San Diego "Honk for Justice" Calls for the Release of people in ICE Detention
repost | indybay.org | 2020-04-07
Author Pedro Rios serves as director of the AFSC's U.S./Mexico Border Program and has been on staff with AFSC since 2003. He is a steering committee member of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, which brings together over 60 organizations along the Southern border working to support migrants and border communities.
indybay.org/newsitems/2020/04/05/18832119.php

The Radical Work of Healing
Angela Davis | zcomm.org | 2020-04-07
Fania and Angela Davis On a New Kind of Civil Rights Activism…
zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-radical-work-of-healing-2/

Lithuanian socialist leader Algirdas Palecki released from jail, to serve house arrest
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-07
Socialist leader Algirdas Paleckis has been incarcerated since October 2018 for allegedly "intending to kidnap prosecutors" and being a Russian spy. Critics believe that the former diplomat has been targeted by the right-wing Lithuanian government for his socialist ideology…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/07/lithuanian-socialist-leader-leaves-prison-after-court-orders-for-leniency/

Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike against negligence amid Coronavirus threat
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-07
Israeli prison authorities have failed to provide Palestinian prisoners adequate access to medical services, testing, protective gear and other essential sanitary items crucial to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus in overcrowded Israeli prisons…
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/07/palestinian-prisoners-on-hunger-strike-against-negligence-amid-coronavirus-threat/

Calls for urgent action to protect prison staff and inmates from coronavirus
The Canary | thecanary.co | 2020-04-07
Failure to reduce the number of prisoners behind bars drastically and urgently to protect them and others from coronavirus "will have a devastating impact", campaigners have warned.The comments came after it emerged the death toll of inmates who had died after contracting the virus had risen to 10.Three were inmates at HMP Littlehey, Cambridgeshire, with others being held at Birmingham, Manchester, Altcourse in Merseyside, Belmarsh in south east London, Whatton in Nottinghamshire, Sudbury in Derbyshire, and a female prisoner at Low Newton, County Durham.A total of 116 prisoners had tested positive for Covid-19 in…
thecanary.co/uk/news/2020/04/07/calls-for-urgent-action-to-protect-prison-staff-and-inmates-from-coronavirus/

Ecuador: Ex President Correa Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-07
Ecuador's former President President Rafael Correa and former Vice President Jorge Glas have been sentenced to 8 years in prison for bribery charges. | RELATED: | Trial Against Former Ecuadorean President Correa Resumes | Accordin…
telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuador-Ex-President-Correa-Sentenced-to-8-Years-in-Prison-20200407-0010.html

California, facing COVID-19, moves to release "low-risk" inmates
Marilyn Bechtel | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-07
As COVID-19 makes its way into California prisons, efforts are intensifying to secure the release of inmates nearing the end of their sentences, serving terms for nonviolent offenses, or at high risk for the virus because of age and/or health status. As of April 6, 17 people incarcerated in the state's prison system, and 53 …
peoplesworld.org/article/california-facing-covid-19-moves-to-release-low-risk-inmates/

WikiLeaks Alarmed by News of First COVID-19 Death in Prison Holding Assange
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-07
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Whistleblowing website WikiLeaks reiterated its concerns about the health of its founder, Julian Assange, on Tuesday after the high-security Belmarsh prison, where he is being held, confirmed its first COVID-19 death.
sputniknews.com/uk/202004071078865971-wikileaks-alarmed-by-news-of-first-covid-19-death-in-prison-holding-assange/

'Snitch' Tekashi 6ix9ine Released from Prison Due to Coronavirus Fears
sputniknews.com | 2020-04-07
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who sentenced the rapper to two years, suggested the current pandemic presented "extraordinary and compelling reasons" for a compassionate release, and Daniel Hernandez would "no longer present a meaningful danger to the community" once released.
sputniknews.com/us/202004071078865691-tekashi-released-prison-trolling/

Assange Extradition: Assange Won't be Released Amid Virus Crisis, Australian Newswire Reports
Consortiumnews | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-06
The British Ministry of Justice has told the Australian Associated Press that Julian Assange is not eligible for early release from prison in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. | *** | Imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange is not eligible for an …
globalresearch.ca/assange-wont-released-amid-virus-crisis/5708810

