Shuttered prison being prepared for Democratic convention

[NWCorona]

Last edited Wed Jun 22, 2016, 10:55 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

A shuttered Philadelphia prison that was built 120 years ago and once used inmates as test subjects for biochemical research is being readied in case space is needed to hold protesters arrested during the Democratic National Convention.

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected at the July 25-28 convention.

Officials with the city's prison system tell the Philadelphia Inquirer (http://bit.ly/28OO965 ) Holmesburg Prison can be used if needed for mass arrests. The prison was closed in 1995.

Inmates would be kept in the prison's recently renovated gymnasium. Cell blocks would not be used.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4691b2f210004ef2b38606570c630b2d/shuttered-prison-being-prepared-democratic-convention

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Edit: After a tiny bit of digging I found this article.


Haunted ruins of the tortured: The ghostly remains of U.S. prison where disabled citizens and inmates were experimented on by the government-

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3038202/Haunted-ruins-tortured-ghostly-remains-U-S-prison-disabled-citizens-inmates-experimented-government.html

Why is this prison still standing? It should have been bulldozed over a long time ago.

The should find somewhere else to do this.

[bravenak]

1. A place to put disruptors is necessary

Most will likely be released quickly, unless they were violent or destructive.

[NWCorona]

7. I remember occupy WS vividly.

We will see what will happen soon enough.

[bravenak]

22. I hope they don't use any pepper spray or shit like that

[NWCorona]

34. Agreed! My only worry is agent provocateurs like we see here in Seattle

Every May day.

[billhicks76]

15. Ah Yes...Cages Called Free-Speech Zones

Could it get more Orwellian? Could it get more asinine knowing a new breed of Democrats may actually support this fascist BS? Locking up your own spells disaster.

[brooklynite]

30. Nobody has talked about free speech zones...just staying out of the Convention area

In Charlotte, protesters from the left and right were free to protest and engage with delegates and attendees on the sidewalks and parks, just not in the security area around the arena.

Sorry if that ruins your virtuous outrage.

[NWCorona]

36. History says otherwise

"Free speech zones have been employed by both Democrats and Republicans at past political conventions. This year, however, Democrats face the embarrassing possibility that they will be the only party actually caging dissenters. Protesters at the upcoming Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver in late August will be corralled into caged “free speech zones” made of chicken wire and chain link fences which are located more than two football fields from the delegates’ entrance. Those who attempt to exercise their First Amendment rights outside this makeshift cage, which is partially obscured by trees and sculptures, will be arrested. (Ironically, protesters at this year’s Republican National Convention will not face a cage or even policemen in riot gear.)"

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/114045.html

[brooklynite]

50. Is it 2008 already? Where does the time go?

[NWCorona]

55. The key word here is "history"

I see you didn't touch the content of my link tho.

[brooklynite]

58. All I know is the history of what I experienced in Charlotte...

[bobthedrummer]

56. All power to the People-just like Our Constitution says. See you in the streets because we own them

[brooklynite]

57. Be delighted to meet you...

Remember, 99% of the people you're going to annoy are working class folks trying to get to their jobs.

[bobthedrummer]

61. You sure like to mention us working class folks, of which I'm one. No jobs, that's annoying.

http://dissidentvoice.org/2011/01/the-system

[onehandle]

2. Dozens of permits have been issued for protests. Only people who disrupt my fellow Philadelphians...

...will be arrested.

I'd rather be in this gymnasium type area than with violent criminals.

We have an amazingly liberal mayor. He will treat disruptors fairly.

[cstanleytech]

3. Or in other words dont be a dick and you probably wont be arrested?

[onehandle]

5. Yep. My wife and I marched on Bush's inauguration in DC in 2000.

We weren't dicks about it and weren't arrested.

[billhicks76]

16. Have You Ever Been To A Protest?

So the people who got their asses beat protesting racism, war, sexism, militarization of the police etc etc deserved it? Who are you???

[cstanleytech]

28. Do you even grasp what the word "probably" means ? It means yes there is a chance something like

what you mentioned happening but that statistcally unless someone goes out of there way to behave like a dick the odds are in their favor for not being arrested.

[NWCorona]

38. Research what happened in 2008 at the Democratic Convention.

[cstanleytech]

43. Yes, that stuff happens but cherry picking one event does not invalidate the statistical facts

which are that in the US you are statistically unlikely to be arrested for a valid protest at most events in this country as long you dont behave like a dick.
Dick things that can get you arrested being things like throwing things like bottles or stones or crossing a barrier point that the police have cordoned off or in other words being a general dick.

