Justice for Willie Simmons
williesimmons.bsky.social
Justice for Willie Simmons
@williesimmons.bsky.social
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
My mother, who lives on disability benefits, has told me she wishes she could send me money but she can’t afford to. The cost of her own prescriptions, utility bills and household essentials for herself and my teenage kids are too high.
Inflation Doesn’t Stop at the Prison Gates
With inflation, low wages and little outside support, incarcerated people struggle to meet even their most basic needs.
prisonjournalismproject.org
December 17, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Ok, Bluesky is refusing to show the pretty graphics we created for our Holiday campaign.

Please send Willie a card or even just a short note to close out the year. Help lift his spirits and show that folks haven't forgotten about him.

Thanks!
December 17, 2025 at 2:05 AM
@claycane.bsky.social
Hi.
I heard that you talked about Willie Simmons on one your shows. I can't find that show. But if that's true thank you very much.
(I haven't spend much time standing up this account, but we are other platforms as you can see.)
Thanks.
October 21, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
An Idaho prison fund, which receives millions of dollars each year, used to provide things like gym equipment and religious materials. Those days are long gone.
A Prison Fund Is Supposed to Benefit Incarcerated People in Idaho. Has That Changed?
In the past few years, residents at an Idaho prison have wondered how their basic needs are being met after cuts to educational and religious supplies, gym equipment and movie time.
prisonjournalismproject.org
October 8, 2025 at 1:38 PM
October 8, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Willie's birthday is next month and we are working on a small social media campaign.

If you want to prepare start shopping for a birthday card. ♦️

More updates next week.
August 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Police violence report

Damn this is a pretty website

policeviolencereport.org [https://policeviolencereport.org/]

#Police #violence #report
2024 Police Violence Report
Comprehensive review of killings by police in 2024.
policeviolencereport.org
March 6, 2025 at 2:12 PM
“Accountability for those who have failed to protect our youth is long overdue — there is no justice in a system that abuses the very youth it is entrusted to care for.”

www.latimes.com/california/s...
30 L.A. County probation officers indicted over ‘gladiator fights’ at juvenilehalls
www.latimes.com
March 6, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
The State of Florida is demanding detailed patient drug prescription data from pharmacies including names of patients and their dates of birth and alarm bells should be going off...

via www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/h...
March 5, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
“While I don’t consider myself a man, I also don’t feel like a woman. Yet most places, especially my North Carolina prison, want clearly delineated identifications. It is not enough to say, ‘I am nonbinary; I would prefer men’s boxers.’”
Boxer Shorts Blues: My Path to Gender-Affirming Underwear in Prison
Getting what you need can be difficult in prison. Stepping out of the gender binary makes it harder — but not impossible.
prisonjournalismproject.org
March 5, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
"We are also not allowed to read '1001 Photographs You Must See in Your Lifetime,' a book that features a 'selection of the greatest still images … from the medium’s earliest days to the present.'”
February 20, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
"I can’t help thinking of Mason Bryan, my friend who is an editor at the Prison Journalism Project, who struggles serving an audience of people who all too often have only a fifth-grade education," writes Dean Banquet.
February 20, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
"Before prison, my life epitomized this hopelessness. My mother abandoned me for a man, then I lived with my abusive father only to be abandoned by him next. I was also discarded by others in my family who promised to help."
I Went to Prison and Learned to Love
To love in prison usually means that someone is weak. But that isn’t the case for all of us.
prisonjournalismproject.org
February 14, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
"In my old neighborhood, $300 could get you drugs, alcohol, tattoos, even a used handgun. Feeling guilty for disappointing my family by going to prison, there was no way I’d burden them by asking for money for textbooks."
How I Became a Scholar Behind Bars
I earned three degrees and am now using my education to build up at-risk youth.
prisonjournalismproject.org
February 7, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
And this isn't the only time this has happened! Folx, myself included, have written about this in fiction and nonfiction. The intense labor and sacrifice forced upon those who are incarcerated is inhumane. Publishers like @haymarketbooks.org & @akpress.org have extensive catalogues on #abolition.
Thousands of the firefighters currently battling bushfires in California are incarcerated in California's prisons. It's dangerous and pays as little as $2 a day. Most will be barred from working as firefighters post-release. Here's a 🧵of coverage of the issue:
www.motherjones.com/environment/...
30 percent of California's forest firefighters are prisoners
About 4,000 inmates battle blazes in the Golden State's woodlands.
www.motherjones.com
January 10, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
The NPR headline makes it sound like it's debatable whether the system is really so exploitative: The incarcerated firefighters "are paid between $5.80 and $10.24 per day". #HumanRights #Abolition
January 10, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
January 11, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
#FREETHEYOUTH 96 children are locked in Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in the FIRE ZONE and the gov will not let them out. Imprisoned adults are being put in danger being forced to fight the fire and the gov will not release the children. Please spread the word. #lafires #lafire #abolition #mutualaid
January 11, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
A reminder that for less than minimum wage incarcerated people are fighting California wildfires - risking their lives and their health to help others while confined in a corrupt capitalist industry.
8x as likely to see lung injury as professional firefighters.

#abolition #prisonLabor #disability
January 12, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
Hi Bluesky, meet our associate editor @carlacanning.bsky.social ⤵️
i've been editing with @prisonjournalism.bsky.social for awhile but this week marks my first as associate editor
January 13, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
How I Motivate My Incarcerated Brother, Even When It Feels Pointless. Over time, I’ve found small but consistent ways to keep showing up.
How I Motivate My Incarcerated Brother, Even When It Feels Pointless
Here are practical tips for showing up for a friend or family member behind bars.
prisonjournalismproject.org
January 13, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
Hundreds of incarcerated firefighters are fighting the wildfires raging across southern California for $5.80-$10.24 per day

When responding to disasters, they may earn $26.90 over a 24-hour shift
‘Essential’: nearly 800 incarcerated firefighters deployed as LA battles wildfires
The firefighters earn $5.80-$10.24 per day plus $1 an hour when responding to active emergencies, according to CDCR
www.theguardian.com
January 10, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
Prison Journalism Project compiled a collection of stories about the impact of extreme weather on prison life.
7 Stories About Extreme Weather From Writers Inside Prison
Here are seven stories and a drawing that depict what it’s like to live with hurricanes, heat waves and wildfires while in prison.
prisonjournalismproject.org
January 9, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Reposted by Justice for Willie Simmons
A judge in Queens put an 80 year old man who had never missed court in Rikers Island on a very minor case with no injuries. You know, in case you thought things like that didn't happen after bail reform.

#CloseRikers
#Abolition
January 3, 2025 at 4:16 PM