Prisonwatch
@prisonwatch.bsky.social
Supporting positive changes in society for a world with less and less incarceration, and highlighting human rights abuses in prisons. Also on: https://mas.to/@prisonwatch
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Injustice Watch reports on a rogue lab that misled courts with fake science and faulty methods to convict people charged with driving under the influence of marijuana.
Fake science, faulty methods, misleading testimony
How a rogue forensics lab in Chicago got people wrongfully convicted for driving high.
www.injusticewatch.org
August 20, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Injustice Watch reports on a rogue lab that misled courts with fake science and faulty methods to convict people charged with driving under the influence of marijuana.
Reposted by Prisonwatch
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Blackwell and Harris, who are incarcerated in Washington state and Texas, respectively, co-authored the book
***Blackwell and Harris have agreed to answer questions from Bolts readers about their new book and the experience of writing it***
Submit by 8/27
boltsmag.org/solitary-con...
Blackwell and Harris, who are incarcerated in Washington state and Texas, respectively, co-authored the book
***Blackwell and Harris have agreed to answer questions from Bolts readers about their new book and the experience of writing it***
Submit by 8/27
boltsmag.org/solitary-con...
Solitary Confinement: Send Us Your Questions - Bolts
Two incarcerated journalists wrote a new book on their own experiences with solitary confinement and its use in prisons. Ask them anything.
boltsmag.org
August 20, 2025 at 11:43 PM
👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻
Blackwell and Harris, who are incarcerated in Washington state and Texas, respectively, co-authored the book
***Blackwell and Harris have agreed to answer questions from Bolts readers about their new book and the experience of writing it***
Submit by 8/27
boltsmag.org/solitary-con...
Blackwell and Harris, who are incarcerated in Washington state and Texas, respectively, co-authored the book
***Blackwell and Harris have agreed to answer questions from Bolts readers about their new book and the experience of writing it***
Submit by 8/27
boltsmag.org/solitary-con...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Rest in Power: George Jackson
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEg8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEg8...
George Jackson (Big Band Version)
YouTube video by Bob Dylan - Topic
www.youtube.com
August 21, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Rest in Power: George Jackson
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEg8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEg8...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled this month, “The impulsivity of the late-adolescent brain is transient and capable of change, making imposition of mandatory [life without parole] on this class of individuals particularly cruel.”
Another State Restricts Life Sentences for Young Adults - Bolts
Michigan’s supreme court created new protections against life sentences for people up to 20, pushing the line for who gets second chances beyond age 18.
boltsmag.org
April 20, 2025 at 2:45 PM
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled this month, “The impulsivity of the late-adolescent brain is transient and capable of change, making imposition of mandatory [life without parole] on this class of individuals particularly cruel.”
Reposted by Prisonwatch
North Carolina’s previous governor turned his attention to juvenile life sentences, granting clemency for about a dozen people. Others who remain in prison on juvenile life sentences hope the new administration remains a pathway out: boltsmag.org/north-c...
In North Carolina, Juvenile Lifers See a Pathway to Freedom
After the state’s previous governor granted clemency to people sentenced to life in prison as minors, others with juvenile life sentences are hoping the new administration also believes in second chances.
boltsmag.org
April 20, 2025 at 6:20 PM
North Carolina’s previous governor turned his attention to juvenile life sentences, granting clemency for about a dozen people. Others who remain in prison on juvenile life sentences hope the new administration remains a pathway out: boltsmag.org/north-c...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
In a predominantly Black area of Chicago, police can now directly file gun charges without a prosecutor’s approval. This a police department with a long history of coercion, deception, and filing wrongful charges against innocent people.
New Chicago Prosecutor Empowers Police to File More Charges Without Review - Bolts
In the early evening on Feb. 19, two Chicago police officers arrested a 40-year-old man in the Englewood neighborhood. According to their report, the officers cited an odor of “raw... Read More
boltsmag.org
April 20, 2025 at 5:37 PM
In a predominantly Black area of Chicago, police can now directly file gun charges without a prosecutor’s approval. This a police department with a long history of coercion, deception, and filing wrongful charges against innocent people.
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Bite-mark analysis was once considered cutting-edge forensic science, but today, it's widely discredited—“total bullshit,” says one expert.
Bolts talked to a man convicted through such an analysis who currently sits on death row.
boltsmag.org/the-hum...
Bolts talked to a man convicted through such an analysis who currently sits on death row.
boltsmag.org/the-hum...
The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions
Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.
boltsmag.org
April 21, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Bite-mark analysis was once considered cutting-edge forensic science, but today, it's widely discredited—“total bullshit,” says one expert.
Bolts talked to a man convicted through such an analysis who currently sits on death row.
boltsmag.org/the-hum...
Bolts talked to a man convicted through such an analysis who currently sits on death row.
boltsmag.org/the-hum...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Hundreds of Michiganders who’d been automatically sentenced to life without parole will now face resentencing, an extensive process during which they’re entitled to legal representation. Bolts explains what’s next, and who gets to decide. boltsmag.org/michiga...
