By Nicole Flatow In March, Colorado came close to becoming the 19th state to abolish the death penalty, but the bill failed after Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) voiced opposition and suggested a possible veto. A few months later, Colorado’s death penalty is still firmly in… Read More ›
Prisons
The Cult of the State: What The Kent State Massacre Anniversary Should Teach Us
The posting of this article does not imply endorsement of the views of the author. — The Red Phoenix Editorial Board. by Michael Suede (May 4, 2012) – Today is the anniversary of the Kent State shootings by the Ohio National Guard. The shootings should serve… Read More ›
FBI adds 65-year-old Black Panther to Most Wanted Terrorists list
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has announced that Joanne Chesimard has been added to its Most Wanted Terrorists list. Thursday’s bulletin gave Chesimard, a black nationalist, the dubious distinction of being the first woman to be placed on the list…. Read More ›
Guantanamo Attorney Found Dead in Apparent Suicide
By Jason Leopold An attorney who represented prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay was found dead last week in what sources said was a suicide. Andy P. Hart, 38, a federal public defender in Toledo, Ohio, apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot… Read More ›
Celebrate International Workers’ Day 2013!
Today we celebrate May Day, also known as International Workers’ Day, a holiday celebrated by working people worldwide. This day began in commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, where police fired upon workers striking for an eight-hour-day. Since… Read More ›
Gitmo is Killing Me
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba ONE man here weighs just 77 pounds. Another, 98. Last thing I knew, I weighed 132, but that was a month ago. I’ve been on a hunger strike since Feb. 10 and have lost well over 30… Read More ›
Obama Signs 2013 NDAA, Blocking Closure of Gitmo
Obama initially threatened a veto, but instead signed it into law with a vague proviso by John Glaser President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law the $633 billion defense authorization bill despite provisions that block any attempt to close the Guantanamo… Read More ›
Gitmo hunger strike on rise, 15 prisoners force-fed
Days after violent clashes between guards and prisoners, the US military says a hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay is on the rise as the number of those fasting has increased from 45 to 52. Some 15 prisoners are being force-fed…. Read More ›
US Govt starts notifying Gitmo inmates’ lawyers of force-feeding
The US leadership has begun naming those Guantanamo prisoners who are being force-fed to stop them from starving to death. The prisoner hunger strike at the facility has been ongoing for two months. A lawyer for Yemeni inmate Samir Mukbel… Read More ›
Immigrants Held in Solitary Cells, Often for Weeks
WASHINGTON — On any given day, about 300 immigrants are held in solitary confinement at the 50 largest detention facilities that make up the sprawling patchwork of holding centers nationwide overseen by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to new federal data…. Read More ›
Over 100 Guantanamo inmates ‘on hunger strike,’ possibly in grave condition
Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay inmates have claimed “all but a few men” are on a hunger strike over their Qurans being taken away. The condition of the strikers “appears to be rapidly deteriorating and reaching a potentially critical level,” they… Read More ›
The Fascinating Story of “White Boy Rick”: Feds Built Him into Drug Kingpin at Age 14, Then Threw Him in Prison for Life
So why did the authorities turn on him? It started when he helped the feds investigate drug corruption in the Detroit Police Department. Meet Richard Wershe. To other convicts in the Michigan penal system and the handful of DEA and… Read More ›
After 19 years behind bars, man sues Chicago police for framing him
After nearly two decades of imprisonment for a murder he didn’t commit, a Chicago man says he was framed by a group of policemen who bribed court witnesses to go along with their story and has filed a lawsuit against… Read More ›
Gitmo-go-round: No solution in sight on 11th Guantanamo anniversary
January 11 marks the 11th anniversary since the first inmates were airlifted into the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay. With an almost blanket ban on transferring prisoners out of Camp Delta in operation, it is unlikely to be the… Read More ›