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Category Archives: incarceration
Criminology Mixology
Criminalization, abolition, and prison reform have long been third-rail issues in America. The only benefit to this impasse of ideologies is the mountain of research that has been collected in the interim. Those of us in camp reality, camp humanity, … Continue reading
353 total views
Posted in African Americans, incarceration, Prisoners, Section, Voices, Voices of Color
Tagged African Americans, criminal justice system, incarceration, prison reform
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The Prison Economy from the Inside
Nineteen-year-old Shamar Betts of Urbana had no previous criminal record when he was arrested for “inciting a riot” via a Facebook post he wrote after witnessing the video of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. He was sentenced to three years … Continue reading
733 total views
Posted in African Americans, incarceration, Prisoners, Section, Voices, Voices of Color
Tagged incarceration, local African American voices, memoir, prison life
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Community Wins Free Phone Calls at the Champaign County Jail
This article originally appeared at Smile Politely on December 5, 2023; reprinted with permission. It has been lightly edited for style. “He calls first thing in the morning just to say good morning,” said Blaine Sherase Lee, whose son was … Continue reading
801 total views, 1 views today
Posted in incarceration
Tagged incarceration, jail conditions, prison profiteers, prison rights
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The $1,686,170 Slap: The Shamar Betts Case Continues
It is hard to understand the magnitude of the restitution fine imposed on Urbana resident Shamar Betts as anything other than the persecution of one young black man. Despite a recent stay on collection of the debt pending a response … Continue reading
1,087 total views, 3 views today
Posted in African American, BLM, incarceration, Justice
Tagged African Americans, BLM, George Floyd protests, unequal justice
Comments Off on The $1,686,170 Slap: The Shamar Betts Case Continues
Securus is Charging Families Six Dollars for Phone Calls from Jail
This article originally appeared at Smile Politely on September 28, 2023; reprinted with permission. It has been lightly edited for style. Phone calls are a lifeline for those incarcerated to stay in touch with their families and loved ones. The … Continue reading
414 total views, 1 views today
Posted in incarceration
Tagged incarceration, jail conditions, prison profiteers, prison rights
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At the Feds
Shamar Betts had no previous criminal record but was sentenced to three years in federal prison for “inciting a riot” through a Facebook post he wrote after witnessing the video of George Floyd’s murder in 2020. He was also made … Continue reading
361 total views, 1 views today
Posted in African American, African Americans, Arts, BLM, incarceration, Prison Arts, Section, Voices, Voices of Color
Tagged BLM, George Floyd protests, incarceration, memoir
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FirstFollowers: Using Participatory Action Research to Make Change in Our Community
FirstFollowers has a tradition of doing participatory action research at Champaign-Urbana Days, the premier outdoor summer event aimed primarily at the Black community. Participatory Action Research (often called PAR) aims to gather data and information, not just for publication but … Continue reading
512 total views
Posted in African Americans, incarceration, Racism, Section, Violence, Voices of Color
Tagged African Americans, incarceration, local community, participatory research, policing, violence in the community
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Diesel Therapy
The odyssey of Urbana resident Shamar Betts continues. Betts was arrested for authoring a Facebook post at age 19 in the wake of the George Floyd murder in 2020. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison and charged … Continue reading
823 total views, 1 views today
Posted in African American, African Americans, BLM, incarceration, Justice, Prisoners, Section, Voices, Voices of Color
Tagged African Americans, Black Lives Matter, incarceration, US Marshals
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Illinois Correctional System: What Is It Really?
