We came together to discuss why & how we must beat back slavery in prisons & the return of the failed drug war. YES to Prop 6 and NO to Prop 36. Featuring impacted community leaders who have long advocated for the incarcerated, the houseless, those w/ mental health needs, & communities of color. Panelists include Sandy Perry (South Bay Land Trust), Yvonne Maxwell (Ujima), Cecilia Chavez (De-Bug), J. Vasquez (CURYJ), Xavier Espana (De-Bug).

Author Donovan, is a campaign ambassador for the Yes on 6 campaign and he writes how a job while incarcerated in CDCR takes priority over rehabilitative programs, vocational classes and even family visits - a failing of the system to rehabilitate and prepare people to return to their communities with skills and experience. If Prop 6 is approved by voters it will help eliminate those obstacles to rehabilitation by banning forced prison labor.

Starting October 15th, 2024 - the Santa Clara County Sheriffs will be armed with tasers in the jail and on patrol. A mother of a son didn't know if he would survive the abuse in jail, a daughter whose father was killed by law enforcement, and a prisoners rights advocate share the deadly implications of Santa Clara County approving tasers. (Photo by Daniel Zapien)

Author Raymond Goins writes that Prop 36 is the criminalization of survival, and would bring California back to an era of the War on Drugs that decimated Black and Brown communities.

Many people believe slavery is part of America's past. But involuntary servitude is an accepted practice in California prisons. Proposition 6, on the 2024 ballot, would end the practice of forced labor in CDCR. Author Xavier España shares what it is like to work for next to nothing while locked up.

Editor's Note: After hunger strikes, federal consent decrees, and a slew of civil rights lawsuits around conditions inside the jail, and abuses the detained faced - the County created an independent oversight body called OCLEM. The county awarded a contract to a firm called OIR to run OCLEM. But after a few years of implementation, the oversight is not what the community hoped for. A new Sheriff proposal to arm officers with Tasers was essentially endorsed by OIR, raising a k

Editor's Note: Author Santos Loyola shares his journey from feeling like another male in juvenile hall - to becoming a teen father and looking to school and faith to transform his life for the better.

Despite marketing a progressive position, the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office has opposed every Racial Justice Act filed on behalf of community members. Now they are claiming the fight for racial justice victimizes them - the prosecutor.

For decades police and prosecutors have racially profiled, arrested, and incarcerated Latino community members in Santa Clara County. Now, due to the Racial Justice Act -- these discriminatory practices are being challenged in the courts.

High school student Jordyn travelled to the State Capitol to advocate for legislation for the first time. She recounts the day and how rewarding it was to see the bill move to the next step.

A newly published Santa Clara County Grand Jury report echoed what students and community advocates have been saying for years about the San Jose Unified School District. The report confirms sustained failures in leadership.

The Santa Clara County DA has announced he is resentencing those on death row. But author Raymond Goins, who won a resentencing after 18 years of incarceration, writes that true justice would be offering pathways to freedom, rather than still condemning people to die in prison through "life without parole" sentences.

Led by the National Council of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, movement leaders from across the country converged at Washington DC to demand federal and state clemency, and to end the incarceration of women.

Beloved 19 year old David Sullivan was killed by Buena Park Police Department in 2019. Officers Jennifer Tran and Bobby Colon shot him 7 times within 2 minutes of pulling David over. This week, the family's second civil trial ended and the jury found the officers were negligent and used excessive force. The following is a statement from DeAnna Sullivan, David's mother.

In Oakland’s federal court on March 14th, community from all over California showed up in solidarity with hunger strikers facing vindictive prosecution for their participation in the historic hunger strikes of 2011 and 2013 to end indefinite solidarity confinement in CDCR. This statement is from Sitawa Nantambu Gamma, a representative of the same hunger strikes. The next court date is scheduled for April 29th.

More people are going out with the same outfits they wear in the house - crocs, sweats - what the author calls the "lazy fit." But what does this style say about the moment?

When she reached out for support after being released from prison and was homeless, the author was confident Santa Clara County Re-Entry services would assist her. But every County door shut on her, and so together, they went through 48 hours of crisis trying to find answers.

SV De-Bug - SV De-Bug - January 30, 2024 January 29, 2024 Re: 8.1 Regulating Oversized Vehicles & 8.2 Addressing Encampments and Oversized Vehicles Around Schools Dear Mayor and City Council, We are so disappointed in the City of San Jose’s direction to criminalize a symptom of a larger housing crisis that instead of addressing root causes of poverty, ignores them altogether and punishes a vulnerable population with already limited options - threatening to end up taking what

"The White men came, committing bloody sins. They stole the gold and oil and grabbed the land. The Palestinians are Indians," writes rhymer Christopher Patrick Nelson in a striking poem.

The City of San Jose has issued a retraining order against the mother of Jacob Dominguez, who was killed by San Jose police. Jacob's family recently won a civil suit against the officer Mike Pina, when a jury found his lethal force unlawful. In a retaliatory act, the City filed a restraining order against Jacob's mother. The community has called on the city to drop the order.