d ray james

March 9-15: This past Wednesday was extremely odd because I didn’t get a single ordinary sized letter. Odder yet when I didn’t get any letters on Thursday. Or Friday. Normally I get 8 to 10 letters a day. So today, Monday, March 7, I discovered that SIS (Security), led by Mr. Lindsay, is taking my mail from the mailroom after it has all been inspected and cleared of contraband, and then taking my letters to their office and reading each one. Read more »

Randy Clarke from New Westminster, BC performed Johnny Cash’s song “Folsom Prison Blues” for me in the prison music room, using one of the three guitars they have there. However, it’s been adapted for this prison, and is now called “Folkston Prison Blues” – you can listen to it online! Read more »

February 19 to 28 - In this issue: Warden Booker leaves the prison; GEO Group Vice President of Regional, Mr. Zenk, takes over as Acting Warden (he spoke with Jodie Emery by phone on February 10); a disruption in Q Building on February 22 (9 inmates go to SHU, solitary confinement); and a confrontational visitation on the long weekend of February 19-21. Read more »

Sunday, February 12: The cruelties just pile up here at D. Ray James. Jodie just visited me and there’s a new rule: NO Holding Hands! Wow! After being able to hold hands during the entire visits at Sea-Tac FDC in Seattle, and during Jodie’s first five visits to DRJ, we could hold hands the entire visit. This new rule is very distressing and disappointing. Read more »

February 8-14: On January 6, Warden Booker told me I was to be reinstated to my job in the law/reading library. After three weeks of waiting and going to the library daily in any case, I saw on the call-out sheets (daily assignment sheet) in late January that I was assigned to pick up garbage on the compound in the afternoon and evening. Considering any inmate can do this job but only 4 or 5 English speakers in the entire population can do the paralegal/secretarial work I was doing on behalf of the 1,500+ Hispanic inmates here, this new assignment was clearly an attempt by someone here to thwart the warden and humiliate me. Read more »

Marc helps make changes in the D. Ray James Correctional Institution in Georgia -- and his bad spider bite is getting better. Jodie shares an amazing present from Marc, a purse made out of folded-up chip bags, done by the artist inmates. The Toronto Freedom Festival is not so free... denied a permit for the first time ever. Cannabis Culture will still be there with 40,000 others marching in the Global Marijuana March, which is still happening at the same location as the Freedom Festival, as always. Go to http://www.CannabisCulture.com for updates!

http://www.FreeMarc.ca/ Read more »

Jodie talks about a prison lockdown, the warden getting fired, Marc getting a bad spider bite (or worse?), and more. She shares a wall hanging made by inmates, and a beautiful piece of art from a supporter. Read Marc's prison blog at http://www.cannabisculture.com for his review of improvements made at the prison after he filed complaints. And plan ahead for the Toronto Freedom Festival and Global Marijuana March on Saturday, May 7th! HELP FREE MARC EMERY! Read more »