National Civil Rights Group and Hundreds of Medical Professionals Call on the Trump Administration and States to Release Racial Data for COVID-19 Tests, Cases and Outcomes
commondreams.org | 2020-04-06
______________________________…
commondreams.org/newswire/2020/04/06/national-civil-rights-group-and-hundreds-medical-professionals-call-trump?cd-origin=rss

Everyone Must be Counted in the 2020 Census
Ebony Miranda | aclu.org | 2020-04-06
Every 10 years, the federal government conducts a census to count everyone living in the United States. For people of color, especially Black people, the census has traditionally been exclusionary and deeply flawed. | Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution was intentionally designed to protect the institution of slavery by immorally reducing those enslaved to three-fifths of a human being. It remains the only reference to slavery in the Constitution and was the law when the first census was completed in 1790 and for 75 years thereafter until the 14th Amendment was passed. Two hundred thirty years later, Bla…
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/everyone-must-be-counted-in-the-2020-census

"Leaving Us Here to Die": Prisoners Plea for Release, Protection Amid Skyrocketing Infection Rates
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-06
U.S. Attorney General William Barr issued an emergency order Friday calling for the release of vulnerable federal prisoners into home confinement amid the coronavirus crisis. This news comes as at least 16 states have also released prisoners. We look at the treatment of incarcerated people in New York state, where Governor Andrew Cuomo has yet to grant anyone freedom despite at least 24 confirmed cases among state prisoners. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he'll release about 300 people from Rikers Island and other city jails, but advocates are calling for far more to be freed. We speak to…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/6/covid_19_incarceration

'For Life' and Black incarceration; The twin meanings of 'Twisty'
Dennis Broe | peoplesworld.org | 2020-04-06
The best network series in what might be a coronavirus-abbreviated season is ABC's For Life, a combination prison/courtroom drama about an innocent African-American inmate sentenced to life imprisonment for being a drug kingpin. The series is based on the true story of Issac Wright Jr., a New Jersey inmate who used his time in prison …
peoplesworld.org/article/for-life-and-black-incarceration-the-twin-meanings-of-twisty/

California Activists March To End Life Without Parole
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-06
Joanne Scheer, founder of the Felony Murder Elimination Project, and Kelly Savage, recently released after 23 years of incarceration, speak about how racial, gender and age disparities relate to life without parole (LWOP).
therealnews.com/stories/california-activists-march-end-life-without-parole-sentence

Cook County Jail is a death trap
Fight Back | fightbacknews.org | 2020-04-06
Chicago, IL

Rights experts warn against discrimination in COVID-19 response
news.un.org | 2020-04-06
Fearing a needless increase in COVID-19 deaths due to discrimination, UN independent human rights experts on Monday called for Governments to commit to racial equity and equality in their response to the pandemic.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061122

Prison shelling in Yemen kills five women and a child: UN rights chief condemns possible war crime
news.un.org | 2020-04-06
The UN has condemned the shelling of the women's section of the Central Prison in a district of Yemen's war-torn Taizz Governerate, in the south of the country, which has left at least five women and one child dead, and wounding more than 11, with casualties expected to rise.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061182

Morocco releases over 5,600 incarcerated people amid COVID-19 threat in prisons
Peoples Dispatch | peoplesdispatch.org | 2020-04-06
Several human rights groups and organizations had appealed to the king for the release of all political prisoners and detainees, a large number of whom were part of the popular Rif protests in Morocco.
peoplesdispatch.org/2020/04/06/morocco-releases-over-5600-incarcerated-people-amid-covid-19-threat-in-prisons/

Prisoners Plea for Release, Protection Amid Skyrocketing Infection Rates
Staff | truthout.org | 2020-04-06
U.S. Attorney General William Barr issued an emergency order Friday calling for the release of vulnerable federal prisoners into home confinement amid the coronavirus crisis. This news comes as at least 16 states have also released prisoners. We look at the treatment of incarcerated people in New York state, where Governor Andrew Cuomo has yet to grant anyone freedom despite at least 24 confirmed cases among state prisoners. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he'll release abou…
truthout.org/video/prisoners-plea-for-release-protection-amid-skyrocketing-infection-rates/

