Black Prisoners' Caucus | Black Prisoners' Caucus

Chipping Away at the Cultural Wall

February 28, 2016 | No Comments

Originally posted at http://www.doc.wa.gov/news/2016/02282016.htm February 28, 2016 By Andrew Garber DOC Communications 5 TEACH students (Tim Kelly , DOC Communications) CLALLAM BAY – Behind the concertina wire and concrete walls, dozens of inmates gather in classrooms each day to discuss math, politics, religion, history and even creative writing. While some of the classes are for college credit, most are held just for the sake of learning. And the courses are rapidly growing in popularity among inmates, who credit them not only with increasing their understanding of the world, but also with breaking down racial and cultural barriers. “It’s helping us bridge gaps,” said
Read More

Cultural celebration 2013 at Clallam Bay Corrections Center

June 24, 2013 | No Comments

“It Takes a Village” was the theme of this year’s annual cultural celebration that took place on August 3rd, 2013 and it took a village to pull out all the stops for this year’s event that was well received. Children were allowed to be present for the first time in over five years so the BPC made this event all about the kids! Each child received 2 bags given to them by the fathers of the BPC. One, a back pack full of school supplies for the upcoming school year. The second, a gift bag made up of an autographed
Read More

Investing in No Return

March 25, 2013 | No Comments

March 23, 2013 by Dan Satterberg, the King County prosecuting attorney. This report is the work product of people interested in change – some inside the criminal justice system, some from the private sector, and others who were formerly incarcerated. The goal is to increase the discussion around the shared responsibility to help with the reentry transition, and to make practical recommendations for increased government action” (pg. 2). The report contains recommendations to reform Washington’s system of reentry to improve outcomes for men and women released from the State’s prisons, to reduce crime, and to enhance public safety. A report
Read More

School of Second Chances

July 4, 2011 | No Comments

Originally posted at http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/beyond-prisons/school-of-second-chances July 01, 2011 by Carol Estes Inmates who get an education are less likely to reoffend when they’re released. So why are prison education programs getting cut? Washington State Reformatory looks like a college, and in one improbable sense, it is. A massive stone temple of a building, it has sat for a hundred years atop a campus of rolling lawn and manicured flower beds, overlooking groves of giant evergreens and pink rhododendrons. Today, as families walk up the wide granite staircase to a University Beyond Bars graduation, the scene is like that at any college—except that
Read More

When you learn, you don’t return

September 30, 2010 | No Comments

Originally published in the Monroe Monitor & Valley News, Vol. 120, No. 39 September 28, 2010 by Polly Keary University Beyond Bars celebrates $600,000 grant Most medium security inmates try to earn their wayto minimum security, for thefreedoms that go with it. But such is the freedom that goes with education, some inmates have tried to stay out of minimum security just so theycould keep going to the University Beyond Bars, which is only offered at the medium security part of the Monroe Correctional Complex. “Sometimes they try to get infractions, just so they can stay,” said Carol Estes, founder
Read More

Court decision encourages Monroe prisoners eager for right to vote

January 12, 2010 | No Comments

Originally posted at http://www.heraldnet.com/news/court-decision-encourages-monroe-prisoners-eager-for-right-to-vote/ January 10, 2010 by Andy Rathbun MONROE — Bill Pawlyk considered himself a conservative before he went to prison. His political leanings changed after he lost the ability to vote and began serving a life sentence at the Monroe Correctional Complex. “I shifted more toward the center,” said Pawlyk, 68. “You’re a McCain type of fellow,” added Kimonti Carter, 30, a fellow convict serving life at the Monroe Correctional Complex. The men, both found guilty of first-degree murder, are among a group of Washington state prisoners excited by a controversial court decision that could return their right
Read More

SIDEBAR :: From the Other Side of the Bars

February 14, 2007 | No Comments

Originally posted at http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/is-the-u.s.-ready-for-human-rights/sidebar-from-the-other-side-of-the-bars February 12, 2007 by Carol Estes & Catherine Bailey Carol Estes: This is for the next issue of YES! Magazine. YES! is a magazine that looks at problems in the world, and then tries to find a solution for them. It’s going to be on human rights, and the part on prisons and human rights we’re dealing with is the difficulty of you guys getting back into court to have your stories heard. And one thing that the guy who was writing the article for us focuses on is AEDPA. So if your story is related to
Read More