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Articles by Paul Wright

Federal Crime Bill Passes

By Paul Wright

In the October and November, 1993, issues of PLN, I wrote articles about the "anti-crime" proposals that had been submitted in the US Congress by democrats and republicans, respectively. I predicted then the most repressive aspects of both proposals would likely wind up in the final version ...

From the Editor

By Paul Wright

Welcome to another issue of PLN. Everyone at PLN would like to extend our thanks to the Peradam Foundation for their generous grant to PLN of $3,900 which will enable us to buy computer equipment necessary for the magazine' s production. As everyone knows, computer equipment is ...

One and Two Strike Laws Passed

By Paul Wright

In the June, 1994, issue of PLN, my article "Three Strikes Racks 'em Up" made reference to then pending proposals to pass a "Two Strikes" law in Georgia and a "One Strike" law in California for sex offenders. I am sad to say that both laws passed. ...

MA DOC Uses New Phone System

By Paul Wright

As part of the nationwide trend towards more restrictive and more expensive prison phone systems, the Massachusetts DOC signed a contract with NYNEX on January 27, 1994, for the provision of phone services to Massachusetts prisons. The new phone system includes monitoring and taping of all calls; ...

WA DOC Negligence Caused Prisoner Death

By Paul Wright

In the July, 1994, issue of PLN we reported on the death of Gertrude Barrow, a prisoner at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) at Purdy. On May 16, 1994. Barrow died of a perforated ulcer with acute peritonitis after repeatedly seeking medical care from her ...

Prison TV: Luxury or Management Tool?

By Paul Wright

In March 1994, the Florida state legislature passed a law severely restricting how the DOC could spend prisoner welfare funds. It specifically prohibited the expenditure of welfare funds for cable television, to rent movie videos, televisions, VCRs or purchase other electronic entertainment equipment for prisoners. The law ...

From The Editor

From the Editor

By Paul Wright

Welcome to another issue of PLN. In the March, 1994, issue of PLN we started the News in Brief column which carries little tidbits we think readers might be interested in but which either don't merit an article of their own or that we ...

WA Initiative to Increase Gun Penalties

By Paul Wright

The Washington Citizens for Justice are the right-wingers headed by Dave LaCourse, of the Public Policy Institute in Bellevue, WA; John Carlson, of KVI radio and Seattle Times columnist and Ida Ballasiotes, Republican state representative for Mercer Island. [Editor's Note: writing for the Times plugging I-593 Carlson ...

WSR Consent Decree Loses S. Ct. Challenge

By Paul Wright

As consistently reported in PLN, most recently in the March, 1994, issue, prisoners at the Washington State Reformatory (WSR) have been involved in nearly 13 years of litigation involving prison officials' challenge to the consent decree they entered into in 1981. The decree mandated that prison officials ...

Reviews

By Paul Wright

North Coast XPress is a magazine for people who care about Constitutional issues, U.S. foreign policy, the criminal "justice" system, labor news, animal rights, global and domestic economics, the environment and other topics that the mainstream media won't touch. Each issue has prisoner art, poetry, and articles ...