#prison brutality

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“‘CAN'T STRAP ME NOW', DYING PRISONER CRIES,” Toronto Star. February 2, 1933. Page 5.  ---- Frank Smith, Burwash Inmate, Feared Return to Bull Gang as Life Ebbed ---- STARTLING EVIDENCE --- Investigation Into Conditions at Northern Ontario Reformatory Continues  ---- "Are they going to put me in the bull gang again? Are they going to beat me - again?" were the delirious questions of Frank Smith, Burwash farm inmate, the night he lay dying from broncho-pneumonia in the hospital on July 12, a fellow-prisoner insisted yesterday afternoon at the investigation now proceeding into charges of cruelty toward Smith. 

"You can't strap me any more, I'm dying." had been his protest to Sergeant Vincent two days after the sergeant had strapped him and, according to Wm. Rhoades. another prisoner. had kicked him and twisted. Catching sight of Smith in his upper berth, the sergeant had asked: What are you doing up there? Do you want some more of what I gave you?" 

Evidence that cough medicine was taken down by the prison doctor to Smith even when he was put in "the hole" for ten days in his nightshirt, with four blankets, to sleep on the cement floor and subsist on bread and water in his weakened condition, was also brought out by Frank Regan. 

Mr. Regan, representing Walter Lasher, former Burwash inmate orderly [pictured bottom left] emphasized the fact that Dr. Wm. Mosley, prison doctor at the time of Smith's admission to Burwash. had set down on his report that the man had "marked chronic bronchitis with sibilant and sonorous sounds in the chest." His description of Smith on this same sheet of paper was "well nourished." In two weeks something had happened for the doc- tor to note that Smith's condition was now "undernourished." What caused the change in such a short time was a question Mr. Regan repeatedly asked without any definite answers. 

Ignored Doctors As another illustration of what he contended was the way the doctor's orders were disobeyed by Sergeant Vincent: 

"Four weeks exactly after my operation for appendicitis, the doctor said I wasn't to do any work outside. If I worked it was to be. just around the dormitory. But for complaining about the food the sergeant ordered me right out to work." 

"Sergt. Vincent told Dr. Gunn I was persistent malingerer, and lazy, and had no temperature. 'Let me see that thermometer, demanded the doctor. "Why, this man has a temperature of 101 and should be in the hospital." the doctor said," witness testified. He gave him a thorough examination and had him sent to Sudbury for an appendicitis operation. 

"Smith was yellowish looking when he came out of the cell," this prisoner declared, 

"Would it be fair to say that Smith was on a hunger strike in the cells when he didn't eat?" asked Mr. Sedgwick. "No." he replied. 

The doctor had brought down medicine for Smith and this prisoner. some cough medicine for Smith, and salts for both of them. They used some of the salts on black fly bites, but it didn't work. 

The sergeant, seeing all of Smith's bread piled up said. "there's no use. my bringing bread down for you, if you won eat it." "Give it to S -  (the other prisoner). I don't want it." Smith said, according to this prisoner. 

Smith's Last Hours "I was also beside Smith on the night he died." said this prisoner. "I was waiting for the train to go to Sudbury for my operation. Lasher looked at his watch; it was about twenty minutes after four. Lasher rang the emergency bell." 

This prisoner gave a vivid account of Smith's last hours. He saw Dr. Gunn in the hospital put on an apron and rubber gloves and went over to him between nine and ten. The doctor left about 10.30. 

In the night, according to this prisoner's story. Smith was delirious. He called out once: "Are they going to put me in the bull gang again?" Another time he asked: "Are they going to beat me again?" At one time he wanted to get up. "You can't get up for a few days yet?" Lasher told him. Another time Hayes, the second orderly, gave him a drink. "He was breathing like a steam engine. You couldn't sleep listening to it." said this witness. 

From Lasher's affidavit Mr. Sedgewick read a charge that Dr. Gunn had been neglectful and had not bothered with the dying man, say in: "Do what you like with that bird. To h ---  with him!" 

The witness had not overheard such a remark and had seen the doc- tor attending to Smith before 10 p.m. Another charge read by the examining solicitor from Lasher's affidavit. was that Dr. Gunn had made no examination of Smith's dead body.

