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Mediator is exactly
Incarceration
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2020-06-05
Appeals court tosses order that required face masks, hand sanitizer for inmates at geriatric Texas prison
Two inmates filed suit in late March asking for better practices to protect them from covid. The judge sided with the inmates but by that time the Texas Department of Criminal Justice had already enacted similar protocols across the state, though many argue they are not followed. Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, is also quoted in this article saying, he "felons deserve personal protective equipment over frontline warriors." This is the same man that was quoted on new across the nation as saying that older people should be willing to die from Covid to keep the economy open for the benefit of their grandchildren. -
2020-06-16
Texas prisons will accept county jail inmates again, three months after the coronavirus halted intake
In an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19 inside of the state of Texas correctional facilities all transfers were halted in April but in beginning July 1 Texas will begin transfers. This all happens as the states case count and positivity rate begin to sky rocket. By mid July Texas becomes one of the nations three biggest hot spots. -
2020-07-14
Thousands of Texas prisoners still have the coronavirus. More than 25% of inmates at four units are infected.
"Two Texas prisons each have more than 670 inmates with active coronavirus infections, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the highest counts seen at any state lockup since the pandemic began." What makes this Covid so scary in a prison is that if caught it can turn a short sentence into a defacto death sentence. For this reason many advocate early release for nonviolent offenders but Texas Governor Greg Abbott does not agree. -
2020-07-04
He was supposed to be in prison less than a year. Instead, he died after catching the coronavirus.
A former Texas teacher was sentenced to a few months in prison to go through a rehab program after committing repeat DWIs. While incarcerated he contracted Covid and died. Texas has the highest mortality rate in its prisons, higher than even the Federal Bureau of Prisons. -
2020-07-23
The coronavirus is keeping Texas prisoners who've been approved for parole behind bars
When people are granted parole they often are not released immediately and are required to complete programming or set up things outside of the facility for when they are released. It appears thousands of people incarcerated in Texas are being held in prison because transfers to other facilities where these programs take place are not happening in an effort to slow the spread of Covid. This article gives the details and the difference between what incarcerated people are saying and those in charge. -
2020-08-07
The only Texas prison reporting zero coronavirus cases is where inmates make soap. But that’s not what’s credited with protecting it.
One prison unit in all of Texas still doesn't have any confirmed Coronavirus cases in incarcerated persons or staff. The Roach Unit attributes this to being located in a community with a low population and following the rules set out by the state for corrections facilities. Ironically, this facility is also where soap and hand sanitizer is also made for prisons. Though most prisons will not allow hand sanitizer to be given to inmates because it contains alcohol, they could drink it or use it as an accelerant to start a fire. While the warden states he is just following the rules, others say it is his strict adherence to the rules that has kept everyone healthy. Other facilities could possibly use this facility to learn from. -
2020-08-02
Released Inmates Describe Ordeal Inside San Quentin During Coronavirus Outbreak
This news story talks with three men that were recently released from San Quentin Prison in California to learn about conditions inside the prison during the Covid-19 Pandemic. They all believe that the virus was brought to the prison when inmates from another California state prison, Chino, were transferred in. -
2020-08-07
Unlock the Box Campaign Tweets: Solitary By the Numbers
Because correctional facilities are not built with social distancing in mind the facilities often rely on solitary confinement as a place to quarantine people. This was happening with other contagious disease before Covid but as this graphic shows the number of people being sent to solitary confinement for Covid quarantine is very high. It should also be noted that a person sent to solitary confinement for quarantine due to illness is treated no different than a person sent there for disciplinary action. Imagine having Covid and being locked in there with no medical attention. -
2020-08-05
I'm incarcerated at San Quentin prison for 55 years to life. I didn't think things could get worse until COVID-19.
This article, written by a currently incarcerated man at San Quentin Prison in California, explains what it is like to be incarcerated during the Covid Pandemic and their lack of information. He asks if it is justice to leave people in prison during the pandemic, explains the stress and helplessness so many feel, talks about the racism that landed many of them in prison, and the very low recidivism rate of lifers. -
2020-08-05
Reporting on the Death of an Incarcerated Person
This person cautions reporters about stories covering the death of an incarcerated person due to Covid. She expresses he worry that it puts emphasis on the one bad thing they did in their life and doesn't cover any of the things they've done since. -
2020-08-05
My Incarcerated Father & Our Family Face Discrimination At Top Bay Area Hospital
A 74 year old man who was incarcerated in a medical facility was transferred to San Quentin in an effort to keep him away from Covid, but the botched transfer resulted in the opposite. He contracted Covid and was sent to a local hospital. While there the medical staff facilitated Zoom calls and the like with his family. After being transferred to the ICU the medical staff said because he was incarcerated they could not facilitate contact with his family. His daughter explains more. -
2020-08-05
My Friend Died in San Quentin Due to Covid-19. His Death Was Entirely Preventable.
