one another. The debate on closing Rikers Island is quickly becoming less of a partisan issue and more of a human rights one. But this New York City jail complex is not unique in its inhumanity — rather, Rikers […]
Tag: prisons
Death to the Death Penalty: Capital Punishment as a Tool of White Supremacy
White America is slowly but surely coming to the realization that when government-created and funded systems fail minorities, the intended systems have not broken; rather, those systems are working exactly as intended. They directly reflect their creation on the backs of slaves as our nation was born. One of the most vile and haunting reminders […]
The Mental State of California’s Prisons
The United States is known for having the highest incarceration rate among all developed countries. The cause for this rate is highly debated, as there are several factors that contribute to mass incarceration. One factor that is being reexamined recently is the rate of mental health issues in the prison system. The national average suicide […]
Prison Valley: Why Rural Californians Want Correctional Facilities
To many of California’s economically struggling and politically isolated rural residents, prisons are welcome additions to their communities. Former New York Corrections Commissioner Thomas Coughlin claimed, “Prisons are… the anchor of development,” in a 1990 Newsweek interview. “People [in the Valley] for a very long time have felt a sense that we don’t matter,” argued James Gallagher, […]
Digital Prisons
For some prisoners, being released from prison can be described as “going from the old ages to Star Wars.” One major issue that recently released prisoners have had to deal with now more than ever before is understanding how to adapt to life in a society dominated by rapid technological changes. An oft overlooked solution […]