Another State Restricts Life Sentences for Young Adults
Michigan’s supreme court created new protections against life sentences for people up to 20, pushing the line for who gets second chances beyond age 18.
boltsmag.org
April 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Hundreds of Michiganders who’d been automatically sentenced to life without parole will now face resentencing, an extensive process during which they’re entitled to legal representation. Bolts explains what’s next, and who gets to decide. boltsmag.org/michiga...
Clemency for poet Spoon Jackson before he hits 50 years in prison chng.it/wgsyGYfnkD
Sign the Petition
No 50: Clemency for poet Spoon Jackson before he hits 50 years in prison.
chng.it
April 21, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Clemency for poet Spoon Jackson before he hits 50 years in prison chng.it/wgsyGYfnkD
Reposted by Prisonwatch
People in U.S. prisons cook food, clean, manufacture goods, and work in industries like agriculture and firefighting—often for just cents an hour. Historian Robert Chase explains how this system took root after the Civil War and continues today.
boltsmag.org/the-pas...
boltsmag.org/the-pas...
The Past and Present of Prison Labor: Your Questions Answered
A historian answers <i>Bolts</i> readers’ questions on the deep roots of forced labor in U.S. prisons, how it operates today, and efforts to challenge it.
boltsmag.org
March 18, 2025 at 1:00 AM
People in U.S. prisons cook food, clean, manufacture goods, and work in industries like agriculture and firefighting—often for just cents an hour. Historian Robert Chase explains how this system took root after the Civil War and continues today.
boltsmag.org/the-pas...
boltsmag.org/the-pas...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Over 10,000 people appear before New York’s parole board each year, with the average hearing lasting just 15 minutes and, for the 60% of people who are denied, typically no guidance given on how they can secure their release in future. boltsmag.org/new-yor...
“Nobody Knows What That Means”: The Murky Decisions of New York’s Parole Board
New York advocates hope to force their state to be more forthcoming about how it decides parole grants, worried that incarcerated people don’t know how to apply or to secure release.
boltsmag.org
March 18, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Over 10,000 people appear before New York’s parole board each year, with the average hearing lasting just 15 minutes and, for the 60% of people who are denied, typically no guidance given on how they can secure their release in future. boltsmag.org/new-yor...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs will become the first democratic governor to oversee an execution since 2017 tomorrow. With @pascalsabino.bsky.social, I wrote about how Hobbs canned an independent review and abandoned her promise to bring transparency to executions.
boltsmag.org/secrecy-as-a...
boltsmag.org/secrecy-as-a...
Secrecy Clouds Arizona's Lethal Injection Protocol as the State Restarts Executions - Bolts
The decision by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs to resume capital punishment aligns with a larger trend of death penalty states hiding key details about executions.
boltsmag.org
March 18, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs will become the first democratic governor to oversee an execution since 2017 tomorrow. With @pascalsabino.bsky.social, I wrote about how Hobbs canned an independent review and abandoned her promise to bring transparency to executions.
boltsmag.org/secrecy-as-a...
boltsmag.org/secrecy-as-a...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
There are 112 people on death row in Arizona, and 25 have exhausted or waived their appeals, according to the state, making them eligible for execution. Aaron Gunches's lethal injection is set for tomorrow — the first following an almost two-year pause. boltsmag.org/secrecy...
Secrecy Clouds Arizona’s Lethal Injection Protocol as the State Restarts Executions
The decision by Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs to resume capital punishment aligns with a larger trend of death penalty states hiding key details about executions.
boltsmag.org
March 18, 2025 at 11:30 PM
There are 112 people on death row in Arizona, and 25 have exhausted or waived their appeals, according to the state, making them eligible for execution. Aaron Gunches's lethal injection is set for tomorrow — the first following an almost two-year pause. boltsmag.org/secrecy...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
⚡️ Evidence of $26 million worth of Russian war crimes in Ukraine may have been deleted after the United States stopped funding a group of Yale University researchers who were finding and returning home deported Ukrainian children.
March 19, 2025 at 11:43 AM
⚡️ Evidence of $26 million worth of Russian war crimes in Ukraine may have been deleted after the United States stopped funding a group of Yale University researchers who were finding and returning home deported Ukrainian children.
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Despite its soaring fortunes, $4 billion company GEO Group continues to resist paying detainees more than $1 a day for cleaning facilities where the government has forced them to live.
ICE Contractor Fights to Pay Detained Migrants as Little as $1 a Day for Work
The legal battle has national repercussions as the number of ICE-held migrants reaches its highest level in five years.
truthout.org
March 19, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Despite its soaring fortunes, $4 billion company GEO Group continues to resist paying detainees more than $1 a day for cleaning facilities where the government has forced them to live.
Reposted by Prisonwatch
The elderly are forgotten in prison, but some of us behind the fence do what we can to make them feel seen & heard, writes Derek R. Trumbo, Sr. in his latest ‘Never eat the candy’ column on doing what we can to honor our elders.
prismreports.org/2025/03/19/e...
prismreports.org/2025/03/19/e...
