Imprisoned people in over 17 states rose up in a nationwide prison strike from August to September. They held hunger strikes, work stoppages, sit-ins, and commissary boycotts to demand basic human rights. Although the strike has officially ended after four weeks of protest, imprisoned people across the country are still facing heavy retaliation for organizing. Guards continue to physically abuse them, destroy their personal property, and take away the few freedoms they have such as recreation time. Many prison officials have refused to report on continued strike activity so that no one on the outside knows about the ongoing resistance inside.
Campaign Action
Over 20% of imprisoned people have reported physical assault by guards, and abuse of those with mental health issues are common. Despite the widespread prison abuses, they have no legal recourse to file and win lawsuits. The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), a law passed during the Clinton-era prison boom, makes it nearly impossible for incarcerated people to file lawsuits against prisons for human rights violations.
Enacted in 1996, PLRA was intended to decrease presumably frivolous lawsuits filed by incarcerated people. But research shows that the number of lawsuits filed during that time were increasing because of the sharp rise in the prison population. When PLRA was passed, the rate of court filings was actually lower than it had been in a decade. There is therefore no research that supports that PLRA was ever needed, or that it’s effective. Instead, it makes it more difficult to file any lawsuit and gives people no avenues to address human rights violations. As a result, prisons became more dangerous.
Under the Act, incarcerated people must go through extensive red tape before they can take their cases to court. They need to file claims that can be arbitrarily thrown out at any point in the process. After filing three claims, even if unsuccessful, they have to pay a $400 fee to file more. This financial hurdle is nearly impossible to overcome since people in prison are paid as low as eight cents an hour for their work. In some states, it’s legal to pay them nothing. Prisons, then, are never held accountable for the abuses they perpetrate.
Still imprisoned people continue to resist and need all the outside support they can get. Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, a national collective of imprisoned people fighting for prisoners' human rights by providing legal education, resources, and assistance to other prisoners, is on the frontlines of that work. Repealing the PLRA is number three on their list of ten demands. Even though the strike has ended, let’s make sure that imprisoned people’s efforts-- putting their lives and safety at stake-- are not forgotten.