"You think that Smith was given good treatment?" 

"Yes, in the hospital, but before. his last illness. I certainly don't." 

Witness insisted Smith had asked for cornflakes about 4 o'clock on the morning he died and Lasher had got them for him. 

"I don't think such a thing is done in a civilized country," said Mr. Regan.

"Certainly, the autopsy will show that," declared the witness. 

The investigation is proceeding to-day at the parliament buildings. It is open only to ex-inmates who wish to give evidence regarding Smith's death and members of the press. 

W. R. Jones, a former Toronto policeman, had hardly given a statement to the investigators that Smith had been a malingerer and had eaten soap balls than he was faced by a second statement he acknowledged he had written and smuggled out of the Don jail in November in which he stated Smith had been cruelly treated by the Burwash officials. In this missive he also stated that he had been transferred from Burwash to the Don jail because he had complained to Superintendent Oliver of the abuse Smith had received, and had not been allowed to communicate with the outside world ever since. Jones said he had been suffering from a disordered mind when he wrote his first charges at the jail. The second charges to-day were right, and in these he claimed Smith had taken soap pills. 

The prisoners were making plans to make a protest to the superintendent, Jones said. He went to the superintendent and told him. The superintendent, he said, talked the matter over with him frankly. 

Overstepped Mark He stated further that when he went to see Superintendent Oliver, the prison camp head had said that Sergt. Vincent, "had overstepped the mark by laying hands on Smith." 

"You haven't been talking to any officers of the attorney-general's department, have you?" Mr. Sedgwick asked witness. "Certainly not." 

After a vivid account of what happens to a man when he takes soap pills, Jones was asked for more details... 

"Did you ever see a mad dog?" he asked. "No." replied Mr. Regan. "But I've seen many people who resembled them." 

"But this witness never had the symptoms." suggested Mr. Regan, pointing out that Smith had the opposite symptoms. He never had temperature. one of the main symptoms, instead his temperature was subnormal. 

Smith attended sick parade almost every day, and his temperature as proved by the book was normal.

[theconcealedweapon]

And who enforces this? Is it just a few bad apples, or is it all cops?

How hard is it for them to find cops willing to enforce this? Do they have to sift through hundreds of heroic cops who refuse until they find the one cop who's monstrous enough to enforce this, or do they easily find cops willing to enforce this because monstrous cops are everywhere and being a monster is part of the job?

"All cops are bad" is not a stereotype. It's literally a requirement for the job that every single one knew about.

[sunderwight]

A fun prospect for Superhero-themed SV AU's that I don't often see is genre dissonance. Like, Luo Binghe as this edgy 90's style antihero who just straight up kills his enemies and sleeps around and is driven by selfish motives (revenge, ambition, etc) rather than altruistic morality, vs Shen Qingqiu as this kid-friendly supervillain who is "evil" mostly in terms of aesthetics and his ability to make inconvenient problems that are reasonably safe for child heroes to solve. Something like Punisher vs Team Rocket in terms of vibes.

Maybe the reason they meet is because some big publishing house akin to Marvel or DC just bought up the rights to whole bunch of older, discontinued comics titles, and decided to do a Justice League/Avengers style mash-up with a bunch of nostalgia properties and their most recognizable heroes and villains. Which means lots of crossovers condensing several titles into a handful of series.

Luo Binghe's origin always features him as a teenager, so he reboots as the youngest Avenger-equivalent team member in the new continuity. Even in this reboot, however, the writers still mostly go the gritty and dark route with his plots and stick to the same key developments -- his abandonment as an infant, his adoptive mother's tragic death, his tough life on the streets, abusive mentors and backstabbing "allies", and so on.

But Luo Binghe's life suddenly starts experiencing periods of dramatic change in his life when he's brought in for appearances in the lighter, friendlier world of the Junior Heroes continuity. After all, he's a natural choice for tying the two continuities together thanks to his youthfulness. Luo Binghe isn't consciously aware of the fact that he's moving between different titles and different writers. All he knows is that sometimes, when he hangs out with the bright and talented Ning Yingying, he's drawn into "conflicts" with Shen Qingqiu -- the kind of "villain" who will call for tea breaks, never actually hits anyone when he shoots his ray gun, leaves clues for all of his crimes, and can't seem to stop from imparting genuinely helpful advice in between his witty quips and taunts.

