Prison Radio Audio Feed

Adilson TRU Neves: My name is Adilson TRU Neves. I am 29 years old and been in prison since age 17, for the 2008 death of Mr. Edward Conley. I humbly extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends and community.  Restorative justice—restorative justice is defined as a way to do justice, to actively include the people impacted by the crime: victims, offenders, their family and communities. Whereas the criminal justice system views an offense as a crime against the state itself.  Howard Zehr, a pioneer of restorative justice, stated in a July 20th, 2015 article by Randi B. Hagi that the criminal justice system was ineffectively using punishment under the guise of accountability. When considering the felony murder rule and its application to a teenage offender, I am a live example of an ineffective use of punishment.  Recent scientific development says a teenager's brain is not fully developed until age 25. A teenager is more likely to act on impulsivity and rationale and is less likely to consider the con

Violence and hypocrisy: as American as apple pie. I was watching the house of managers giving their closing arguments during the impeachment trial. I couldn't help but sit and wonder about how corrupt our political system in this country really is. It is clear President Trump tried to get the Ukrainian president to launch phony investigations against Joe Biden and his son, in a effort to hurt Joe Biden's presidential campaign. Then on top of that, this clown of a president then obstructs Congress's lawful efforts to investigate his abuses of power in clear violation of the United States constitution. Well, why does none of this even remotely surprise me? Because this is America, despite all its rhetoric about democracy and freedom, this land is ruled by the dictatorship of demagogues, special interests, money, and hypocrisy. Let's take it back to what the United States government did to the Black Panther party and to the Black community in general, in the 1960s, seventies, and eighties. In that time, Black co

Trump in Triumph: New Wrongs Rise (2:06) Mumia Abu-Jamal

The truth and nothing but the truth. In an article in the Philadelphia Tribune, page nine eight, one ten twenty entitled: Tyler Perry Hides From Conviction Integrity Program. The reporters, Pamela Kirkman and Michelle Copper, write that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was unjustly incarcerated more than 29 times during his lifetime.And not once did any district attorney or any prosecutor make one step forward to assist Dr. King or to exonerate him. Prosecutorial neglect happens a great deal of times. Take for instance, the ex-Central Park Five, there was gross prosecutorial misconduct. However, the prosecutor, Linda Fairstein—who has faced sharp public criticism for her role in the Central Park Five rape case—she received 1000 to Senator Amy Klobuchar's presidential campaign. However, the [inaudible] contribution was returned after it drew press scrutiny, after the release of Netflix limited series, "When They See Us." The mini series dissected the story of the wrongfully conviction of five Black and Latino teenag

Good evening. This is Brother Khalfani Malik Khaldun calling in from Wabash Valley correctional Facility in Indiana. From the [depths/death] of Indiana political prisoner Brother Khalfani Malik Khaldun, press release 2020. After spending 20 straight years in solitary confinement, segregation and the Indiana department of corrections, I was released to general population on November the 21st, 2014. Here at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility, located in Indiana—Southern Indiana. That 20 years caused me to now suffer from chronic depression and a host of other psychological diagnosis. For six straight years, I have had no violence or major disturbances associated with me or my name. Since being released to general population, I have still experienced harassment and targeted cell searches. Primarily due to two lawsuits I have filed—and they're pending—against this prison plantation as we speak. For six months, I have maintained a prison sanitation job in the offender service building.On January the 22nd, I was t

Boom! That's the sound of a hydraulic cherry picker smashing through the side of a house. A house filled with men, women, children, and animals. (Imitates automatic rifle gunshot sounds.) Gunshots firing. Hundreds of rounds of ammunition and men, women, children, and animals. (Imitates water spraying sounds.) High pressure water cannons streaming, powering through the side of a house, through bricks, concrete and steel. Water cannons that are so powerful that they can shoot ten stories high, straight up into the air. Firemen are trained to never use deluge hoses on buildings that they know people are inside of. But these hoses were shot at a building filled with men, women, children, and animals. But how did things get to the point with MOVE, where one day—where witness assault is being waived on us? How did it get to that point? 'Cause it certainly didn't just happen where police just showed up to our house and started shooting and attacking people. It started out with very simple information. The system is