Written by Adnan Khan, a formerly incarcerated person and criminal justice reform advocate, this article explains the death of his friend from Covid and how it was preventable. -
2020-08-06
Covid becoming a death sentence
This is the image of a Tweet from a physician expressing her sorrow over the death of an incarcerated person and her belief that incarcerated persons with Covid deserve the same care as anyone else. -
2020-08-06
Twitter thread about judge with covid
This is a Twitter thread about a judge with Covid and several people commenting about the judicial processes in their area. -
2020-08-05
Tweet about the lower prison population due to death from Covid-19
This person Tweeted that they feel the prison population is the lowest it has been since the 1990s because of people dying while incarcerated from Covid-19. -
2020-08-04
Worst coronavirus outbreak in U.S.: A timeline of how San Quentin earned that infamous distinction
This article includes a video interactive timeline that shows how they believe covid was introduced to San Quentin Prison in California as well as coverage of the pandemic in several other California state prisons. -
2020-08-01
Coronavirus in Prison: The Cruel Reality
This article from Prison Legal News gives an exhaustive overview of the situation faced by the carceral system and all the people it touches. The author, Christopher Zoukis, explains the state of the virus, news coverage, community response, covid in prisons, Federal Bureau of Prisons, state prisons, discrepancies in date, states responses, lack of testing, medical care, and PPE, the personal impact, and human rights. -
2020-07
Tweets from Inside a Prison 07/26-08/01/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the Tweets of an incarcerated person sharing their experience during the Covid Pandemic using a contraband cell phone. This week he talks about the guards delivering food to their cells and leaving it on the floor, the inmates response, their lack of access to showering, the lack of compassion, encouraging people to vote and hold politicians accountable, medical emergencies, death, and the general feeling of anger. -
2020-07-30
The Fight for Second Chances
As COVID-19 threatens the safety of inmates and staff in the Arizona Department of Corrections, families with incarcerated loved ones are pushing for the state to release some non-violent offenders early. So far, they have not swayed officials... but in November, voters will have a chnace to decide whether certain non-violent offenders should be able to earn time off their sentences. This story discusses the challenges of political activism amidst a pandemic. -
2020-07-31
Courts dramatically rethink the jury trial in the era of the coronavirus
One of the consequences of a huge Covid outbreak in the U.S. is the halt of court proceedings, especially criminal trials. While many proceedings have been conducted virtually, the trial by a jury of your peers has not in most cases. Washington D.C. and nine states have postponed jury trials indefinitely. This has consequences for those awaiting trial, especially anyone awaiting trial from a jail cell. Courts have considered installing HEPA filters, having everyone wear masks, installing plexiglass, putting the jury out in the gallery to allow for proper social distancing but even with all of these mitigation efforts there is still a problem because jury service is compulsory and many don't feel safe performing their civic duty. Still other problems include jurors having to afford child care because their children are not in school due to Covid. This can limit the jury pool. -
2020-07-17
Getting Out Of Prison Sooner
This NPR Planet Money podcasts discusses extremely long sentences, early release due to change in laws, particularly in Oklahoma, the cost of incarceration, and criminal justice reform from the ideal of physical conservatism. Plus a brief mention of early release due to the pandemic. -
2020-07-27
Protesters chained to governor's home as prison deaths mount
In an effort to urge the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, to release people incarcerated at the state's prisons and jails, and stop immigration transfers, protestors chained themselves to the fence outside the governors home. The fourteen protestors were wearing surgical masks and face shields to protect from the spread of the coronavirus. The protest was organized by the California Liberation Collective. The fourteen protestors that chained themselves to the fence were accompanied by many others calling for action in light of the continued death toll the virus is having on incarcerated populations, particularly at San Quentin Prison. -
2020-07-10
Delay in obtaining prison records postpones Anderson release hearing
This article reports on the case of a former Sonora doctor, Danny Anderson, who is an inmate at the California Institution for Men in Chino. Anderson's attorneys sought an early release for Anderson due to his autoimmune disease. Anderson previously had the virus and was cleared, but doctors do not know if there will be significant immune response to the virus to prevent a second infection. There have been delays to the release of the inmate. At the time of the article, there were 63 cases of COVID-19 within that prison. Many prisoners are being released around the state to relieve overcrowding, but it seems to be going at a slower pace than could really help alleviate the problem. -
2020-07-17
New COVID-19 cases in Tuolumne County include 4 prison employees
A rural jail in Tuolumne County has had some cases among staff and inmates since the pandemic began. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has secured a vendor for mandatory testing. -
07/24/2020
Philip Melendez Oral History, 2020/07/24
Philip Melendez was born and raised in Sacramento, California. His interactions with the police began in high school. He later committed a crime and served almost twenty years in prison. He was released from prison a few years ago and now works for Restore Justice, a California based non-profit, focused on criminal justice reform. Now married, with three grown children, he discusses his thoughts on the criminal justice system, reform, and the impact of COVID-19 on the incarcerated population within the United States, specifically California. (Note there is about two minutes of empty recording at the beginning of the Mp4 file.) -
2020-07-26
Inmates witnessed a suicide attempt. They received coloring pages instead of counseling.
