Please support the prisoners on hunger strike against extended solitary confinement at Louisiana's notorious Angola Prison!

 A Feb. 23 article by The Advocate reports:

Prisoner rights advocates with the Louisiana Stop Solitary Coalition are slamming the department for failing to treat inmates humanely. 

"Having served 44 plus years in solitary confinement, I am fully aware of the brutality of solitary. Hunger strikes are brutal, so I know from personal experience how desperate these men must be to resort to this," said Albert Woodfox, who was released from Angola in 2016 after spending decades in solitary.

--Read the full article here.

(A press release that the Jamal Journal received supporting the hunger strikers is reprinted below in full.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE: February 24, 2021 CONTACT: mpwray@topdrawerstrategies.com; 225-395-9961 Amid Angola Hunger Strike Corrections Officials Admit Wrongdoing, Ongoing Misuse of Solitary Confinement Community Leaders, Legal Experts Call for Action  Baton Rouge, La. - As reported by The Lens Tuesday, prisoners at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) are on hunger strike after prison officials engaged in a pattern of segregating incarcerated people in solitary confinement longer than the disciplinary sanctions matrix allow, sometimes for months longer than is allowed under the guidelines. The Lens reported that the Department of Corrections openly confirmed, on the record, that it was utilizing confinement beyond the sanctions matrix timelines, a violation of the department's own policies on administering solitary confinement.  In interviews with incarcerated people The Lens confirmed that, in some instances, prisoners are being held for up to 23 hours a day without access to showers, books, appropriate clothing, and access healthcare amid the Covid-19 pandemic. "Several strikers said that the lights don’t work in their cells, meaning the only light is what comes in through the hallways," The Lens reported. One person reported to The Lens that the conditions were leading to substantial health problems, including loss of vision, which may be permanent.  Members of the Louisiana Stop Solitary Coalition issued the following statements regarding the current hunger strike and ongoing inhumane use of solitary confinement at Angola:  "Having served 44 plus years in solitary confinement, I am fully aware of the brutality of solitary. Hunger strikes are brutal, so I know from personal experience how desperate these men must be to resort to this. I urge - no, I plea with the citizens of Louisiana to call, email, or text prison and state officials to remedy this situation now," said Albert Woodfox Author of of “Solitary.”  Mr. Woodfox is a political activist who spent 43 years in solitary confinement at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola). Woodfox is the last member of "The Angola Three" to be released from prison. During his time in solitary confinement, he was imprisoned in a cell (6x9 feet) for 23 hours a day. He came home from prison in 2016. In 2019 he released his autobiography which chronicles his experience in solitary, including the mental and physical health challenges unnecessarily created by the inhumane practice of solitary confinement. He is a courageous advocate for the abolition of solitary confinement and travels the world educating the public on the issue. "We call on DOC to transfer people out of solitary immediately and follow the disciplinary matrix. It's 2021, how can our people still suffer from these inhuman conditions? They're sacrificing their life to be heard. Lets make sure DOC listens," said Kiana Calloway, Housing Justice Campaign Organizer Voice of the Experience (VOTE)  "The Coalition supports these men in their hunger strike, and calls on DOC officials to immediately release the strikers and their supporters from solitary, even if that means transferring some people to local facilities because there isn't otherwise room at Angola. We further ask that DOC provide medical treatment for all people who have been on strike and a solid commitment to complying with the disciplinary matrix guidelines developed over the past few years," said Vanessa Spinazola Executive Director of Justice and Accountability Center.  ### In 2020  Right on Crime issued its findings on the use of solitary confinement in Louisiana Prisons, including that Louisiana ranks #1 in the nation in its use of solitary confinement (as a percentage of inmates). "Solitary Confinement has human and financial costs associated with its use, with little data, or research, to indicate is effectiveness in making prisons safer," said the Louisiana State director of Right on Crime. More info on that 2020 report, and the long history of the misuse of solitary confinement in Lousiana prisons and jails, is available here.