Prison protest coming to N.J. cities on Attica anniversary

Mass incarceration,

CAMDEN -- The September 1971 riot at the Attica Correctional Facility over poor working and living conditions left more than 40 people dead after authorities re-took the facility. On Friday, 45 years to the day later, activists rallying for prisoners' rights will stand in solidarity with those on the inside.

National Prison Strike events are scheduled to be held across New Jersey on Sept. 9, 2016. (Photo provided, Decarcerate the Garden State) 

When the National Prison Strike comes to New Jersey, it will include demonstrations and an educational leafleting push in Camden and Newark.

"We want to get rid of that financial incentive to incarcerate," said Bob Witanek, co-founder of prison reform group Decarcerate the Garden State, which is being supported on Friday by the People's Organization for Progress.

That incentive, Witanek said, goes beyond the oft-envisioned highway clean-up chain gangs and license plate production.

McDonald's, Microsoft, Verizon and more are among the offenders using inmate labor, he said. While most prisoners receive 10 to 50 cents per hour for their work, New Jersey inmates aren't paid. Instead, they receive time off their sentences.

Also not helping their cause, Witanek said, are exemptions in the 13th Amendment that allows slavery as a punishment for those convicted of a crime and the likelihood of race as an unjust determining factor during the prosecution process.

"This condition is especially alarming considering the fact that the prison system targets black, brown, and poor people, making it a racist and classist system," the reform group argues, adding that 44 percent of New Jersey's inmates are serving sentences of five years or less.

Add it all up and you've got the makings of "The New Jim Crow," Decarcerate claims in one of the leaflets to be distributed Friday.

Despite outreach and activist efforts, what will be going on inside the Camden County jail while Witanek and company gather outside isn't exactly clear.

Prison planet: End mass incarceration, activists argue

"There's no real communication line readily available in New Jersey," he said of knowing what inmates may -- or may not -- have planned.

Camden County Correctional Facility Warden David Owens did not respond to a request for comment made Wednesday.

"We want to open that can of worms," Witanek said of addressing the root causes of mass incarceration. "Good government would at least take a look at it."

Witanek encourages readers to attend Camden's Friday rally at 1:30 p.m. The Camden County Hall of Justice is located at 101 S. 5th St. Witanek may be contacted by calling 908-881-5275.