On Feb. 24, the world lost a bright light whose fiery passion matched her signature red hair: my friend, Sue Ellen Allen.
Indefatigable. Courageous breast cancer survivor. Former inmate. Humble. Gracious. Generous. Vulnerable.
Tag: Women in Prison
Nasrin Sotoudeh’s Latest Dispatch from Prison to the U.N. Is a Desperate Plea
At some risk to herself and her family, Iranian human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh has written a letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres sounding the alarm about rampant executions in Iran.
“Hell on Earth”: Feminist Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh Returned to Iran’s Qarchak Prison
On Wednesday, as celebrations erupted around the world in response to the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Nasrin Sotoudeh, the Iranian human rights attorney, was quietly moved back to Qarchak women’s prison—known as one of the worst and most harrowing carceral institutions in the world—after a brief respite in the hospital where she was seeking medical care.
The Fight for Our Rights: Women, Mass Incarceration, and Criminal Justice
Mass incarceration is not typically discussed in the context of the way it impacts and causes harm to women.
A “Prisoner of War” Story: The Life and Captivity of Lisa Montgomery—The First Woman To Be Executed by the Federal Government in 68 Years
Early Wednesday morning, the U.S. government executed Lisa Montgomery after a flurry of legal efforts failed to outlast a Trump administration that was determined to put a lifelong victim of torture and severe mental illness to death.
Here, find an investigation of Lisa’s life, from a childhood of pain to motherhood behind bars—the story of a woman failed by every layer of our society, including, on the last night of her life, the United States Supreme Court.
Federal Judge Halts Trump Administration’s Plan to Execute Lisa Montgomery
Lisa Montgomery, the only woman on federal death row, was scheduled to be executed on January 12—until a federal court ruled on December 24 that her execution date violated federal regulations establishing the procedures for carrying out the death penalty, a ruling that may save her life.
The Ms. Q&A: Jennifer Weiss-Wolf on What the U.S. Can Learn From Scotland’s Period Products Law
Scotland recently became the first nation in the world to mandate all period products in the country will be free for anyone who needs them.
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, menstrual equity expert and founder of Period Equity, discusses the historic nature of Scotland’s new law; how it’s going to work, in practice; how we might model it in the U.S.; and how COVID is affecting menstrual equity here in the States.
Help Send Ms. to Women in Prisons and Domestic Violence Shelters
The Ms. Prison and Domestic Violence Shelter Program lets women on the inside know they are not alone. Every American should be ashamed that this country puts a greater proportion of its citizens in prison than any other nation on earth, because of racism, sexism and also because in many states, the Prison Industrial Complex allows corporations to build and run prisons for profit.
Execution of Lisa Montgomery Delayed—the Only Woman on Death Row
Lisa Montgomery is the only woman currently on federal death row. The accelerated timeline of Montgomery’s case, and the Justice Department’s determination to proceed despite an election loss and her lawyers’ incapacity due to COVID-19, is an example of the dangerous consequences of its misplaced priorities.
From Legal Battery to Contractual Sterilization: The Politics of Women’s Incarceration in the Middle East
Not only are laws about migrant women’s bodies resulting in the mass incarceration of women in the Gulf, they are also producing a chain reaction in the form of a generation of children who are stateless.
As we celebrate the first woman of color vice president in America, let us also take that celebration transnationally to continue to build solidarity with feminist networks across oceans.