Profile: Prison & Jail Project

Address:

Prison & Jail Project
PO Box 6749
Americus, GA 31709
912-924-0671
912-924-3227 (fax)

Contact:

John Cole-Vodicka, Director

Background:

The Prison & Jail Project organizes at the grassroots level to speak out on behalf of prisoners and their families. A human rights organization, P&JP also monitors prisons, civil-rights abuses of prisoners, capital trials, assists attorneys, and visits prisoners in the Southeast.

Geographic Scope:

The state of Georgia

Number Served:

Georgia citizens

Program Description:

Among its accomplishments, P&JP has successfully exposed 11 county jails in Georgia for inhumane conditions, spearheaded the effort to stop law enforcement brutality of prisoners, and initiated State Supreme Court investigations into alleged racist practices of a Georgia magistrate judge. In November, 1997, P&JP sponsored the second annual "Freedomwalk ‘97" to heighten public awareness of human rights abuses in the criminal justice system.

Walking for four days and covering nearly 50 miles, more than 70 Georgia citizens joined together in a march to end racist and inhumane practices of Georgia’s criminal justice system. FREEDOMWALK 1997, is the second annual march sponsored by the Prison & Jail Project (P&JP) in Americus, Georgia.

Trekking through three different counties and a half-dozen cities and towns in 100 degree heat, the September 13th march included representatives from the Sumter, Dooly and Terrell County NAACP chapters; activists from Germany, Scotland, Massachusetts, Florida and Tennessee; and members and leaders from local churches and faith communities.

We’ve walked a total of 101 miles through five southwest Georgia counties this year and last, and we ain’t through marchin’ yet, said John Cole Vodicka, head of the Prison & Jail Project. There are still plenty of miles to go, plenty of eyes and ears to open up to the inhumanity of our criminal justice institution.

But, marching isn’t the only focus of the Prison & Jail Project. P&JP organizes at the grassroots level to speak out on behalf of prisoners and their families. A human rights organization, P& JP also monitors prisons, capital trials, assists attorneys, and visits prisoners in the Southeast.

Among its accomplishments, P&JP has successfully exposed 11 county jails in Georgia for inhumane conditions, spearheaded the effort to stop law-enforcement brutality of prisoners, and initiated a State Supreme Court investigation into alleged racist practices of a Georgia magistrate judge.

For more information about the Prison & Jail Project, please contact John Cole-Vodicka at 912-924-0671