November 30, 2018: 115 prisoners who work at the prison’s anagram balloon factory went on strike in response to delays in delivery of canteen items and abuse by guards. Prisoners state that the administration recently changed the amount of time it takes for canteen items to be delivered from one week to two weeks.
2018
07
Sep
Hamilton Correctional Annex, Florida: 100 Prisoners “Become Noncompliant”
September 7, 2018: Staff mobilize security teams and law enforcement from the surrounding area to contain prisoners who “became noncompliant” on the recreation yard. News helicopters captured images of prisoners, dressed in white, in the yard confronted by a line of guards.
22
Aug
Protest at Northeast Correctional Center, Missouri
August 22, 2018: Prisoners refused orders to return to their cells and engaged in a non-violent sit-down protest in order to raise grievances regarding lack of recreation time.
21
Aug
2018 National Prison Strike: North Carolina
August, 2018 (exact dates uncertain): North Carolina prisoners issued a set of 8 additional demands focusing on mental health treatment and solitary confinement as well as a call for truce between various groups of prisoners. On August 20, supporters gathered for a noise demo outside Hyde Correctional Institution during the prisoners’ yard time. Prisoners responded to the demo by holding up their own banners saying “parole” “better food” and “solidarity”. Unconfirmed strike activity was reported at 11 prisons in the state.
21
Aug
2018 National Prison Strike: Burnside Jail, Nova Scotia
August 21 – September 9, 2018: On August 19 prisoners at Central Nova Correctional Facility in Burnside, Nova Scotia issue a statement in solidarity with the nationwide prisoner strike in the US. Their statement contained a committment to striking and a list of demands. They refused work and faced severe retaliation, including humaliating body scans and being locked in dry cells (no water or working toilets) for three days.
21
Aug
2018 National Prison Strike
August 21 – September 9, 2018 (exact dates vary based on location): Prisoners with Jailhouse Lawyers Speak and other organizations issued 10 national demands with a call to action for work stoppages, sit-down strikes, hunger strikes and boycotts of the commissary. Organizers stated that the strike was organized in response to the riot at Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina that resulted in the violent deaths of seven prisoners.
08
Aug
2018 National Prison Strike: Lea County Correctional Facility, New Mexico
August 9, 2018: Four housing units at the private GEO Group prison refuse orders and go on strike in response to harassment and abuse. Prisoners cite admin cutting visitation and guards harassing prisoners family members, including strip searching elders.
04
Jul
Protest and Uprising at Tipton Correctional Center, Missouri
July 4, 2018: Upset by rules changes imposing stricter limits on movement and the ability to congregate together, prisoners in at least three units refuse orders, cover security cameras, and engage in property destruction. In one unit they break windows and damage walls.
21
Jun
Protest at Eastern Correctional Institute, Maryland
June 21, 2018: Prisoners at the Eastern Correctional Institute in Maryland stage a protest in which, according to a former correctional officer who spoke on condition of anonymity to WBOC in Maryland, at least 600 disobey orders and refuse to go back to their cells in a protest against conditions at the prison. At the time of the incident, the prison is dramatically understaffed–120 officers and 15 supervisors short. Following the incident, the prison is placed on lockdown for three weeks.
12
May
Protest and Uprising at Crossroads Correctional, Missouri
May 12, 2018: After recreation and programming were cut due to staffing shortages, prisoners stage a sit-down strike–sitting peacefully and refusing to follow orders from staff. According to the Missouri DOC, 209 prisoners participated in the protest.
The conflict escalated into a full-blown riot in which prisoners hot-wired fork lifts to break down the doors in one facility and destroyed infrastructure within including the kitchen, cafeteria area, storages areas, staff offices and a Missouri Vocational Enterprises factory.