Selected Articles: Fake Coronavirus Data, Fear Campaign. Spread of the COVID-19 Infection
Global Research News | globalresearch.ca | 2020-04-06
Online independent analysis of US-led wars, rampant corruption, corporate greed, civil rights and fraudulent monetary transactions is invariably relegated to the bottom rung of search engine results. | As a result we presently do not cover our monthly running costs which …
globalresearch.ca/selected-articles-fake-coronavirus-data-fear-campaign-spread-covid-19-infection/5708837

Israeli Forces Detain Palestinian Governor of Jerusalem
telesurenglish.net | 2020-04-05
Israel has detained Sunday the Palestinian Authority (PA) Governor of Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith over "illegal" activities and imprisoned him for the seventh time in the previous 18 months period. | RELATED: | High Population Density Challenge for Gazans to Fight COVID-19 | "Adnan Ghaith was detained this morning for Palestinian activity in Jerusalem, which is illegal," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP. | Ghaith's lawyer, Rami Othman, said his client, who was taken for q…
telesurenglish.net/news/Israeli-Forces-Detain-Palestinian-Governor-of-Jerusalem-20200405-0010.html

Prisoners, workers vs. pandemic profiteers
Jim McMahan | workers.org | 2020-04-04
Seattle Worker actions and organizing to save lives during the coronavirus pandemic have run into conflict with the capitalists' efforts to make all the profits they can during this crisis. More than 300 imprisoned im/migrants have joined a mass hunger strike in Tacoma, Wash., protesting a coronavirus epidemic that is . . . | Continue reading Prisoners, workers vs. pandemic profiteers at Workers.org…
workers.org/2020/04/47479/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=prisoners-workers-vs-pandemic-profiteers

COVID-19: Many refugees face destitution and disease
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-04-04
Refugees & migrants Jonathan StraussIssue 1260 Australia COVID-19 temporary protection visasApril 5, 2020Other than those held in detention, refugees and those seeking asylum who are…
greenleft.org.au/content/covid-19-many-refugees-face-destitution-and-disease

Protect Immigrant Communities: Fear Mounts of Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak in U.S. Border Camps, ICE Jails
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-04-03
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus has joined thousands of medical professionals and immigration rights groups to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement release all prisoners from immigration jails as the coronavirus continues to spread. Meanwhile, immigration advocates are working to prepare crowded encampments of asylum seekers across the U.S.-Mexico border for a potentially catastrophic outbreak of COVID-19. Since the implementation of the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy, tens of thousands of asylum seekers from regions like Central America and Africa have been stranded in Mexican bord…
www.democracynow.org/2020/4/3/covid_us_mexico_border_immigration_jails

Political prisoners should be among first released in pandemic response, says UN rights chief
news.un.org | 2020-04-03
The decision by many Governments to release prisoners to slow the transmission of new coronavirus, was welcomed on Friday by the UN's top rights official, Michelle Bachelet.
news.un.org/feed/view/en/story/2020/04/1061002

"He's Got Eight Numbers, Just Like Everybody Else"
Kathy Kelly | dissidentvoice.org | 2020-04-03
On April 4, 2020, my friend Steve Kelly will begin a third year of imprisonment in Georgia's Glynn County jail. He turned 70 while in prison, and while he has served multiple prison sentences for protesting nuclear weapons, spending two years in a county jail is unusual even for him. Yet he adamantly urges supporters …
dissidentvoice.org/2020/04/hes-got-eight-numbers-just-like-everybody-else/

Inmates at Privately-Run ICE Camp Go on Hunger Strike Amid COVID-19 Outbreak, Deteriorating Conditions
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-03
ICA Farmville already has a reputation for overcrowding and poor sanitation. Last year the private ICE prison was hit with an outbreak of mumps, a classic disease of overcrowding and poor sanitation.
mintpressnews.com/inmates-ice-camp-go-hunger-strike-amid-covid-19/266369/

Are NYC cops contributing to coronavirus epidemic by sending people to packed jails for violating social distancing?
rt.com | 2020-04-03
As Covid-19 lockdowns keep three-quarters of Americans indoors and see crime rates drop, New York police are arresting people for social distancing violations in a move that flies in the face of safety advisory and public policy. | New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has released hundreds of low-level offenders from city jails, including the notoriously overcrowded Rikers Island, citing the risk of uncontrollable coronavirus contagion. New Yorkers are being told

