Kite Line

Welcome to the 200th episode of Kite Line. This week, we revisit the important intersection of incarceration and higher education. Barriers to higher education are a key way the incarcerated and the formerly incarcerated are trapped by the system in a cycle of unemployment, low-wage work, and recidivism. We are proud to again host an …

This core of this week’s Kite Line is a conversation between Anastazia Schmid and Jennifer Fleming about trying to get an education before, during, and after incarceration. You’ve likely heard Anastazia before on Kite Line, both while she was inside at the Indiana Women’s Prison, and since she was released last year. We will be …

The country might be locked down, but struggles inside prisons and out continue to develop chaotically and unexpectedly intersect with the COVID-19 crisis.  Prisoners in Stateville in Illinois report that they continue to suffer from a full lockdown, restricting their programming and access to phones.  Yet, guards are patting them down without washing their hands …

Across the country, politicians and businessmen are calling for the economy to reopen, regardless of the consequences.  At the exact same time, the corona virus is spreading nearly uncontrolled inside America’s prisons and jails, with concentrations of infections spiking from Rikers Island in NY to the Marion Correctional Facility in Ohio, where 73% of prisoners …

For this week’s episode, we continue airing messages about the coronavirus from prisoners around the country. You can call in on behalf of a loved one, or they can call in to record a message at (765) 343-6236. This week, we hear from prisoners in Wisconsin, Louisiana, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio about how the coronavirus …

This week, we continue our coverage of the pandemic’s impact on prisoners across the country.  A COVID-19 uprising broke out in Washington state this week.  On April 8, 100 prisoners refused to comply with orders to disperse a protest, and were attacked by so-called “less lethal weapons” like rubber bullets and pepper spray.  They had …

Prisoners across the US, and the world, face terrifying prospects as COVID-19 spreads almost uncontrolled inside the prison walls. It’s now or never as they and their loved ones struggle for their release, for adequate sanitation inside, and to self-organize pandemic response in the absence of serious measures by guards and administrators. We hear from …

This week, we continue to air urgent messages from people on the impact of the coronavirus on prisoners around the world and closer to home. We start off with a call from a prisoner at Waupun Correctional, in Wisconsin, where an outbreak of COVID-19 has been reported. We share a statement from someone in Brazil …

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to change life on the outside for people all over the world, the prison population stands to suffer immensely in these times. Last week, we spoke to someone in Italy, who described the riots and protests inside and outside the prisons in areas around that country. This week, we are …

The entire country of Italy is now a “red zone,” not quite quarantined, but facing serious restrictions to movement and public gathering due to the coronavirus. Prisoners were told that they would lose all family visitation, even though the Justice Ministry was not taking any other steps to offer them medical care or prevent transmission …

This week, we return to the Breakaway Recovery House to share a conversation between Micol Seigel and four of the women who lived there: Hillary, Janet, Britney, and Kelsey. All four women interviewed have been on electronic monitoring at some point. They tell stories about their experiences under e-carceration, and the problems they suffered. From …

The Indiana legislature is currently debating SB 449, which would expand the range of situations that would send children to adult court and adult prison.  As of 2017-2018, 69% of the cases where children were sent to adult court involved African American youth.  Under the proposed bill, children as young as twelve could be sent …

This week, we focus on the history of police in the United States, and the concept of community policing. Alex Vitale, author of the new book, “The End of Policing” shares his research about the origins of modern police, and the inadequate ways that police respond to community issues. Prison abolition often focuses primarily on …

In this week’s episode, we start off with a call for action from Jailhouse Lawyers Speak. JLS is calling for a new set of actions from August 21- September 9, 2020. After we hear from them, we share the story of Nick, a long-time Bloomingtonian who passed through both private prisons and those run by …

This week focuses on call-ins from two prisoners: Khalfani Malik Khaldun in Indiana, and Muti Ajamu-Osagboro in Pennsylvania. First, we hear from Muti. Muti Ajamu-Osagboro is a prisoner currently incarcerated in Pennsylvania. Muti was sentenced to life without parole as a teenager. Despite the fact that the US Supreme Court has decided that it is …

This week’s episode ends our series of conversations with Valrice “Whop” Cooper. Whop is the legendary cornerman who learned his craft training prisoners in the Louisiana DOC’s boxing program. For this episode, they discuss how he was punished inside the prison system for standing up for his trainees, how these athletes stay fit behind prison …

This week continues our set of conversations with Valrice “Whop” Cooper, the legendary cornerman who learned his craft training prisoners in the Louisiana DOC’s boxing program. For this episode, we discuss how he got into the game, the politics behind such programs as the PAL, or Police Athletic League, and what it takes to succeed …

This week starts our series of conversations with Valrice “Whop” Cooper, the legendary cornerman who learned his craft training prisoners in the Louisiana DOC’s boxing program. For this episode, we discuss his thirty-five-year prison term that began in 1976 at the age of 17, and how coming into contact with the Black Power movement- one …

The Federal government rolled out the weed and seed program in the early 1990s in response to a new wave of urban uprisings. It placed social services under police control, so that cops could first “weed,” (i.e. remove undesirable elements) and then “seed” by distributing resources, following a classic model of counter-insurgency. Two decades were …

Our episode this week finishes the conversation between Rojas, Meg, and Cyrus. Last week, they spoke about the conditions of transgender and gender non-conforming prisoners in the prison system. They continue talking about efforts to support transgender and GNC prisoners inside and outside of the walls. Additionally, they talk to each other about exciting upcoming …

Our episode this week is a conversation between Rojas and Cyrus, two advocates with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners.  CCWP is an organization that exists, in their words, to “monitor and challenge the abusive conditions inside California women’s prisons. We fight for the release of women and trans prisoners. We support women and trans …

On our show this week, we hear from Dennis Boatright, a co-organizer with MAPS- Michigan Abolition and Prisoner Support. Boatright presents ‘From Convict to Inmate’, tracing the counter insurgent and repressive measures- such as isolation, book restriction, and even the colors used within the facilities- used by the Michigan Department of Corrections to neutralize and …

For the first part of this week’s episode- we hear from Onishona. In this interview, she tells us about her experiences with recidivism and problems with re-entry. She also talks about the role books, and specifically how books about mass incarceration, such as The New Jim Crow, shaped her prison experiences. After her interview we …

This week, we speak with two writers, Laura Lasuertmer and Wendy Lee Spacek. Spacek and Lasuertmer run a writing workshop in the local jail. They tell us about the writing program, what led them to do this project, and its impact on folks in the inside. Then, we share a selection of writings that came …

This week, we visit the women of the Breakaway Recovery House. Located in New Albany, Indiana, this halfway house is the residence for 14 formerly incarcerated women. In last week’s discussion of e-carceration, Breakaway was mentioned as a resource enabling women to transition to life on the outside. Recently, Micol Seigel visited Breakaway, and talked …