About Us

PARC is a prison abolitionist group committed to exposing and challenging all forms of institutionalized racism, sexism, able-ism, heterosexism, and classism, specifically within the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC). PARC believes in building strategies and tactics that build safety in our communities without reliance on the police or the PIC. We produce a directory that is free to prisoners upon request, and seek to work in solidarity with prisoners, ex-prisoners, their friends and families. We also work with teachers and activists on many prison issues. This work includes building action networks and materials that expose the continuing neglect and outright torture of more than 2 million people imprisoned within the USA; as well as the 5+ million who are under some form of surveillance and control by the so-called justice system. 

Recent Alerts

  • SF8 UPDATE

    Ths SF8 went back to court on December 17th--it was concluded that the Preliminary Hearing will start June 8, 2009, and conclude September 3. The Preliminary Hearing is the process to determine whether or not there are grounds for the case to go to trial.


    According to the blog at www.freethesf8.com:
    "Both Herman Bell and Jalil Muntaqim are essentially locked down in the SF County Jail, and continue to have their rights to parole hearings in New York state denied.

    There will be a preliminary examination of one witness on January 8 (time TBA) and the hearing on discovery on January 23 at 1:30."

  • Movimiento Laicos para America Latina (MLAL)/Qalauma, El Alto, Bolivia hiring 2 positions

    Movimiento Laicos para America Latina (MLAL) is an Italian NGO working worldwide to promote sustainable change. In Bolivia, it focuses on food security issues and human rights, including the development of Qalauma, a new centre for young offenders, which is based on the Brazilian restorative justice prison model APAC (Association for the Protection and Assistance to the Condemned). MLAL is responsible for the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the centre.

    See www.isbolivia.org/blog or www.internationalservice.org.uk for more information or to apply for these posts.

  • Stay of Execution granted to Troy Davis

    Amnesty International announces the stay of execution granted to Troy Davis by the US Supreme Court's 11th Circuit Court of Appeals!

    from Amnesty International's public announcement:

    I am delighted to share some good news with you! Troy Davis
    received a stay of execution based on a new last-minute appeal filed
    this past Wednesday to the federal appeals court in Atlanta. As a

See all Alerts

Prisoner Support Directory

Prisoner Support Directory 2008

Updated March 2008

Please print this directory and use it to assist prisoners in your community.

We correspond with and mail resource packets to prisoners, their friends and family members. We are the first point of contact for people to connect with prisoners' rights organizations, community organizations, prison literature and arts projects, family and visiting resources, health care and legal resources, parole and pre-release resources, and the prison abolition movement.

If you are interested in the Prisoner Support Project, call us at (510) 893-4648, or come to The Long Haul (510-540-0751, 3124 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA) every Wednesday night from 6-9 pm for Prisoner Support Night.


TOXIC SWEATSHOPS

Toxic Sweatshops

PARC is proud to release a new report, "Toxic Sweatshops: How UNICOR Prison Recycling Harms Workers, Communities, the Environment, and the Recycling Industry." For the first time, prisoners speak out on deplorable health and safety conditions within electronics recycling factories run by UNICOR. UNICOR, also known as Federal Prison Industries, is a government-owned corporation operated under the Department of Justice that uses captive prison labor in a range of industries, including the dismantling of electronics. Leroy Smith, a former safety manager at Atwater Prison, blew the whistle on UNICOR's facility there and was named "Public Servant of the Year" by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in September 2006. Download the report here.