[NWCorona]

47. I live in Sea and there's people who have been arrested for simply walking to work during protests.

[cstanleytech]

49. Then you should have no problem finding a link to such an event and posting it including of course

the eventual outcome of any alleged criminal case for it.

Edit: forgot to add also a link to the number of such arrests per year for the last 3 years prior to the event and after the event just to make sure its not a statistical anomaly you are cherry picking.

[christx30]

32. Yes, only people that are dickish

have anything to worry about.

?quality=75&strip=color&w=1100

[cstanleytech]

44. Good thing I never said being a dick was confined to protesters. nt

[christx30]

45. I don't trust either side,

protestors or the police. So I'd default to giving peaceful protestors at the Dem or the Repub conventions wide latitude in saying their piece. No free speech zones.
Someone breaks a window or trashes a car, arrest them. Someone holds a sign and screams "No US war in Syria", the government has no recourse to stop them.

[cstanleytech]

46. The breaking a window part would fit into the dick description. nt

[billhicks76]

53. Just Give Up Now

Know when you've lost and your argument is a complete loser.

[cstanleytech]

59. Actually its my opinon if you dont share it to bad because in the real world not everyone will

share your opinion so you better get used to that fact quick because otherwise you are going to be in for alot of disappointment in life.

[closeupready]

60. That is simply a food product, likely dispensed to hungry students.

Or, Megyn Kelly described it like that:

[NWCorona]

4. While I agree that it's great to be prepared. I've also had my experience

With over aggressive police.

[asiliveandbreathe]

6. Let me get this straight - a prison closed in 1995

has a newly renovated gymnasium - am I missing something..or is bigstory telling storieeeessss.....to funny..

Now - who is going to protest at the DEM convention??? could that be the trumpsters???? - if that is the case..then I say - use the cells....

[csziggy]

19. It's already being used for overflow when needed

<SNIP>
Hawes was quick to say that the portion of the prison to be used is the recently renovated gymnasium - currently available for overflow when the city's jails are over capacity - not the cell blocks where horror movies have been filmed.

The gym has 100 beds, showers, and air-conditioning, Hawes said. Typically, processing a person takes from eight to 24 hours before that person can post bail or be transferred to another facility.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/dnc/20160622_With_convention_protests_looming__City_is_readying_Holmesburg_prison.html

From the same article:

Hawes said that given the city's move to decriminalize certain minor offenses associated with demonstrations, officials are not expecting large numbers of arrests at the convention.

A bill to downgrade "nuisance crimes," such as blocking traffic, failure to disperse, and disorderly conduct, passed in City Council last week.

City officials only want to arrest people who commit serious crimes.

UPDATE - See my post below

[blackspade]

8. This is classic ratfucking.

Driving a fictional narrative to create a desired reality.
Classic Rovian political tactics from the money classes.

[snooper2]

35. LOL

[TygrBright]

9. Hopefully Cleveland has a similar resource.

'cause I think they're gonna need it WAYYYYY more than Philly will.

interestedly,
Bright

[NWCorona]

10. Agreed! I'm really wondering what's gonna happen at the Republican convention.

[riversedge]

11. pic...

http://media.philly.com/images/800*533/0O956DNL.jpg

[NWCorona]

12. Your image is broken. Please update if you could

[jtuck004]

13. Had they used this for their bank$ter/jihadists instead of working people, there might be

a damn sight less "need" for it today.

[Egnever]

14. I seriously doubt there are going to be mass protests at the Dem convention.

Where is this crap coming from.

Now the Republican convention on the other hand is going to be a freaking zoo.

[billhicks76]

17. They Are Also Building A Fortress Wall Around The Entire Convention

They aren't afraid of republicans showing up...they are afraid of their own constituents! How did we get here??? Unbelievable. Could things appear anymore rotten? Someone needs to reach out to the liberal arm of the party soon before things get out of hand.

[Egnever]

20. Not buying this

Seriously do not for a second believe there will be mass protests at the Dem convention

[billhicks76]

27. I'm Not Saying It Either

It's just what they're prepping for. It would be nothing compared to those teachers in Mexico anyway. Americans are so thin-skinned.

