Loved Ones Gather Outside Prison to Protest Inhumane Conditions
PRESS RELEASE BRIDGETON, NJ — A group of demonstrators gathered outside South Woods State Prison today to protest the inhumane treatment of prisoners inside. The protestors say their loved ones on the inside have faced abuse and retaliation for making administrative complaints about their conditions. South Woods State Prison is a medium and maximum security […]
Coming Out for Pride
Demi has always known she feels feminine. However, until this year, no one else knew. Being locked up in a men’s adult prison since the age of 16, Demi had to stay closeted, and was able to do so for nine years. Last year, however, she was outed as gay by the prison staff. She […]
Close Quarantanamo Bay!
Remember when we said Demi’s lawyer spooked South Woods into the endocrinology appointment by asking to make a legal call? Well, he never got that legal call, and now Demi is back at South Woods and locked in quarantine, and they’re saying she can’t take legal calls in quarantine. Also, they won’t fill her hormone […]
What a Difference a Lawyer Makes
Yesterday, we got word from Demi that her bunk mate had tested positive for COVID, and she thought she would be sent to South Woods’s growing quarantine unit. She hadn’t had a positive test, but other sources we have inside South Woods tell us that inmates are being sent without positive tests and are being […]
I Cannot Call Cell Phones
Currently, and for several years now, the New JerseyDepartment of Corrections has banned inmates from calling cell phone numbers.In fact, inmates who place cell phone numbers on their authorized calling lists– even inadvertently – face harsh disciplinary sanctions, including time in solitary confinement, because the “no cell phones” rule is subject to a zero […]
Explaining Solitary Confinement
On December 5, 2016, Governor Chris Christie shot down an attempt to curtail the use of solitary confinement in New Jersey’s prisons, vetoing legislation that would have strictly limited the cruel practice. The governor also attacked its key sponsors in a fiery veto message, saying that the New Jersey Department of Corrections does not […]
Justice Denied
As a young child, I suffered physical abuse in my home and began to act out. I eventually entered the child welfare system where I was sent to more than 20 different placements—including some of the worst foster homes and programs in New Jersey. In the system, I was assured I would be protected […]