Category Archives: Prisoners

Jails, Hospitals, Hip-Hop

The one-person show, Jails, Hospitals, and Hip-Hop (JH3) by Danny Hoch was presented at spaces across the UIUC campus. Each performance was followed by a discussion with director, Alex Berg-Jacobson, Assistant Director, Keri Carpenter, and actor, Chris Silcox. One night … Continue reading

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You Can’t Jail the Spirit: US Political Prisoners and POWs

COMPILED BY THE PRISON ACTIVIST RESOURCE CENTER. For other Political Prisoner/POW-related resources, go to our political prisoner page. The list is alphabetical. And as of February 2005, there are so many names that we have split off onto separate pages … Continue reading

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National Conference for Prison Book Projects Held in Urbana-Champaign

ON NOVEMBER 3, 2007, a conference in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois brought together 88 participants from 29 different prison book projects across the country. A similar event of this kind has not taken place since a 2002 conference in Philadelphia. Participants shared … Continue reading

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Torture Exposed in the Champaign County Jail

Many are now familiar with the infamous story of Sergeant Jon Burge in Chicago. In 2002, it was found that Sgt. Burge and his underlings had tortured over 150 Black men in Chicago jails. Burge had used a hand-cranked army … Continue reading

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The Injustice System in Champaign County

Recent events have convinced me that the justice system in Champaign County is skewed against the African American population and should be more properly referred to as an injustice system. There have been excessive charges against blacks, retaliatory prosecution and … Continue reading

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Five Deaths at County Jail

With the death of Quentin Larry on May 28, now five inmates have died in the Champaign County Jail over a three year period. Individuals should not die in police custody – even if they are drug addicts. Citizens must … Continue reading

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Looking for Martha: The Mess Behind Bars

The Alderson Federal Prison Camp i n West Vi rginia looks to have solved the problemthat has beset modern penal policy for hundreds of years: recidivism. Its progressive plan of image rehabilitation has now set free a series of media … Continue reading

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From Profile to Prison: Criminalization of a Community

While news of police mistreatment in African-American communities is nothing new in the post-Rodney King era, what is new is the nation-wide organizing against it. From Los Angeles to New York, Chicago to Champaign—grass roots organizations have come together to … Continue reading

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Pages to Prisoners

While American politicians repeatedly throw around words like ‘freedom’ and ‘liberation’ as cornerstones of their policies, approximately 1.4 million inmates sit in U.S. prisons. Why is this? Why does America have so many jails? One might be tempted to respond … Continue reading

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How the Prison-Industrial Complex Threatens Democracy in America

• The prison-industrial-complex has expanded dramatically over the last generation, becoming one of the fastest growth industries in the United States of America; housing over 2 million prisoners and supervising almost 5 million parolees and probationers, America’s prison systems controls … Continue reading

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Why Do I Care About Convicts?

Why do I care about convicts? Why do I care about our injustice system? “There but for the grace of God go I.” Being a recovering addict and having community with similar others, I know so many people who today … Continue reading

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You Have the Right to Remain Silent

On Nov. 20, I was among thousands of people gathered in Miami, Florida to protest negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Estimates range from 5,000 to 20,000, but it is clear that however many people were … Continue reading

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(Medical) Debtors Prison Alive and Well in Champaign County

    -  and unplanned, and with the rising cost of health care, many people are quickly plunged into debt, bankruptcy, financial ruin, and poor health as a result of mounting bills and hospitals’ aggressive collection practices. … Continue reading

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