By C. Martin Sterling Newark, NJ We are assured that if we are charged with a crime in the “Land of the Free,” we are, “innocent until proven guilty.” We are handcuffed and shackled in front of friends, family, and neighbors, though we are, “innocent until proven guilty.” We are vilified by the media, for […]
By Timothy J. Muise Norfolk, MA Two groups, one an old war horse in the push for common sense criminal justice reform and the other fairly new on the scene, have teamed up in an attempt to get the voice of the informed prisoner back into the Massachusetts Sate House. The Lifers’ Group, Inc., founded […]
By S. Gabriella Kiely Romulus, NY The US legal system is built on fair and equitable legal proceedings in criminal cases; securing fundamental rights for defendants, and restricting malicious behaviors by the lawyers. Over the years, many appellate cases have changed the face of criminal defense law; one of those cases was Brady v. Maryland […]
By Iron Thunderhorse Teague, TX I began working with NLG as a jailhouse lawyer membership coordinator in the early 1970s. That was the year when the monster of all prisoner lawsuits began, and Ruiz v. Estelle was launched under the Institutionalized Persons Act. Multiple complaints were consolidated and the United States intervened as a party. […]
William A. Larson Licking, MO I have been under the loving care of the Missouri Penal System (MDOC) since 1981 and had been previously incarcerated in 1963-64. I am 77-years-young and it is pragmatically improbable that I will live long enough to walk the streets free again. The MDOC is the exemplar of the eternal […]
By Gerard Niles Monticello, FL I am writing in response to “Mississippi DOC Manipulates Grievance Procedures to Avoid Conditions of Confinement Suits,” by Charles Owens, II in the Summer/Fall 2016 issue of Guild Notes. If a state prison grievance procedure is meaningful and not futile, it will contain a section of time frames, with a […]
Hunter Lee Weeks, Paralegal Sterling, CO In an attempt by several incarcerated individuals to regain rights they have lost, a pattern of discrimination has emerged, perpetrated by the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) at Sterling Correctional Facility (SCF). Several inmates have filed a Title II complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging various instances […]
By Robert L. Brown San Luis, AZ There exists so much frustration, as to a loss of light, with a sense of darkness trying to engulf one’s light, being an individual in prison means living daily on a treacherous, at times torturous terrain between doubt and faith, despair and hope. Merely, this is a mild […]
By Rodney B. Barno Corcoran, CA I was the Inmate Advisory Counsel (IAC) Chairman at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility (CSATF) in Corcoran, California. My responsibility was to advocate for the population of my facility and for the IAC to be a vehicle of communication between the administration and population. When issues arise and […]
By Hunter Lee Weeks Sterling, CO In prison, there are those of us who spend time, effort, and funds to acquire a formal education in law. Most of us have no education, while a few of us have Certificates of Paralegal Studies, and even fewer have degrees with legal emphasis. Our designated term of “Jailhouse […]
