This sub-series comprises records of June Callwood's work in support of the rights of inmates in prisons and of reform of the Canadian penal system, including the Canadian Campaign for Prison System Improvements, the Canadian Society for Prison Improvements, and her 1977 campaign to close the Don Jail in Toronto. The files hold correspondence, clippings, and other documentation relating to the cases of Marlene Moore, Maisie Clark, Gayle Horii, and Yvonne Johnson; conditions in Kingston's Prison for Women, including letters from inmates discussing their situation and commenting on her articles; the work of activist Claire Culhane of the Prisoners' Rights Group; a reform initiative to create an Auditor General's office for prisons; issues of "Prison Journal" No. 5 and "Words from Inside", Nos. 9 and 10; the Strength in Sisterhood Society's complaint alleging discriminatory treatment of federally sentenced women in 2003; and the Joyceville "lifers" conference that was cancelled by the Solicitor General, including an article about it by Callwood. The letters from inmates offer a glimpse behind the walls of the Kingston Prison for Women. Her correspondents also include individuals such as Isabel MacNeill (the first woman appointed Superintendent at the Prison for Women), various Solicitors General, Earl Hastings, Marion Bryden, Israel Halperin, Clayton Ruby, Peter Rehak, Jo-Ann Mayhew (editor of Tightwire), and organizations such as the St. Leonard's Society of Canada, the Unitarian Church of Montreal, Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, John Howard Society of Ontario, and Project Another Chance. The sub-series also holds reference material more generally relating to penitentiaries and the justice system.
The most heavily documented case is that of Marlene Moore, who was the first woman in Ontario declared a dangerous offender, and who committed suicide in December 1988 while in prison. Callwood's correspondents include Marlene Moore, her fellow inmates who comment on conditions in jail, lawyer Diane Martin, Correctional Services Canada, the Elizabeth Fry Society, and reporters Anne Kershaw and Mary Lasovich. There are also clippings of her article in the "Globe and Mail" on Moore, a special feature in the "Kingston Whig-Standard", and reviews of Kershaw and Lasovich's book Rock-A-Bye-Baby. An issue of the International Association of Residential and Community Alternatives Journal contains articles on Callwood as recipient of its first Marlene Moore Award. Photographs of Moore and a tree planted in her memory in Hamilton complete this sub-series.
