Ed Mead passed away on Nov 6, 2023 – his 86th birthday. I wanted to write a few words in his memory.
I have never written an obituary, so I hope to do Ed’s memory justice.
The thing is, he … Read the rest
Fyodor Dostoyevsky was right. Anyone who wants to determine a society’s level of progress only needs to look inside its prisons. This is because prisons are a condensed version of the society that produces them.
Indeed, as the U.S. Supreme … Read the rest
In a recent article I pointed out the racial double standard applied where officials publicized that several Black guards had been criminally charged with assault on prisoners that occurred in Virginia’s Black-staffed prisons, while no charges have been issued against … Read the rest
The following is an interview conducted with Kevin “Rashid” Johnson by James K. Anderson a member of the IWW Freelance Journalist Union.
JAMES ANDERSON: When did you first learn about the plan for the Sept 9, 2016 prison strike?
RASHID: … Read the rest
For the first time that I know of, a Virginia government official has publicly admitted that prisons located in the state’s poor rural segregated white communities like Red Onion and Wallens Ridge State Prisons exist solely to prop up these … Read the rest
It’s really common sense that those in power, who abuse power, will resist and attempt to suppress those who expose their abuses.
The head of the Virginia prison system, director Chadwick Dotson, has been exposed as lying to hide racist … Read the rest
During latter 2024 I put out a call to create a prisoner support network and organization called PAPA or People Against Prison Abuse. The purpose of PAPA was to create a broad base of public support for prisoners made up … Read the rest
On Feb 10, 2025 a meeting was held by people and members of groups who support or have signed on to PAPA (People Against Prison Abuse). This was our fifth meeting. At that meeting several things were decided:
First, we … Read the rest
On Jan 28, 2025 three guards at Virginia’s Greensville Correctional Center were reported as having been criminally charged for violent assaults on prisoners. (1) Greensville is one of Va’s predominantly Black-staffed prisons that houses medium security level prisoners. Thanks to … Read the rest
Chadwick Dotson has been the director of Virginia’s prison system since September 2023.
Before this appointment, he was a chief judge in the Circuit Court for Wise County, Va. He was also a past prosecuting attorney and dean of students … Read the rest