The Public i is partnering with the Education Justice Project (EJP) to share writing completed by incarcerated students at the Danville Correctional Center. The EJP is a comprehensive college-in-prison program based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Through its educational … Continue reading
924 total views
Posted in Arts, Education, incarceration, Prison Arts, Prisoners, Section, Voices
Tagged education, incarcerated people, incarceration
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Frustrations of Peer-to-Peer Education in Prisons
The Public i is partnering with the Education Justice Project (EJP) to share writing by incarcerated students at the Danville Correctional Center. The EJP is a comprehensive college-in-prison program based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Through its educational programming … Continue reading
548 total views, 2 views today
Posted in Arts, Education, incarceration, Prison Arts, Prisoners, Section, Voices
Tagged incarceration, prion arts, prison education
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No Such Thing As a “Safe” Jail: 31-Year-Old Woman Dies at Champaign County Jail
On October 13, 2022, Tillie Deitz, a mother of three young children, died in the Champaign County jail. As I found in my own review of publicly available documents, Deitz admitted to being a drug user upon entering the jail … Continue reading
564 total views
Posted in Drug policy, incarceration, Police
Tagged drug policy, incarceration, policing, prison health care
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The Assault on the Pretrial Fairness Act
Last month, News-Gazette columnist Jim Dey headlined “hysteria” over the provisions of the 2021 Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act (PFA), which will go into effect in January, including the end to cash bail. Predictably, but illogically, Dey located the hysteria on the side … Continue reading
1,025 total views, 1 views today
Posted in IL, incarceration, Justice, Politics
Tagged bail reform, Illinois justice, incarceration
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Links
The Public i is partnering with the Education Justice Project (EJP) to share writing completed by incarcerated students at the Danville Correctional Center. The EJP is a comprehensive college-in-prison program based at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Through its educational … Continue reading
479 total views, 1 views today
Posted in Arts, incarceration, Prison Arts, Prisoners
Tagged incarceration, Prison arts
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Donald Trump v. Shamar Betts
I, Shamar Betts, incited a riot through a Facebook post encouraging my people to join alongside the rest of the world in an attempt to express our feelings on the tragic death of George Floyd in May of 2020. Although … Continue reading
754 total views, 1 views today
Posted in African American, African Americans, BLM, Court System, incarceration, January 6 insurrection, Justice, Prisoners, Racism, Trump, Voices of Color, Youth
Tagged African American, BLM, incarceration, Justice, Trump
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Reckless Law, Shameless Order: Behind the Scenes
One afternoon in April of 2021 Faranak Miraftab called me to ask if I was interested in holding an art workshop with formerly incarcerated artists in continuation of the “IDENSCITY,” a conceptual art space that I had been developing … Continue reading
713 total views, 1 views today
Posted in African Americans, African Americans, Arts, Immigrants, incarceration, Local Arts, Prison Arts, Prisoners, Voices, Voices of Color, Women
Tagged Immigrants, incarceration, local arts, Prison arts
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Two Stories from Statesville Prison
Saving Your Mind: Mental Health in the Age of Corona “This is some next-level shit. I thought I’d seen it all in my 20 years in prison,” said Murder (no real names used), my Quarantine Sanitation Specialist co-worker, as we … Continue reading
953 total views, 2 views today
Posted in Arts, incarceration, Local Arts, Prison Arts, Prisoners
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Urbana-Champaign Books to Prisoners’ Mission to Bring Books (and Bibliophilia) Behind Bars
When it comes to helping people make a fresh start after incarceration and avoid returning to prison, few approaches are as effective and vital as education. Many people who wind up in the prison system do not have enough literacy … Continue reading
783 total views, 1 views today
Posted in Education, incarceration, Libraries, UC-IMC, UCIMC
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Shamar Betts Case Moves to Federal Appeals Court
On April 8, the case of Urbana resident Shamar Betts moved to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Betts was arrested in June, 2020 in the midst of a national crackdown on protests against the murder … Continue reading
1,250 total views
Posted in African Americans, BLM, incarceration, Justice, Racism
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“It’s a Money Grab”: Billions in COVID Relief Going to Fund Police and Prisons
If you’re from inner-city Birmingham, Alabama, there’s a “99-percent chance” you have a family member or friend who has been incarcerated, according to Veronica Johnson, deputy director for the Alabama Justice Initiative, which has been fighting against a proposal to … Continue reading
643 total views
Posted in African Americans, COVID-19, incarceration, Justice, Police, police accountability, Policing
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Fines, Fees, and Escalating Bail Bonds: Champaign County Urgently Needs to Implement the Pretrial Fairness Act
The Champaign County Bailout Coalition (CCBC) is a grassroots organization that uses community donations to pay low bail amounts for incarcerated individuals who don’t have access to financial resources in their moment of crisis. Founded in 2018, CCBC now pays … Continue reading
1,187 total views, 1 views today
Posted in Champaign County, Court System, incarceration, Justice, Poverty
Tagged bail bond reform, Champaign County justice system, incareration
Comments Off on Fines, Fees, and Escalating Bail Bonds: Champaign County Urgently Needs to Implement the Pretrial Fairness Act