Sunday, December 16, 2012

DECEMBER 2012






During the month we post late breaking news and announcements on this site, so please check back now and then. Scroll down to immediately read the December edition.

To enlarge the text size, try clicking your cursor anywhere in the text, and then press the command key with the + key.





Dear Reader,

We’re thinking about you and hoping that whatever your situation is, amazing HOLIDAY JOY will touch your heart this season.  


May the New Year bring a new understanding of our situation.  Each of us has done good deeds and bad deeds.  As long as we learn from our mistakes and take full responsibility for them, learn what caused them and practice ways to avoid repeating them, the world will be a hospitable place.  We don’t have much time to learn, as our economic and ecological systems are on the verge of collapse.  

We are all called upon to clean up our acts, practice kindness, compassion, conservation and respect for each other and the environment, and maybe at this time next year we‘ll be reporting some success.  But 2013 is not the yeaar to indulge in wasting time.  We must all sacrifice, and by doing so we’ll reduce the amount of sacrifice overall.  

Our prison system is a failed system. It does not make us safer. In this issue we’ll provide some ways to work to change it. Please send us your pledge to get involved. (see #10).
Be well, stay strong, and please, get involved,  ~The Editor 


HEADLINES:

1.  Bring Back the Buses-DOCS free bus service was created to support rehabilitation by strengthening family ties.


2.  Calendar of Events - for family members and anyone else who wants to get involved in changing the criminal justice system.


3.  “Central Park 5” documentary, now showing at commercial theaters, exposes the corruption that poisons our criminal justice system.
 

4.  Corey’s column describes his struggle to succeed in the face of incomplete freedom.


5.  Educational and vocational programs were the topic at a hearing with the NYS Assembly’s Corrections Committee where Glenn Martin shared the testimony of Fortune Society clients.
 

6.  Fortune in My Eyes describes how the Fortune Society was conceived in the theater.


7.  Getting out and staying out. Parole Board obstacles, community obstacles, and how to help overcome them.


8.  A conversation about the impact of political imprisonment and mass imprisonment on our families and our communities presented by the Sedou Odinga Defense Committee.


9.  Job Openings that don’t discriminate against people with criminal records.


10.  Parole reform campaign.  Let’s pass the SAFE Parole Act this year!  It will take all of us working very hard.  Will you help?  Send us your pledge.


11.  Parole News - Oct. releases, updates on recent Judicial and Parole Board hearings and a report on the Amicus Brief filed by 5 past Parole Commissioners, in which they accuse the Parole Board of caving to outside pressure.


12.  Reentry Roundtable’s 7th anniversary - join them for lunch and a talk on the importance of effective reentry services, by Rob Carmona.


13.  Senate Shenanigans.  No... let’s upgrade that to Senate Insanity. Or a trip down the Rabbit hole.  This year’s NYS legislative practices are anyone’s guess.  We pray it may be a brand new day that restores justice, but it doesn’t look promising.


14.  In Our Name will be presenting aVeterans Conference in May, focusing on the needs of homeless, substance abusing, and incarcerated veterans.  Ed Tick, of Soldier’s Heart, will join with other cutting edge professionals to talk about some effective interventions for PTSD.



1.  Bring Back the Buses!

Between 1973 and 2011, the NYS DOCCS ran a free bus service for families visiting state prisons.  The buses departed from NYC, Syracuse, Rochester and Albany, traveling to every facility outside NYC except the Willard Drug Treatment Campus and Lakeview Shock facilities.  In early 2011, the program was eliminated because of budget cutbacks.  During its years of service the program served 25,560 visitors and cost $1,521,000.

There are 2 major barriers to visiting: distance and expense.  About 70% of prisoners are housed over 100 miles from their homes, so their families are faced with very long trips to see them.  Most incarcerated people and their families come from poor communities and cannot afford the expensive trips, which range from $80 for the bus per person, and by train for a parent and one child from $175 to $312.  

Visiting is central to maintaining prison safety, and serves as an incentive for good institutional behavior.  

Visiting is essential to maintaining family ties. Around 70% of women and 60% of men in prison are parents.

Maintaining relationships can lessen the trauma of parental incarceration on children, ease family reunification after release, and bolster children’s well-being and healthy development.

Visiting is especially important for parents with children in foster care who risk termination of their parental rights if they don’t maintain consistent contact with their children.

Stronger family and community ties facilitate successful reentry and reduce recidivism.
Take action if you want to bring the free buses back.   To sign on to a petition 



2.  Become an activist in 2013! 
Check out the monthly Reentry.Net/NY calendar, which provides New Yorkers with information about upcoming conferences, trainings, meetings, and other events focused on changing the criminal justice system and helping prisoners
reenter society as full citizens.  Contact information for each event is provided on the calendar. To add your event to the calendar, visit the site and click "add event."



3.  The Central Park Five - documentary film opens in NYC in December

This explosive new documentary looks at a case once referred to as "the crime of the century" (the real crime being the miscarriage of justice and the public’s thirst for blood).  

Many people have heard about the case, but far too few know that innocent men were imprisoned as a result. The film tells the story of how five black and Latino teenagers were arrested in 1989 for beating and raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park. Media coverage at the time portrayed the teens as guilty and used racially coded terms like "wolf pack" to refer to the group of boys accused in the attack. Donald Trump took out full-page ads in four city newspapers calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty so they could be executed. 

However, the convictions of the five were vacated in 2002 when the real rapist came forward and confessed to the crime, after the five defendants had already served sentences of from seven to 13 years. New York City is refusing to settle a decade-long civil lawsuit brought by the men. 

[Sarah Burns directed and produced the documentary along with her father, award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns, and her husband, David McMahon. It is playing in New York City at the IFC Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas. Sarah Burns is also the author of the 2011 book, The Central Park Five: The Untold Story Behind One of New York City’s Most Infamous Crimes.]



4.  Corey’s Column:  Freedom


The dictionary defines freedom as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”  It also includes absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government. Although freedom has been used quite often in my life time, I focus on what it means to the many men and woman who are incarcerated.

 This topic of freedom extends past the constitutional right to speech. For example; once you are convicted of a crime you are automatically silenced by legal barriers to finding a job, housing, education or assistance as you try to create a legitimate life. Most of us believe that once we are released from prison we will be free. However society tells us differently because the burden of proving ourselves is futile in the face of a society that doesn’t even recognize us. 


