Alabama’s Holman prison guards have joined striking prisoners
September 27, 2016 5:31 PM Subscribe
This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- frimble
!!!
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:37 PM on September 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 5:37 PM on September 27, 2016 [3 favorites]
Warden Peterson is pulling the cart. Deputy Commissioner Culliver passing out trays. I can’t believe it. … They completely bugged on the administration. No more will they be pawns in the game.
Hell. Fucking. Yeah.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:40 PM on September 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
Hell. Fucking. Yeah.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:40 PM on September 27, 2016 [7 favorites]
This needs to be a "Carry On..." film, stat!
posted by marienbad at 5:43 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by marienbad at 5:43 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Now I'm used to news like this being buried in newspapers and the like, but I can't even find a single mention of this on my local newspaper's site, nor on the NYT.
What the hell?
posted by Ickster at 5:56 PM on September 27, 2016 [14 favorites]
What the hell?
posted by Ickster at 5:56 PM on September 27, 2016 [14 favorites]
Wow.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:04 PM on September 27, 2016
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:04 PM on September 27, 2016
The Intercept has a couple write ups on the base prisoner strike which got rolling way back in April.
posted by Mitheral at 6:12 PM on September 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 6:12 PM on September 27, 2016 [2 favorites]
Seriously amazing development. The way this whole strike has been completely ignored by the press over the past few months has taken my already-healthy level of corporate media distrust to heights traditionally reserved for right-wingers.
Prison reform, I expected, was something we might eventually get around to as a nation, though not soon enough, since it's so easy to be out-of-sight-out-of-mindest about it.
But this is starting to feel like a tipping point.
posted by rokusan at 6:13 PM on September 27, 2016 [27 favorites]
Prison reform, I expected, was something we might eventually get around to as a nation, though not soon enough, since it's so easy to be out-of-sight-out-of-mindest about it.
But this is starting to feel like a tipping point.
posted by rokusan at 6:13 PM on September 27, 2016 [27 favorites]
Wow! Thank you for sharing - I had no idea this was happening.
posted by samthemander at 6:15 PM on September 27, 2016
posted by samthemander at 6:15 PM on September 27, 2016
Wow. I knew nothing about this. Yes, thanks for sharing.
posted by triggerfinger at 6:17 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by triggerfinger at 6:17 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Intercept has a couple write ups
I know; that's where I originally heard about it.
posted by Ickster at 6:43 PM on September 27, 2016
I know; that's where I originally heard about it.
posted by Ickster at 6:43 PM on September 27, 2016
I've lived long enough to accept Jenny Holzer's admonishment: Abuse of Power Comes as No Surprise.
And see nearly everything as cyclical.
Brubaker(1980)--The screenplay by W.D. Richter is a fictionalized version of the 1969 book, Accomplices to the Crime: The Arkansas Prison Scandal by Tom Murton and Joe Hyams, detailing Murton's uncovering of the 1967 prison scandal.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 7:18 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
And see nearly everything as cyclical.
Brubaker(1980)--The screenplay by W.D. Richter is a fictionalized version of the 1969 book, Accomplices to the Crime: The Arkansas Prison Scandal by Tom Murton and Joe Hyams, detailing Murton's uncovering of the 1967 prison scandal.
posted by lazycomputerkids at 7:18 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Wow, this is incredible.
posted by tobascodagama at 7:21 PM on September 27, 2016
posted by tobascodagama at 7:21 PM on September 27, 2016
Solidarity!
posted by sallybrown at 8:06 PM on September 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by sallybrown at 8:06 PM on September 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
Yeah, there appears to be a bonafide media blackout on this. And there seems to be an information lockdown inside of the prisons themselves. This is pretty scary for a supposedly democratic nation.
Note that the Alabama DoC still denies that there was or is a strike even though their employees all failed to show up for work at the same time.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:12 PM on September 27, 2016 [21 favorites]
Note that the Alabama DoC still denies that there was or is a strike even though their employees all failed to show up for work at the same time.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:12 PM on September 27, 2016 [21 favorites]
My family lives less than 30 minutes drive from that prison. We used to have a extended family vacation at a park near it every year. Our tribal reservation is even closer. My, very gossipy and eager to talk up anything and everything going on, mother has said nothing about this so I'm guessing it's not even been a big enough blip on their radar screen to draw their attention either. They've been kinda busy with their own responsibilities but still... telling and disheartening when you think about it.
