Greetings to fellow workers behind bars!
No matter what side of prison walls workers find themselves on, the Militant provides unmatched news on labor and other struggles, presents a program for the emancipation of the working class and tells the truth about the rulers’ brutal “justice” system.
Over 1.8 million people are incarcerated in the U.S., one of the highest rates in the world. A further 2.9 million are on probation and more than 800,000 on parole.
Most workers end up in prison without ever having a trial. Prosecutors pile on charges threatening ever-longer sentences, to pressure people to cop a plea. Some 98% of criminal cases in federal courts end with a “guilty” plea, making a mockery of the Constitution.
Under capitalism, cops, courts and prisons function to protect the wealth, property and power of the ruling rich and dispense punishment, to intimidate working people and keep us in line. They’re organized to break down solidarity and demoralize workers, and to serve as a warning to millions more to accept the dictates of the bosses and their governments, or else.
From the executioner’s chair to solitary confinement, the capitalist prison system functions on “cruel and unusual punishment” — another unconstitutional assault on the rights of all working people.
The Militant will continue to spread the word about prisoners’ struggles, from recent gains in the fight for the right to vote by former felons in Florida and Mississippi to actions this summer by prisoners in Minnesota taking on extended lockdowns in extreme heat.
The Militant gives voice to political prisoners, like those caught up in Vladimir Putin’s Russian Gulag for the “crime” of speaking out against his invasion of Ukraine. The paper spoke out in defense of former Black Panther Party leader Ed Poindexter, framed up and imprisoned in Nebraska for 53 years for his political activities. Authorities let Poindexter die in prison, despite a campaign for compassionate release as he suffered from advanced kidney disease.
We will continue to challenge every attempt by prison authorities to ban the Militant. We have a long and proud record winning these fights, defending the rights of workers behind bars to be part of politics.
We offer reduced rate or free subscriptions to prisoners who need them. We advertise books that Pathfinder Press makes available to inmates at reduced prices, written by Socialist Workers Party leaders and other revolutionaries. This includes works by Karl Marx, V.I. Lenin, Fidel Castro, Thomas Sankara and more. These books help readers understand the roots of today’s capitalist crisis and wars, and present a working-class road forward.
Today the Militant has its largest readership behind bars in decades. We ask you to bring the paper to the attention of fellow prisoners and to your family and friends. And we ask readers of the paper to contribute generously to the Militant Prisoners’ Fund to help make these subscriptions possible.