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.
Tag: Women in Prison
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.
Detention Centers and Jails Have Become COVID-19 Hotbeds. It’s Time for Community-Based Solutions
Examining nursing homes, prisons, jails, psychiatric hospitals and immigration detention centers through a disability lens allows for creative redesigns that question the very function of these institutions. It’s time to unite the movements for abolition, decarceration and defunding police, and invest in long-term, community-based solutions—rather than disconnected, piecemeal reforms.
What Women Can Expect from a Biden Presidency: On Health Care
President-Elect Biden’s platform for women promises to be the most ambitious presidential agenda yet addressing issues that affect women and girls. This is the first of a multi-part series covering the agenda.
The health care prong of President Elect Biden’s agenda for women includes protecting and strengthening access to reproductive health care, expanding access to high-quality, affordable health care, addressing maternal mortality and tackling health inequities. The platform focuses in particular on developing health care protections for LGBTQ+ women, women with disabilities, incarcerated women, women veterans and Native women.
Their App Sends Free Mail to Incarcerated People. Now They’re Helping Prisoners Register to Vote.
A voter registration campaign targeted inside Maine prisons provided all 1,709 incarcerated residents with the necessary forms and instructions to register to vote and vote by mail.
Bill to Protect Incarcerated Pregnant Women and Their Babies Passes House
On Thursday, the Protecting the Health and Wellness of Babies and Pregnant Women in Custody Act passed in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. The proposed legislation would prohibit the use of shackling during pregnancy and address the maternal care needs of imprisoned women during pregnancy, labor, delivery and post-partum periods.
Homeboy Industries Offers Hope For Women and Men Caught Up in Criminal Justice System
As many people start to reimagine criminal justice and public safety, Homeboy Industries, an LA-based nonprofit, is setting a powerful example of what the justice system could look like if rehabilitation was prioritized over mass incarceration.
An Effort to Abolish Court Fees Grows in California
In February, the L.A.-based Youth Justice Coalition successfully lobbied the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to vote to eliminate most court-related fines and fees, including probation. Three other counties in California’s Bay Area—San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa—have passed similar measures since 2018. But L.A. courts have continued to collect probation fees and other court-related debts.
“We’ve been trying to collect money from people who don’t have it, and they often end up in jail, or harassed or shaken down. We’re trying to fund our governments on the backs of communities of color, and in a post-COVID world, that is just going to be impossible. I shudder to think of the more draconian collection practices to come.”
Feminist Lens: Zahra Rasool, Naima Ramos-Chapman and Immersive AR/VR Installation “Still Here”
Produced by Al Jazeera Contrast, and created by Zahra Rasool, Sarah Springer and VR 360 writer and director Naima Ramos-Chapman, “Still Here” meditates on the prison industrial complex, urban gentrification and the experience of formerly incarcerated women.