Reviewed by Paul Wright
The Prisoners’ Self-Help Litigation Manual (PSHLM) by Dan Manville first appeared in 1983. It was designed to give prisoners an overview of the legal system, a basic overview of what their rights are and guidance on how to actually litigate a suit in federal court. The ...
After 20 years of publishing Prison Legal News I have been asked if it ever gets old or if I get tired of reporting the same news for decades. While there are common themes in prison and jail news over the years (medical neglect and guard brutality being the most ...
This month’s cover story on Plata v. Schwarzenegger is an ample illustration of the political failures that have led to the current state of the criminal justice system around the country. Namely the lack of political will to ensure public safety and to respect the human and civil rights of ...
The cover story of this month’s issue of Prison Legal News is no surprise to our readers. The pay-to-stay luxury jails in Southern California first came to my attention over a year ago when a reporter from the Los Angeles Times called to ask me for a comment on the ...
As this issue goes to press we are getting settled into our new office in Brattleboro, Vermont. We have successfully consolidated our operations into one location. We also have just hired Adam Cook as our staff attorney who will be representing Prison Legal News in our censorship and public records ...
In May 1990, the first issue of Prisoners’ Legal News (PLN) was published. It was hand-typed, photocopied and ten pages long. The first issue was mailed to 75 potential subscribers. Its budget was $50. The first 3 issues were banned in all Washington prisons, the first 18 in all Texas ...
Welcome to the 20th anniversary issue of Prison Legal News. It is quite the milestone in the history of any magazine or organization to reach the 20 year mark. The cover story and sidebar lay out our history and what we have accomplished in the past two decades.
Along the ...
This is the first issue of PLN published from our new office location in Vermont. On March 16 a shipping truck arrived in Brattleboro with the bulk of our office on it. Thanks to volunteers Samual Schwartzkopf, Sam Phillips, Zach Phillips, Dan and Elizabeth and Sascha Bratton we were able ...
The big news this month is that Prison Legal News is closing its Seattle office and consolidating its operations on the east coast in Vermont. We have had our Seattle office in 1996 and since 2004 have maintained offices in both Seattle and Vermont. The consolidation comes as part of ...
February is traditionally the height of cold and flu season in the United States and this month’s cover story probably proves the axiom that if America catches cold, prisons catch pneumonia. Swine flu has been in the news quite a bit lately including its effects in prisons and jails. Which ...
