The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) houses prisoners of every faith imaginable; Islamic, Catholic, Protestant, Episcopalian, Baptist, Jewish, Mormon, Buddhist, Hinduism, Taoism, Paganism, Voodooism, Satanism and many other beliefs. Just like many Americans in large and small cities and towns throughout this country, men and women who practice their beliefs behind prison walls have a right to do so without bias, prejudice, or interference. Unfortunately, this was not the case for four Muslim prisoners serving out their sentences as fire fighters at the Ben Lomond fire camp in the remote hills of Santa Cruz, California.

From the Human Rights Coalition: Muslim men at SCI Coal Township under fire for observing Ramadan, Prisoners refused food, called 'cave monkeys' & 'terrorists' by racist guards.

Photo from Imam Jamil Al-Amin on Liberating the Soul

Past Coverage by HRC: Former Prisoners Testify at Hearing on Solitary Confinement... | Related: Black August Commemorative Educational Call: Political Prisoners, Prisoners of War in the United States and the legacy of repression and resistance

Earlier today, Tuesday August 31, 2010, the US Human Rights Network facilitated a public conference call entitled: Black August Commemorative Educational Call: Political Prisoners, Prisoners of War in the United States and the legacy of repression and resistance This call was a combined effort of the Political Prisoner and State Repression Working Group and USHRN Training Committee.

From the Open Posting Newswire: Ramiro (Ramsey) Muniz [has been] imprisoned for life without parole on a bogus drug charge. Now age 67, he's been incarcerated nearly 17 years, earlier at Leavenworth, KS federal prison, the country's largest maximum security one, more recently at the US Medical Center, Springfield, MO recovering from life threatening complications from surgery.

A Corpus Christi, TX native, he "contributed greatly to the Chicano Civil Rights Movement during the 1970s as a leader for justice and equality for all Mexican Americans, Hispanics, and Latinos throughout the United States. In 1972 and 1974 (at ages 30 and 32), he was Texas gubernatorial candidate for the La Raza Unida Party (RUP), established to help Mexican Americans achieve greater economic, social, and political self-determination, especially in South Texas, where, though a majority in many counties and locales, they held little or no power.

Read Full Report by Stephen Lendman | Context: Political Prisoners in America | freeramsey.com

Greg Koger was found guilty on three misdemeanor counts by a jury on Thursday, August 26, 2010. Charges against him were pressed by the so-called Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago and carried out by the Skokie police and a Cook County State's Attorney. After he was found guilty following a three-day trial, a judge immediately revoked his bond and sent him directly to the Cook County jail where he spent last night.

I met Greg in 2005 through the UC-IMC Books to Prisoners program. Greg was then an inmate in Pontiac Correctional Center and we became pen pals. In December 2006, Greg was released and has since lived in Chicago and held a job as a paralegal working for an attorney.

To hear of Greg's re-incarceration is crushing. Greg is no harm to society. His jailing is another sign of a cruel and inhumane criminal in-justice system.

Below is a statement from the Ad Hoc Committee for Reason and Dropping the Charges in support of Greg.

BD

The Cuban Five are five Cuban men who are in U.S. prison, serving four life sentences and 75 years collectively, after being wrongly convicted in U.S. federal court in Miami, on June 8, 2001. Audio

By Angola 3 News

Focusing on the prison abolitionist movement, we interview two co-editors of an exciting new series at Daily Kos, called Criminal InJustice Kos, a weekly series "devoted to exploring the myths of 'crime', 'criminals', and criminal justice and the intersection of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, age and disability in policing and punishment. Criminal Injustice Kos is committed to furthering action towards reducing inequity in the US criminal justice system." Look for Criminal InJustice Kos every Wednesday at 6 pm CST.

Here, in the second part of our interview, we focus on the practicality of prison abolition and look at alternatives to the US prison system. Read part one here.  

(Co-editor and  Twin Cities local Nancy Heitzeg is an activist educator and Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the interdisciplinary Critical Studies of Race/Ethnicity program at Saint Catherine University.)

read more

The Civil Liberties Defense Center has been at the front line defending several Green Scare political prisoners and was key in winning the early release of prisoners such as Jeff "Free" Luers.
The CLDC provided free legal representation to over 35 people arrested for civil disobedience - 30 were acquitted. Represented over 80 environmental, animal and social rights nonviolent civil disobedience protesters in 2006 alone among other victories. Come out and show your support for the CDLC!

