We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

A Death Before Dying: Solitary Confinement on Death Row.

Click here to access article by Anthony Graves, Death Row Exonoree #138, from American Civil Liberties Union.
When I was on death row, I saw guys come to prison sane and leave this world insane, talking nonsense on the execution gurney....subjecting anyone in prison to solitary confinement is torture.