COVID-19 Is The New Cash Cow For Policing
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-03
American citizens are facing thousands of dollars in fines and jail time for breaking state-ordered pandemic restrictions. PAR and The Masters Report discuss how profit can still be extracted by police during the coronavirus outbreak.
therealnews.com/stories/covid-19-coronavirus-new-cash-cow-police-profit

Slave Labor, Dire Conditions: A TRNN Update On Prisons And COVID-19
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-03
Eddie Conway talks to journalists Kim Kelly and Adryan Corcione about how the coronavirus pandemic is exposing the poor healthcare system in US prisons and jails.
therealnews.com/stories/coronavirus-covid-19-cases-prisons-jails-rikers

Medical experts call for release of refugees and asylum seekers
pip.hinman | greenleft.org.au | 2020-04-03
Refugees & migrants Zebedee ParkesIssue 1259 Australia COVID-19April 3, 2020More than 1100 medical professionals have called on Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton to urgently release people in detention for their own health and that of the community. Many are in…
greenleft.org.au/content/medical-experts-call-release-refugees-and-asylum-seekers

Fighting for immigrant rights during a pandemic
Katrina Huber | splcenter.org | 2020-04-02
As people across the country are confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to a group of people whose health is in danger because they are locked away from the outside world

Fighting for immigrant rights during a pandemic
Katrina Huber | splcenter.org | 2020-04-02
As people across the country are confined to their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, little attention has been given to a group of people whose health is in danger because they are locked away from the outside world

Alabama prisons hold more than 1,100 older people at greater COVID-19 risk
Kathryn Casteel and Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2020-04-02
More than 1,100 people age 65 or older are locked away in Alabama prisons, putting a group already highly susceptible to the deadly COVID-19 virus at an even greater risk, according to an SPLC analysis of the state's prison system.
splcenter.org/news/2020/04/02/alabama-prisons-hold-more-1100-older-people-greater-covid-19-risk

Family Of Imprisoned New Yorkers Call On Governor For Clemency
Staff | therealnews.com | 2020-04-02
Family members of inmates inside New York prisons and advocates host a virtual press conference with demands, including suspension of required office visits for parole and probation and for the release of inmates.
therealnews.com/stories/family-imprisoned-california-new-yorkers-governor-clemency-cuomo-newsom

The Added Importance of the Census, in Light of COVID-19
Steven K. Choi | aclu.org | 2020-04-01
Last year around this time, my biggest worry was how the inclusion of the Trump administration's proposed citizenship question would depress participation in the decennial census. Thankfully, our Supreme Court victory means there is no citizenship question on the census. Now, I have a new worry: a global pandemic and the health of my loved ones. As it turns out, the 2020 Census plays a role here too, as it will have enormous implications on our health care for decades to come. | Specifically, the census will determine the allocation of $300 billion dollars of federal aid for the states' health care

New York Mobilizes Rikers Island Prisoners To Dig Mass Graves for Coronavirus Victims
Alan Macleod | mintpressnews.com | 2020-04-01
Rikers Island itself is on the verge of near collapse, over 300 inmates and staff have tested positive and human rights campaigners warn conditions in the notorious prison are dire.
mintpressnews.com/new-york-mobilizes-rikers-island-prisoners-to-dig-mass-graves-for-coronavirus-victims/266284/

Brazil's ex-President Lula on Venezuela: Maduro is democratic, Guaidó should be in prison, US blockade kills civilians
Ben Norton | thegrayzone.com | 2020-03-31
In comments ignored by English-language media, Lula da Silva slammed the US coup attempt against Venezuela, calling Nicolás Maduro a…
thegrayzone.com/2020/03/30/brazil-lula-maduro-guaido-us-blockade/

Is Location Tracking Technology the Magic Pill to Stemming the Coronavirus?
Jay Stanley | aclu.org | 2020-03-30
This piece first appeared on Just Security. , , If asked to give up their privacy in the interests of stemming the coronavirus, many Americans might be inclined to say yes. But the answer requires more nuance, both because there are serious tradeoffs to be made, and because sacrificing privacy may actually backfire., , Consider, for example, serious discussions reportedly und…
aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/is-location-tracking-technology-the-magic-pill-to-stemming-the-coronavirus