When Luo Binghe fights Shen Qingqiu, somehow he never actually gets hurt. Neither do any of his friends. The world in general seems brighter and lighter, as if there is some secret barrier protecting everyone from all the evils Binghe knows only too well exist in the rest of his life. Luo Binghe is increasingly convinced that Shen Qingqiu is the source of this mystical safety net. After all, for an allegedly powerful genius who is able to fool half the world about his wicked aims, he's never won a single fight against a kindhearted but somewhat ditzy teenager and her ragtag bunch of friends!

So what's he spending his actual energy on?

Luo Binghe is pretty sure it's keeping the real evils at bay. Making himself the biggest bad in town, and in doing that, making it so that the "biggest bad" is nothing worse than a slightly judgmental teacher in a pretty costume.

It's not long before Luo Binghe doesn't want to go back to the Justice League equivalent, to his world of misery and strife, even after his visits with Ning Yingying are supposed to be over. Especially as the global stakes of various heroic activities start getting higher, and it becomes clear that the boundary between Shen Qingqiu's safe world and the grimdark reality of Binghe's usual life are getting thinner...

[queerism1969]

[audhdnight]

Spanking is to parenting what prisons are to criminal justice. Allow me to elaborate:

What does spanking do? “It teaches kids to behave!” Actually, no. It teaches kids to fear their caregiver(s). But say we go with that line. How does spanking teach kids to behave? “It shows them the consequences of bad actions!” Actually, no. It shows kids that when the caregiver is displeased, the kid gets hurt. In the mind of the child, the sequence of events is not [misbehave:consequence]. It is [caregiver unhappy:pain]. And maybe you’ll say “But my kid stopped mouthing off after I started spanking them for it”. Okay, sure. Maybe they stopped responding when you argue, but only because the learned to fear what their response would bring. They’re not holding their tongue because they realized it’s disrespectful or rude or whatever else you believe it is. They’re holding their tongue because they know it won’t do any good and will only make the situation worse for them. I can guarantee they are still thinking all those rebellious naughty talk-backy thoughts. They just aren’t saying them out loud. Spanking did not teach your child to behave, it taught them to walk on eggshells.

Similarly, prisons do absolutely nothing to enforce laws. Prisons do nothing to fix the real crimes that do get committed. A shooter or rapist or embezzler being incarcerated does not bring their victim back to life, un-traumatize them, or make reparations for any damages. Additionally, it makes life a living hell for the innocent people who end up in jail (OF WHICH THERE ARE A HELL OF A LOT). And maybe you might say that the point of prison is to encourage good behavior, because no one wants to go to jail. I would ask, then, why there are so many prisons, of which so many are full or overcrowded. Clearly, the threat of incarceration is not keeping people out of jail. Additionally, much like a child who was spanked being afraid to do normal things in their own home for fear of displeasing their caregiver, regular non-criminal people are afraid of prison, even though they have done nothing wrong. They know they could be incarcerated because of falsified evidence, biased testimonies, unfair trial, or simply bigotry. Especially people of color. Even though they haven’t done anything wrong, they are scared of what could happen to them if the person in power (police) was unhappy with them.

Negative consequences unrelated to the actual incident do not discourage “bad behavior”. Just like a child who is spanked will simply learn to be sneakier, a thief who goes to jail will simply cover their tracks better next time.

Stop spanking your kids, and abolish prisons. Have a nice day.

[reasonsforhope]

"The New York City Council voted to ban most uses of solitary confinement in city jails Wednesday [December 20, 2023], passing the measure with enough votes to override a veto from Mayor Eric Adams.

The measure would ban the use of solitary confinement beyond four hours and during certain emergencies. That four hour period would be for "de-escalation" in situations where a detainee has caused someone else physical harm or risks doing so. The resolution would also require the city's jails to allow every person detained to spend at least 14 hours outside of their cells each day.

