Prison Radio Audio Feed

This is, uh, Mr. Quincy Jones, um, uh, CC number BI9263. Of course, as of the officer abuse, November 10th, nurse Deseree made a medical report that did not show any of the significant injuries I have- that occurred when I was seen the next day by the pill call nurse when they, uh, sent me to A Yard, A5 to be exact. I was immediately seen by the RN who sent me immediately to San Joaquin Hospital within a matter of a couple of hours, um, uh, with these significant injuries, um, the very next day. So, uh, two sergeants come to see me, like I say, the very next day. And, um, they tell me, MB5, that if they're going to have the nurse do a second incident injury report. And after she's finished with that, they're immediately going to do a, um, they're going to conduct a use of force interview where they're going to use a camcorder, um, to record the injuries to my right eye and the severe injury to my left, uh, shin bone. So now I'm at the point where, um, the law firm RBGG, located in San Francisco, RBGG, they're

A Trial That Wasn't (1:24) Mumia Abu-Jamal

Dear controller of my days, I want to be you, earning the inalienable right to rule over the stooped women of waywardness. My desire is to have my polyester pants weighted down by the keys that secure each cell door. I wish to rule what's behind each one of them and have no clue to what key goes to what door. I want to laugh about that, with the captives, a dream of setting the tone at 6:00 AM for the offenders by refusing to answer simple questions, slamming doors, or glaring at them. My mood would make or break their day. I want your right. I'd feel enlivened having inmates clear a path for my presence without me uttering a word. Behind my booming voice, I would observe these same women keep lowered gazing while jerking, recoiling, and scurrying out of my way. Every day, I sit for many hours, but run to protect my power from the danger of a 90 pound, detoxing,  depressed female's fingernails. I want the constitutional right to look down on those that put themselves there. I want your innocence. I wish to sl

This is Bilal Abdul-Salam Bey at the Hudson Correctional Facility. This piece is about the Kansas freedom bill called Kansas' Healthcare, Education, Rehabilitation, and Re-entry Preparedness Bill Part 1. Section 1: be it enact a law that, by December  15th, 2021, Kansas Department of Corrections will reduce this prison population down to its designed capacity. Due to the ill effects of COVID-19 inside KDOC, prisoners who have the following health problems should be release from prison immediately: Bronchitis, TB, Asthma, HepC, HIV and Diabetes. Prisoners are more prone to get COVID-19 than others due to us being confined in closed spaces. We don't have enough room to practice social distancing. For these obvious reasons, the secretary of KDOC is ordered by this law to release no less than 100 prisoners per month per year beginning January 15th, 2021 until the prison population is reduced to its current designed capacity. Section 2: be it also enacted that a moratorium shall issue upon the passage of this bill

When Is A Trial Not A Trial? (1:58) Mumia Abu-Jamal

This is Mr. Quincy Jones. My, uh, CDCR number is B as in boy, I, as in Indio, 92603.  I am currently housed in CDCR New Folsom in California. I have recently been a victim of police brutality, actually correctional officer brutality. You have to be very specific about these titles, especially when you take into account all that's being done out there on the streets: the protesting and making a stand to say that this treatment of people of color must come to an end today. To see so many white people protesting the solidarity for the cause is very humbling to a person like Quincy Jones. Recently, as I was saying, I was a victim, November 10th at New Folsom on CR um, officer, uh, brutality. I was, uh, thrown to the ground while handcuffed on my right eye, and, um, I- I've suffered, uh, how severe trauma to my right eye. And I was also, um, according to San Joaquin Hospital in Stockton, California, they said I had a broken, left shin. Um, my, uh, my knee, my left leg injury is still, uh, you know, causing me a gr

I'm Heather Jarvis, and this is "People Not Pest." At 22, I was arrested and admitted into the masses of incarcerated in our country. I found my so-called [inaudible] bathroom with a burly female officer staring at my naked body, showed a five o'clock shadow, and a look that screamed, "Don't fuck with me." I was addicted, young, and scared, but back then, I still had an attitude that loved to challenge authority. So I shot back my best "Don't fuck with me either" look I could muster while standing completely bare. She nodded knowingly. Her intentions were to break me. "Hands up, shake out your hair, and lift one breast at a time," she said slowly. She got off on her dominance over me. I had no choice. She had the power. "Turn around and place your legs wide apart, bend over, touch your ankle." There was no compassion, no sympathetic gesture for me to cling to. She seemed to be an unfeeling cruel woman. Every defense I had was on high alert. My knees bent a little during my effort. I wasn't flexible. "You can