 Through this process we become invisible men and women before we are released to our expected freedom.  Legally you are placed in a box that has no compassion for your personal development and growth.  For example; if I’m on parole and manage to find a job, parole has the authority to deny me that opportunity. No matter one’s circumstances of not having housing, being on public assistance and feeling lost, personal freedom to excel is controlled. Both the prison environment and society show limited attempts to instill the moral representation of freedom. Rather they promote the opposite. After living in an abnormal environment for so many years, most of us are returned to the same dysfunctional communities we left from. If we are not greeted with the essential elements of freedom such as fairness, equal opportunity, structure, and a community that wants us there, then freedom will always be threatened by recidivism.

Today I want to be free from a government that says they love me and that’s why they sent me to prison. Today I would like to be forgiven for my actions and be given the opportunity to be welcome as a citizen by my own community. Today I would like to be freed from the legal watchers that govern my life with curfews and other restrictions on my progress. Today I would like to close the door to recidivism, grow from my past mistakes and shake the hand of freedom. Today as well as tomorrow, I believe I can accomplish that goal, but it would be a lot easier if I was truly free.
~ Corey Parks has just started a real job* where he will be helping others like himself make successful transitions.
*see # 7, “After 10 months”



5.  Educational and vocational programs within prison are essential to reducing recidivism

The Fortune Society is always working to create a more resourceful criminal justice system. On Thursday, November 29
th Glenn Martin represented The Fortune Society before the NYS Assembly Committee on Corrections in Albany, NY.  He writes: “After convening a focus group of Fortune clients to help inform my testimony, I testified about the dire need for relevant educational and vocational programs within prison, and the positive results we see when these services are provided. When people emerge from incarceration they deserve a fair opportunity at becoming gainfully employed, and to provide for themselves and their families. This, in turn will work against the recidivism that is spawned by lack of access to education and workforce skills.

My comments included client statements from the focus group, made up mostly of individuals who were recently released from prison. We asked them to give their thoughts on the viability of current services available in NYS prisons and how well they prepare people for a hopeful transition back into the community. It was an honor to share their message with lawmakers.”

Glenn Martin is one of the members of Gov. Cuomo’s “Work for Success” Executive Committee, composed of policy makers, representatives from government agencies, and practitioners from across the nation with expertise in employment services for the formerly incarcerated, who will lead this employment initiative for the formerly incarcerated.  "Tens of thousands of people leave New York State prisons each year and without employment most are at higher risk of returning to incarceration," Governor Cuomo said in February when he announced the initiative, "The 'Work for Success' initiative will reduce poverty and joblessness for some of our state's hardest to employ citizens, while enhancing public safety and improving economic conditions for the families and communities to which they return."



6.  Fortune in My Eyes

David Rothenberg's multilayered life thrust him into Broadway's brightest lights, prison riots, political campaigns, civil rights sit-ins, and a Central American civil war. In his memoir, Fortune in My Eyes, his journey includes many of the most celebrated names in the theater: Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, Sir John Gielgud, Charles Boyer, Peggy Lee, Eartha Kitt, Charles Laughton, Alvin Ailey, and numerous others. David produced an Off-Broadway prison drama, Fortune and Men's Eyes , which reshaped his life. John Herbert's chilling play led directly to the creation of the Fortune Society, which has evolved into one of the nation's most formidable advocacy and service organizations in criminal justice. David was Elizabeth Taylor's opening night date at the Richard Burton ‘Hamlet’ a distant cry from his entering Attica prison during that institution's famed inmate uprising.was just one of the experiences revealed in this memoir. As a theater publicist and producer and as a social activist he shares experiences with presidents (JFK and Bill Clinton) and with anonymous men and women, out of prison, who have fought to reclaim their lives.




7.  Getting out and staying out

Obstacles to rehabilitation and release
I’m writing to express that, believe it or not, I’m unhappy with the quality of services and compassion that seems to be the norm in NYS prisons, meted out by both civilian and security staff.  It might seem ridiculous to some, but the fact remains that these are State Employees and they are paid by the taxpayers to perform to the best of their ability and to obtain results. 

Coming here for the first time is like a flashback to the 70’s , when NYC seemed to be the seediest place on earth.

Dominating the scene is the culture of punishment.  I’m not privy to the Penal guidelines for NYS, but I can’t believe that they include what I’ve seen.  Especially assaults on a prisoner because of the crime he committed, although he was already judged.  Better yet, he also has to answer to his God.  Don’t get me wrong.  I know the evil that man is capable of, but you can’t stop crime with violence.  It just doesn’t work, that’s why there’s a high recidivism rate.

The system isn’t set up to help people change.  Some might disagree and claim - and to a point they are right - that there are things a prisoner can do now.  But the eligibility requirements work against you.  Example, I would like to relearn Algebra, since I have a GED from 30 years ago.  But I’m not eligible for classroom study or room study.  Granted, I could get a book from the library and study on my own, which I do, but without the instruction it’s 3x as hard to understand and will almost certainly eliminate my chance of getting into the college programs that do exist.  Maybe my case is different than others, but I see no incentive for these men to want to better themselves other than to get out of prison.  So here we are, no college and no real vocation program other than “hall porter”.  

If a prisoner is charged with a sex crime he is not eligible to work anywhere in a facility where women are present, but if you murder a family of 5 you can have the run of the place.  The politics are probably only worse in Washington.

To sum up, I feel that if a person takes an oath to defend the Constitution as a member of any type of Law Enforcement environment or Government Office, their penalty should be at least double that of the average citizen when they don’t.  There are too many people getting away with less than average charges and penalties.  Everyone is accountable unless they have a badge or friends in high places, which is no way to run a democratic society.

~Anonymous


Most of the “success stories” Prison Action Network reads are about people who once were in prison and now have Masters degrees and Management positions or have started their own successful businesses.  But for every one of those stories, we believe there are hundreds more about people who may only have a GED and/or are struggling to live modest working class lives, but find freedom to be the success they strive for and being reunited with loved ones their reward.  Sometimes all it takes is one lucky break.  Here are 2 stories of that sort:

After 10 months:
Well, I’m still out.  10 months.  No real job yet (i.e., with a paycheck on a regular basis), and too proud (stupid?) to collect welfare.

