The title of this organization shall be One Hood. One Hood will be a bridge for resolving gang and neighborhood disputes through dialogue and negotiation within the prison and by extension on the streets as the culture of prison is increasingly influencing the culture of the streets. One Hood will serve to unite neighborhoods, end gang warfare and make men responsible defenders of their neighborhoods. One Hood will develop new and innovative concepts to address gang and neighborhood violence using conflict resolution initiatives.

by Robert L. Holbrook

In Pennsylvania prior to the passage of legislative statutes governing the automatic transfer of juvenile offenders charged with murder into Adult Court, juvenile offenders charged with murder were protected from automatic transfer into Adult Court. They were routinely subjected to a hearing before a judge to determine whether or not, based on their maturity and capacity, they would be transferred into Adult Court. Transfers of juvenile offenders charged with murder were rare and typically reserved for heinous crimes in which the juvenile offender was the actual perpetrator or when the juvenile offender had an extensive arrest/detention record.

Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf
Senate Box 203012
Harrisburg, PA 17120-3012

RE: Juveniles Sentenced To Life Without Parole in Pennsylvania

Dear Honorable Stewart J. Greenleaf:

Pennsylvania presently leads the nation in the amount of juvenile offenders sentenced to life without parole according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "How Pennsylvania Teens End Up Put Away For Life" (2/19/07) and Human Rights Watch annual national statistics.

by Robert Saleem Holbrook

I decided to write this article in response to the endless criticism that is being directed against the "Stop Snitching" movement by critics claiming Hip Hop is responsible for the "Stop Snitching" movement and the "Us vs. Them" mentality youth of color have towards law enforcement agencies. As a former gang member and street combatant of the drug wars that dominated the streets of Philly in the late 80's and a member of the generation that came of age listening to Hip Hop I believe I am qualified to offer a frontline perspective from the other side of the issue, especially as one who was sentenced to life without parole as a juvenile because of the testimony of a snitch co-defendant that was close to 10 years older than I.

by Robert Saleem Holbrook

Imprisonment in the United States is distinguished from imprisonment in the rest of the world by one enduring trait = the total and complete humiliation and de-humanization of the prisoner. This trait demonstrates why the U.S. prison system is a total failure and shunned by the rest of the world. While other countries prison systems may toil under brutal and inhumane conditions, particularly in the developing world, that are not up to American standards these countries "treatment" and "conditions" of their prisoners and prisons owes more to the lack of funds available or a unwillingness to invest in their prisons systems as opposed to a government philosophy guiding their treatment of prisoners. So while conditions in Mexican prisons are brutal and inhumane it is not owed to a specific government policy rather it is because as a developing country Mexico does not have the funds to invest in the upgrading of its prison system. However even if Mexico had the surplus money to invest in its prison system it is unlikely, based on regional and international trends, that Mexico would adopt the United States imprisonment model. Why? Because it simply does not work.

by Robert X. Holbrook 26 Dec 2004

When it comes to observing the rules and norms of international law the United States, far from being its protector, is one of the greatest and most habitual offenders. In 1989 the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child which established international standards for the treatment of children. The convention covers everything from thc state's protection of children to its punishment of children. Article 37(a) of the Convention states that State Parties shall ensure

(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither Capital Punishment nor Life imprisonment without the possibility of release shall be imposed for offenses committed by persons below eighteen years of age.

by Robert 12X Holbrook

In Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, the former guerrilla leader of the Sandinista Movement and one-time president in the 1980’s has been swept back into the presidency; not at the head of a guerrilla column but through elections and popular support. In Bolivia, Evo Morales, a former cocoa farmer from the Indian highlands of Bolivia is elected president and with large popular support nationalized the Bolivian oil industry and returns more of the proceeds to the poor. They join Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez in checking Amerikkkan imperialism and interference in Latin America. Brazil and Ecuador also have popularly elected leftist governments that have checked Amerikkkan plans to turn all of Latin America into a free trade zone, rejecting Amerikkkan neoliberal policies in the region. Even Chile, historically a staunch Amerikkkan ally, is ruled by a socialist government lukewarm to Amerikkkan plans.

In the Middle East Amerikkka’s goal of importing its "democratic ambitions" has been inverted with elections in Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt empowering governments and movements opposed to Amerikkkan interference. In Lebanon Hezbollah defeated an Israeli invasion and is now the power broker in Lebanon with massive support throughout Lebanon’s religious communities. Amerikkkan and Israeli allies in Lebanon have been forced to distance themselves from Amerikkkan goals and ambitions. In Egypt, despite government repression by Amerikkkan-backed dictator Husni Mubarak, the banned Muslim Brotherhood won over 80 seats in parliament and would be voted into power if free elections were held. Their success and popular support resulted in Mubarak suspending further elections for two years.

by Robert X. Holbrook

The purpose of isolation and sensory deprivation is to disrupt one’s balance, inner equilibrium, to dehumanize, to strip away the prisoner’s unique individuality. -Dr. Mutulu Shakur

A prisoner’s whole existence, especially one in a control unit, is defined by numbers, statistics, and information transferred through an endless process of paperwork. When I go to the Program Review Committee here in the Special Management Unit (a control unit) at SCI Greene, my release to general population is repeatedly denied, they claim, because of a history of assaultive behavior. It is useless to defend myself against their rationale, yet I do to probe the predictable response of my captors.

by Rob X - defenestrator prison correspondent

The concept of rehabilitation versus punishment has raged within the American Penal community since its inception. The last decade has seen the concept of punishment and retribution all but extinguish the concept of rehabilitation from prisons in the United States. Department of Corrections across the country acknowledge that within the last decade emphasis has been placed on punishing prisoners for the crimes they committed against society instead of rehabilitating them so that they can one day rejoin society. Ironically, it is not the Department of Corrections that supported the complete removal of rehabilitation programs from the prisons. Experienced prison officials concede that rehabilitation is possible within prisons. The push for punishment over rehabilitation was pushed by politicians catering to a public that was frustrated with rising crime rates and expressed crime as their number one concern. Politicians, uninterested in addressing the social problems that bred and contributed to criminal activity, decided to pursue a simple course that would create the impression that they were doing something concrete against rising crime rates. All across the country state legislatures passed harsh sentencing laws that increased the punishments for committing certain crimes. Three Strikes and You re Out laws were passed, crimes eligible for the death sentence were increased and truth in sentencing laws were passed making it mandatory that prisoners serve over 85% of their sentence. The politicians who gutted rehabilitation programs from the prison system did not concern themselves with the quality of prisoner that would be released from prison because these prisoners wouldn t be returning to the politicians neighborhoods. These ex-prisoners would be returning to the inner city Black and Latino communities.

by Robert X. Holbrook

Lately within Department of Corrections (DOC) around the country all the rage has been around so called Family Values programs the institutions are implementing. The stated purpose of these programs is to introduce the prisoner to the values of society and to teach him the values that surround the family. The assumption being that prisoners have no sense of family and the D.O.C. can instill in us the values of family and our responsibility to society. I find this a incredibly sad approach. How in the world can the D.O.C. teach family values? How can an institution committed to the destruction of the family teach family values to prisoners. How can an institution that sends men 300 miles away from their homes and family as a matter of policy have the audacity to attempt to teach its prisoners family values? By comparison, this would be like a serial killer teaching a course on the sanctity of life and humanity. Only a psychopathic personality, in the case of the D.O.C. a psychopathic bureaucracy, would take such a course of action and see no hypocrisy in it.