Quakers, the religious sect with which I most closely identify, have a long history of radical action. Historically, Quakers were leaders in the American abolitionist movement and adherents have long been allies of black liberation, womens’ rights, and other social justice struggles. Today, that tradition continues, with many meetings (the equivalent of a congregation) explicitly…

With the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel causing so much mainstream controversy, other BDS movements often get overlooked. Alongside the current ongoing prison strike that started August 21st and is stated to go on until September 9th, there is also a BDS movement concerning companies that profit from prisons and prison slave…

Starting August 21st, prisoners nationwide went on strike, demanding better working and living conditions. There are currently strike actions confirmed at: Northwest Detention Center, Georgia State Prison, Broad River Correctional Institution, Lee Correctional Institution, McCormick Correctional Institution, Turbeville Correctional Institute, Kershaw Correctional Institution, Lieber Correctional Institution, Hyde Correctional Institution, New Folsom Prison, Toledo Correctional Institution,…

Most of us in the radical labor movement are well aware of the historical bait-and-switch pulled with May Day and the modern American holiday established by the state known as Labor Day. Despite this many anarchists still take Labor Day as an opportunity to spread the message of worker liberation and freedom from capitalism. In…

A hot topic among the left right now is the issue of gun control. While  radical leftists have traditionally been in favor of gun rights, some have begun to justify gun control measures in the hope that it might de-fang white supremacist movements and end gun violence against marginalized communities. Many groups, including Dream Defenders…

The cages are rattling again all across the nation. Today marks the launch of yet another nationwide prison strike. Following the wave of strikes this year, from the MLK Day strike to the Juneteenth strike, prisoners are once more organizing to have their demands heard and things only look to get louder and more organized…

Di Ryan Calhoun. Originale pubblicato il 31 gennaio 2016 con il titolo End Youth Imprisonment Now. Traduzione di Enrico Sanna. La settimana scorsa Obama ha messo fine all’isolamento per i minorenni rinchiusi nelle carceri federali. In un editoriale in cui annunciava una serie di atti esecutivi, il presidente cita i danni psichici causati dall’isolamento ai…

Di Jason Lee Byas. Originale pubblicato il 4 agosto 2017 con il titolo Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform. Traduzione di Enrico Sanna. Tra tutte le funzioni dello stato, il carcere, soprattutto in grandi numeri, è probabilmente una della più brutali, distruttive e disumane. Tra tutte le…

Of all the State’s activities, incarceration – especially on a mass-scale – is probably one of the most brutal, disruptive, and inhumane. Of all the state’s activities, the census is probably one of the most… boring. But if we care about the former, we should care about the latter. As it stands, the census counts…

This is the first part in a series. Be sure to check out parts 2, 3, 4 and 5. Gun control is a big issue to many leftists. The Democratic Party has campaigned for years on a platform of gun control. Such measures, they claim, are the only ways to reduce gun violence and save lives. They claim they…

(Content Warning: Discussion of suicide and suicide attempt) The ACLU reports that due to Chelsea Manning’s attempted suicide on July 5th in the Fort Leavenworth military prison she could face additional charges including “resisting the force cell move team;” “prohibited property;” and “conduct which threatens.” The punishment could include, “indefinite solitary confinement, reclassification into maximum…

(CW: This article will include discussions of rape and sexual assault) On January 18th, 2015, Brock Turner was discovered on top of an unconscious woman. The woman had her underwear removed and her dress pulled up and Brock was making sexual advances on her. Brock had been discovered by two students at Stanford, where Turner…

This week (May 15 – May 21) is the 4th Annual National Week of Action Against Incarcerating Youth, brought to you by Save the Kids (@STKgroup). The national event celebrates a different theme each day of the week concerning youth incarceration issues. Today’s theme is dedicated to ending curfews and truancy laws targeting youth. Tomorrow,…

In the UK the “Lord Chancellor” and Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove wants to be remembered for his efforts to reform prisons. Writing in The Telegraph, Gove says “The emphasis of our penal system must be on more effective rehabilitation, because our current approach is costing us all dear. At present, nearly half…

The New York Times recently reported that on March 13th, Jeffery Pendleton was found dead in his jail cell. Pendleton was a homeless man who lived in New Hampshire and had been arrested on March 8th for outstanding fines and possession of small amounts of marijuana. His set bail of $100 was prohibitively costly for…

Holman Prison in Alabama is home to death row and many there have little to lose should something go wrong. Given the degrading conditions of prisons and their lack of security for prisoners, it should come as no surprise that riots took place on March 11th and 14th. The first riot happened when a prison…

Two panels organised by the Center for a Stateless Society are coming up at two different conferences next week, bringing a left-libertarian market-anarchist perspective to international relations and prison reform. 1. The Molinari Society will be holding its annual Pacific Symposium in conjunction with the Pacific Division of the American Philosophical Association in San Francisco,…

Some critics of mass incarceration see the contemporary carceral state as a result of the abolition of state-run mental hospitals. For example, German Lopez of Vox recently wrote that “America’s criminal justice system has, in many ways, become a substitute for the US’s largely gutted mental health system.” Yet when the mental health system was “gutted,” what…

(Content Warning: Brief mentions of rape) The Legal Aid Society is a private, not-for-profit legal service in New York whose motto is, “No New Yorker should be denied access to justice because of poverty.” In keeping with this philosophy, Legal Aid Society announced in late February that they’d brought a class action lawsuit against the New…

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be…