Never eat the candy on your pillow: Honor your elders
Elders are forgotten in prison, but some of us behind the fence do what we can to make them feel seen and heard
prismreports.org
March 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
The elderly are forgotten in prison, but some of us behind the fence do what we can to make them feel seen & heard, writes Derek R. Trumbo, Sr. in his latest ‘Never eat the candy’ column on doing what we can to honor our elders.
prismreports.org/2025/03/19/e...
prismreports.org/2025/03/19/e...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
"My name is Mahmoud Khalil and I am a political prisoner. I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana where I wake to cold mornings and spend long days bearing witness to the quiet injustices underway against a great many people precluded from the protections of the law."
“I Am a Political Prisoner,” Writes Mahmoud Khalil From ICE Jail
In the weeks ahead, students, advocates and elected officials must unite to defend the right to protest for Palestine.
truthout.org
March 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
"My name is Mahmoud Khalil and I am a political prisoner. I am writing to you from a detention facility in Louisiana where I wake to cold mornings and spend long days bearing witness to the quiet injustices underway against a great many people precluded from the protections of the law."
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Reposted by Prisonwatch
"You learn about society by seeing how people are treated in its prisons."
"Not reform – we need revolutionary change. The prison system is insanely broken – people here are not treated like human beings."
"[M]aximum emphasis on punishment and a superficial mention of rehabilitation."
"Not reform – we need revolutionary change. The prison system is insanely broken – people here are not treated like human beings."
"[M]aximum emphasis on punishment and a superficial mention of rehabilitation."
‘The prison system is insanely broken’: a climate activist on his experience in jail
George Simonson says you learn about society by seeing how it treats its prisoners – and jail has strengthened his belief that change is crucial
www.theguardian.com
March 19, 2025 at 12:54 PM
"You learn about society by seeing how people are treated in its prisons."
"Not reform – we need revolutionary change. The prison system is insanely broken – people here are not treated like human beings."
"[M]aximum emphasis on punishment and a superficial mention of rehabilitation."
"Not reform – we need revolutionary change. The prison system is insanely broken – people here are not treated like human beings."
"[M]aximum emphasis on punishment and a superficial mention of rehabilitation."
Reposted by Prisonwatch
The detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu has sent the Turkish currency and markets tumbling. The move marks an intensifying crackdown on the country’s opposition party ahead of the 2028 elections. www.ft.com/content/c1a2...
March 19, 2025 at 1:05 PM
The detention of Ekrem İmamoğlu has sent the Turkish currency and markets tumbling. The move marks an intensifying crackdown on the country’s opposition party ahead of the 2028 elections. www.ft.com/content/c1a2...
Reposted by Prisonwatch
New in PN: Trump defies court orders to dump Venezuelans in Salvadoran slave jail
"At bottom, this is a dispute about whether the president can define reality by executive fiat and force the legal system to treat his fantastical pronouncements as fact."
"At bottom, this is a dispute about whether the president can define reality by executive fiat and force the legal system to treat his fantastical pronouncements as fact."
Trump defies court orders to dump Venezuelans in Salvadoran slave jail
For "national security."
www.publicnotice.co
March 19, 2025 at 1:05 PM
New in PN: Trump defies court orders to dump Venezuelans in Salvadoran slave jail
"At bottom, this is a dispute about whether the president can define reality by executive fiat and force the legal system to treat his fantastical pronouncements as fact."
"At bottom, this is a dispute about whether the president can define reality by executive fiat and force the legal system to treat his fantastical pronouncements as fact."
Kenny Zulu Whitmore/ Warrior For His People Has Been Down For 50 Years...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecql...
#KennyZuluWhitmore #freezulu #innocence
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecql...
#KennyZuluWhitmore #freezulu #innocence
Kenny Zulu Whitmore/ Warrior For His People Has Been Down For 50 Years......
YouTube video by RUNAWAY SLAVE 2.0
www.youtube.com
February 14, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Kenny Zulu Whitmore/ Warrior For His People Has Been Down For 50 Years...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecql...
#KennyZuluWhitmore #freezulu #innocence
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecql...
#KennyZuluWhitmore #freezulu #innocence
Reposted by Prisonwatch
Reposted by Prisonwatch
I wrote a long piece at @inkstickmedia.com about the situation for refugees on Greece's Chios island, the way the journey they take has become more dangerous & violent since 2015, & how border violence/deterrence has failed to stop people from risking the crossing:
inkstickmedia.com/after-greece...
inkstickmedia.com/after-greece...
After Greece's Refugee Crisis: The Rise of Hard Borders
On the Greek island of Chios, refugees and advocates say the crisis never ended — it only disappeared from public attention.
inkstickmedia.com
December 19, 2024 at 3:13 PM
I wrote a long piece at @inkstickmedia.com about the situation for refugees on Greece's Chios island, the way the journey they take has become more dangerous & violent since 2015, & how border violence/deterrence has failed to stop people from risking the crossing:
inkstickmedia.com/after-greece...
inkstickmedia.com/after-greece...