Rush City prison inmate Keith Hapana Crow writes about deteriorating conditions following the closure of Stillwater prison, including restricted recreation, mental health neglect and practices he argues violate restorative justice principles.
Perspectives From Within
Perspectives from Within features concerns from inmates, in partnership with the Twin Cities Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, a union of prisoners, ex-prisoners, families, and communities working to transform the justice system in MN.
Posted inOpinion
Stillwater prison’s ‘honors unit’ looks promising only on paper
The Minnesota DOC’s new “Honor Unit” at Stillwater offers perks, but incarcerated voices say it ignores unsafe conditions, relies on inequitable scoring, and props up a failing prison.
Posted inOpinion
Rush City is Minnesota’s worst prison
Rush City prison is overcrowded, understaffed, and inhumane, with two prisoners often being housed in one cell, leading to violent clashes and inhumane living conditions.
Posted inOpinion
Strip searches are sexual assaults by the state
In Minnesota’s prisons, strip searches of men are a form of sexualized abuse that can cause psychological and physiological harm, and are a form of state-sanctioned sexual assault.
Posted inOpinion
Allowing prisoners to bury their loved ones is important for healing
Inmates are being denied the opportunity to properly grieve and lay their loved ones to rest due to the DOC’s rules and restrictions, causing mental health issues.
Posted inOpinion
Why doesn’t Rush City prison have a dentist?
Prisoners at MCF Rush City are not provided with adequate dental care, despite the constitutional right to medical care for serious medical needs.
Posted inOpinion
Do Minnesotans condone the enslavement of human beings?
Minnesota’s Constitution declares slavery and involuntary servitude legal as a punishment for a crime, and the state’s prisons are a violent, dehumanizing, and coercive slave labor.
Posted inOpinion
Is the Dept. of Corrections knowingly inflicting pain upon prisoners?
Minnesota prisoners denied medication: Cruel and unusual punishment?
Posted inOpinion
Living in Faribault prison is not fit for human beings
An inmate at Faribault prison says the prison is experiencing religious discrimination, subpar living conditions and more.
Posted inOpinion
Rehabilitation and restoration of staffing at Oak Park Heights
The Minnesota Department of Corrections is understaffed on weekends and is taking away inmates’ weekend hours due to unionizing.
Posted inOpinion
Rush City prison in shambles
We should all want people coming out of prisons to be better off, not worse off than when they went in.
Posted inOpinion
Families demand reduced timeline to implement new prison “good time” law
The Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act (MRRA) allows people to earn early release and supervision reductions by using their time well, increasing public safety and saving taxpayers money. Planned for the last three years and passed in May, the law went into effect this August 1. Yet there is ongoing controversy over its implementation, with […]
Posted inOpinion
Will Minnesota repair broken justice for lifers?
Unless Minnesotans are prepared to accept a system of “justice for some,” the “lifer” review process must be reformed.
Posted inOpinion
Support HF 93 to end the legacy of slavery for those convicted of a crime
It’s very rewarding to know that some of my fellow Minnesotans are also tired of the outdated language in the state’s Constitution.
Posted inOpinion
End Minnesota’s felony murder law
‘I am one of many men inside here who have gained maturity from experience.’
Posted inOpinion
The prison treatment trap for release violators
The sad fact is we have one of the lowest rates of recommitting a crime in Minnesota, roughly 3%, yet we get supervised like we’re worse than murderers, who also have a really low recidivism rate.
Posted inOpinion
Shakopee prison conditions constitute cruel and unusual punishment
‘These continual indifferent attitudes and cold conditions violate inmates’ civil rights and endanger their health.’
Posted inOpinion
Medical care for MN prisoners is horrible
When a prisoner has medical or mental issues or disabilities the systematic neglect quickly becomes abusive.
Posted inOpinion
Work release is underutilized in MN prisons
For each person in work release, taxpayers save up to $16,086 a year.