Headlines for March 30, 2020
Staff | democracynow.org | 2020-03-30
Trump Extends Social Distancing, Says U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Could Reach 100,000 | , States Mandate Quarantines, Set Up Checkpoints to Limit Cross-State COVID-19 Infections , ER Doctor Who Blasted Lack of Worker & Patient Protections at WA Hospital Removed from Post, Coronavirus Cases Mount in Prisons and Among Law Enforcement Workers | , 9-Month-Old Is First Known Infant to Die from the Coronavirus in U.S. | , Cigna and Humana to Waive Copays for Coronavirus Treatment | , CBS News Executive and Cancer Survivor Maria Mercader Dies from Coronavirus | , | New York Scrambles to Build Hospitals, Imposes Fines fo…
www.democracynow.org/2020/3/30/headlines

The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery played key role in launching SPLC's legal battle against Ku Klux Klan
splcenter.org | 2020-03-30
The Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, who died on Friday at 98 years old, was a longtime friend of the Southern Poverty Law Center and played a leading role in the SPLC's first lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan in 1980.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/30/rev-dr-joseph-e-lowery-played-key-role-launching-splcs-legal-battle-against-ku-klux-klan

Weekend Read: SPLC demands ICE act amid pandemic to save the lives of countless immigrants trapped in its crowded detention centers
splcenter.org | 2020-03-27
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/30/weekend-read-splc-demands-ice-act-amid-pandemic-save-lives-countless-immigrants-trapped-its

Asylum Seekers Stranded in Mexico Face a New Danger: COVID-19
Ashoka Mukpo | aclu.org | 2020-03-26
Since the Trump administration first unrolled its policy of forcing migrants to wait in Mexico for their asylum hearings, advocates have been warning that the practice places them in danger. Now, the global coronavirus outbreak is putting an exclamation point on those warnings and adding a new, frightening layer of risk into the lives of asylum…
aclu.org/news/immigrants-rights/asylum-seekers-stranded-in-mexico-face-a-new-danger-covid-19

Arbitrary & excessive: Marijuana trafficking sentences in Alabama
Kathryn Casteel and Will Tucker | splcenter.org | 2020-03-24
Alabama resident Lee Carroll Brooker garnered national attention in 2016 when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the marijuana trafficking case that put Brooker, in his 70s at the time, in prison for life.
splcenter.org/news/2020/03/28/arbitrary-excessive-marijuana-trafficking-sentences-alabama

[Correspondence] Immunosuppression for hyperinflammation in COVID-19: a double-edged sword?
Andrew I Ritchie, Aran Singanayagam | thelancet.com | 2020-03-24
Mehta and colleagues1 postulate that hyperinflammation in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could be a driver of severity that is amenable to therapeutic targeting since retro-spective data have shown that systemic inflammation is associated with adverse outcome. However, correlation does not equal causation, and it is equally plausible that increased virus burden (secondary to failure of the immune response to control infection) drives inflammation and consequent severity (as shown for other viruses2) rather than augmented inflammation being an inappropriate host response that requires correction.
thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30691-7/fulltext?rss=yes

This is No Time to Play Politics with our Democracy
Sonia Gill | aclu.org | 2020-03-23
Update 03/27/2020: Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus package intended to address the broad impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. While it included $400 million for states to expand access to the ballot for eligible voters, as outlined in this blog, more can and must be done to safeguard our democracy. , , To ensure elections proceed and eligible Americans can vote, any federal legislative package addressing the impact of COVID-19 on our elections must include an immediate, substantial infusion of federal funding and federal requirements for no-excuse mail-in absentee voting and early in-person voting.
aclu.org/news/voting-rights/this-is-no-time-to-play-politics-with-our-democracy

How the ACLU Organized to end Racial Profiling on Greyhound Buses
Andrea Flores | aclu.org | 2020-03-20
Two years ago, the ACLU set a clear goal: push Greyhound to refuse Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers access to their buses to conduct warrantless searches. As part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, CBP officers were targeting bus passengers around the country, boarding their buses to racially profile, harass, and too often, detain people who they suspected of being undocumented. Of course, you can't tell someone's immigration status by how they look or sound