The bill, which had 38 co-sponsors, was passed 39 to 7. It will now go to the mayor, who can sign the bill or veto it within 30 days. If Mayor Adams vetoes the bill, it will get sent back to the council, which can override the veto with a vote from two-thirds of the members. The 39 votes for the bill today make up 76% of the 51-member council. At a press conference ahead of the vote today [December 20, 2023], Council speaker Adrienne Adams indicated the council would seek [a veto] override if necessary.

For his part, Mayor Adams has signaled he is indeed considering vetoing the bill...

The United Nations has said solitary confinement can amount to torture, and multiple studies suggest its use can have serious consequences on a person's physical and mental health, including an increased risk of PTSD, dying by suicide, and having high blood pressure.

One 2019 study found people who had spent time in solitary confinement in prison were more likely to die in the first year after their release than people who had not spent time in solitary confinement. They were especially likely to die from suicide, homicide and opioid overdose.

Black and Hispanic men have been found to be overrepresented among those placed in solitary confinement – as have gay, lesbian and bisexual people.

The resolution in New York comes amid scrutiny over deaths in the jail complex on Rikers Island. Last month, the federal government joined efforts to wrest control of the facility from the mayor, and give it to an outside authority.

In August 2021, 25-year-old Brandon Rodriguez died while in solitary confinement at Rikers. He had been in pre-trial detention at the jail for less than a week. His mother, Tamara Carter, says his death was ruled a suicide and that he was in a mental health crisis at the time of his confinement.

"I know for Brandon, he should have been put in the infirmary. He should have been seeing a psychiatrist. He should have been being watched," she said.

She says the passage of the bill feels like a form of justice for her.

"Brandon wasn't nothing. He was my son. He was an uncle. A brother. A grandson. And he's very, very missed," she told NPR. "I couldn't save my son. But if I joined this fight, maybe I could save somebody else's son." ...

New York City is not the first U.S. city to limit the use of solitary confinement in its jails, though it is the largest. In 2021, voters in Pennsylvania's Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, passed a measure to restrict solitary confinement except in cases of lockdowns and emergencies. The sheriff in Illinois' Cook County, which includes Chicago, has said the Cook County jail – one of the country's largest – has also stopped using solitary confinement...

Naila Awan, the interim co-director of policy at the New York Civil Liberties Union, says that New York making this change could have larger influence across the country.

"As folks look at what New York has done, other larger jails that are not quite the size of Rikers will be able to say, 'If New York City is able to do this, then we too can implement similar programs here, that it's within our capacity and capabilities," Awan says. "And to the extent that we are able to get this implemented and folks see the success, I think we could see a real shift in the way that individuals are treated behind bars.""

-via NPR, December 20, 2023

[hussyknee]

Rundown of the current protests, rioting and state crackdown that have erupted in France over the police murder of a 17 year old brown boy.

I've seen way too many Europeans on here insisting ACAB is just a USAmerican thing. It's really important y'all know that it isn't. Cops as an institution is fundamentally fascist, and in the Global North, white supremacist.

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Rest in power baby boy.

*Correction: Nahel wasn't Black, but Maghrebi (of North African descent). Apologies for the mistake.

[brw]

"but hamas is getting funded by extremist islamic hate groups!" do you think the U.S. government and military giving funding for israeli's war efforts against palestinians is a morally neutral and inherently righteous body that had no influence in the politics of southwest asia as a global colonial superpower. do you really think anything you can say about the people resisting oppression can't be said about the oppressors.

[kropotkindersurprise]

August 2024 - Kenya’s political elite is trying to criminalize protests. The government is currently considering a bill that would give the police official authority to ban and crush protests, imposing fines and jail sentences for protesters. Due to the recent uprising, the government was forced to scrap the Finance Bill, an IMF plan that would have significantly raised the cost of living. During the protests in June, more than 50 people were shot dead by the police and many more were abducted, with some people still missing. While the Finance Bill was officially scrapped, Kenya’s top court suspended the ruling that denounced the bill as unconstitutional. This has sparked fears amongst Kenyans that the government will try to implement the law again. Nevertheless, Kenyans have said they will take to the streets should such an event occur. [video]

[royalarchivist]

Foolish: Hey-lo everyone! I'm new around here. My name is Foolish. I'm tryin' to form a gang, I'm trying to form a gang-

Bagi: I'm in!