I don’t even have insurance.

If it weren’t for friends and family...  my nephew has “hired” me to rehab his house - it pays pocket change, meals and his old clothes.  At least the pocket change pays for a decent cigar now and then.  I started the rehab’g with the outside and front porch painting, to try to drum up some more business.

Since I’m on Life parole, it’s like I’ve got one foot still in the joint and the other on a banana peel.

~Kevin F. 

From Street Hustler to Family Man Eager to Cook,  By JENNIFER MASCIA in the NY Times.  Click here to read.



8.  The Impact of Political Imprisonment and Mass Imprisonment on our Families and Communities
a “Real Talk” conversation sponsored by the Sedou Odinga Defense Committee

Speakers include life partner Safiya Bandele, granddaughter Yuri Torres, daughter Theresa Shoatz, sister Sharmin Sadequee, and moderated by asha bandele

60,000 NYS families are separated from a loved one by prison.  Are you one of them?

Join us on December 26 from 3-5pm at Boys/Girls High School, Fulton Street and Utica Avenue in Bklyn.

For info SekouOdingaDefenseCommittee@gmail.com or 718-512-5008



9.  Job Opportunities that are open to the formerly incarcerated with appropriate experience:


Please click on the links to find out details and how to apply.

1. Center for Community Alternatives: Case Manager, Youth Advocacy

2. NYC Board of Corrections: Director of Corrections Standard Review

3. NYC Board of Corrections: Corrections Standards Review Specialist II


10.  Parole Reform Campaign

How can you help?
1)  Tell your family, friends, and advocates to visit www.ParoleReform.org and take action.

2)  Send us a pledge of what you are willing to do to get the SAFE Parole Act passed.  Are you willing to call your legislators and the governor frequently? Visit your legislator and the governor frequently?  Write your legislators and the governor frequently (use the above website to do it easily)?  Get others involved?  Lobby?  Donate money to pay a lobbyist? 

Send your written pledge to the NYS Parole Reform Campaign, PO Box 6355, Albany NY 12206.  We’ll report how many we receive.  Our circulation is about 900.  It’s probably hopeless if we don’t get at least a thousand pledges.  



11.  Parole News: October releases; Graziano lawyers admit defeat; Alan Hevese wins parole release; Hank Morris does not; Thwaites released; 5 former Parole Board Commissioners protest Costello rescission.

OCTOBER 2012 PAROLE BOARD RELEASES – A1 VIOLENT FELONS – DIN #s through 1999 - unofficial research from parole database


Total Interviews
# Released
# Denied
Rate of Release
20 initials
3
17
15%
84 reappearances
31
53
37%
104 interviews
34
70
33%


OCTOBER Initial Releases      

Facility
Sentence
Offense
# of Board
Eastern 
15-Life
Att Murder 1
Initial
Fishkill
15-Life
Murder 2
Initial
Fishkill
25-Life
Murder 2
Initial

OCTOBER Reappearances

Facility
Sentence
Offense
# of Board
Bare Hill
25-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Cape Vincent
0-life
M pre-1974
13th?
Cayuga
25-Life
Murder 2
3rd
Collins
20-Life
Murder 2
5th
Collins
20-Life
Murder 2
6th
Eastern
15-Life
Att Murder 1
6th
Fishkill
25-Life
Murder 2
5th
Fishkill
15-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Fishkill
25-Life
Murder 2
2nd  *
Fishkill
19-Life
Murder 2
6th  *
Franklin
15-Life
Murder 2
12th?
Franklin
25-Life
Murder 2
4th
Gouverneur
16 ½-Life
Murder 2
5th
Gowanda
15-Life
Murder 2
3rd
Great Meadow
7-Life
Murder 2
7th
Greene
25-Life
Att Murder 1
2nd
Hudson
20-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Hudson
19-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Marcy
12 1/3-L
Murder 2
4th
Otisville
18-Life
Murder 2
5th
Otisville
25-Life
Murder 2
3rd
Otisville
17-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Otisville
25-Life
Murder 2
6th  
Otisville
15-Life
Murder 2
9th
Taconic
15-Life
Murder 2
5th
Wende
22-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Woodbourne
21 ½-Lfe
Murder 2
2nd
Woodbourne
15-Life
Murder 2
4th
Woodbourne
20-Life
Murder 2
7th
Woodbourne
15-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Wyoming
15-Life
Murder 2
2nd

*For Deportation Only

In addition there is one true medical parole release:
Bedford Hills
25-Life
Murder 2
Medical


Update on Graziano vs Pataki
Lawyers who worked pro bono for years on the case have finally conceded defeat. “We were denied en banc review.  It seems that we lost this case.  We tried and are disappointed in the loss,” reported Peter Sell, who with Robert Isseks made up the legal team.  Prison Action Network honors their generosity and commitment to justice.  “It is the ability to work for something because it is good, not because it stands a chance to succeed.  The more unpropitious the situation in which we demonstrate hope, the deeper the hope is.” -Vaclav Havel, former political prisoner who went on to become the President of Czechoslovakia.  These lawyers embody Hope.  

Alan Hevesi Granted Release by the Board of Parole Alan Hevesi, an inmate at the Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York (Oneida County), was granted release by the New York State Board of Parole following his November 14, 2012 appearance.  Commissioners were Ludlow, Smith and Hagler.
A copy of the Board’s decision and release conditions can be found if you Click here to read 
  

Hevesi could be released as soon as December 19, 2012 or earlier following the completion of a routine community preparation investigation. He is scheduled to remain under community supervision through April 14, 2015.
Hank Morris Denied Release by the Board of Parole Hank Morris, an inmate at the Hudson Correctional Facility in Hudson, New York (Columbia County), was denied release a second time by the New York State Board of Parole following his November 14, 2012 appearance. Deciding members were Ferguson and Coppola. A copy of the Board’s decision can be seen if you Click here to read [

Morris was ordered held for an additional nine months and will appear before the Board of Parole in August, 2013.
DOCCS Inmates Convicted of Murdering NYPD Police Officer Edward Byrne in 1988 Denied Parole Two of four inmates convicted of murdering NYPD Police Officer Edward Byrne in 1988 in South Jamaica, Queens were denied parole Wednesday, November 14, 2012 by the New York State Board of Parole members Thompson , Elovich and Sharkey. A copy of the Board’s decision for David McClary can be found here.
Douglas Thwaites was released in October, on his 2nd appearance before the Parole Board, for deportation.  On December 21, 2011, the court granted his Article 78 against the Parole Board.  In his decision, Hon. Lawrence H. Ecker, J.S.C. accused the Board of employing past-focused rhetoric, not future-focused risk assessment analysis, thus failing to sustain a rational determination on the inquiry at hand: whether there is a reasonable probability that, if such inmate is released , he will live and remain at liberty without violating the law.  The court found the Board’s decision denying parole to be arbitrary and capricious, irrational, and improper and annulled the Board’s determination, vacated the denial, and directed the board to, within 30 days*, hold a new hearing with a different panel of the Board.  

