Dispatches: Voices from Long Lartin (1989)

This program documents a prisoner's forum inside HMP Long Lartin organised by PSN member John Bowden in 1989. The unique event was a reflection of the shift in the balance of power between prisoners and guards during the 1970s and 80s and the positive effect of the collective empowerment of prisoners on the regime of the jail. It was the collective self-organisation of prisoners that was responsible for the unique forum and evidence that the collective empowerment of prisoners results in their positive change and liberation. The Prisoner Solidarity Network is a group of people committed to dismantling the criminal justice system and building a society based on collective care. Our members include people inside and outside of prisons. Some of us are ex-prisoners and some are children, partners, or friends of people inside. Many of us are survivors of interpersonal and state violence. Some of us come to this work through our values rather than direct experience of the prison system. ​ We want to build a society where conflicts can be resolved without resorting to imprisonment and punishment, where our relationships with each other are not shaped by capitalism and where we are not divided by race, class, or gender.