*sigh*
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:45 PM on September 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
*sigh*
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:45 PM on September 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
This is beautiful.
No, touching!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:52 PM on September 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
No, touching!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:52 PM on September 27, 2016 [8 favorites]
Also, apropos of nothing and all, why would a place like this have google reviews, at least as far as I saw on Maps? Seems like you wouldn't really have a clear purpose for those in the sense of who should review it: visitors, prisoners, ex-prisoners, or employees. All of the above maybe? I dunno but, as is usual with things like this in Alabama, it is probably best to ignore the comments, I mean reviews, and go on with your surfing.
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:53 PM on September 27, 2016
posted by RolandOfEld at 8:53 PM on September 27, 2016
Be careful with the cry of "solidarity" "beautiful" "Touching", those are hopeful concepts, but it appears that the staff strike may be about fear of dangerous conditions.
posted by HuronBob at 9:41 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by HuronBob at 9:41 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ickster: Now I'm used to news like this being buried in newspapers and the like, but I can't even find a single mention of this on my local newspaper's site, nor on the NYT.
rokusan: Seriously amazing development. The way this whole strike has been completely ignored by the press over the past few months has taken my already-healthy level of corporate media distrust to heights traditionally reserved for right-wingers.
RobotVoodooPower: Yeah, there appears to be a bonafide media blackout on this. And there seems to be an information lockdown inside of the prisons themselves. This is pretty scary for a supposedly democratic nation.
FAIR.org: Nationwide Prison Strike Mostly Ignored by National Media
CounterSpin: ‘The Bodies of Prisoners Are Commodities’
Delete Your Account – Episode 17: Slavery Never Ended:
rokusan: Seriously amazing development. The way this whole strike has been completely ignored by the press over the past few months has taken my already-healthy level of corporate media distrust to heights traditionally reserved for right-wingers.
RobotVoodooPower: Yeah, there appears to be a bonafide media blackout on this. And there seems to be an information lockdown inside of the prisons themselves. This is pretty scary for a supposedly democratic nation.
FAIR.org: Nationwide Prison Strike Mostly Ignored by National Media
CounterSpin: ‘The Bodies of Prisoners Are Commodities’
Delete Your Account – Episode 17: Slavery Never Ended:
Finally, Kumars speaks to “D”, a strike organizer at a correctional institution in South Carolina. D spoke to us on a cellphone that was smuggled into the prison and he has to maintain a level of anonymity to avoid retribution for his organizing work. He tells Kumars about what is happening where he is, with close to 350 prisoners participating in the work stoppage there. He explains that more are expected to join the strike in the coming days, even as prisoners face serious consequences for refusing to work. He also tells Kumars that what prisoners want most from supporters on the outside is to not let the public’s attention dissipate, because once it does, prisoners will face serious repercussions. He also discusses the importance of writing letters to prisoners, as well as donating to groups like IWOC that support prisoner commissary funds.posted by kyp at 10:23 PM on September 27, 2016 [10 favorites]
it appears that the staff strike may be about fear of dangerous conditions
I'm fine with that. Secondary effects work, too, and I'm not surprised that they'd be necessary in this context. The system isn't just going to listen to prisoners without some changes that apparently are not on the horizon. Next: healthcare?.
posted by rhizome at 10:46 PM on September 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
I'm fine with that. Secondary effects work, too, and I'm not surprised that they'd be necessary in this context. The system isn't just going to listen to prisoners without some changes that apparently are not on the horizon. Next: healthcare?.
posted by rhizome at 10:46 PM on September 27, 2016 [6 favorites]
From HuronBob's link:
"Officers are refusing to go in the cells because of the violence and won't respond to emergency situations because they think it's too dangerous."
Remember that the next time you hear someone say "they put their lives on the line" to defend excessive force by correctional officers.
Especially the part where they say they won't 'go in the cells,' because resisting a cell extraction is impossible no matter how big or strong you are.
All due respect but that claim is bullshit, and I know it for a fact because I spent a number of years in multiple prisons and I've been extracted a time or two in my day (and extracted by teams with far less aggressive use-of-force guidelines and far less heavy gear than present-day Alabama, I hasten to add).