* The Board did not comply with the 30 day time limit, and waited until October to give Mr. Thwaites another interview. 

Ex-Parole Commissioners Decry Rescission of 'Cop Killer' Release 

John Caher, New York Law Journal 11-26-2012
ALBANY - Six former New York state parole commissioners have signed on to an unprecedented amicus brief
that accuses the board of caving in to outside pressure to keep behind bars a "cop killer" who long ago paid his debt to society.  Read it here.

12.  Reentry Roundtable Celebrates 7th Anniversary
I am happy to inform you that on Wednesday, December 19th we will celebrate the 7th anniversary of the NY Reentry Roundtable. Please RSVP and join us for lunch and to hear Rob Carmona, founder of STRIVE Int’l speak about the Importance of Viable Reentry Services. 

NY Reentry Roundtable
Wednesday, December 19 from 1:00 – 3:00PM
Hosted by The Community Service Society of New York (CSS)
105 East 22nd Street at the corner of Park Avenue South. 

Take the 6 or W/R trains to 23rd Street
Conference Room 4A

Kindly RSVP to Gabriel Torres-Rivera at grivera@cssny.org
or call 212.614.5306



13.  Senate Insanity


It sounds like something out of Alice in Wonderland.  Just how do five democratically elected senators, who ran on the Democratic line, get to then say - in essence - that they are not going to be Democrats anymore, they are going to join the Republicans?  Where do we voters come into this?  How can they override what we voted for and take control without our consent?  How is this possible?  I feel like I just fell down the rabbit hole.  Surely there is a law against such behavior!  If not, someone should write one.  

To learn what I'm talking about, click on "Read" below.   ~ The Editor
NY Times NY/Region, December 5, 2012, p.26A
"Coalition Is to Control State Senate as Dissident Democrats Join With Republicans” Read


14.  Veteran’s Conference: SAVE THE DATES May 24-26

In Our Name, which presented a weekend retreat entitled Restoring Justice in America last summer, is planning to present a Veterans retreat during the 2013 Memorial Day weekend.  Current plans include an all-day Veterans Retreat on Friday for veterans and their families, and the conference itself will begin Friday night and last til Sunday afternoon.  The focus is on War Veterans in general, not just incarcerated Veterans.  Ed Tick, co-founder of Soldiers Heart, will talk about his unique and comprehensive model to address the emotional, moral, and spiritual wounds of veterans, their families and communities. It offers a genuine healing and homecoming from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by developing a new and honorable warrior identity supported by community.   If you are a Veterans Group please join us at this event.  Perhaps offer to do a presentation.

For further information about this and any other article, please contact Prison Action Network

Building Bridges is Prison Action Network's way to stay in touch with its members 
  Contact us to join.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

November 2012






During the month we post late breaking news and announcements on this site, so please check back now and then. Scroll down to immediately read the November edition.

To enlarge the text size, try clicking your cursor anywhere in the text, and then press the command key with the + key.


Check back tomorrow, Monday Dec 17. Due to scheduling difficulties we are a few days late publishing this month's Building Bridges.  Our apologies.

Please scroll down to read the November issue.


UPDATES:


POSTED December 10 - from Sedou Odinga Defense Committee

The Impact of Political Imprisonment and Mass Imprisonment
on our Families/Communities, a “Real Talk” conversation.

With life partner Safiya Bandele, granddaughter Yuri Torres, daughter, Theresa Shoatz, sister Sharmin Sadequee, and moderated by asha bandele

60,000 NYS families are separated from a loved one by prison.  Are you one of them?

December 26 from 3-5pm at Boys/Girls High School, Fulton Street and Utica Avenue in Bklyn.

For info SekouOdingaDefenseCommittee@gmail.com or 718-512-5008





POSTED  December 3 -  Drug Policy Alliance

Movies at Riverside, Campaign to End the New Jim Crow, and the Drug Policy Alliance invite you
to a FREE community film screening of Sundance award-winning documentary

THE HOUSE I LIVE IN

What: Free screening of the film, The House I Live In, followed by a Q&A with Director Eugene Jarecki and other special guests
When: SATURDAY, December 8th at 1pm
Where: The Riverside Church - Assembly Hall, 91 Claremont Ave., New York, NY 10027

Details: Filmed in more than twenty states, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN tells the stories of individuals at all levels of America’s war on drugs. From the dealer to the narcotics officer, from people behind bars to the federal judge, the film offers a penetrating look inside America’s criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy. 

After the film, join director Eugene Jarecki and special guests for a discussion about ending the war on drugs and mass incarceration in New York.

Twitter: @DrugWarMovie


For more information, please contact Melody Lee at mlee@drugpolicy.org or call 212-613-8048.




POSTED NOVEMBER 18  -  Prison Action Network

Prison reform through inmate education
Sean Pica, executive director of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, talks about how his organization provides educational services to men and women in four New York state correctional facilities.

View the video:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46979745/vp/49875014#49875014




Posted Nov.16:  Prison Policy Institute
Movement victory:  FCC proposes to regulate prison telephone industry

36,690 SumOfUs members call on FCC to cap rates charged to families of incarcerated people

November 15, 2012 - The monopolistic prison telephone industry took a hit today when FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn announced that the FCC is considering a proposal to cap the predatory monopoly rates charged to families of incarcerated people.  She announced that yesterday Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a regulatory proposal to the other commissioners for consideration. 
The proposed Federal Communications Commission regulation would be a key turning point in a decade-long multi-organization campaign to protect the poorest families in the nation from predatory telephone charges. The announcement was made at a rally outside the FCC offices in Washington D.C. where several organizations submitted petitions containing more than 40,000 signatures calling for the regulation. 

