The American Prisoner Is A Slave By William Thorpe

 

United States Constitution Amendment 13

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."

The  American Prisoner Is A Slave

The 13th Amendment of The United States Constitution is a wink and nod to the continuation of that most evil of human relations, slavery. The American prisoner is a slave and this backdrop of slavery presents us with a paradox. Books and purported services intended to assist the American prisoner priced beyond the means of the enslaved prisoner.

No one begrudges compensation for authors and writers of books intended to assist prisoners. But we have to point out that the American prisoner as slave cannot be, nor expected to pay prices and cost for services, supposedly by allies in the fight against the injustices of the American justice system and the reform of it's prison experiment, as if the enslaved American prisoner is a normal wage earner.

Priced Beyond Reach Of The Enslaved American Prisoner

1. Prison Education Guide by C. Zoukis @ $49.95
2. The Habeas Cite Book: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel by B. Sample @ $49.95
3. The Criminal Law Handbook: Know Your Rights, Survive the System By Bergman and S.J. Berman-Barrett @$39.99
4. Represent Yourself In Court: How To Prepare and Try A Winning Case by P. Bergman and S.J. Berman-Barrett @ $39.99
5. Legal Research: How To Find Understand The Law by S. Elias and S. Levinkind @ $49.99
6. Deposition Handbook by P. Bergman and A. Moore @ $34.99
7. Criminal Law: A Desk Reference by P. Bergman @ $44.99
8. Prisoners Self Help Litigation Manual by J. Boston and D. Manville @ $59.99
9. How To Win Your Personal Injury Claim by J. Matthew @ $34.99
10. Sue The Doctor and Win! Victims Guide To Secrets of Malpractice Lawsuits by L.Laska @ $34.95
11. Disciplinary Self-Help Litigation Manual by D. Manville @ $49.95
12. The PLRA Handbook: Law and Practice Under The Prison Litigation Reform Act by J. Boston @ $84.95 and $224.95 [non-prisoner]
13. Federal Prison Handbook by C. Zoukis @ $74.95
14. The Habeas Citebook: Prosecutorial Misconduct by A. Hull @ $59.95
15. Encyclopedia of Everday Law by S. Irving @ $34.99

Is Also An Injustice

The above-listed 15 books are not the sum of the cottage industry work of profiting off the enslaved American prisoner but is an example of its tone-deafness. The outcome that I expect and anticipate as a result of this work is the realization and its subsequent reflection that pricing a book out of the means of its beneficiary is also an injustice.

I'm William Thorpe and I'm Detained in Solitary Confinement at the Wainwright Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Resources for Understanding Today’s Prison System

Izzie Ramirez, reporter for Vice, wrote a summary of the many resources available to anyone wishing to learn about the U.S. prison system. The article, published Jan. 22, 2021, discusses the varied inequalities of the prison industrial complex and how it exploits people for financial gain.

Activists are moving to expose the system’s glaring problems, writes Ramirez, if not abolish it entirely. He calls it a “racist, capitalist, sexist, colonialist, ableist, and transphobic” system. Black incarceration rates are five times greater than whites. Life sentences have dramatically increased over the last three decades.

Prisons are more proficient at extracting labor from prisoners than they were at keeping communities safe. The school-to-prison pipeline keeps the system replete with prisoners, fueling the profit-seeking private prisons.

For those without much knowledge on the current state of our prison system, but wishing to learn more, the article lists several podcasts, books, documentaries, and other resources.

Some of the podcasts listed include Beyond Prisons, Code Switch and Justice in America. Beyond Prisons is a series focusing on issues hurting prisoners the most hosted by Kim Wilson and Brian Sonenstein. One episode, “Challenging E-Carceration,” featuring James Kilgore, is an excellent examination of the role that electronic monitoring plays in the prison system.

The podcast Code Switch on NPR includes the episode “How One Inmate Changed the Prison System from the Inside.” It features Michael Shapiro relating the history of activist Martin Sostre who was the first prisoner to successfully challenge the poor living conditions in prison.