*Becky White- Rootsy Folk Punk Devotional Music*
*Tre Arrow- Musician and Former Eco Political Prisoner*
*Jeff "Free" Luers- Former Eco Political Prisoner*
*Dapper Cadavers- Local Portland Folk*
*Mic Crenshaw- MC and Poet*
*Bobby Joe Ebola and the Children MacNuggits- Bay Area Acoustic Duo
*Holy! Holy! Holy!- A Dancing Gypsy Crazy Hazah
**And late night Interspecies DJ Dance Party*

*Where:* Autonomy 316 NW 4th Portland, Oregon 97209
**Generous donations taken at door and all night!!*
*Contact:*  oregonjericho@gmail.com (503)-750-0523

[** PDX Event Date: Sat August 14 2010]
[Eugene Event Date: Thurs August 12 2010]

August 2, 2010 Yeadon, PA — At a PA House Judiciary Committee hearing, former prisoners testified about rampant abuse and mental cruelty inside PA's solitary confinement units.

Fuck ICE writes: On Friday evening, August 6, we gathered outside the Santa Cruz County Jail to demonstrate our solidarity with the people locked up inside and express our hatred of imprisonment. About 30-40 of us stood in the middle of Blaine Street, next to both the main County Jail (where 336 people are locked up) and the Women's Facility (21 people). We banged on drums made from 55-gallon barrels with the intention of creating as much noise as possible to breach the prison walls.

A group of friends and supporters of Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal delivered a petition of 150 signatures to the Iranian Interests Section of the Embassy of Pakistan [on August 3rd] in Washington, DC calling for their immediate release. They also delivered a letter signed by scholars and journalists opposing U.S. aggression toward Iran and appealing to both governments to refrain from using Shane, Sarah and Josh as political leverage. Read More | freeourfriends.eu | freethehikers.org

From the newswire: "Puerto Rican political prisoner Carlos Alberto Torres, who was imprisoned three decades ago for his work in support of Puerto Rican independence, was paroled from federal prison in Pekin, Illinois on Monday, July 26, and returned briefly to Chicago to a hero's welcome before his planned move to permanently relocate to Puerto Rico. Spending 30 years behind bars for supporting Puerto Rican independence, he is the longest serving political prisoner in the history of Puerto Rico.

"Chicago’s Puerto Rican residents held a community celebration with Carlos to mark his return on Monday from 4-6PM at La Casita de Don Pedro Community Garden, 2625 W. Division St., Chicago. Hundreds of community residents and supporters attended the event. 'We are thrilled that he’s finally free,' said his sister Norma Torres. 'So many people of conscience have fought for years to win Carlos’ freedom – and that of all the Puerto Rican political prisoners. Now we need to bring Oscar home.'" Read more

Since 2007, local Boston journalist Michael Richardson has been writing a series of articles about Ed Poindexter and Mondo we Langa, who are two Black Panther political prisoners known as the Omaha Two. Richardson argues that they were framed for the 1970 murder of a policeman as part of the FBI’s notorious counterintelligence program, dubbed “COINTELPRO.”

Illustrating this program’s intent, a March 3, 1968 COINTELPRO memo discussed the need to stop "the beginning of a true black revolution," and to "prevent the rise of a 'messiah' who could unify, and electrify, the militant black nationalist movement… Through counterintelligence it should be possible to pinpoint potential troublemakers and neutralize them." Another stated goal was "to prevent the long-range growth of militant black nationalist organizations, especially among youth. Specific tactics to prevent these groups from converting young people must be developed." Read More by Angola 3 News

Related: Carl Hampton Lives! Commemoration of 40th anniversary of Carl's assassination

by Thorne Dreyer, from The Rag Blog: Poet and political prisoner Marilyn Buck has been released from a prison hospital in Texas after serving 25 years of an 80-year sentence for crimes related to her actions in support of the black liberation movement. Buck was diagnosed with uterine cancer last December, and that cancer is no longer considered treatable. Buck, who grew up in Austin, became a widely acclaimed and award-winning poet while incarcerated. She has been paroled to New York City.

Marilyn Buck was born in Temple, Texas, but grew up in Austin where her father, the late Louis Buck, was an Episcopal priest and a civil rights activist who was removed from his ministry after he desegregated his congregation. As a student at the University of Texas she became involved in civil rights organizing and in the movement against the war in Vietnam. She was active with the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and worked with Austin’s underground newspaper, The Rag... Read full article | Friends of Marilyn Buck

Lynne's shocking resentencing