At the rally, the corporate accountability organization SumOfUs and partner organization the Prison Policy Initiative submitted the comments of 36,690 SumOfUs members collected from around the nation with varying connections to the criminal justice system. For example, one petitioner is a prison staff member hailing from Vermont. Just two minutes after this Vermont prison staff member signed the petition, a mother from Carson City, Nevada with a son incarcerated in San Quentin Prison in California signed the petition. Nearly all of the petitioners underscored the same point: that the families of incarcerated persons should not be forced to endure telephone prices that exponentially exceed those charged for ordinary telephone service. A coalition of organizations including Media Action Grassroots Network, Working Narratives, Prison Legal News and Participant Media also collected submissions for other petitions.

"This is a big step forward for fairness," said Drew Kukorowski  of the Prison Policy Initiative. "The Federal Communications Commission is the only disinterested party with the power to protect the real consumers: incarcerated people and their families." 

In September, Kukorowski authored a Prison Policy Initiative report, "The Price To Call Home: State-Sanctioned Monopolization In The Prison Phone Industry," calling for the regulation of the prison telephone industry. The report revealed that the three phone companies that dominate 90% of the industry set calling rates that are excessively high, "kick back" a portion of the revenue to the states, and in exchange receive monopoly contracts with state prison systems.
"For over a decade the FCC let this injustice continue," SumOfUs Executive Director Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman said. "But under the weight of growing public opinion it is about to take the critical first step toward regulating prison phone costs."

"We commend the FCC and call on them to accept and implement the rule. People all over the Unites States are sick of the privatization of public services, from schools to hospitals to prisons."

"It's time the FCC made sure prison phone companies cannot prey on the 2.7 million kids in the U.S. who have a parent in prison and rely on phone calls to provide stability, comfort and a sense of normalcy."

The next step is for the FCC Commissioners to vote on the text of a "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking". If approved, the FCC would open a new comment period for the public -- and the prison telephone industry -- to submit evidence on whether or not it should be implemented. 

LINKS:


Prison Policy Initiative: http://www.prisonpolicy.org 


Report: "The Price To Call Home: State-Sanctioned Monopolization In The Prison Phone Industry: http://www.prisonpolicy.org/phones/  





Posted Nov. 16:  Prison Action Network

The Justice & Multiculturalism Project at the University at Albany is planning to host a community discussion of The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.  Professor Alexander is scheduled to visit Albany Law School on December 6, and groups around the city are holding discussions in preparation for that event.

Even if you have not had an opportunity to read the book, you are still welcome to join the discussion.  Brief study materials will be available through the Justice & Multiculturalism website (http://www.albany.edu/justiceinstitute/and a short video interview with the book’s author will be shown at the start of the discussion.

We will hold the book discussion on Wednesday, November 28 at 6:00 pm in Milne 200.  If you are interested in participating in this discussion, please reply to justiceinstitute@albany.edu by Wednesday, November 7 to confirm.  The event is free and open to the public, so please feel free to forward the information to anyone who may be interested.

Light refreshments will be provided.



BUILDING BRIDGES NOVEMBER 2012


Dear Reader,

I want to talk about the “fiscal cliff” we’re supposedly dangling from.  There is a connection between it and us.  This week on Democracy Now, House Speaker John Boehner [pronounced Bayner] was heard saying “Instead of accepting arbitrary cuts that will endanger our national defense, let’s get serious about shoring up the entitlement programs that are the primary drivers of our country’s massive, growing debt.” 
I cringed at the words ‘entitlement programs’.  I depend on my social security benefit.  And it’s not an entitlement program!   I paid into it for over 40 years of employment, where each paycheck included a deduction for my Social Security Insurance.  As far as I’m concerned anyone who touches my benefits is stealing from me.  Boehner is also lying when he says it has anything to do with our country’s debt!  There is no connection between an insurance benefit and the national economy.  This isn’t just about me, of course.  It’s about all of us in the 99%.  As Sarah Anderson, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, also said on Democracy Now, “To think that we need to shift the burden onto the backs of the poor and elderly is crazy, when we’re in one of the richest countries—the richest country in the world. Our problem is that our resources have been misallocated.“
It’s obvious to me that the underlying cause of poverty and crime (not necessarily, but often, connected) is the way our economy favors the rich over the poor.  The rich accuse us of wanting “stuff”!  Do you believe it?  All the “stuff” they have, multiple homes and cars, not to mention planes; all are benefits of corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks and immunity from arrest for their economic crimes.  Bill Reilly said, the day after Obama won (Whew!), “People [who voted for Obama] feel that they are entitled to things. And which candidate between the two is going to give them things?”  If those things are home, health, education and food security, I hope he’s right that President Obama is going to provide them.  [See article 4 for some others]

Here’s the big message:  Many of those rich people gave lots of money to Obama, and now they want pay-back.  Yet it wasn’t their money, but
our votes which won President Obama’s re-election.  We have to let him know he owes us!  And what we’re asking is that he save our Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and Social Security, and take away their tax breaks.  Let’s call him and let him know he has our support to block any attempts to take away our earned benefit programs, because these these basic social programs have made us a much stronger society.  [See article 9 for more demands of President Obama]
Be well, stay strong, and please, get involved,  ~The Editor     

Missing:

The reader who requested a copy of Andrea Evan’s testimony at the Assembly’s public hearing on the DOCCS merger. Your name has become separated from the document that’s waiting to be mailed.  If you wrote that request, please contact us.

The writer of a beautifully written Proposal for the Reform of Policies and Practices Affecting Public Safety, with attachments A & B.  We will be using it and would like to give credit where credit is due, and it too got separated from its envelope.

Corrections: 
Last month when we reported on several higher education programs which are available to prisoners, we made an error in describing Rising Hope, Inc.  Nyack College will accept Rising Hope course credits and apply them toward their Organizational Management Degree Program (not a bachelor’s degree in Christian Ministry or in General Education, as we stated).


HEADLINES:
1.  Education: Invitation to an educational session on the importance of Pell Grant access in prison.