Ramirez mentions several books for beginners. The First Civil Right: How Liberals Built Prison America, by Naomi Murakawa, shows how the current prison system was forged by both liberals and conservatives after World War II and was thereafter perpetuated by the more modern tough on crime policies.

Nancy A. Heitzeg’s book, The School-To-Prison Pipeline: Education, Discipline, and Racialized Double Standards, explores policing in public schools, how it developed, and who often pays the penalties in school discipline.

In her book, Are Prisons Obsolete?, Angela Y. Davis expounds upon what decarceration might look like. Organizations such as Critical Resistance, which Davis helped to found, has been working towards the abolition of prison for several decades.

Other resources include: a primer on transforming the justice system called 8 to Abolition; the New York Public Library Correctional Services, which supplies prisoners with donated books; and community bail funds which assist those arrested who cannot afford bail. 

by Kevin Bliss published in Prison Legal News

 Source: vice.com

Prisoner & Ex-Prisoner RESOURCES

Here is a list for Prisoner and Ex-Prisoner Friendly Resources. Please email us at vapacommittee@gmail.com if you would like to add to this list or message us on facebook @vapac. When making contact please provide a description and updated link

Call 211~Nationally& Parts Of Canada  2-1-1 (http://www.211.org/) Free and confidential service that helps people find local services in need. Available for free to anyone: Ex-prisoners families, friends, and others

Virginia 2-1-1~(https://www.211virginia.org) Call 211, visit site and chat or email ..Free and confidential service that helps people find local services in need. Available for free to anyone: Ex-prisoners families, friends, and others focused in Virginia

Zoukis Prisoner Resources~ (https://www.prisonerresource.com/) An unbiased, non-partisan prison consulting group offering resources for those going to prison or getting out of prison.

Virginia Prison Justice Network~ (https://vapjn.wordpress.com/) A website for everyone who advocates for prisoners and seeks solutions to the judicial racism that plagues our criminal justice system.

Find Your Legislator~ There is a wealth of information about the General Assembly members and sessions

JailHouse Lawyers Handbook ~ (http://jailhouselaw.org/) Great handbook that is a resource for prisoners who wish to file a federal lawsuit addressing poor conditions in prison or abuse by prison staff. This handbook is available for free to anyone: prisoners. families, friends, activists, lawyers, and others Download.

Central Virginia Legal Aid Society ~ Links to Helpful Organizations and Information

National Prea Resource Center ~ "In developing the PREA [Prison Rape Elimination Act] standards, the Department of Justice ensured that inmates/detainees/residents have multiple ways to report sexual abuse, and that they are able to access victim support services from outside agencies

Restoration of Rights ~ [Virginia] Governor Northam has updated his eligibility criteria for restoration of civil rights.  Effective March 16, 2021, individuals are eligible to have their rights restored after being released from incarceration

Restoration of Firearm Rights ~ [Virginia] A person convicted of a felony automatically loses their firearm rights under state and federal law. If you have been convicted of a felony as described in Section 18.2-308.2 of the Code of Virginia, you may still be eligible to purchase a firearm if your rights have been restored under both state and federal law.

Frequently Asked Questions on Parole ~ To apply for parole, the offender has to fill out and sign an application furnished by a case manager. Everyone except those committed under juvenile delinquency procedures who wish to be considered for parole must complete a parole application.

Pardon and Commutation Information FAQ ~ For over 125 years, the President has relied on the Department of Justice, and particularly the Office of the Pardon Attorney, for assistance in the exercise of the executive clemency power granted to the President by Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. Under the Constitution, the President’s clemency power extends only to federal criminal offenses. Executive clemency may take several forms, including pardon, commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, or reprieve. 

NoLef Turns ~ Our mission is to reduce recidivism by helping those with court and justice involvement successfully thrive post-conviction. Our vision is to be a leader in decreasing the prison population by supporting and empowering those who are most affected by crime, trauma, and incarceration. We will treat everyone with dignity and respect and will not pass judgement, as we seek justice and redemption. 