Foolish: We're gonna call ourselves "The Orange Peels." We're looking for someone tough-

Quackity: Sht name, but I'll do it.

Foolish: We're looking for smart people as well. If you're a dumbass, don't even bother applying.

Ironmouse: Why are you in it then? Why are you in it then?

Foolish: What do you mean?

Ironmouse: I mean, you said you want smart people, why are you there?

Foolish: Um, 'cuz I have a knife!

Ironmouse: Oh, you have a knife. You think I'm afraid of a frickin knife?

Foolish: I was hoping.

[pianokantzart]

A few quick drawings based on @keakruiser's penguin AU because... like... c'mon. Look at them. How can I not?

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“ASKED TO BE SENT TO PENITENTIARY,” Kingston Daily Standard. September 7, 1920. Page 9. ---- Magistrate Granted Request Of Four Escaped Prisoners From Burwash ---- Sudbury, Sept. 7. - Four escaped prisoners from Burwash begged Magistrate Brodie Saturday to send. them to Portsmouth Penitentiary instead of back to the Jail Farm. Their names were Fred Plewes, Frank Turner, James Richards and Frank Taylor. They alleged inhuman treatment. It was pointed out to them that if they were sent to Portsmouth Penitentiary it could not be for less than two years, but they insisted that this sentence be passed, declaring that they dreaded above all things being sent back to the farm. Taylor, Turner and Richards. escaped on August 31 and pleaded guilty. Plewes, the other prisoner, helped them escape by shoving aside. a guard, but did not make a get-away himself. When they were all sentenced to two years. in Portsmouth Penitentiary they thanked the magistrate warmly. Sergeant O'Leary, of Burwash, said that the treatment of the prisoners was left to the discretion of the warden, but did not think they had been as badly used as they alleged.

[Plewes was 31, married, a naturalized Canadian who came to Canada in infancy, and was covered in tattoos on both arms: the Stars and Stripes, the Union Jack, a maple leaf, his war record years (1914-1916, 1918), a wreath with cross, a victory sign, and the logo of the 81th Battalion. He was, obviously a returner soldier, and was a working electrician. He was convict #H-467 at Kingston Penitentiary and worked in the mail bags then later in the engineering gang. He testified to the 1920 RCMP investigation that he was involved in trafficking money and tobacco into Kingston penitentiary, and indicated several corrupt guards that helped him. He was released July 1922. He would come back twice to Kingston Penitentiary in 1926 and 1929, with the later case involving an escape from Whitby Jail.

Turner and Taylor were from Woodstock and Chatham, respectively. Both were Black Canadians who had come to Burwash as partners in crime. Turner was 18, and married, Taylor 20 and single. Turner was inmate #H-469 at Kingston Penitentiary and was released August 1922 Taylor was #H-470 and released. June 1922. Turner would come back in 1928 to the penitentiary. Richards was a friend, an English immigrant who lived in Chatham. He was convict #H-472 and was released May 1922. - he would be recommitted with Turner in 1928.]

[theconcealedweapon]

Also, some people think the government is secretly corrupt when they're openly allowing the police to get away with murder and passing laws against victimless actions in order to fill prisons so corporations can profit off of the resulting slave labor.

[arthropodboy]

Free LaKeith Smith

Vice's Documentary About LaKeith:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFjFze39Dcc

(would not let me embed because it is age restricted)

Link to LaKeith Smith's Gofundme:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-me-bring-my-son-lakeith-home?utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet&utm_content=undefined&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer&utm_term=undefined In 2015, LaKeith Smith was charged for the murder of his friend A'Donte Washington, who was shot by a police officer. LaKeith was 15, and charged as an adult. He was sentenced to 55 years, for a crime he did not commit. For 8 years his family has been fighting to free him while he has grown from child, to adult in prison. During the 2020 George Floyd protests, they were able to hire a new attorney with the money raised from LaKeith's Change.org page.

