On December 9, 2010, black, brown and white inmates in at least six Georgia prisons locked themselves into their cells in a peaceful, nonviolent protest that lasted several days.
Prisoners were demanding wages for their unpaid work, educational and recreational opportunities (no educational programs are offered to GA prisoners except GED, and then only to those under 25 with less than six months remaining on a sentence) adequate food and medical care, better access to their families, and more just parole decisions.... all arguably basic human rights. In reprisal, heat and water were cut to some cell blocks and individuals were summarily beaten. It appears that at least one man, not thought to be a strike leader, was so seriously injured by staff that prison officials had to transfer him to a hospital in Atlanta more than 130 miles away. The man's family only learned of his injury and transfer when the friends of other inmates contacted them two weeks later.
Although the NY Times, the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the local ABC News affiliate know the story well, almost 24 hours after receiving all the relevant information, they are still containing the story. The Department of Corrections has declined to comment so far, and has yet to let anybody ascertain the condition of the inmate, whose name is Terrance Dean of Bibb County GA.
The Concerned Coalition to Respect Prisoners Rights sprang up in response to the peaceful inmate strike in Demcember. It includes the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, The Ordinary Peoples Society, the Nation of Islam, the Green Party of Georgia, the ACLU of Georgia and dozens of other local organizations.
In the wake of the strike, the coalition met with state officials who granted their fact finding teams access to the affected institutions to hear inmate complaints and make a formal report. It appears that the beating of Terrance Dean took place immediately before the fact finding team entered Macon State Prison. A subsequent fact finding team visited Smith State Prison last week.
In addition to receiving the official tour, the team received the petitions of inmates, and heard horrific stories of prison officials charging for medical care, extracting maintenance fees, multiple fines and rents from the meager funds of inmates and their families, the mass incarceration of youthful prisoners, religious persecution of Muslim prisoners, inadequate medical care, and much more.
The brutal beating of Terrance Dean, and apparent state efforts to cover it up by state officials, along with the reluctance of corporate media to touch the story raise many, many questions.
Much more here.