Sup everybody. It's Uptown Serg, and I got this piece that I want y'all to listen to. When I arrived at SCI Chester back in 2016, one of the very first elders I met and befriended was Tommy Pirant. He was a gentle giant in the seventies and walking with the aid of a cane. Prison conditions had destroyed both of his knees, eventually putting so much strain on his back that he needed multiple surgeries. When it got really bad, I forced Tommy to let me push him in his wheelchair as we both made our way to the medical department for our daily shots of insulin. See, like me, Tommy was a diabetic, but he had it under control. I remember getting a good laugh whenever I see this big old man walking around the unit with his tiny Chihuahua named Penny. Man he loved Penny, and Penny loved him. He treated that dog like family, but that's how Tommy was and everybody knew it. In fact, not long ago, he received a letter from the family of the person he was in prison for killing. They had forgiven them and wanted to know if

"Life." That word once meant living out my dreams, reaching goals I had sat back in my early childhood, such as starting a daycare center with my mom. When the judge [inaudible] it feels like you've been punched. It's so scary to think this could be it for me. When I meet other lifers, I look at them in awe: how do they stay so strong?  Sometime  I wonder if I can survive another day, another goodbye. My fate lies in the hands of strangers who only know me on paper. They don't know the real me or my story. At times I feel so alone. It's so terrifying, so very overwhelming. A lot of people have said, wow, I would have killed myself with that sentence. I hold on because not all hope is lost yet, that my family has been through a lot already. I couldn't be that selfish. If I could go back, I would have walked away when my grandfather, who wasn't a beggy man, all but begged me to come home. I should've gone. I feel guilty every single day. I believe stealing innocence is worse than stealing a life. I would like t

What I want people to know about me: I'm a mother, a sister, an aunt, but most of all, I'm a human being capable of feeling. My life has been filled with deep rejection. My chest has been broken over and over again by people who were supposed to keep me safe. I sometimes think of that word "safe" and what it means, and I've come to realize I've never known that feeling. I've lived the life filled with drug abuse to escape my reality of the life I was given, and I often ask myself what would my life have been like if I had been dealt a different hand, if I had had a mother who loved me, if I didn't come from a broken home? What did I do to deserve such a life filled with pain and heartache? The older I got, the more walls I put up, and the stronger I became. What I left behind is my son: the one good thing in my life, the one thing I was good at. I've often asked myself, am I a monster, an evil person? And this is what I came up with: no. I'm not evil. Yes, I'm worthy of God's love. So why am I not worthy of y

Hello my name is Elizabeth Anne Green. After 33 years of being in prison, I have learned to give back instead of hurting others. It is very sad that I had to come to prison to learn that I should not do drugs and not hurt others in order to get money. I have done many things to improve myself. These things include taking victim awareness, thinking for a change, and drug-related groups among others. I tried very hard to mentor other inmates coming to prison so they don't become like me, learning the hard way like I did. Each day, I try to improve my life [inaudible]. Being in a place like this can become very hard, but I fight to change way of thinking, so I will never have to repeat my past mistakes. Now, I just want to give back. I even earned my GED. Now I am a tutor, love learning and going. My name is Elizabeth Green, and I'm a life worthy of progress. Thank you. These commentaries are recorded by Noelle Hanrahan of Prison Radio.

"Solitary confinement." I must admit during my 12 years of incarceration since the age of 16, I haven't done much solitary confinement time in comparison to other fellow prisoners, so I didn't rush into writing on this topic. I've been to the hole many times, but not for long periods.What do you know? Weeks later, I went to the hole for battery resulting in a serious bodily injury. I received the projected 17-month [inaudible] term, but with good behavior I could do 6 months. So I did six months, and I just was released from the hole 3 days ago. If I had to sum it all up in one word, it would be "inhumane." This experience has changed me so much. In 4 days, I'll be 28 years old, but because of this whole experience, I feel much older and wiser. The gruesome habitat that I've resided in would drive an animal insane. Inside the housing unit alongside of us prisoners were pigeons who frequently flew in and outside the housing unit, even roosting and creating mess inside the buildings so the filth was obvious upo

This is Bilal Abdul-Salam Bey. also known  as Charley Hughes number 96576, a prisoner at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility. This concludes part four and five of the resolution for the Free Kansas movement. Part four: healthcare. Number one: health care insurance program. Therefore be it resolved that the Free Kansas movement call for health insurance to be provided for to all Kansans for costs of $5 per month and those that aren't able to afford it be awarded free coverage. Be it finally resolved that the Free Kansas movement will create a community treasury to pay for health insurance. Number two: healthcare clinics. Therefore be it resolved that the Free Kansas movement calls for health care clinics to provide care for residents free of charge. Be it finally resolved that the Free Kansas movement will train healthcare providers from our community to work in these clinics. Three: mental health for prisoners. Therefore be it resolved that the Free Kansas movement calls for proper treatment of prisoners who