You're in a concrete box 6'x8' and half of the space is taken up by the bed, toilet, sink, shelf/desk/storage area/TV depending on what's allowed, plus everything you own is also stuffed in there. You don't have a lot to defend yourself with, and they can wear you down for however long they like before they open the door. They can wait until you're exhausted, hungry, and been breathing pepper spray for a half hour. On the other hand, they've got a team of however many people they want, fresh & ready to go, in full armor, the lead man has a riot shield just in case, and they just blast into that box with each pushing the other like a human freight train wrapped in kevlar and plexiglas. Just like how people get crushed to death by crowds at soccer games. Same concept. It doesn't matter how strong you are because you're only one footstep away from each other, and action beats reaction (and proximity negates skill), every time. And if they want more advantages they can soften you up with more gas, more tasers shot through the feeding slot, more dogs, more more more. One footstep distance is a big advantage for them. Go a footstep into your bathroom, pepper spray yourself, and then imagine how you are going to keep 6 SWAT cops with a riot shield from dog-piling you.
I could go on but I agreed not to so I'll leave it at this, and only add that whenever risk to officer safety is brought up that you also consider how they behave when faced with actual (or perceived) risk.
posted by Hiding From Goro at 10:58 PM on September 27, 2016 [65 favorites]
"Officers are refusing to go in the cells because of the violence and won't respond to emergency situations because they think it's too dangerous."
Remember that the next time you hear someone say "they put their lives on the line" to defend excessive force by correctional officers.
Especially the part where they say they won't 'go in the cells,' because resisting a cell extraction is impossible no matter how big or strong you are.
All due respect but that claim is bullshit, and I know it for a fact because I spent a number of years in multiple prisons and I've been extracted a time or two in my day (and extracted by teams with far less aggressive use-of-force guidelines and far less heavy gear than present-day Alabama, I hasten to add).
You're in a concrete box 6'x8' and half of the space is taken up by the bed, toilet, sink, shelf/desk/storage area/TV depending on what's allowed, plus everything you own is also stuffed in there. You don't have a lot to defend yourself with, and they can wear you down for however long they like before they open the door. They can wait until you're exhausted, hungry, and been breathing pepper spray for a half hour. On the other hand, they've got a team of however many people they want, fresh & ready to go, in full armor, the lead man has a riot shield just in case, and they just blast into that box with each pushing the other like a human freight train wrapped in kevlar and plexiglas. Just like how people get crushed to death by crowds at soccer games. Same concept. It doesn't matter how strong you are because you're only one footstep away from each other, and action beats reaction (and proximity negates skill), every time. And if they want more advantages they can soften you up with more gas, more tasers shot through the feeding slot, more dogs, more more more. One footstep distance is a big advantage for them. Go a footstep into your bathroom, pepper spray yourself, and then imagine how you are going to keep 6 SWAT cops with a riot shield from dog-piling you.
I could go on but I agreed not to so I'll leave it at this, and only add that whenever risk to officer safety is brought up that you also consider how they behave when faced with actual (or perceived) risk.
posted by Hiding From Goro at 10:58 PM on September 27, 2016 [65 favorites]
is Alabama going to spend more on prisons?nope. are they going to do a mass release? double nope.
you know this isn't going to have a happy ending, only question is whether you hear about it.
posted by ennui.bz at 12:10 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
you know this isn't going to have a happy ending, only question is whether you hear about it.
posted by ennui.bz at 12:10 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
Holman has been in the news a lot lately. Not long ago, they had a full scale riot. The warden at that time was a man named Carter Davenport and, in a well-researched article, the journalists at al.com tore that dude a new one. Apparently, wherever the Department Of Corrections sends this guy, things quickly go to hell in a handbasket.
To address ennui.bz's question...
The governor recently proposed building several really big prisons to replace (I think) about ten existing prisons. But first, he wanted to tear down and replace Tutwiler, a women's prison with a terrible reputation. The last I heard, though, the legislature had killed the bill.
posted by Clay201 at 1:06 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
To address ennui.bz's question...
The governor recently proposed building several really big prisons to replace (I think) about ten existing prisons. But first, he wanted to tear down and replace Tutwiler, a women's prison with a terrible reputation. The last I heard, though, the legislature had killed the bill.
posted by Clay201 at 1:06 AM on September 28, 2016 [3 favorites]
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posted by Lesser Shrew at 5:34 PM on September 27, 2016 [1 favorite]