Support the Georgia Prisoners' Strike!

Bruce Dixon article:

http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/ga-prisoner-strike-continues-second-day-corporate-media-mostly-ignores-them-corrections-offi

NYT Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/us/13prison.html?emc=eta1

Nation Article:

http://newsone.com/nation/newsonestaff2/historic-georgia-prison-strike-ignored-by-media-prisoners-guards/


The strike has been going on since Dec 9. It has been blacked out by the media. The Georgia Department of Corrections is refusing to recognize it, has not yet released any statement, and has refused to answer any of my questions when I called them on the phone.

These are the prisoners' demands:

# · A LIVING WAGE FOR WORK
# · EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
# · DECENT HEALTH CARE
# · AN END TO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS
# · DECENT LIVING CONDITIONS
# · NUTRITIONAL MEALS
# · VOCATIONAL AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
# · ACCESS TO FAMILIES
# · JUST PAROLE DECISIONS

Read the articles for details.

Despite that the prisoners’ protest remained non-violent, the DOC violently attempted to force the men back to work—claiming it was “lawful” to order prisoners to work without pay, in defiance of the 13th Amendment’s abolition of slavery. In Augusta State Prison, six or seven inmates were brutally ripped from their cells by CERT Team guards and beaten, resulting in broken ribs for several men, one man beaten beyond recognition. This brutality continues there. At Telfair, the Tactical Squad trashed all the property in inmate cells. At Macon State, the Tactical Squad has menaced the men for two days, removing some to the “hole,” and the warden ordered the heat and hot water turned off. Still, today, men at Macon, Smith, Augusta, Hays and Telfair State Prisons say they are committed to continuing the strike. Inmate leaders, representing blacks, Hispanics, whites, Muslims, Rastafarians, Christians, have stated the men will stay down until their demands are addressed, one issuing this statement:

“…Brothers, we have accomplished a major step in our struggle…We must continue what we have started…The only way to achieve our goals is to continue with our peaceful sit-down…I ask each and every one of my Brothers in this struggle to continue the fight. ON MONDAY MORNING, WHEN THE DOORS OPEN, CLOSE THEM. DO NOT GO TO WORK. They cannot do anything to us that they haven’t already done at one time or another. Brothers, DON’T GIVE UP NOW. Make them come to the table. Be strong. DO NOT MAKE MONEY FOR THE STATE THAT THEY IN TURN USE TO KEEP US AS SLAVES….”

When the strike began, prisoner leaders issued the following call: “No more slavery. Injustice in one place is injustice to all. Inform your family to support our cause. Lock down for liberty!”


To support the prisoners, call the GA Dept of Corrections at 478-992-5246 or 478-992-5261 and tell them to negotiate. It is also requested that you call the individual prisons and tell them to back off:

Macon State Prison is 978-472-3900.

Hays State Prison is at (706) 857-0400

Telfair State prison is 229-868-7721

Baldwin State Prison is at (478) 445- 5218

Valdosta State Prison is 229-333-7900

Smith State Prison is at (912) 654-5000

The state of GA Dept of Corrections website is: http://www.dcor.state.ga.us

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My view is that the criminal justice system is deeply flawed. Not least of all because it sends innocent people to prison, or because hundreds of thousands of Americans are sent to prison for non-violent drug offenses. There is tremendous bias of race and class. If you are wealthy and white and you commit a crime in Georgia you are most likely going to be able to afford a good lawyer and you will get a reduced sentence if not get off completely. If you are poor and black you will be presented with a marginally competent lawyer who will be overworked and not willing to devote himself fully to your case. You will be pressured by him, as well as prosecutors and judges, into accepting "plea bargains" which admit guilt in order to get a "reduced sentence"- even if you are innocent in the first place.

Our country has 5% of the world's population but 25% of the world's prison population. Not everyone in prison is there for murder. In fact rather few of them are, and not all all of them are guilty. Most people are in prison for the simple reason that they are poor. People from wealthy families don't need to sell drugs, rob or hustle. People with few opportunities and less education find crime more attractive.

If we abolished poverty we'd abolish 95% of crime. But our government doesn't want to abolish poverty. It is run by people who get rich off making other people poor and when poor people's lives break down they are thrown in prison- which generates lots of money for prison construction companies, lawyers, judges, sheriffs, guards, prosecutors, and the sensationalist media. But it does very little to lower crime. The growth in prisons isn't even about crime. Since 1981 the prison population has increased 450% to over 2 million, while crime and drug use rates have remained relatively the same.

But the prisoners are not asking us to abolish the prisons. They are not asking us to make college degrees free for everyone- something that our country which has $78.6 Billion a year to spend on military R&D could easily afford. No. They are asking to not be paid under minimum wage. They're asking to be able to control the money that their own labor makes. They're asking for the right to education. They're asking to be able to have contact with their families other than the 15 minutes a week they get from Global Tel-Link in exchange for a $55 a month bill.

And for this audacity, of non-violently proclaiming these demands, they are being beaten. They are having their personal effects trashed and this December they are having their heat turned off. Your tax dollars at work. It's a disgrace.

So take some time out of your day to make a few calls. Don't take "No" for an answer. The DOC works for you. This is not a police state. You are a citizen and you have the right to control your own government. You have the duty to check its abuses.

An Injury to One is an Injury to All. Abolish slavery in Georgia!