After requesting support for mental health issues four time a covid positive inmate set the medical isolation unit they were in on fire. That's where this article begins but it covers much more about the lack of mental healthcare inside prisons and its effect on inmates during the pandemic. -
2020-07-25
119 New Covid cases in the last two weeks inside California prisons
This Tweet shows the continuing crisis inside of the nation's prisons. Five months into the pandemic and the virus is still spreading like wildfire. -
2020-07-19
Tweets from Inside a Prison 7/19-7/25/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These Tweets are from an incarcerated person at San Quentin Prison in California. He is posting to social media using a contraband cell phone in an effort to let the public know what is happening inside the prison during the Coronavirus pandemic. These weeks he talks about having to choose between waiting in line for a ten minute phone call and taking a shower, the long term health effects he is realizing will be with him from his bout with Covid-19, the high number of inmates refusing to take a Covid test because if they test positive they will be placed in solitary confinement, the hole, as quarantine. -
2020-07-12
Tweets from Inside a Prison 7/12-7/18/2020 by Railroaded Underground
This Tweet is from a person incarcerated inside San Quentin Prison in California. They are posting with a contraband cell phone. This week they mention finally getting a shower, the death of Covid positive inmates, Black Lives Matter, Covid testing, people who test positive being put in solitary confinement, the hole, as a quarantine, and the mixing of negative and positive Covid people together. -
2020-07-26
Hand sanitizer donation accepted at San Quentin never reached the inmates
These are images of a Tweet and the responses explaining how rapper, E-40, donated hand sanitizer to San Quentin for their incarcerated people and it never got to a single inmate. Many of the respondents believe the prison staff took it for their own use or to sell it. -
2020-04-01
What Restorative Justice Can Teach Us About COVID-19 – And Ourselves.
This article is authored by a woman whose sister was murdered. She now works with a nonprofit called Restore Justice, based in California, whose goal is to positively effect change to all who are touched by violent crime. She reminds the reader that people can change and discusses how the large prison population can effect the population at large and those inside. -
2020-03-28
My Experience with Sickness, Quarantines and the Prison’s Healthcare System
The author of this article is a former inmate at San Quentin Prison in California. These days he focuses on justice reform through an organization he helped bring into being, Restore Justice. In this article he explains the medical system inside of prisons and his experience with lockdowns and solitary confinement as a place of quarantine during non-covid times. -
2020-07-16
Covid shuffle in corrections facilities
These images show the Tweet of Adnan Khan, a formerly incarcerated person and activist. Adnan explains that corrections facilities are moving people all over the prison and between facilities. The result is spread of the corona virus when the officials are charged with slowing the spread. -
2020-04-02
Inside Rikers During the Coronavirus Outbreak
This video shows one families struggle to get early release for their loved one from Rikers Island jail in New York. His sister poses the ten million dollar question, does someone who committed a crime deserve to die? This is the possibility many inmates face in the time of coronavirus because the only way we currently know to slow the spread of the virus is through distance. Something that cannot be done when you're sleeping twelve inches away from another person. -
2020-04-02
This is what it's like to be in prison during coronavirus
An inmate with a contraband cell phone talks to Vice News about what its like to be in a California prison during the pandemic. He explains they cannot get enough soap, he is less worried about getting the virus from a fellow inmate and more worried about contracting it from one of the corrections staff. While the prison is screening employees, as the interviewee explains covid can be spread by both pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic. individuals. -
2020-07-09
US prison inmates among those hit hard with COVID-19
Due to the architecture and structure of prison life, covid-19, once it sets into a correctional facility, runs rampant. This article explains the higher percentage of cases within the prison system in the U.S. -
2020-07-10
Freed From Prison, Dead from COVID-19, Not Even Counted
The Butner prison complex in North Carolina is also a medical facility. Basically a prison that is set up to take care of inmates with chronic illness and disease, like cancer, etc. This facility has so mismanaged the covid pandemic that the few people being released early in an attempt to slow the spread were released, only to find out they already had covid and died after boarding planes to travel home. -
2020-07-15
Inmates, Correctional Officers Concerned About Growing Number of COVID Cases at Miami Prison
In normal times it is customary for inmates and guards to be on opposite sides of nearly any issue. This article shows the opposite. Inmates and corrections officers in south Florida are both concerned about Covid in their facilities. -
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. -
2020-07
Tweets from Inside a Prison 7/5-7/11/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the Twitter feed of an incarcerated person. They are Tweeting on a contraband cellphone as a way to show the public what it is like to be in prison during the pandemic. This week he reveals that he has Covid and is experiencing symptoms including, headache, nausea, shivering, sweating, and diarrhea. Another friend has been hospitalized. He shared a petition to gain early release for incarcerated persons and wonders how being left in a cell 24 hours a day is humane treatment for a sick person. -