Australia: The Fire This Time (2:07) Mumia Abu-Jamal

Senate Trial (1:48) Mumia Abu-Jamal

Delbert Africa, Free! (2:51) Mumia Abu-Jamal

Sister Marpessa, A Griot Passes (2:49) Mumia Abu-Jamal

The Trump Trials (1:52) Mumia Abu-Jamal

A Podcast From Prison (2:18) Mumia Abu-Jamal

A Question of Leadership.  So, let me tell you all what I've been dealing with for the last week or so. I was finally allowed to run for the ILC, which is the Inmate Liaison Committee. The ILC are prisoners elected by the prison population to represent them through a monthly meeting with the facility administration, to discuss the concerns and problems of the entire prison population. Last year, I was outright denied the opportunity to run. So, I was surprised when I was allowed to run this year. Needless to say, I won the A block representation-ship by a landslide. It didn't take me long to see what the biggest problem here was at this facility. It's leadership. There's a lack of leadership on both sides, prisoners and staff.  Among prisoners there's a lot of finger pointing and skepticism. Elders have given up on the youth. I'm likely the only older prisoner who actively engages the youth. Those older prisoners who can make a difference are recluse, but prisoners can't be the blame for the problems because

#FreeDontieMitchell - More Clemency.  Once again, Governor Cuomo has passed me over for clemency, and many other deserving men and women who have more than paid their debt to society, but have been in prison excessively long. One wonders why Governor Cuomo launched his clemency initiative in 2017 to provide prisoners seeking clemency and opportunities to secure free legal services in connection with preparing clemency applications. What? Was it all just for the optics in the election years? Well, I'm not the one to be defeated. I've survived this long by being a fighter. I get knocked down or set back — sure, I get angry, even depressed at times — but I push on, ever forward, never backwards.  Governor Cuomo has broken his promise. He is ignoring hundreds of clemency applications submitted as a result of his clemency initiative. What kind of sick, twisted game is this? Getting people's hopes all up but, then dash them against the rock of indifference. We're real live human beings in here, Governor Cuomo, and

The title of this topic is The Justice System. In the Philadelphia Tribune, 11-24-19, page one, Mr. Maurice Hudson was jailed for being poor. Philadephia Supreme Court freed him, calling the sentence an "egregious error." In 1964, the former United States Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy states, "what has been demonstrated here is that usually only one factor determines whether defendants stay in jail before he or she comes to trial. That factor is not guilt or innocence. It is not the nature of the crime. It is not the character of the defendant. That factor is simply money. If not for his lawyer, Crystal Brooks from the Philadelphia Defenders Association and CNN analysis, Van Jones, who represents the reform Alliance. And State Representative Jordan Harris with lawyer from the ACLU, who all played a role in securing Mr. Hudson's release. He was still being incarcerated. Representative Harris said putting people back in prison simply because they cannot pay their court fines costs the taxpayer even more m

Empires of U.S. Idiots (3:35) Mumia Abu-Jamal

War Games (1:58) Mumia Abu-Jamal

My first name is Keontae, my last name is Stewart. My inmate number is A740345, and I am located at Toledo, Ohio Correctional Institution on 2001 East Central Avenue in Toledo, Ohio 43607. I am in contact with Prison Radio today. First of all, I would like to say happy new years to every one who's listening out there, and if there's any listening ears for anybody who cares to reach out or help in any type of way. I am someone who is transgender. I have experienced a lot of negativity within my incarceration. I am to pursue action for a list of things. [Failure?] for HRT. Use of force claims and things of that nature, things that I've experienced because of my (deep breath) sexuality. In a male predominant prison, I experienced a lot of different things. I would just like to put out there that I've experience a tremendous amount of mental distress from my solitary confinement and the things that I've went through. I've actually experienced suicide attempts. I've tried castration a number of times. And things o

A smarter approach to prison abolition. In my last commentary I reported on this new coalition of prison abolitionists called No New Jails NYC. They advocate a vision where incarceration is wiped from the American landscape. I wholeheartedly agree with this vision, but I differ in the approach. No New Jails advocates are reported as saying they have no plan to close New York's jails. Well, UFD and I do. What are the two main justifications for prison? The first is crime, and the second is recidivism. There- these are byproducts of white supremacy and classism as reflected in who ends up in prison and who ends up back in prison: poor people and people of color. As I've stated in my last commentary, white supremacy is perpetuated and reinforced by socioeconomic inequalities. So too is classism. Therefore, the best way to get jails and prisons closed down is to keep poor people and people of color out of them. The question was posed to me: what is UFD pushing for concretely? The answer to that is the social econ

"Fake News and a Dirty Game." I was watching the news for upstate New York when a report was aired about three correctional officers being injured by a prisoner at Greene Correctional Facility in Coxsackie, New York. I've been noticing this a lot in the past year. Upstate news agencies love to report on how correction offices are being attacked and injured by prisoners or how prison violence is up. What these biased news agencies have failed to report is how correctional officers are deliberately provoking most of these incidents. And how the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision has deliberately prevented prisoners from engaging in positive and constructive activities that cut down on prison violence. All this is happening in reaction to the successes of the prison reform/prison abolition movement. People are slowly beginning to realize how immoral and racist mass incarceration is and how wasteful and ineffective prisons are. This threatens a whole lot of jobs, raise the age, bai