Jason's Prison Journal

Since the birth of the Texas Department of Corrections (TDC), now called the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), Texas has used a not so subtle tool of profit and anti-social control to exploit its captives via unpaid forced labor. This method, both grassroots scholars and many average laymen agree on, is akin to a benign form of slavery – thus to say modern day slave labor. In fact Texas’ first form of prison management was on former slave plantations….

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Reflecting on the September 9, 2016 prison work stoppage from the perspective of a marginalized dissent, within the nucleus of this historic event, basically I’d like to show three things: 1) What brought thousands of men and wimyn to this point of resistance, or as Chris Hedges calls it: The New Slave Rebellion. 2) The success gained from our organizing, support building and resistance. 3) The positive and negative lessons we learned through trial and error, and suggestions to help…

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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has the biggest prison population in the United States (over 140,000 prisoners) and the most prisons of any state (over 100). It is also known for being one of the most self-sufficient and profitable prison systems in the nation, thanks to prison labor. Beef, pork, chicken and vegetables are raised, processed and harvested by prisoners. Soap and clothing items are manufactured through prison labor as well. Prisoners in Texas grow 24 different crops and…

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 4 specifically abolishes slavery in all its functioning forms: “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the state trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” Well, to the contrary the United States Constitution, 13th Amendment allows slavery but under the guise “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place to their Jurisdiction.” Regardless…

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The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has been operating as a money making business, run by corrupt wardens and administrative personnel, since the beginning of the 20th century. This revolving door style of bad actors in high places is no different than what we see in mainstream politics (notably the presidential campaign). Before one is elected; banquets are held, credentials are flashed, and promises are made to change the current state of the prison system – or in other…

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Whether you believe it or not! Some Texas prisoners have gone on a work strike and are proving that they can unite like prisoners in California and Alabama. The last time something this big happened in TDCJ was in the 70’s and 80’s when prison activist David Ruiz successfully filed multiple class action lawsuits that challenged these terrible conditions. This time the fuss is about fraudulent time credits that we are getting (called Good Time/Work Time) in exchange for our…

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