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Not the Usual Suspects: The Politics of the Prison Boom

Article • July 15, 2008 • from PLN July, 2008

Filed under: Racial Discrimination, Crime, Victims, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty, State Legislation, Federal Legislation

Not the Usual Suspects: The Politics of the Prison Boom by Marie Gottschalk Throughout American history, politicians and public officials have exploited public anxieties about crime and disorder for political gain. The difference today is that these political strategies and public anxieties have come together in the perfect storm. They …

Scottish Court Holds Prison Phone Call Imprinting Violates European Convention On Human Rights

Article • December 15, 2007 • from PLN December, 2007

Filed under: International, International Law, Telephone Access, Telephone Monitoring

Scottish Court Holds Prison Phone Call Imprinting Violates European Convention On Human Rights by Lord Glennie of the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Scotland ruled that the blanket policy of imprinting all prisoner originated phone calls with the warning, "This call originates from a Scottish prison" violated the European Convention …

European Court of Human Rights Voids UKs Blanket Bans On Prisoner Voting

Article • August 15, 2006 • from PLN August, 2006

Filed under: Voting, International, Prisoners-International

European Court of Human Rights Voids UKs Blanket Bans On Prisoner Voting by Matthew Clarke European Court of Human Rights Voids UKs Blanket Bans On Prisoner Voting by Matthew T. Clarke On October 6, 2005, the European Court of Human Rights issued a Grand Chamber Judgment holding that Britains blanket …

UK Prisoners Awarded Nearly 1 Million Pounds

Article • October 15, 2005

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages

UK Prisoners Awarded Nearly 1 Million Pounds by Since 2003, 211 United Kingdom prisoners have been awarded 862,320 pounds to settle a wide range of claims, according to information provided to the Belfast Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act. The highest total payout was more than half a-million pounds …

UK Whistle Blowing Prison Guard Awarded £477,000

Article • October 15, 2005

Filed under: Retaliation, Retaliation against Staff, Whistleblowing

UK Whistle Blowing Prison Guard Awarded £477,000 by UK Whistle Blowing Prison Guard Awarded £477,000 A Leeds, United Kingdom employment tribunal awarded a former West Yorkshire prison guard £477,000 and £90,000 in costs for constructive termination after she reported bullying and intimidation of prisoners at Wakefield Prison. Carol Lingard reported …

UK Prisoners Awarded Nearly 1 Million Pounds in Damages

Article • December 15, 2003

Filed under: Civil Procedure, Damages

UK Prisoners Awarded Nearly 1 Million Pounds in Damages by Since 2003, 211 United Kingdom prisoners have been awarded 862,320 pounds to settle a wide range of claims, according to information provided to the Belfast Telegraph under the Freedom of Information Act. The highest total payout was more than half …

900 British Prisoners Freed Following Court Ruling

Article • August 15, 2003 • from PLN August, 2003

Filed under: Disciplinary Hearings, Counsel, International Law, Prisoners-International

900 British Prisoners Freed Following Court Ruling by On July 26, 2002, nine hundred prisoners in England and Wales had to be set free after the European Court of Human rights unanimously ruled that extending prisoners' imprisonment for disciplinary violations without allowing them legal representation violated Article 6 of the …

World Criminal Justice Systems: A Survey

Article • February 15, 1997 • from PLN February, 1997

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Reviews, Prisoners-International

World Criminal Justice Systems: A Survey by by Richard Terrill is a 472 page book examining the criminal justice systems of France, England, Sweden, Russia and Japan. In that respect the title is misleading as all five countries are industrialized bourgeois democracies that have more in common with each other …

Strangeways 1990: A Serious Disturbance

Article • October 15, 1995 • from PLN October, 1995

Filed under: Organizing, Prison Rebellion, Prisoners-International

Strangeways 1990: A Serious Disturbance by Reviewed by Bowden, John Review by John Bowden >On 1 April 1990, the British prison system was shaken to its very foundations by an uprising of prisoners at Strangeways in Manchester; an uprising so prolonged and visible that it acted as a catalyst for …

The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the 18th Century (Book Review)

Article • November 15, 1994 • from PLN November, 1994

Filed under: Reviews, Prisoners-International, Death Penalty/Death Row, Death Penalty

The London Hanged: Crime and Civil Society in the 18th Century (Book Review) by Sandy Judd by Peter Linebaugh (Cambridge University Press, 1992) Review by Sandy Judd A title like The London Hanged might make a person think this is another book about death--an 18th century version of those true …

ABC Benefit Tape

Article • June 15, 1994 • from PLN June, 1994

Filed under: Commentary/Reviews, Resources

ABC Benefit Tape by The Anarchist Black Cross is composed of different groups around the world whose purpose is to aid and support class struggle prisoners. ABC Manchester has recently put out a pretty good benefit tape to help raise funds for their activities, which include supporting prisoners, putting out …

British Govt Rolls Back Civil Rights

Article • April 15, 1994 • from PLN April, 1994

Filed under: Crime/Demographics, Crime, Prisoners-International

British Govt Rolls Back Civil Rights by As part of the political and economic crisis racking all the capitalist countries the British government has recently passed it's version of a crime bill. Home Secretary Michael Howard says the bill is the most comprehensive attack on "crime" in three decades. This …

Prison Privatization in England

Article • September 15, 1993 • from PLN September, 1993

Filed under: Private Prisons, Prisoners-International

Prison Privatization in England by The British government's "privatization program" for prisons and prison service is proceeding fast. After the contracting out of the Wolds prison in Humberside to Group 4 security, Blakehurst, a new prison in Worcestshire, has been tendered out to UK Detention Services. Meanwhile bids have just …

No Welcome for Princess Anne

Article • March 15, 1993 • from PLN March, 1993

Filed under: International, Prisoners-International

No Welcome for Princess Anne by No Welcome For Princess Anne Princess Anne of British royal family fame, did not receive a friendly welcome from some her less fortunate subjects when she paid a visit to Horfield Prison in Bristol. Prisoners threw food and rubbish in a protest over conditions …

The Prison Privatization Debate

Article • February 15, 1993 • from PLN February, 1993

Filed under: Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison Labor, OB/GYN, Prisoners-International, Medical Neglect/Malpractice

The Prison Privatization Debate by Ed Mead "Prisons are by their very nature coercive and oppressive institutions, designed to disempower and destroy the resistance of those confined within them, so any discussion of `reform' is largely meaningless and futile. Prisons, whether controlled and operated by the state or private companies, …

Private Gulags in England

Article • October 15, 1990 • from PLN October, 1990

Filed under: Private Prisons, Prison Rebellion, Prisoners-International

Private Gulags in England by Mike Vukasinovic Private Gulags In England By Mike Vukasinovic Following the de-nationalized policies of the Tory government of the UK, plans are afoot to privatize new remand centers and the escort of prisoners to and from court. This announcement comes as a prison officer's revolt …

Prison Revolt in England

Article • May 15, 1990 • from PLN May, 1990

Filed under: Prison Rebellion, International, Prisoners-International

Prison Revolt in England by Prisoners in the horribly overcrowded Strangeways prison in Manchester, England rose in revolt on 1 April, 1990 protesting the conditions that had 1,660 men in a prison built in 1868 for 970 men. The prison does not have plumbing in the cells and the prisoners …