Category: Prison
Fundraising Event Honors Dhoruba Bin Wahad, Former Black Panther and Black Liberation Army Prisoner
West Philadelphia, PA — An event at the OneArt Community Center raised funds to assist with medical costs for Dhoruba Bin Wahad. Formerly a leader in the Black Panther Party who also co-founded the Black Liberation Army (BLA), Wahad was convicted in 1973 for his…
Pakistani Immigrant With Signs of Torture Found Dead in a Greek Police Station
Athens, Greece – Muhammad Kamran Ashiq, a 38-year-old Pakistani immigrant, was found dead at the Agios Panteleimonas Police Station in central Athens, indicating another case of racist police brutality in Greece.
CONTENT ADVISORY: DESCRIPTIONS AND IMAGES OF TORTURE
Missing since September 13, Ashiq was found…
8th Annual Prisoners’ Families Brunch in West Philly
West Philadelphia, PA – Over 100 people came out early Sunday afternoon for a banquet celebrating political prisoners and their loved ones and other supporters.
The 8th annual ‘Prisoners’ Families Brunch’ was held at the OneArt Community Center on 52nd Street, with this year’s event…
Killed by a Vigilante Who Received No Prison Time: The Murder of AJ Stewart
Saint Paul, MN — In the capital city of Minnesota, a middle-aged white man was given no prison time after being convicted of murder for fatally stabbing an unarmed Black man. The 2021 murder of Arnell ‘AJ’ Stewart and the following conviction and sentencing of…
Interview: Breaking Down the Mahdi Ali Case
The brutal 2010 triple murders at the Seward Market shocked the community, and police concluded the killer was fifteen-year-old Mahdi Ali. A new Unicorn Riot investigation raises 27 different issues with that investigation and the murder trial. We circled back with our contributor to break down the major elements people should know about this contentious case.
Recanted Jailhouse Testimonies Lead to Renewed Calls to Release Bobo and Ferguson
Minneapolis, MN — Family members and advocates of two men serving life sentences in Minnesota — Deaunteze Bobo and Jermaine Ferguson — renewed their demands for their loved ones to be released from prison, saying they were wrongfully convicted.
During a press conference in the…
Target, ‘Junk Science’ and Unreliable Testimonies: The Contentious Conviction of 15-Year-Old Mahdi Ali
Minneapolis, MN — Overlooked details have emerged casting serious doubt on Mahdi Hassan Ali’s conviction for a 2010 triple murder, as well as the integrity of the investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
“I was the perfect scapegoat.”…
Community Calls on Minnesota Governor and AG to ‘Stay Out of Hennepin County Prosecutions’
Minneapolis, MN – Police associations and pro-police members of Congress are pressuring Minnesota’s governor to wrest prosecuting power away from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty over her decision to charge State Trooper Ryan Londregan with murder for the July 2023 fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb…
Nationwide ‘Week of Abolition’ Envisions an Abolitionist Future Without Prisons, Police
Denver, CO — This week is the National Lawyers Guild’s (NLG) annual nationwide campaign called “Week of Abolition” where local NLG law school chapters host events, activities and actions to spread knowledge and promote discussion about “alternatives to the criminal punishment system” with an aim…
Activists and Families Demand MN Department of Corrections End Political Imprisonments
St. Paul, MN — Prisoners are continuing to face retribution six months after 100-plus inmates in Minnesota’s MCF-Stillwater prison protested their living conditions and took part in a day of non-violent civil disobedience. Several incarcerated participants spent the last half year in solitary confinement for…
Marvin Haynes Exonerated and Released From Prison After 19 Years
Minneapolis, MN — In a historic ruling, Hennepin County Judge William Koch vacated Marvin Haynes’ murder conviction, dismissed his charges with prejudice, and ordered his release from prison where he was sentenced to serve life. Haynes walked out of MCF-Stillwater as an exonerated man into…
‘Jane’s Revenge’ Activist Pleads Guilty in Firebombing of Anti-Abortion Group ‘Wisconsin Family Action’
Madison, WI — Hrindindu Sankar Roychowdhury pleaded guilty on November 20, 2023 to federal arson charges resulting from a 2022 attack claimed under the moniker ‘Jane’s Revenge’ against Wisconsin Family Action, an anti-abortion Christian fundamentalist group.
The attack on Wisconsin Family Action’s office occurred on…
White Vigilante Denied Release From Jail While Appealing Murder Conviction
Saint Paul, MN — Brian Harry Kjellberg, the “white vigilante” convicted of murdering Arnell ‘AJ’ Stewart in St. Paul, was recently denied early release from jail to appeal his murder conviction. On Nov. 29, nearly two years to the date of murdering 27-year-old Stewart and…
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Eric King Released from Prison After 9+ Years as Political Prisoner
Political Prisoner Eric King was released from prison Tuesday after spending nearly 10 years behind bars.
Questions Surround FBI Informant Charged With Stabbing Convicted Cop Derek Chauvin
Tucson, AZ — Federal inmate and former FBI informant, John Turscak, was charged last week with attempted murder by federal prosecutors for the Black Friday stabbing incident of fellow prisoner Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted for the 2020 murder of…
White Vigilante Appeals Murder Conviction, Seeks Release From Jail
Saint Paul, MN — On May 31, Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro sentenced Brian Kjellberg to just 365 days in jail for the December 2, 2021 killing of Arnell ‘AJ’ Stewart. Now, after serving six months of his sentence, Kjellberg is asking for release…
‘Cop City’ Defendant Victor Puertas Has Been Held For Months Without Trial, but His Community Hasn’t Forgotten Him
November 12 marked Victor Puertas’ 46th birthday. But while family and friends throughout the region gathered in his hometown of Salt Lake City, Victor spent the day behind bars.
For more than seven months, Puertas has been in pretrial detention after he was arrested and…
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‘Let Me Pay My Taxes’ Says Incarcerated Industry Worker
From inside a Minnesota prison cell, an incarcerated worker in the state’s Prison Industries Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP) is demanding the Department of Corrections (DOC) allow him to pay his taxes. Kashaun Pierce Sr. said for the last seven years he’s been trying to pay…