[csziggy]

21. UPDATE - they will not use Holmesburg Prison

City won't use Holmesburg to house protesters after all
Updated: June 22, 2016 — 10:58 PM EDT


by Julia Terruso, Staff Writer

A day after the city said it would house in Holmesburg Prison protesters arrested during the Democratic National Convention, plans have changed.

"In the event of any arrest, we will first use other jails in the system," Shawn Hawes, spokeswoman for the city's prison system, said Wednesday.

Hawes said the department assessed the available space in the regularly operating jails and determined that at least two other facilities for men have plenty of units: the Detention Center and the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center (PICC). Any women arrested will be held at Riverside Correctional Facility.

<SNIP>

Thanks to a dipping prison population, that won't be necessary, Hawes said. The prison population has been as high as 10,000 inmates a few summers ago and is currently about 7,500, thanks in part to ongoing changes to decrease the population.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/dnc/20160623_City_won_t_use_Holmesburg_to_house_protesters_after_all.html

[forest444]

37. Key update. Thank you!

I f you haven't already made this into a new thread please put it up, cziggy.

[NWCorona]

39. The thanks for the info!

[davidthegnome]

23. Hmm.

Well, it's nice to know they're looking out for us. I mean, personally, I wouldn't want to be like, inconvenienced by a bunch of hippies holding signs and blathering on about things like financial equality, freedom of speech, campaign finance reform.... There are places for that, right? There are permits for that. Get your permit and get your place. Somewhere far away from important things. Under a rock a maybe.

Sarcasm aside for the moment... this is ridiculous. How do they know to expect "tens of thousands" of protesters? If there are indeed going to be that many protesters, maybe we should ask ourselves why - and what we can do to address their concerns before planning mass arrests.

[DemMomma4Sanders]

24. WTF?

[GreatGazoo]

25. I was in NYC during the 2004 RNC

They were holding hundreds of people in parking garages with no bathrooms and floors soaked in petroleum products. It was later ruled illegal but here we go again.

New York City has agreed to pay nearly $18 million for the arrest, detention and fingerprinting of hundreds of protesters, journalists, legal observers and bystanders during the 2004 Republican National Convention – the largest protest settlement in history.
...
Despite the peaceful nature of the gatherings and the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to protest, the NYPD engaged in mass arrests, including of more than 1,800 protesters, bystanders, legal observers and journalists. The Department then fingerprinted everyone and held hundreds for more than 24 hours at a filthy, toxic pier that had been a bus depot.

http://www.nyclu.org/news/victory-unlawful-mass-arrest-during-2004-rnc-largest-protest-settlement-history

But Philly is ready to do it too -- they are trying to intimidate people out of their 1st Amendment rights and then will pass the fines on to the taxpayers as NYC did.

[kentauros]

26. Demolition costs money.

Unless you have the money or the financial incentive (such as the property is worth more without the prison on it) then letting nature slowly demolish it is what happens.

There are probably tens of thousands of abandoned buildings and houses across the country. They continue to stand because no one has the money to tear them down. Some have been stripped of their architectural treasures, and some have not. Think about why a building gets abandoned anyway...

[justiceischeap]

33. The reason the majority of abandonments don't get torn down is because

of asbestos abatement. It's costly to have the asbestos cleaned out (or lead paint) before demolition. So most cities allow these places to fall into ruin, hoping for arson to bring them down.

I photograph abandonments so I am slightly knowledgeable about this topic. Holmesburg Prison is chalk-full of peeling lead paint.

[kentauros]

48. I consider that part of demolition.

The point being to remove the building, whether by government or private owner. By natural decay is still the least costly.

[randome]

29. Maybe that will put a stop to the "fart-in"?

[glowing]

31. Seeing that delegates would be the only ones who

could actually participate in a "fart in", I doubt that would have much effect on arrests of protestors outside of the walls.

And btw, whoever came up with that idea is ridiculous, there's no way to televise a "fart in". If people want to demonstrate a televised unhappiness, turning ones back on a speaker has much, much, much more effect for prime time viewing.

[NWCorona]

40. All jokes aside. Do you think people who participate in the "fart in" deserves to be detained?

[randome]

41. Of course not.

I just wish protests would be directed more at our common enemy: the GOP.

[NWCorona]

42. Thanks!

I definitely see your point but I have no problem with peaceful protesters.

[desmiller]

51. gee whiz.......

[elleng]

52. Close but no cigar!

I worked at the Cook County Jail in 1968!!!

[Hekate]

54. Still wondering: What plans are afoot for protesting the GOP Convention?

Anyone who knows, please share.