05/20/2020
Dang Yang Oral History, 2020/05/20
Abigail interviews Dang Yang on the Covid-19 Pandemic and how it has affected Asian American students through his important role as the Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. -
2020-07-12
California Releases Prisoners over Coronavirus Concerns
California is traditionally understood to be a fairly liberal state, but there is an exceptionally vocal conservative minority that exists in the state. Since the coronavirus began, there has been a similar culture war around many of the issues that are reflected in other parts of the country; in many instances, people blame the governor directly for everything that is going wrong. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #california. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it highlights a popular conservative voice in the state that is sharing their opinions on best responses to the virus. -
2020-07-11
Questions on California Coronavirus Standards
When the coronavirus first hit California, there was immediate public discussion about what should be done about one of the potentially most at-risk populations: prisoners. Although there was an initial outpouring of sympathy around less-minor releases, the cries of law and order quickly went out, accompanied by the calls that civilization was about to end. How we keep these, and other at risk populations, safe is still a question that is up in the air. This item was added TAGS v6.1.9.1. I originally searched under the hashtag #california. Within that search, I have chosen to add the following tweet because it branches off on one of the arguments against wearing masks: their efficacy. -
2020-07-01
‘They’re scared’: A look inside the COVID-19 crisis in Arizona prisons.
By Katelyn Keenehan | Luce Foundation: Southwest Stories Fellowship -
2020-06
Tweets from Inside a Prison 6/28-7/4/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the Tweets from an incarcerated person who began this Twitter account on a contraband cellphone, to show the world what it is like inside the nation's correctional facilities during the covid pandemic. This week he is talking about many people around him being sick, testing negative himself and then a few days later showing symptoms, 20 "man down" calls a day, which is a way someone needs immediate medical attention, it appears they are housing some inmates in tents in the yard to help with social distancing, genocide, calls on California Governor Gavin Newsom several times, talks about the vulnerable, Black, Latinx, Indigenous, disabled, feeling like they have a knee on their necks because of covid, and San Quentin. -
2020-06
Tweets from Inside a Prison 6/21-6/27/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the Tweets of an incarcerated person for one week. They started this Twitter account using a contraband cell phone to show the world what is happening inside the nation's correctional facilities during the covid pandemic. This week they are talking about immuno compromised individuals, racism, Father's Day, inmates having trouble breathing and dying while waiting for an ambulance, 23 hour a day lockdown which means no phone calls, though prisoners are paying $1000 for contraband cell phones being brought in by cops, and he questions the value of his life. -
2020-06
Tweets from Inside a Prison 6/14-6/20/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the Tweets of a prison inmate who chose to use a contraband cell phone to show the public what is happening inside of the nation's prisons during the coronavirus pandemic. This week he discusses defunding prisons, the ongoing brutality inside prisons, San Quentin, outbreaks from transfers, Juneteenth, taking action not just paying lip service to the holiday, black communities, and early release beginning with the elderly and others most at risk. -
2020-06
Tweets from Inside a Prison 6/7-6/13/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the Tweets of a prison inmate using a contraband cell phone to let the public know what it is like inside the nations prisons during the coronavirus pandemic. This week he talks about the "racist violent system", George Floyd, wishes the momentum for change in policing and Black Lives Matter isn't lost, encouraging voting, #ClemancyNow, San Quentin in San Francisco, and being put in the hole after a prison guard handcuffed and kicked him in the face repeatedly. -
2020-05
Tweets from Inside a Prison 5/31-6/6/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the tweets from an incarcerated person, using a contraband cell phone to tell the world what it is like to be incarcerated during the pandemic. This week he continues to talk about the murder of George Floyd by the police, protestors and violence against them, his own fear of white officers in his prison which he blames on systemic racism, states his views on defunding police and the need for new politicians and laws, as well as fear of prison transfers spreading the virus. -
2020-05
Tweets from Inside a Prison 5/24-5/30/2020 by Railroaded Underground
These images show the tweets of an incarcerated person who is posting them by using a contraband cell phone to show the outside world how coronavirus is effecting their community inside the prison. This week he reacts to the murder of George Floyd by the police, asks us to imagine how badly people incarcerated are treated where there are no cameras if a man can be killed on camera, that the prison population is getting some satisfaction watching the public reaction to George's murder, notes that he saw (on tv presumably) a police office pull down the mask of a black man to pepper spray him, targeting, and discrimination.