In this week’s episode, we air the final part of a conversation between Jok from Focus Initiatives and Rodney Jones, known as Big R. Big R was a witness to the beating that sparked the 1985 Pendleton prison uprising here in Indiana. In previous episodes, they discussed the circumstances that led up to the beating,…
Read MoreIn this week’s episode, we air the second part of a conversation between Jok Huerta from Focus Initiatives and Rodney Jones, known as Big R. Big R was a witness to the beating that sparked the the 1985 Pendleton prison uprising here in Indiana. This conversation is part of a series put on by IDOC Watch and…
Read MoreIn this episode, we share information about the recent disturbances in St. Louis. Afterwards, we have the second part of a conversation with Balagoon, an Indiana political prisoner who has been locked up for almost 43 years, 31 of those in isolation. In this episode, he first describes the context of the 1985 uprising in…
Read MoreUp first, we have a comprehensive overview of prisoner protests compiled by Perilous Chronicle, who are collecting information about the many prison uprisings and disturbances now occurring regularly. They will be sharing these updates with us each month. For our feature this week, we share the first part of a conversation with Balagoon, an Indiana…
Read MoreOn this episode, we have a letter from a prisoner at Pendleton Correctional Facility about his experiences with COVID-19 there. We share a short PSA about street safety during protests, and a message from Keith “Malik” Washington. On June 3rd, Bloomington residents occupied the courthouse square in order to support the movement for black lives. …
Read MoreThis week, we speak more with Leon Benson, who calls us from inside the Pendleton Correctional Facility here in Indiana. Benson shared his story with us in the past several Kite Line episodes, and now he talks to us about the conditions inside the prison. Benson demonstrates the importance of prisoners being ableto form bonds…
Read MoreAcross the country, thousands of prisoners are facing consequences for their participation in the national prison strike. Some are being denied contact with the outside world, others have lost access to hot food. Others have faced violence. For many, outside solidarity has meant the difference, like the prisoners at an Indiana prison facility who were…
Read MoreWe begin this week with a letter from a prisoner at Pendleton Correctional Facility. He writes about the educational programs available in the prison. He works through some of the problems prisoners encounter when trying to get a meaningful vocational training or degree on the inside. And then, we hear more from Abu Faheem Shabaz,…
Read MoreThis episode is an interview with Kwame Shakur, who is currently incarcerated at the Pendleton Correctional Institution. On August 11th , Indiana prison activists held a demonstration at the state capitol building in Indianapolis opposing new Indiana department of corrections regulations restricting incoming prisoner mail. The new policy prohibits all mail which is not hand…
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