Amnesty International Denounces Torture in California Prisons --Interview w/ Tessa Murphy (tags)
2 weeks after the release of Amnesty Intl’s new report on the use of prolonged solitary confinement inside California’s ‘Security Housing Units’ (SHUs), entitled "The Edge of Endurance," prisoners initiated another hunger strike, with 500 participants statewide. In this new interview, Tessa Murphy speaks about her visit to California SHUs and Amnesty's report based on the visit.
Do US Prisons Violate European Human Rights Law? --Interview w/ Hamja Ahsan & Aviva Stahl (tags)
An important ruling is expected early in September from the European Court of Human Rights, regarding whether or not US prisons respect human rights enough for the UK to extradite ‘war on terror' suspects to the US. We interview activist/journalist Aviva Stahl from CagePrisoners.com alongside Hamja Ahsan, the brother of Talha Ahsan, one of the appellants that will be seriously affected by the September ruling, imprisoned since 2006.
Will Jerry Brown Close Pelican Bay Prison? (tags)
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown is under a federal mandate to release thousands of prisoners from California's overcrowded concentration camp-prisons. Abolishing the entire prison-punishment system and the death penalty would be best, replacing it with job training for decent-paying jobs in one year for those under 50 and lifetime good pensions for those over 50. He could start by closing Pelican Bay Prison, a vicious hellhole that would make Hitler proud.