Filter Commentaries
Fake News and Dirty Game
Dontie Mitchell
“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,… Full Transcript
A Smarter Approach To Prison Abolition
Dontie Mitchell
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… Full Transcript
Now What?
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Now what?” After the U.S. House voted along party lines to impeach the U.S. President Donald Trump, headlines blared and pundits crowed about the news. But now what? It is all but certain that Trump… Full Transcript
Free Dontie Friday
Dontie Mitchell
I want to first thank all my family, friends and supporters for your participation in the Free Dontie Friday phone zaps to the governor’s office. With any luck, these weekly phone zaps will make the… Full Transcript
The Puzzle of Afghanistan
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“The Puzzle of Afghanistan.” The flag of the United States rustles in the dry wind of its bases in Afghanistan, but the bases are bereft of ideas on what to do except harass and humiliate… Full Transcript
The Cost Benefit of Support PA Senate Bill 942
Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall
“The Cost Benefit of Supporting Pennsylvania Senate Bill 942.” On November the 11th, 2019, Pennsylvania State Senator Sharif Street introduced Senate Bill 942 to help us finally get parole eligibility for our loved ones serving… Full Transcript
Silencing the Unique Collective Voices of Prisoners
Dontie Mitchell
“Silencing the Unique Collective Voice of Prisoners.” A decision and order dated December 5th, 2019, the United States Justice Court for the Northern District of New York dismissed several of my claims raised in my… Full Transcript
Nicholas Feliciano
Dontie Mitchell
“Nicholas Feliciano.” Nicholas Feliciano was my baby [inaudible]. I initiated him into UFD on June 22nd, 2019 here at Great Meadow Correctional Facility. He was a young Hispanic kid born May 7th, 2001. Having just… Full Transcript
The Commutation Process
Omar Askia Ali
“The Commutation Process.” The Pennsylvania commonwealth spends 40,000 a year per incarcerated person. According to the Secretary of Corrections, John Wetzel, the aging population has led to increase in the Department of Corrections’ medical calls.… Full Transcript
David Wade Continues to House Prisoners in Solitary
Keith Rogers
David Wade Correctional Center—located in Homer, Louisiana—continues to house prisoners in solitary confinement despite ongoing litigation. It was estimated in 2017 that over 87,000 prisoners across America are being held in solitary confinement. Despite the… Full Transcript
December in Chicago
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“December in Chicago.” It was an early morning in December, 1969. When a joint FBI-Chicago Police crew raided an apartment building ostensibly for weapons charges. In fact, they came to kill Fred Hampton, Chairman of… Full Transcript
Message for Cleveland
Mumia Abu-Jamal
Cleveland, how are you, sir? Uh, I’ve heard you come into some bad health recently. I can tell you that, uh, I’ve been through that in the last two or three years, but thank the… Full Transcript
Thanksgiving Must Die
Kerry “Shakaboona” Marshall
“Thanksgiving Must Die.” Every year, for what seems like an eternity, the bane of my existence appeared like a banshee in the night: Thanksgiving. Haunting me, taunting me, like some sort of curse upon my… Full Transcript
The Truth is More Insidious and Treacherous
Dontie Mitchell
The Truth is More Insidious and Treacherous.” For years the superintendent here at Great Meadow has presided over and condoned some of the worst prison violence in New York state. The Correctional Association of New… Full Transcript
So The Public Will Never Know
Dontie Mitchell
“So That the Public Never Knows.” I’m currently litigating in federal court, three civil rights lawsuits on my own because I get no help from any of these so called prison legal services, organizations that… Full Transcript
Homage to Howard (For Howard Zinn Book Fair 12/08/19)
Mumia Abu-Jamal
“Homage to Howard.” Years before we worked together, my co-author Steven Vittoria and I talked about Howard and his masterpiece, The People’s History of the United States. We both were admirers of Howard, and we… Full Transcript
Change is Coming
Omar Askia Ali
In this Pennsylvania state prison system, there is an estimation of 5,000 people sentenced to prison. Most of those were men and women are African Americans. The balance of the 5,000 are poor whites and… Full Transcript
Leonard Peltier Thanksgiving Message 2019
Mumia Abu-Jamal
The year of 2019 is coming to a close and with it, comes the day most Americans set aside as a day for Thanksgiving. As I let my mind wander beyond the steel bars and… Full Transcript
Prison Abolition vs. Reform
Dontie Mitchell
“Prison Abolition Versus Prison Reform.” I recently was asked if I support the abolition of prisons or am I an advocate just for prison reform. My response was pretty unorthodox for a prisoner serving an… Full Transcript
“A Message to No New Jails NYC.” In September, New York city prison abolitionists organized the coalition known as No New Jails NYC. One of the group’s goals is to promote a vision of a… Full Transcript