When PLN first started publishing in 1990 there were several dozen prisoner rights publications being published around the country and in Canada. California alone had a half dozen. Today most of them have folded. Historically, the United States has had a penal press since the early 1800's. It is not …
Washington DOC Ban on Bulk Mail and Catalogs Enjoined
in PLN Suit, Due Process Required
by Paul Wright
On June 17, 2003, Seattle federal district court judge Robert Lasnick issued a permanent injunction, effective August 16, 2003, enjoining the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) from censoring mail based on the …
This month we continue our coverage of the hepatitis C (HCV) epidemic sweeping through American prisons with little or no treatment for the afflicted. The public health consequences of this and many other diseases that have historically festered in American prisons and jails before entering the community with both released …
As PLN goes into its fourteenth publishing year, we have expanded our size to 40 pages to bring readers more information about prison and jail issues than ever before. Despite a prison and jail population at an all time high of more than two millions people imprisoned, the state of …
The Eleventh Circuit US Court of Appeals rejected the attempt of a Georgia life prisoner to use the mechanism of joinder (Fed.RulesCiv.Proc. Rule 20(a)) to gain the benefit of another life prisoner's injunction providing for annual parole consideration hearings.
James Swan, a Georgia life prisoner who was not receiving parole …
"The law in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets and to steal bread."
_ Anatole France
A central part of the mythology of the criminal justice system in the United States is that everyone is treated …
Observant readers will have noticed that PLN's masthead has changed its message from "Working to Extend Democracy to All" to "Dedicated to Protecting Human Rights." As PLN enters its fourteenth year of publishing and advocacy on behalf of prisoners, we think this change more accurately reflects the actual work PLN …
Welcome to the thirteenth anni-versary issue of PLN. This marks the 157th issue of PLN that we have published since our first issue appeared in May, 1990. In that time period a lot has happened, both with PLN and the prison system we cover. For one thing, both grew. PLN …
From The Editor
by Paul Wright
Beginning with this issue of PLN there will be some changes in the law articles. Due to the limited space we have for news and law articles and the ongoing growth in prison and jail related cases being decided by the courts, we are …
I am pleased to announce that The Celling of America: An Inside Look at the U.S. Prison Industry, PLN's first book which was published in 1998, is now available in Spanish. El Encarcelamiento de America was published last summer in Spain by Editorial Virus, a progressive publisher in Barcelona. Copies …
