CSJG

Poem: My Eulogy

October 7, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

by Stewart Skuba, Valley State Prison Do you understand what freedom is trulyBarriers…Cages…Walls….Restraints…Shackles…Cuffs…I can't breathe…I can't stand up.I have had enough.Truly that man that I was is Deadthis is his Eulogy.I am no longer him…He is no longer meI have had enough.No more looking back…Moving forwards…things are looking Up.So good looking out…there is no … [Read more...] about Poem: My Eulogy

Poem: Three Palm Trees

October 7, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

by Jennifer Fletcher, Central CA Women's FacilityCSJG Journalist & CSU Fresno Debate Champion Beautifully Majestic, full of life, oceans of azure blueSoftly caressing toasty warm sands; coming so close to youYour palm fronds blow in the breeze, swaying to and froWondering with life's many choices, which way you will goSunshine glowing bringing warmth to the sands of … [Read more...] about Poem: Three Palm Trees

Poem: The Dangerous Few

September 11, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

by Ghostwrite Mike, Valley State Prison How do the dangerous few, earn, the right of return?Turn the page—act our age—work, but not be slaves?Not be slaves…Forever purgatoried, tell yo story, text it through the ether—eitherWe record the history, or they deceive the reader.See, we are praxis, for those who wield powerFor the feel of it. Blessed, if you could deal with … [Read more...] about Poem: The Dangerous Few

Poem: No Longer Oppressed

September 11, 2025 by AOUON Contributor Leave a Comment

by Louis R. Baca, Valley State Prison Identify with my captors? NEVER. Stockholm syndrome ain't that clever. DNA strand, tougher than leather. Ancestral roots keeping me tethered. Mentally abused, tarred and feathered. Physically used, scarred and weathered. I rose above it, not completely severed. Elephant recall, that means forever. PTSD, so you know my … [Read more...] about Poem: No Longer Oppressed

Theses on Labor, Exploitation, & Incarceration

by Eric C. Sapp, LSPC Staff Attorney Prefatory Note: This an abridged version of a text written in spring of 2023, in the context of advocacy regarding carceral wages. §1 Workers’ rights are human rights; let it be stated unequivocally that incarcerated workers are workers. §2 The prison and industrial capitalism […]

In Texas, AOUON Members Build Collective Power

In July, AOUON’s San Antonio chapter hosted a national convening to bring us together as issues of crimmigration, the new presidential administration, and environmental injustice are deeply impacting us across states, borders, and walls. A multi-generational group of folks impacted by the criminal legal system ranging from toddlers to movement elders, we are leaving with […]

CA Senate Bill 423: Origins, Organizing, and the Fight for Firefighter Justice

by Lawrence Cox, LSPC Regional Advocacy and Organizing Manager I was born in Oakland, California, into a world where stability was elusive and the foster-care docket turned faster than any child could comprehend. I never learned permanence; I learned placement. By age seven, I was a ward of Alameda County, rotating through foster homes and […]

California Special Election: Prop 50

California has a special election coming up! On November 4th, many Californians will have the chance to vote on Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act. This constitutional amendment, proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom, would create a new congressional district map that favors Democrats for the next three election cycles (through 2030) in an attempt […]

Letter from David Johnson

From the Archives of Ms. Daphne Muse at the Oasis in the Diaspora. c. 1972. Greetings Comrade Sister, I received your most vibrant missive a few days ago, and I must say it was a pleasant surprise hearing from you. In these most critical of times it provided me with a uplift to my spirits, […]

Immigration, Citizenship, and the Constitution (Jurisprudence for Jailhouse Lawyers, Part VI)

by Eric C. Sapp, LSPC Staff Attorney Few provisions of the U.S. Constitution are clearer than the Fourteenth Amendment’s opening clause: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” U.S. Const. Amend. 14, Sec. 1 […]