2.  The Campaign to bring back the free prison bus service has a petition for you and your family and friends to sign.

3.  Find out if you are eligible to have your convictions conditionally sealed.

4Seven rights are listed in the Safe Community Declaration of 2013 by Corey Parks.

5.  A New York Times editorial says that denying voting rights to people who have paid their debt to society offends the fundamental tenets of democracy.

6.  “Fortune in My Eyes”, the memoir of Fortune Society’s founder, has been praised by the NY Times as a “profile in courage”.

7Michelle Alexander comes to Albany, will speak to high school students and law students.

8.  National Criminal Justice Commission Act would establish an independent national commission to conduct a review of the nation’s criminal justice system and recommend consensus-based and cost-effective reforms.

9.  Open letter to the President lists actions we would like him to take in the next 4 years, including ending the use of solitary confinement.  We want a safer and more peaceful country, where freedom and justice are primary values.

10Parole News:  September release statistics and the challenges of appointing appropriately qualified Parole Commissioners.

11Prisoners Are People Too! - their Oct. meeting was cancelled due to Super Storm Sandy.  Rescheduled for 11/26.

12Prisoners Make Us Look Good - NY Times article notes absence of prisoners in statistics regarding black progress.

13Pro Bono legal assistance will be required of all future applicants for the NYS Bar exam.

14Senate Shenanigans or not?  Will we have a Democratic majority?  And will it be a repeat of 2008?




1.  Education from the Inside Out invites you to an educational session on how Pell Grant access in prison transforms lives 

PELL GRANTS AND PRISON EDUCATION: .
December 6, 2012 (12noon-2pm)   Lunch will be provided. Limited space. RSVP Today!
Guest Speakers:  Mayor Cory Booker, City of Newark, NJ - Keynote Address;  Dallas Pell, daughter of late U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell - Opening Remarks
Rutgers University
Paul Robeson Campus Center Essex Room 231-232
350 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Newark, NJ 07102
RSVP to nsmith@collegeandcommunity.org or 646-380-7772.   Please join us for this meaningful conversation!   www.eiocoalition.org



2.  Bring back the free prison bus service 
If you have not already signed the e-petition to urge Governor Cuomo and the NYS legislature to reinstate this critical program, please do so now! As you may know, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) ran this bus service from 1973 to early 2011, as they recognized the importance of family ties for incarcerated individuals. Approximately 72,000 children have an incarcerated parent in a NY state prison, and about 4,000 children have an incarcerated mother in a state prison. We need YOUR help! It will only take a few seconds to sign the petition, forward to your family and friends, and post on your social networks.  


3. Conditional Sealing of Your Conviction Opportunity for Eligible Candidates 

The Fortune Society is seeking to alert qualified individuals involved in the criminal justice system that they may be eligible to have their convictions conditionally sealed.  Conditionally sealed convictions are no longer visible to employers, landlords and others that may conduct background checks.

For more information contact Josh Ramos at (212) 691-7554 x 305 or at  jramos@fortunesociety.org.



4.  Corey’s Column: Safe Community Declaration of 2013

Premise

Our communities are plagued with corruption, inequality, and destruction. How do we handle seeing so many homeless men and woman? How do we handle so many young teens turning to drugs or gun violence?  How do we handle being punished by a criminal justice system which promotes prisons as a community?  How do we handle no housing and jobs?  How do we handle peer pressure?  The only way to handle these issues is by being communities who will support each other through any hopeless moments.  Communities are a pillar that supports all its members, not just by applauding individual accomplishments. We will only succeed with unity.

By “Community” is meant a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, have a role in choosing their government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.  As citizens and members of our communities we are entitled to the following human and social rights.

Seven Rights:


We declare our right to:

(1)  equal opportunity in the employment market in order to establish ourselves economically and socially.

(2)  access to adequate schooling that will properly educate all those who apply themselves.

(3)  access to affordable housing for current residents and those returning to the community.

(4)  careers and legacies instead of prisons and graveyards.

(5)  be safe from all forms of violence, e.g. police brutality, street and gang violence, domestic violence, gun violence, verbal, emotional and sexual violence.

(6)  be free from all forms of discrimination by police authority, i.e. illegal stop & frisk policies and any other tactics used to fuel mass incarceration.

(7)  be free from cultural and ethnic discrimination, so everyone can practice their belief systems and participate equally in educational and social opportunities.

Community Responsibilities:

As a community we need to stand together by helping, healing, and supporting one another.  Our assets are our shared experience, a related history, determination, and a willingness to prevail over any adversity or self-hurt and any attempts to hinder our potential to excel.
Signed:  Corey Parks
 


5.  Disenfranchisement of Formerly Incarcerated Citizens
Wrongly Turning Away Ex-Offenders

The New York Times 11/04/2012 Editorial page proclaims: The United States maintains a shortsighted and punitive set of laws, some of them dating back to Reconstruction, denying the vote to people who have committed felonies. They will bar about 5.85 million people from voting in this year’s election.  In the states with the most draconian policies — including Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi and Virginia — more than 7 percent of the adult population is barred from the polls, sometimes for life.  Nationally, nearly half of those affected have completed their sentences, including parole or  probation.   more...



6.  Fortune in My Eyes: A Memoir of Broadway Glamour, Social Justice and Political Passion 

An autobiography by Fortune Society’s founder, David Rothenberg was the subject of an interview with him by Glenn Martin on “Both Sides of The Bars”, the television program hosted by DRCPP.

The book, available from Applause publishing has recently been reviewed very favorably in the New York Times!  In the Metro section, columnist Sam Roberts sums up the book, and perhaps Mr. Rothenberg’s life by saying it is “a profile in courage.” 

The Fortune Society staff are justifiably proud of this praise for their esteemed founder and his work, and highly suggest you pick up a copy for yourself!


7.  Michelle Alexander speaking in Albany
December 6 at 7 pm.
Albany Law School, 80 New Scotland Ave. Albany NY

Ms. Alexander will also be speaking to the students at Albany High School on the same day.

