Jail solidarity is unity of purpose of those incarcerated or imprisoned. In some

mass arrest A mass arrest occurs when police apprehend large numbers of suspects at once. This sometimes occurs at protests. Some mass arrests are also used in an effort to combat gang activity. This is sometimes controversial, and lawsuits sometimes result. ...

situations, the activists decide to use

solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

tactics to secure the same

plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

for everyone. Sometimes activists also make a mutual decision to reject offered plea bargains and take their cases to trial in order to overburden the court system, or in order to otherwise mutually support one another as co-defendants; an example of this would be the Camden 28. It is generally agreed that jail solidarity works best when a plan is arranged ahead of time. One of the governing principles of the

anti-nuclear movement in the United States The anti-nuclear movement in the United States consists of more than 80 anti-nuclear groups that oppose nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and/or uranium mining. These have included the Abalone Alliance, Citizens Awareness Network, Clamshell All ...

was jail solidarity. Some activists have viewed jail solidarity as being very important for their states of mind while imprisoned. Jail solidarity can also refer to non-prisoners holding rallies outside prisons or otherwise helping to provide

moral support Moral support is a way of giving support to a person or cause, or to one side in a conflict, without making any contribution beyond the emotional or psychological value of the encouragement by supporting them. For example, in a war between two c ...

to prisoners, especially imprisoned activists or colleagues. It has been hypothesized that prison administrations throughout the United States might be overwhelmed by prisoner organizing across racial lines. Per Herngren, recounting his prison experience, writes: A number of prisoner advocacy organizations, including PrisonerSolidarity.org, which serves as a

news portal A web portal is a specially designed website that brings information from diverse sources, like emails, online forums and search engines, together in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displayin ...

, are part of the prisoner solidarity movement. Jail solidarity actions can also include the implementation of

accountability In ethics and governance, accountability is equated with answerability, culpability, liability, and the expectation of account-giving. As in an aspect of governance, it has been central to discussions related to problems in the public secto ...

mechanisms that seek to track, document, and expose human violations in carceral institutions in order to relay them to authorities for and demand improvements within jail and prison walls. An example of one such initiative is the creation of the Jail Accountability and Information Line (JAIL), a

hotline A hotline is a Point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point information transfer, communications Data link, link in which a telephone call, call is automatically directed to the preselected destination without any additional action by t ...

launched by

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

’s Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP) in December 2018 with the purpose of holding accountable the

Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre The Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) is a correctional facility in Ottawa, Ontario.

(OCDC) and Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General staff for the mistreatment of those imprisoned within OCDC walls, as well inform jailed callers of their rights and available community reintegration resources. Another form of jail solidarity action lies in the bridging of gaps between the imprisoned and their families, tackling the issues which prevent the incarcerated from maintaining ties with their loved ones. In 1970, the Black Panther Party initiated the Free Busing to Prisons Program in Southern California, renting busses, cars, and vans as a means of providing free weekly transportation to county jails, state penitentiaries, and other institutions. The

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

also implemented the Free Commissary for Prisoners Program that sought to provide inmates with toiletries, shoes, cosmetics and clothing free of charge through donations collected from the public and small businesses. The Dr Huey P. Newton Foundation, The Black Panther Party: Service to the People Programs (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2008), p. 79

References

{{reflist Activism by issue