It is with great happiness that we can finally say the case against the San Francisco 8 is over and all remaining charges against Francisco Torres have been dropped!  This has been a long battle (almost 5 years) for the brothers, their families & friends, and community members who all fought endlessly against this racist 38 year old case.

Long abandoned by many states, the practice is a last resort for California authorities struggling to thwart gang activity and extract information from the most hardened members. Critics say it amounts to torture. U.S. prisons typically reserve solitary confinement for inmates who commit serious offenses behind bars. In California, however, suspected gang members, even those with clean prison records.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A lockup along the shores of Lake Erie has become the first state prison in the nation to be sold to a private company.

Lake Erie Correctional Institution in northeastern Ohio’s Ashtabula County is the only one of five state prisons up for sale that will be sold, state officials said Thursday. Corrections Corporation of America will buy it for $72.7 million, more than the $50 million needed from the privatization effort to balance the state’s prison budget.

In response to the statewide prison hunger strike in July, the Public Safety Committee of the California State Assembly, chaired by State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, met on Tuesday to discuss the conditions in California’s Secure Housing Units.

The hearing began at approximately 1:30 PM.
Assemblyman Ammiano opened his remarks saying, “Recent events brought these units to the forefront. We want to ensure that these units are administrated in such a manner to maximize the security of the inmates in the units, general population inmates, prison staff and the public generally.”

As soon as Rick Perry threw his hat into the 2012 electoral ring, anti-death penalty critics brought up his staggering execution record as governor of Texas: 234 prisoners have been put to death under Perry’s watch, a number of whom had serious innocence claims.

We are not evacuating Rikers Island,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a news conference this afternoon. Bloomberg annouced a host  of extreme measures being taken by New York City in preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, including a shutdown of the public transit system and the unprecedented mandatory evacuation of some 250,000 people from low-lying areas.

Hungerstrike NewsAugust 23, 2011No. 14  

George Jackson - 40 year commemoration from Freedom Archives on Vimeo.

Publications: Audio, Video, and Books

In a decision setting back prisoners' rights and helping to advance the

interests of prison bureaucrats and their guard union allies, Facebook

announced plans to work with the California Department of Corrections

and Rehabilitation to shut down pages set up for prisoners. Spokespersons

for the Department claimed that prisoners were using their Facebook pages

to "stalk victims" and "conduct illegal activities," and that this was all related

On August 23rd, 2011, San Francisco Representative Tom Ammiano and the
Public Safety Committee in the State Assembly of CA will hold an
informational hearing on conditions and policies of the Security Housing
Units at Pelican Bay. This is a major opportunity for supporters
outside of prison to support the hunger strike and to pressure state
legislators and the CDCR to make substantial changes.