The Vermont Department of Corrections has announced that it will move ahead with plans to pursue two sites for a new women’s prison in Essex, estimated to cost the state $70 million to complete and take 10 years to build.
Tag: prison
Starting Monday, FreeHer Vermont is holding a week of action to pressure Vermont officials to abandon plans for constructing new prisons in the state while reinstating funding for constructing new schools.
The Prison Research and Innovation Network’s vision of transparency, collaboration, and improvement does not hold up against the experience of the incarcerated individuals who have been involved in the project.
A new documentary made by a local filmmaker has ambitious aims. Bookended with words from Assata Shakur and Angela Davis, “Abolition & Revolution” attempts to ground the present political crises with their roots in history, not just to better understand our present context but to learn how to change it.
Vermont, like every other state, has contracts between its Department of Corrections and private, for-profit companies to meet incarcerated people’s commissary, media, and telecommunication needs. The State of Vermont allows these corporations to charge prices that far exceed anything paid by Vermonters on the outside. Moreover, the state receives a portion of the proceeds, incentivizing DOC officials to continue the practice without scrutiny or legislative oversight.
In Part 2 of this series, we look at how Vermont’s incarcerated workers are exploited by the State, the Vermont Department of Corrections, and the many nonprofits and municipalities that employ them.
This November, the Vermont Abolish Slavery and Indentured Servitude Amendment to the Vermont State Constitution will be presented to Vermont voters for approval. The bill intends to update Vermont’s Constitution regarding slavery, clarifying that “slavery and indentured servitude in any form are prohibited.”
The Winooski School District’s almost-completed $62 million school expansion project has been in the news for being behind schedule and incurring rising costs. What is likely unknown to the city’s residents and most Winooski school officials is the project’s use of over $400,000 worth of incarcerated labor, worth millions in real labor costs, on average making less than $1 an hour.