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Matthew Vernon Whalan

Matthew Vernon Whalan

CounterPunch

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My Substantial Praises and Minor Criticisms of the HBO Documentary “The Alabama Solution”

I’ve been asked by multiple readers (which is a lot for me) if I have watched the recently released HBO documentary The Alabama Solution, and if so,...

15.03.2026 5

CounterPunch

Matthew Vernon Whalan

Life is Hard to Get Used To, Prisoners Remind Me

The concept of “getting used to” anything in life is an interesting one. Where I’ve encountered it, the implication is that, over time, one...

17.02.2026 20

CounterPunch

Matthew Vernon Whalan

Prisoners Who Appeared in HBO Documentary “The Alabama Solution” Are Being Punished and Isolated

I don’t normally write about higher profile prisoners opting instead to interview those prisoners who no one has heard of and have never accessed...

26.01.2026 9

CounterPunch

Matthew Vernon Whalan

“We’ve Got to do Something to Try to Survive in Here”

“I’ve been sick damn near two weeks. I’ve got a bad cold. I probably have pneumonia, man,” says “Jordan” when I interview him again in...

04.04.2025 7

CounterPunch

Matthew Vernon Whalan

Bullock Prison, Alabama: Prisoners Consider Rebellion

In early February, Bullock Prison warms up slightly, but the heat is still not working, and the temperature in the prison soon drops again....

13.03.2025 10

CounterPunch

Matthew Vernon Whalan

Gay People Are “Lesser” in Alabama Prisons

In another interview in late January, the prisoner in Bullock referred to as “Zach” in these articles discusses the treatment of gay prisoners in...

21.02.2025 6

CounterPunch

Matthew Vernon Whalan

Bullock Prison, Alabama: “Somewhere They Shouldn’t be Able to House Humans”

(I) The weekend after Christmas, one of my sources was stabbed in Bullock Prison. He and several witnesses to the stabbing described the incident to...

30.01.2025 10

CounterPunch

Matthew Vernon Whalan