On December 2nd, 2022, LaKeith will be attending a post conviction hearing. This may be the only chance he has to escape imprisonment for the rest of his life.

Please, watch Vice's documentary about LaKeith and A'Donte.

If you live in Alabama, please contact your DA, there is a pre-written email and link to the DA's email in the above link.

If you live anywhere else, please sign LaKeith's Change.org. That is in the above link as well.

LaKeith should be living his life right now, he should be spending time with his family and loved ones, he should not be behind bars. Please, help him.

UPDATE (2/12/2024)

On March 21 2023, Judge Sibley Reynolds re-sentenced LaKeith Smith to a total sentence of 30 years. Since then, his family and friends have been working relentlessly to free him.

Recently the Alabama attorney general's office agreed that judge Reynolds' order was confusing, misleading and hard to understand,

SO, WITHIN 30 DAYS OF JANUARY 23 2024 LAKEITH IS EXPECTED TO RECEIVE A COURT DATE FROM THE ALABAMA COURT OF APPEALS.

Please spread the word, LaKeith is so close to being able to live his life. Here is the official Free LaKeith Smith Instagram page which is run by his Mother and updated frequently:

https://www.instagram.com/justice4lakeithsmith/ Here is the linktree with ways you can help:

https://linktr.ee/freelakeith

[newsfromstolenland]

If your reaction to hearing calls to abolish the police and prisons is "but then who will protect people?", you're missing the point.

Cops and prisons exist to maintain white, colonial systems. They exist to keep power in the hands of the privileged.

They don't protect marginalized people, they persecute us. Maybe you're lucky enough to belong to one of the groups that police exist to protect (white people, the rich, etc.), but if you've been paying attention you should know that they only protect you because of your privilege.

So when you say "without police and prisons, who will protect people?", what you actually mean is "without police and prisons, who will protect privilege and the privileged while actively harming everyone else?"

When your instinct is to ask who will help people if not cops and prisons, you need to take a minute to reflect on why prisons and cops protect you in particular. And ask yourself if that protection is really worth the lives of the people of colour, disproportionately Black people, that police and prisons kill.

Because it shouldn't be worth it to you, and if it is then at least admit that you think your life is worth more than the lives of people of colour.

[trans-axolotl]

"Pictures drawn in blood link decades of legacies of people who have been imprisoned and tortured by Israeli guards. A hidden archive of poems, letters, drawings, and handmade objects—containing stories of resistance, messages of despair, and hope—amass behind prison walls. Throughout each resounds a pulsing call for freedom.

I asked my uncle about the first piece of art he produced. "It's not easy to handle where to start, but what I can tell is that Palestinian detainees inscribe their emotions and resist through crafts," he said.

Sometimes prisoners draw on handkerchiefs, or embroider different symbols of life and hope: broken chains, olive branches, white pigeons, Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Dome of the Rock.

Khader showed me what he painted in 1995 in the Asqalan prison as a gift to my mother because he couldn't celebrate her graduation with her. In the piece, a white pigeon holds a letter as it flies to Rafah—my uncle's city. The letter frame is colored blue and red.

"I always used blue in my art," Khader explained. "It reminds me of the blue, wide sky—the sky I couldn't feel for years in prison..."

With all this potential to create, if those detained were free, what creative inventions would they contribute to humanity? How many stories would be released?

"I think I produced more than 100 pieces [while detained]" Uncle Khader said with pride. 

Amazed and excited, I asked Khader to show me more handmade art. Suddenly, the conversation changed. His voice faded, his smile disappeared, and his eyes shrunk a little. The wrinkles of age and sorrow were clearly painted on his face.

"Israeli bulldozers entirely demolished our old home in 2004. You were only three years and don't remember. There, under the rubble, I lost all my photos, memories, and handicrafts —the ones I made and the ones my detained friends gifted me after release."

Israel chases Palestinian crafts inside and outside prison. They fear our art. They fear our memories."

-DIARIES OF BLOOD: The secret artists within Israeli detention facilities

by Eman Al-Astal