The Lane County Jail Hunger Strike is over for now, the longest faster having gone 46 days without solid food. This week on Prison Pipeline we will start by talking with a member of Lane County Mutual Aid about the Hunger Strike and the prisoner's demands. The strikers were acting in solidarity with hunger strikers statewide and with the most vulnerable and marginalized people incarcerated without the ability to fight for their lives.
Last week ODOC moved over 1500 prisoners into the Oregon State Penitentiary from three separate prisons putting the lives of incarcerated persons at risk. In addition to housing prisoners in an overcrowded facility, reports have come out that up to 40 -50 prisoners have been housed locked in rooms without adequate bedding and completely lacking in personal protective equipment, ensuring that Covid will spread quickly amongst the prison population.
In addition to putting prisoners at risk of Covid transmission ODOC is also putting prisoner's lives at risk by putting people from rival gangs in the same spaces as well as people who have testified against each other and been separated. The rationale gave for moving incarcerated persons was given as protecting prisoners from the wildfires, but the prisons that the inmates were transferred out of were relatively Covid-free and they were transferred into a facility that has a massive documented Covid outbreak.
We will talk with Evan and Duckey about the demands of abolition groups demanding prisoner's safety and the failure of ODOC and Governor Brown to protect incarcerated persons, choosing instead to warehouse them in cages and exposing them to a deadly pandemic and the everyday violence of incarceration.
Prison Pipeline is a radio program dedicated to educating the public about the Oregon criminal justice system. Our goal is to present a unique understanding of the criminal justice system, address the root causes of crime, and challenge the status quo. We seek to promote awareness and activism in order to foster a safe, healthy, and just society.Tune in every Monday at 6:30 P.M. to hear our hosts Karen James, Adam Carpinelli, Amy Johnson, Emma Lugo, Doug McVay and Isabelle Sinclar explore the Oregon justice system with a variety of guests.
For more information visit: https://lanemutualaid.org/
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