Contact the Social Justice Center for more details or to buy the New Jim Crow book: 518-434-4037
Sponsored by:
*Campaign to End the New Jim Crow, The Social Justice Center, A Village, The Center for Law and Justice, Friends for Racial Justice, Capital Region Chapter of NYCLU, Upstate Campaign to End the New Jim Crow, Capital District Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Filling in the Gaps in American History, The New Jim Crow Study Group in Albany, The African American Cultural Center, Grand Street Community Arts, Urban Arts Experience, JC3 Consulting, the New York State Prisoner Justice Network, Social Responsibilities Council of the First Unitarian Universalist Society in Albany, the New York State Defenders Justice Fund and the New York State Defenders Association, the Muslim Solidarity Committee, Project SALAM: Support and Legal Advocacy for Muslim, National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms, Citizens Action.


8.  Support the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2011

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights asks that you sign on to support S. 306, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act. S. 306 which would establish an independent national commission to conduct a review of the nation’s criminal justice system and recommend consensus-based and cost-effective reforms.

Given the limited number of legislative days remaining this year, we urge you to prioritize this legislation’s passage. If you are interested in signing on to the letter, please click on the link to the sign-on sheet and include your organization’s name and whether it is a national or state/local organization.  
For more information please contact: Lexer Quamie, Counsel, The Leadership Conference Education Fund (202) 466-3648 quamie@civilrights.orgwww.civilrights.org


9.  Open letter to President Obama
The Center for Constitutional Rights was a major contributor to our battle for lower phone rates for calls from inside prison.  But they are also involved in many major battles to protect our Constitutional Rights.  After the election, they sent out a message saying, “We know that we cannot rely on politicians or even the courts: only people can make meaningful change. This is a critical time for all of us to act to change the course of history and build a unified vision for a society guided by human rights. Hope only gets you so far. Let's get to work.”

So we got to work and wrote the following letter to the President.  We need to hold him accountable for upholding human rights. From CCR’s list of the changes they want to see in the near future, we selected those that focus on criminal justice issues.  We urge you to get involved in letting President Obama know what changes you want.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments

The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,  Washington, DC 20500

Comments: 202-456-1111 Switchboard: 202-456-1414
Open letter to President Obama:

Prison Action Network is thrilled that you will be our President for 4 more years.  We voted for you and campaigned for you because we believe that you will listen to our demands for civil and social rights.  We want a safer and more peaceful country, where freedom and justice are primary values.  
To that end we have listed some changes that are essential to our security:

1.  End the use of
solitary confinement in prisons across the country. 
2.  End unlawful “targeted killings” and the expansion of the Orwellian “disposition matrix.” 
3.  Acknowledge, investigate and provide reparations for unlawful civilian killings. 
4.  End the war in Afghanistan and pull all private military contractors out of Iraq and Afghanistan. 
5.  Abandon the endless global war paradigm as the basis for abusive national security policies and end the use of war force outside of war zones.
5.  Investigate and prosecute former high-level U.S. officials who bear responsibility for torture and war crimes committed in Afghanistan, Iraq and the “black sites”.
6.  Provide medical treatment and compensation to people subjected to torture in U.S.-run detention facilities, including in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as Guantánamo, and provide war reparations to communities in Iraq and Afghanistan for harms done to the people and the environment.    
7.  End the persecution of whistleblowers and journalists like Julian Assange, Wikileaks and Bradley Manning for protected First Amendment activity. 
8.  Increase transparency, sunshine and freedom of information in federal law enforcement and prisons and end overclassification of unlawful or embarrassing government conduct. 
9.  Stop the criminalization of dissent: end the stifling of activist expression under the anti-free-speech National Defense Authorization Act and the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act and end overbroad prosecutions for terrorism under material support laws. 
10.  Stop the criminalization and profiling of communities based on race and religion: end the devastating Secure Communities program that destroys families and spreads fear in immigrant neighborhoods. 
11.  End warrantless surveillance and stop the indiscriminate targeting and surveillance of Muslim, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities under the guise of national security. 
12.  Support human rights internationally: stop funding and training police and militaries abroad implicated in human rights abuses in places like Honduras. 
13.  Center women's equality in all policy and legislative initiatives concerning their bodily autonomy and right to health care.

10.  Parole News
SEPTEMBER 2012 PAROLE BOARD RELEASES – A1 VIOLENT FELONS – DIN #s through 1999 
unofficial research from parole database


Total Interviews
# Released
# Denied
Rate of Release
17 Initials
3
14
18%
83 Reappearances
29
54
35%
100 Total
32
68
32%



SEPTEMBER Initial Release      
Facility                        Sentence           Offense      # of Board

Fishkill
20-Life
Murder 2
Initial
Great Meadow
26 1/3-Life
Murder 2
Initial
Woodbourne
23-Life
Murder 2
Initial


SEPTEMBER Reappearances
Facility                        Sentence           Offense         # of Board

Bare Hill
15-Life
Murder 2
5th *
Bedford Hills
15-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Clinton
20-Life
Murder 2
4th
Clinton
15-Life
Murder 2
3rd
Collins
20-Life
Murder 2
3rd
Coxsackie
20-Life
Murder 2
8th
Fishkill
25-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Fishkill
17-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Fishkill
7-Life
Murder 2
6th
Fishkill
25-Life
Murder 2
3rd
Fishkill
25-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Franklin
25-Life
Murder 2
7th
Green Haven
20-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Groveland
25-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Livingston
15-Life
Murder 2
6th
Marcy
25-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Midstate
25-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Midstate
25-Life
Murder 2
6th
Mohawk
25-Life
Murder 2
6th
Otisville
15-Life
Murder 2
4th
Otisville
4-Life
Murder 2
4th
Otisville
25-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Otisville
18-Life
Murder 2
3rd
Otisville
20-Life
Murder 2
2nd
Shawangunk
15-Life
Murder pre-74
15th
Shawangunk
15-Life
Murder 2
7th
Walsh Med Ctr
20-Life
Murder 2
6th
Woodbourne
25-Life
Murder 2
4th
Woodbourne
15-Life
Murder 2
2nd

*For Deportation Only


APPOINTING PAROLE BOARD COMMISSIONERS:  

Facts: Since the governor appoints parole board commissioners, the common perception is that the job is a political plum.  But it’s not that simple.  Although the Governor makes the appointments, the Senate must approve them.  You may recall that Gov. Paterson selected 4 people, but the Senate (in the form of the Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee) never approved any of them.  Gov. Cuomo, it appears, made some deals, and when he eventually submitted the names of 6 people - 3 for reappointment and 3 new faces - the Senate Committee, followed by the entire Senate, approved.  Only one of the new appointees has given indication of being fair and concerned more with public safety than with punishment.  It appears that in order to get her and maybe one of the reappointments approved, the governor had to please the Committee with the rest.  Maybe if the Senate gains the majority, Governor Cuomo will be able to give us commissioners from diverse professional, racial, gender and ethnic backgrounds in the future.  There are 5 empty seats that can be filled.  


