Redwood Curtain CopWatch, based in the north coast of California, is part of a larger movement of self organized CopWatch groups throughout the US. Our local efforts seek to intervene in the drastic rise of the presence, militarization, and violence of the police, and build support networks based on self-determination, caring, and concrete needs.
eigth amendment
Three Strikes Laws, Prison Slavery, Private Prisons: excerpts from The DISH
Submitted by copwatch on Fri, 07/01/2011 - 12:44am~Venue for an Artist...three strikes...by devorah major
~Bit of History...Three Strikes You're Out
~Hood Notes...Three Strikes Caused This Prison Problem...by Larry Gerston, Ph.D.
~News You Use...Private Prisons: Greed and Corruption ~Politics Y2K11...Florida's Racist New Law...By Mansfield Frazier
~Disgruntled
Venue for an Artist / three strikes
By devorah major
three strikes you're out
and the return of the chain gang
a rose by any other name
when you think
of the american institution of slavery
do you think of history
black history
do you think of stories of slave ships
bodies pressed together head to toe
death and misery stories of long ago
auction blocks
flesh groped and pushed
weighed in
people renamed
chained, beaten and confined
and turned from human into commodity
when you think of slavery
do you think of then
well then
Largest Prisoner Strike in U.S. History Underway in Georgia!
Submitted by copwatch on Wed, 12/15/2010 - 12:04amSunday, December 12, 2010, 10:18 PM
A general strike by prisoners throughout the Georgia prison system has shut down 10 prisons since Thursday.
Elaine Brown, former chairperson of the Black Panther Party, describes it as the biggest prison strike in U.S. history. She's taken the lead on advocating for the prisoners from the outside, and insists the strike was initiated and self-organized by the prisoners themselves. The story finally made it into the NYTimes today, where they report prisoners used contraband cellphones to communicate with one another, and now, to talk to the press.
http://blackagendareport.com/?q=content%2Fga-prison-inmates-stage-1-day-peaceful-strike-today
Eureka Cops Plan Raids of Houseless People's Sleeping Spots ; Raids Will VIOLATE Human & Constitutional Rights
Submitted by copwatch on Sat, 07/17/2010 - 11:22amThe word is that raids will begin on Monday, July 19th. Cops hunt down outside-sleeping people every night, but these raids will be broad-sweeping and perhaps more orchestrated.
These raids will violate the rights of the houseless people. There are no legal, free-of-charge places to sleep in Eureka (or Arcata), so there are no options for almost all people who have no shelter except to sleep where they can find a hidden piece of ground. Then ya gotta be able to protect yourself from the rain, wind, cold, dew.
This is not a new situation. But all too often, people who are housed dismiss the reality of the situation by simply saying, "Well, there are homeless shelters for them to go to." That is completely INACCURATE.
