By Bro. Brad Broussard Beeville, TX Under the Thirteenth Amendment, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” (emphasis added). The word ‘except’ here indicates that slavery and involuntary servitude […]
Article Categories: Beyond Bars
Beyond Bars: Voices from NLG Jailhouse Lawyers that features articles, artwork, and poetry by people in prison.
BEYOND BARS: Challenging Imperialism
By Mwalimus S. Shakur Corcoran, CA Within the confines of these concrete tombs, we prison activists have responded to fascist oppression by becoming jailhouse lawyers. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) havsburied us alive in the “SHU” (Security Housing Unit), where maintaining one’s sanity is the ultimate challenge. Locked in a tiny cell for […]
BEYOND BARS: The Concrete Empire
By Carl H. Harrison Susanville, CA In the 1980s, California began a prison and jail-building boom. Concrete jails and prisons popped up all over the state, while laws were quickly changed to make it easier to lock people up. These facilities quickly filled up and people had to join gangs within the facilities in order […]
BEYOND BARS: Racism and Corruption Plague Connecticut’s Legal System
By Abdul Mukhtaar, NLG Jailhouse Lawyer Suffield, CT In Connecticut we have judges appointed to the bench by what is known as the Judicial Selection Committee. This twelve-person panel is put together by the Governor, the President Pro Tempore, state Senate minority and majority leaders, and the State Representatives’ minority and majority leaders. Of these […]