Kite Line

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to change life on the outside for people all over the world, the prison population stands to suffer immensely in these times. Last week, we spoke to someone in Italy, who described the riots and protests inside and outside the prisons in areas around that country. This week, we are sharing messages from people all over the United States and elsewhere through our coronavirus hotline.

We currently have a dedicated line where prisoners, their loved ones, and their supporters can call and record a message. As word leaks out from inside the prison walls, we want to share with you what’s happening to folks on the inside.

Please call (765) 343-6236 if you have information on the spread of coronavirus within a prison facility, or what the prison authorities are doing (or not doing) to address this crisis. When at all possible, we will have someone available to answer the phone directly in order to more easily facilitate prisoners being able to call in to share their stories.

The entire country of Italy is now a “red zone,” not quite quarantined, but facing serious restrictions to movement and public gathering due to the coronavirus. Prisoners were told that they would lose all family visitation, even though the Justice Ministry was not taking any other steps to offer them medical care or prevent transmission in crowded conditions.  In response, prisoners in at least 27 facilities revolted across Italy earlier this week, the most serious insurrection in the history of the country’s prison system.

This week, we speak with a resident of one of Rome’s working class neighborhoods, who is involved in the solidarity movement supporting the prisoners’ struggle.  He discusses the prisoners’ demands for medical care, preventative measures, and a general pardon so that they are not left inside to “die like rats.”  He also discusses the new practices of coordination with prisoners, family members, and comrades on the outside, which are demanded by the rapidly-changing situation. We will continue to share information about COVID-19 within the world’s prison population as it develops.

This week, we return to the Breakaway Recovery House to share a conversation between Micol Seigel and four of the women who lived there: Hillary, Janet, Britney, and Kelsey. All four women interviewed have been on electronic monitoring at some point. They tell stories about their experiences under e-carceration, and the problems they suffered. From high costs, to repeated malfunctions, to the stigma and the need for an adequate support system, these women all have issues with e-carceration as a form of punishment. We shared stories from other women from Breakaway last fall, and now we return, with Micol asking about the end of their time with electronic monitoring and the struggles they faced.

The Indiana legislature is currently debating SB 449, which would expand the range of situations that would send children to adult court and adult prison.  As of 2017-2018, 69% of the cases where children were sent to adult court involved African American youth.  Under the proposed bill, children as young as twelve could be sent to adult prisons for certain felonies.

This week, we feature an interview conducted by IDOC Watch with Abu Faheem Shabazz and Landis Reynolds, two Indiana prisoners who were themselves subject to childhood sentencing as adults.  They reveal the high stakes and potential damage for children implied by SB 449’s drive to harshly criminalize even pre-teens.

This week, we focus on the history of police in the United States, and the concept of community policing. Alex Vitale, author of the new book, “The End of Policing” shares his research about the origins of modern police, and the inadequate ways that police respond to community issues. Prison abolition often focuses primarily on the prisons themselves, rather than the ways in which policing itself is a major factor in mass incarceration. Along with Vitale’s insights, we recommend our previous episodes with Kristian Williams and Max Felker-Kantor to further explore how police methods fuel the problem of mass incarceration, and often exacerbate the community problems they aim to solve.

You can hear those previous episodes on policing here and here.