RIHD, Inc. ~ Lillie (Ms K) Branch-Kennedy~ Founder ~ Resource information help for the disenfranchised and disadvantaged.

SALT ~ Social Action Linking Together (SALT) is a network of persons in Virginia embracing the principle that “The justice of a society can be measured by how the most vulnerable members of that society are faring and being treated.” This principle can be found in all the great religious traditions and inspires SALT members to propose and shape fair public social policies through our education of policy makers & our advocacy for the poor and powerless.

Community-based alternatives to police in your city  ~ [dontcallthepolice.com] Find alternatives to calling the police. Typically, people call the police because they are experiencing or perceive an emergency and need immediate assistance. In order to provide the most effective alternatives to calling the police or 911, unless otherwise indicated, the resources included here are limited to those that 

Warmlines ~ Need someone to talk to? were created to give people support when they juoffer immediate assistance through emergency or crisis services. Reimagine public safety.  Don’t call the police. Richmond Virginia area resourcesst need to talk to someone. Speaking to someone on these calls are typically free, confidential, and run by people who understand what it’s like to struggle with mental health problems. For a Virginia Connection 

Social Workers and Allies Against Solitary Confinement ~ National task force of social workers and allies dedicated to confronting the issue of solitary confinement, both on a macro-level as a core mechanism of our racist and classist system of mass incarceration, and on a micro-level as a practice that social workers in correctional settings actively and passively participate in, while being simultaneously charged with upholding the human rights and dignity of all people.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Benefits Reentry~ Social Security Reentry Benefits: An individual released from incarceration may be eligible for Social Security retirement, survivors, or disability benefits if they have worked or paid into Social Security enough years. An individual released from incarceration may be eligible for Supplemental Security Income benefits if they are 65 or older, are blind, or have a disability and have little or no income and resources.

Health coverage for incarcerated people ~ 

• Incarceration doesn’t mean living at home or in a residential facility under supervision of the criminal justice system, or living there voluntarily. In other words, incarceration doesn’t include being on probation, parole, or home confinement.

• You’re not considered incarcerated if you’re in jail or prison pending disposition of charges—in other words, being held but not convicted of a crime.

Virginia Employment/Felons: Ex - Offender Assistant

• Federal Bonding Program
  A link to the U.S. Department of Labor's Federal Bonding Program for "at-risk" and hard-to-place job seekers
   
• Restoration of Rights
  If you have lost the right to vote as a result of a felony conviction in a Virginia court, a U.S. District or a military court, you must have your rights restored in order to qualify for voter registration. The restoration of rights restores the rights to vote, to run for and hold public office, to serve on juries and to serve as a notary public.
  
  
  
• Assistance Available to Ex-offenders (pdf)
  Offered as a service to counselors, family members, and others assisting ex-offenders in their efforts to return to the workforce.

Jobs for felons: Updated list of companies as of July 1, 2021.

Jail to Job 
Jobs for Felons: Government Help For Felons Looking for Jobs
Jobs for Felons: How to find a Job
Jobs for Felons: These Companies Hire Felons
From Jail to a Job

Prison Activist Resource Center Directory 

Companies That Hire Felons

Ace Hardware, Macey's, Domino's, AT&T, Wendy's,  Best Western, Dollar Tree Kohl's, 

Walgreens,  Dennys,  Huddle House, Family Dollar, Kmart, Caterpillar, Goodwill, Lowe's,  Chick-fil-A,  Chili's,  Red Lobster, Menards 

Pilot Flying J, Walmart, Home Depot, Pepsi,

Greyhound, Great Clips, Papa John's,  Sprint,

Ashley Furniture, Goodyear Tires, Sam's Club,

Dairy Queen, Steak N Shake, I Hop, Golden Corral, Pizza Hut, Buffalo Wild Wings, KFC, 

General Mills, Blue Cross Blue Shield

• As we find out more, we'll post on our website. 

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