11.  Prisoners Are People Too!
by Karima Amin

On Monday, November 26, Prisoners Are People Too will hold its last monthly meeting for the year. Following past practice, there will be no December meeting. On Monday, January 28, 2013 we’ll continue to screen outstanding documentaries, invite knowledgeable and inspiring speakers, and consider critical issues related to criminal INjustice and prison reform.

Last month, due to safety precautions related to “Super Storm Sandy,” our meeting was canceled. The film that would have been screened in October, featuring Mr. Arthur O. Eve, Sr., will be shown this month. Additionally, there will be a discussion of our highly successful Family Empowerment Day Conference and an equally successful voter registration drive spearheaded by the Advisory Chair of Prisoners Are People Too, Rev. Eugene L. Pierce. Thanks to his persistence, nearly 100 people confined at the Erie County Holding Center and the Erie County Correctional Facility were deemed eligible to vote.

It’s not too early to say, “Happy Holidays!” We wish you a safe and happy holiday season and we look forward to meeting with you in 2013 and continuing our advocacy for prisoner justice. In the meantime, please join us on Monday, November 26 at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street in Buffalo, from 6:30pm – 8:30pm.

The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of BaBa Eng are the sponsors of this program. For further information, contact Karima Amin, 716-834-8438 or karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org.



12.  How Prisoners Make Us Look Good
The New York Times
10/27/2012

Imprisoned black men aren’t figured into statistics about the standing of African-Americans. The consequence, according to a piece from the Times, is an overstatement of black progress in education, employment, wages and voting participation.



13.  Pro Bono Legal Assistance

Our mail from members is peppered with requests for pro bono help with appeals and other legal matters.  We know a few good lawyers who are committed to providing good defense and assisting people in prison, but there’s a limit to how many cases a lawyer can take without getting paid.  So we were excited when Hon. Jonathan Lippman ordered an amendment to 22 NYCRR Part 520 which adds a 50-hour pro bono requirement for every applicant admitted to the NYS bar on or after Jan 2015.  That means we’ve got some time to wait before anyone can take advantage of it.  Part 520.16 defines pro bono service as supervised pre-admission law-related work that assists in the provision of legal services without charge, to, among others, individuals, groups or organizations seeking to secure or promote access to justice.   

Albany Law School invited students, professors and other stakeholders to a discussion on implementing the new rule.  Prison Action Network was there to find out how/if we were eligible to receive the pro bono assistance.  Alas, like the appointment of parole commissioners (see art. 10), it’s not that simple.  Just because a new rule has been added doesn’t mean it can be implemented easily, if at all.  Everyone in the room supported the idea of pro bono work, which among other things would provide the human dimension of law practice.  But who will supervise these students’ pro bono work?  Professors are already stretched with their teaching responsibilities; few have hours in their day to add on the responsibility of supervising every student’s 50 hours of pro bono work.  Staff will need to be hired.  Where will the money come from?  Usually from tuition.  The students and their professors agreed that law school tuition has reached it’s highest level ever, and that students could not handle any more debt.  Any rise in tuition was impossible to consider. 

But there was good news for Prison Action Network members.  Albany Law School has a Pro Bono Society, run by students.  They have 20 projects; among them is the Prisoner’s Rights Project, which partners with Prisoners Legal Services to conduct administrative appeals for prisoners, as well as draft and file Article 78 petitions.  Samantha Howell is the contact person at PLS.



14.  Senate Shenanigans 

The votes are still being counted but according to a Times Union Capital blog entry by Jimmy Vielkind  (http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/politics/2012/11/6539250/state-senate-historic-democratic-victories-come-asterisk?page=all) the Democrats appear to have picked up enough votes to regain the majority they won in 2008.  However there are Democratic Senators who can be persuaded by the Republicans to join with them.  It happened before, in 2008, when dissident members who had problems with the elected leadership, or wanted special privileges, defected to the other side, and voted with the Republicans, calling themselves the Independent Democratic Conference.  

Vielkind writes for the Albany Times Union and is a frequent contributor to its Capitol Confidential blog This is from his blog:

Simcha Felder, an orthodox Jew who won in last week’s election, ran as a Democrat but says he’ll “caucus with any party that will allow me to deliver the most to the 17th Senate district and its constituents.”
“Most of us were there in 2008, and we’re not going to repeat those mistakes,” said State Senator Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan.  Liz Krueger says the Democratic conference is already very different. There are 14 Democratic senators—almost half the conference—who were elected after 2008, and all but one of the former dissidents has been forced from office by criminal probes.  Several other Democrats say they’ll create a new process for choosing their Majority Leader this year.  As Krueger bluntly promised: “We’re going to go into a majority with a much, much better group of apples and without any of that kind of crap.”
First, the Democrats’ Election Night victories will have to be affirmed. The only one with a reasonable chance of being undone is in the 46th District, which was created during this year’s redistricting process for Assemblyman George Amedore, a Republican.  He finished 139 votes behind Cecilia Tkaczyk. This recount is key. If Tkaczyk holds, Democrats will be in a place of strength when they speak with Felder and the Independent Democrats. If Amedore is able to win, Republicans could cobble together 32 votes by just co-opting Felder, avoiding the need for them to convince the I.D.C. to complete their break with the regular Democrats by formally supporting them.
Cuomo's office, for obvious reasons, is saying that he'll be pleased whatever the outcome. If it's the Democrats, well, they'll help him work toward common progressive goals. And if it's the Republicans, he'll continue to work with them as he has over the course of his first two years in office.  And as he put it: “I think they learned the hard way. The Democrats were in power; the Democrats then lost power because of the dysfunction. They learned that lesson the hard way.”

Building Bridges is Prison Action Network’s way to communicate with our members.  
Contact us if you'd like to join.