Dennis McKethan, SCI phoenix in Pennsylvania. "Another Death by COVID." The day I learned that another friend from childhood who was imprisoned at SCI Phoenix has died from COVID. His name was Bruce Knaus. He was about 70 years old and a good human being. He had made commutation and was only waiting for Governor Wolf to sign a paper so he could leave. There are several prisoners who have made computation months ago, but still waiting on the governor to sign the papers. After over 40 something odd years, Bruce died while waiting to go home. He died from COVID. Pennsylvania talks a good talk, but they are not letting any state prisoners out due to COVID. Most elderly prisoners are in the state prison, not the county. And if you say it is limited to nonviolent offenders, then that would exclude all the elderly prisoners in the state prisons who have been in prison over 20 years. Because even if no violence happened in their crime, meaning no injury, the time itself under law is labeled violent. So a drug dealer

This is Bilal Abdul-Salam Bey also known as Charley Hughes, number 96576, inmate at Hudson Correctional Facility here in Hudson, Kansas. As you all know, this piece is about resolutions being passed here in Kansas through the Free Kansas movement. This is second part to the first resolution. This part will be on economic development. Number one: to force full employment for all people. Therefore be it resolved that the Free Kansas movement will build businesses in our communities to ensure that our residents who are able and willing to work will have full employment. Be it finally resolved that the Free Kansas movement will provide workforce centers to give our residents training and work skills so they can perform their jobs to the best of their abilities. Number two: supports the building of institutions that benefit the community. Therefore be it resolved that the Free Kansas movement pushes for the building of institutions that will benefit the residents and not the government. Be it finally resolved that

My name is Karim Charles Diggs. I'm calling from SCI Phoenix, Pennsylvania, and the title of my subject is "COVID-19 and Reconstruction." A cure for all our diseases, including COVID-19, [inaudible] may very well be found in the period of Reconstruction. COVID-19 has inspired the medical community to produce several vaccines. The vaccines will perform a number of miracles. First it may prevent cured persons from catching COVID. Secondly it will cure some persons once they have the virus. There was a possibility that others will be unable to benefit from the vaccine because of underlying illnesses. You would think with the numerous corporations developing vaccines, that federal, judicial, police, prison, and medical officials would ensure that the millions of persons that stayed in federal prisons would be on the first list of receiving vaccines because of  our unique and cruel circumstances. There should have been a national network to deal with the citizens who are most likely to catch the disease from those

THE AMERICAN WAY OF FASCISM[col. Writ. 1/30/21 (c) ’21 Mumia Abu-Jamal] Look at the crowds savaging the walls and halls of the U.S. Capitol.Who are they? Where did this mob come from? Well over a decade ago, an American journalist saw them and wrote about them. Chris Hedges, who once wrote for the New York Times as foreign correspondent covering wars, famine and fallen states, published a rather remarkable book in 2006 entitled American Fascists. It’s subtitle: The Christian Right and the War on America. Tracing this American religious strain from 16th-century Calvinism in Europe, Hedges goes deeper, and examines this movements inner motivations. Hedges explains: The movement is fueled by the fear of powerful external and internal enemies whose duplicity and cunning is currently at work.  These phantom enemies serve to keep believers afraid and it is a heightened state of alert, ready to support repressive measures against all who do not embrace the movement. (Hedges 29) When neoliberalism rose to power int ‘

My name is Heather Jarvis. I'm calling from Marysville, Ohio at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. This is called “Dear State of Ohio." Dear state of Ohio, everything inside me wants to scream, cry and bang my head off the bricks I'm trapped inside. Why don't you see me? I'm a person. I'm a mother, a daughter, and a sibling. I'm more than the number 93371. There have always been a lot of things on the other side of the fence waiting for me: a family, a steak dinner, a shower without shoes, a loved one's sentimental touch, but most importantly, a future. That is what has always got me through, knowing this isn't where it ends. But now it's different, things have changed. Life is rearranged. It's a pandemic of sickness, fear, and a profound reference of the unknown called COVID-19. It hardly helps the good people of Ohio who are themselves coping with the pandemic to release the violent offenders into their midst during this crucial time was their response to my early release. I screamed inside my head reading the

Hey, this is Taylor Conley here. I'm currently incarcerated in Washington state prison, and I'm serving life without possibility of parole. I'm also the host of "Life of a Lifer" podcast. So if you'd like to reach me or hit me up or find out more about me, you can find me on lifeofalifer.com and there's all the information about me. I'd just like to tell you a little bit about myself and introduce who I am and what I'm about. I decided I wasn't going to let this life sentence determine the outcome of my existence. Regardless of my past, I was locked up at the age of 20 in 2006. You know, my life was kind of over before it even started. Shortly before that, I was at a place called Tranquility Bay, which is a behavioral modification program that was located in Jamaica. Came back from there at the age of 16. And basically right after that, I was out on the streets. That experience was quite traumatic in it. There was a lot of abuse that took place there and it had lasting effects that I didn't deal with well, an

Resolutions For The Free Kansas Movement (5:23) Balil "Charlie Hughes" Bey