Rattling The Bars The Real News Network

For decades, prisoners' rights advocates have called on the State of Maryland to address its flagrant discrimination against prisoners housed in the state's sole women's prison. As The Real News has previously reported, conditions in the Maryland Correctional Institute for Women are akin to "torture," and the lack of resources and services dedicated to incarcerated women amounts to state-sanctioned, gender-based discrimination. Christina Merryman and Ameena Deramous, both former inmates in the MCIW—or the "Women's Cut"—join Rattling the Bars, explaining the conditions faced by incarcerated women in Maryland, and what advocates inside and outside the prison walls are doing to fight for justice, in the first half of this two-part panel.

Studio Production: David Hebden
Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Sign up for our newsletter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Donate to support this podcast

The prevalence of sexual violence in the US prison system is so widespread and accepted that it's often made the butt of jokes in popular culture. Yet the reality is that countless survivors of the prison system carry the scars and traumas of sexual abuse—and for many, the perpetrators of these crimes were the very prison staff charged with their protection. Juvenile victims of the prison system are no exception. In Maryland, several adult survivors of sexual abuse as juveniles in state custody have filed a class action lawsuit demanding justice. Lawyer and former DC Council Member LaRuby May joins Rattling the Bars to discuss the class action suit, and the systematic nature of sexual violence in prisons as a form of racial oppression.

Studio Production: David Hebden
Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Sign up for our newsletter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Donate to support this podcast

From Assata Shakur to Leonard Peltier, social movements have lifted up political prisoners as revolutionary examples and fought protracted, often decades-long campaigns to secure their release. Now, a new collection from AK Press, Rattling the Cages: Oral Histories of North American Political Prisoners, gathers the experience and wisdom of some 30 political prisoners in one place for the first time. Eric King and Josh Davidson, the editors of the project, join Rattling the Bars to discuss their new book and the urgency of the fight to free political prisoners.

Josh Davidson is an abolitionist who is involved in numerous projects, including the Certain Days Collective, which publishes the annual Freedom for Political Prisoners calendar, and the Children’s Art Project with political prisoner Oso Blanco. Josh also works in communications with the Zinn Education Project.

Eric King is a father, poet, author, and activist. He is a political prisoner serving a 10-year federal sentence for an act of protest over the police murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. He is scheduled to be released in 2024. He has been held in solitary confinement for years on end and has been assaulted by both guards and white supremacists. King has published three zines: Battle Tested, Antifa in Prison, and Pacing in My Cell.

Studio / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Sign up for our newsletter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Donate to support this podcast

The system of mass incarceration in the US offers few second chances to prisoners, and Maryland is no exception. As The Real News has previously reported, the state's parole system puts incarcerated people at the mercy of an inefficient, capricious process that is unlikely to deliver a speedy release for many. Now, a new bill in the Maryland legislature could create new pathways to freedom for prisoners who've served 20 years or more behind bars. Alonzo Turner Bey and Desmond Haneef Perry of the MD Second Look Coalition join Rattling the Bars to discuss the Second Look Act (SB123).

Additional links:
MD Second Look Coalition FacebookContact Maryland state legislators to support the Second Look Act
Studio / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.

Sign up for our newsletter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Donate to support this podcast

A group of current and former prisoners have sued the state of Alabama with the support of two unions who have signed on as co-plaintiffs, the Union of Southern Service Workers, and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. The lawsuit claims that Alabama's system of prison labor amounts to a "modern-day form of slavery" that generates massive profits for private businesses and revenues for the state by forcing incarcerated people to work for little or no pay. Jacob Morrison and Adam Keller join Rattling the Bars to discuss the lawsuit and the importance of the fight for prisoners' rights to the overall labor movement.

Jacob Morrison is a member of the American Federation of Government Employees, and the president of the North Alabama Labor Council. Adam Keller is a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees Local 900. Together, they host The Valley Labor Report, Alabama’s only union radio talk show.

Studio / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:

Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-rtb
Sign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-rtb
Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnews
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnews

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.

The US has one of the highest prisoner recidivism rates in the world: over 70% of incarcerated people who are released from prison in the US will be rearrested within five years of their release date. That is not an accident. Our system of mass incarceration sets people up to fail as they leave the prison system and try to reintegrate into society. That is why organizations like Hope for Prisoners in Nevada are working to provide returning citizens with the resources and support they need to rebuild their lives and maintain their freedom. In this episode of Rattling the Bars, Mansa Musa speaks with Jon Ponder, founder and CEO of Hope for Prisoners, about why returning from prison is so difficult for so many, and what it takes to “empower the formerly incarcerated and their families to create a successful future.”

Studio / Post-Production: Cameron Granadino

Help us continue producing Rattling the Bars by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer:

Donate: https://therealnews.com/donate-pod-rtb
Sign up for our newsletter: https://therealnews.com/nl-pod-rtb
Like us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/therealnews
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealnews

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/rattling-the-bars--4799829/support.