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Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Warehouse Prison

Some protesters arrested at the Democratic National Convention could be jailed in a city- owned warehouse, complete with metal cages and barbed wire, CBS4 News has learned.

Investigative reporter Rick Sallinger discovered the location and managed to get inside Tuesday for a look. The newly created lockup, in a warehouse northeast of Denver, contains dozens of metal cages made of chain-link fence material, topped by rolls of barbed wire.

Each of these fenced-in areas is about 15 feet by 15 feet, with a lock on the door.

A sign on the wall reads "Warning, electric stun devices used in this facility."

Sallinger showed video of the warehouse to Adam Jung of Tent State University and Zoe Williams of Code Pink, leaders of groups that plan to demonstrate during the convention. "This is very bare-bones and very reminiscent of a political prisoner camp or a concentration camp," Williams said.

"That's how you treat cattle," Jung siad. "You showed the sign where it said stun gun in use. And you just change the word gun for bolt, and it's a meat-processing plant."

The Denver Sheriff's Department would not discuss the facility. Instead, the sheriff's department said late Tuesday the mayor's office would be releasing a statement about it early next week.

"We're going to tell you about it," said Capt. Frank Gale, of the sheriff's department. "We're going to have the community and the media come out and view the place ."

John White, spokesman for Denver police, said Tuesday he could not comment until after he has a chance to consult with convention officials. The American Civil Liberties Union said it will ask the city of Denver how prisoners will get access to food and water, bathrooms, telephones and medical care, and if there will be a place to meet with attorneys.


Rocky Mountain News

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suggest we the citizens lock up all the police sherriffs ect so they dont hurt a bunch of people who will definitely sue the hell out of the county and the city!!! Who ever authorized the building of such a crude facility needs to be locked in it for a month, then released and made to PAY for it out of there pocket. It appears that they broke the law in building it??? Fraudulently wasting the taxpayers money. Wake up people of Colorado, you need to rid your government of corruption and fraudulent spending?? djw

Anonymous said...

Oh no, of course not. Not one cent of our tax dollars, neither federal, state nor local went to funding anything that had to do with the Democratic Convention, per our Mayor and Govenor.
If you believe that line, I have a bridge I can sell you...
However, maybe this will bring out the facts in regards to ALL our city, county, and state prisons where for "security reasons" (a GW Bush line), most prisoners are locked up for 23 to 24 hours a day.
Did you know that Denver city jail makes inmates wear the same clothes that they are arrested in for weeks at a time? They have no access to canteen? The jail is 400% over capacity? County jail locks prisoners up for 22 hours per day?
DOC is building a supermax prison, locking people up 23 hours a day?
80% of the inmates at CSP are on at least 2 anti-depresants? If there is a "discipline problem", such as trying to kick an internal drug habit, the prisoners are sent to CSP, not because they are violent nor because they reach that number of "points", but because they have AIDS or mental problems, and wanna-be police persons, guards do not want to deal with them. mpc

Anonymous said...

Riot,Riot,Riot,Riot,Riot...
When you want something bad enough its time to throw down and have a big ass Riot.....

Randy said...

"Riot,Riot,Riot,Riot,Riot...

When you want something bad

enough its time to throw

down and have a big ass Riot"



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OR NOT...