Beyond Bars: Windows of the World

by Scott PetrieYazoo City, MS How fragile life is on the other side of that window, so close, yet so so far, untouchable, unattainable, father, son, each holding a hand up to the glass that separates each from their loving touch, worlds separated to protect from the unseeable enemy, the virus. (As was seen on […]

In the Spirit of Abolition: JLS Call for Shut ’em Down Demonstrations

by Mr. Sundiata Jawanza, NLG member of Jailhouse Lawyers Speak  Contributing Authors: Jenipher Jones, Esq., Lydia Ghuman, Audrey Bomse, Esq., Iltaff Bala of the JLS International Law Project In the spirit of abolition, let’s shut’em down!: The Jailhouse Lawyers Speak (JLS) national membership are calling for national Shut’em Down demonstrations to take place on August […]

Beyond Bars: A Throw Away Society

by Matt Baker A.K.A. “Doc”Abilene, TX Here in America, we throw things away. We throw away plastic and paper after one use. We throw away people after one mistake. Here at Robertson Unit, I look around me and see a whole “class” of people who have been thrown away by society. We throw them away […]

Beyond Bars: Rehabilitation is a Right

by David L. CruzSan Luis Obispo, CA  Dear Guild Family, First and most importantly, thank you for your time and service to the People. I was filled with pride when I received the Guild Notes (Vol. 44, No. ¾, Fall/Winter 2019) because the organization took note on an issue that I had against the 13th […]

Beyond Bars: Prosecutors Must Be Held Accountable for Their Misconduct

Jay Van Story Huntsville, TX Prosecutors who orchestrate the false conviction of the innocent are committing crimes every bit as bad as any they prosecute. They’re not using turns to accomplish their offenses, but something far more dangerous—their immense, unchecked power. Imagine a world without the terrible injustice of innocent men and women being falsely […]

Beyond Bars: See the Light

Jason Geray Tehachapi, CA Tell me what poet has made it this far, What poet was made from the dust of a star, What poet holds your attention line by line, What poet was born to shine… For the year 2020, who pictured this, Caged in a cell raising a fist, Power to the people […]

Beyond Bars: Fighting a Foreign War

Jose E. Roque Livingston, TX As I sit in my cell so very dark and dreary, Anxious to plead my case to any ear that will hear me A victim of a federal system I once risked my life to defend, Stuck in this prison industrial complex as a fly trapped in a spider’s web […]

Beyond Bars: My Revolutionary Resurrection

Xinachtli AKA Alvaro Luna Hernandez Iowa Park, TX You have falsified, destroyed our history, after you stole our lands, converting us into foreigners, illegal aliens in our own homeland. But you will never erase our identity, culture, tongue, our Indigenous roots, you so fear and despise. We are a proud, noble, humble, compassionate people, but […]

Are Prison Law Libraries Set Up to Fail?

by Jeffrey Isabell-Taylor New Haven, MI Prison law libraries are the last line of defense for those appealing convictions. Usually incarcerated individuals rely on these libraries as the only way to seek justice and gain their freedom. However, here in Michigan, we are given restrictions and limitations that effectively turn our law libraries into a […]