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Dear Reader,
We appreciate the Legislators, and other politicians, who signed a letter on behalf of Judith Clark on the heels of Sen.Patrick Gallivan’s announcement of 10K petitions his committee gathered in opposition to releasing her at her upcoming Parole hearing -which was mandated by the Governor. Here are the names of the compassionate Statewide politicians who wrote a letter of their own, in support of Ms.Clark’s release:
Adams Bichotte,Blake,Brewer,Carroll,Chin,Cook, D’Urso,Dickens,Dinkins,Dramm, Eldridge,Espaillat,Farrell,Ferreras-Copeland,G.Rivera, Garodnick,Glick,Goodman,Gotbaum,Gottfreid,Harris,Hoylman,James,Jeffries,Johnson,Kim,Koslowitz,Krueger,Levin,Levine,Lifton,Maloney,Mendez,Meng,Montgomery,Moya,Nadler,Niou,Perkins,Pichardo,Quart,Rosenthal,Seawright,Seddio,Serrano,Simon,Stringer,Titone,Torres,Velasquez,Walker
Wright
Their concern was noticed and applauded. We’re sorry there’s such a broad division in New York State over what is justice and what
is not. Thank you to all who stood up for our kind of justice. Your Editor
Table of Contents
- Feb. parole releases. Eight initials! Judge Engoron from the NY County Supreme Court sees it our way.
- Legislative report: 12 bills pass in Senate committee, and 20 Assembly bills. PAN asks for help writing Support letters and Opposition letters.
- NetWORKS - “It will take all the running we can do to keep from going backwards”
- May 10th advocacy training dates - please join us.
- Prisoners are people too, inc, from Buffalo, will be there on May10.
- Get ready for August and the March for Justice from NYC to the Statehouse P. 9
- DOCCS new package policy.
1. Parole News -
PAROLE BOARD RELEASES - A1 VIOLENT FELONS DIN #s through 2001
unofficial research from parole database
February 2017 - A1VO Interview Summaries
Type
|
Total
|
# Released
|
# Denied
|
Rate of Release
|
Year to Date Release Rate
|
Initials
|
14
|
8
|
6
|
57%
|
29%
|
Reappearances
|
60
|
17
|
43
|
28%
|
33%
|
Total
|
74
|
25
|
49
|
34%
|
32%
|
3 De Novas released, 2 denied
February 2017 - A1VO Initial Releases by Facility
Facility
|
Age
|
Age @ Commitment
|
Sentence
|
Offense
|
# of Board
|
Cape Vincent
|
55
|
32
|
25-l
|
Mrd 2
|
1
|
Fishkill
|
48
|
31
|
18-l
|
Kidnap 1
|
1
|
Fishkill
|
53
|
29
|
25-l
|
Mrd 2
|
1
|
Fishkill
|
52
|
29
|
26-l
|
Mrd 2
|
1
|
Upstate
|
55
|
32
|
25-l
|
Mrd 2
|
1
|
Woodbourne
|
60
|
39
|
22-l
|
Mrd 2
|
1
|
Woodbourne
|
52
|
31
|
25-l
|
Mrd 2
|
1
|
Wyoming
|
39
|
20
|
20-l
|
Mrd 2
|
1
|
February 2017 - A1VO Reappearance Releases by Facility
Facility
|
Age at hearing
|
Age at Commitment
|
Sentence
|
Offense
|
# of Board
|
Cape Vincent
|
65
|
35
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
4
|
Cape Vincent
|
51
|
23
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
3
|
Five Points
|
48
|
23
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
4
|
Gouverneur
|
58
|
29
|
23-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
5
|
Livingston
|
55
|
17
|
15-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
8
|
Livingston
|
49
|
24
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
2
|
Livingston
|
47
|
22
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
2
|
Marcy
|
68
|
25
|
15-Life
|
Pre 74 Mrd
|
6
|
Otisville
|
72
|
47
|
15-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
9
|
Otisville
|
67
|
39
|
25-Life
|
Kidnap1
|
3
|
Otisville
|
73
|
35
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
8
|
Taconic-female
|
47
|
23
|
21-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
3
|
Taconic-female
|
56
|
35
|
15-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
5
|
Ulster
|
50
|
20
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
4
|
Wende
|
69
|
25
|
25-Life
|
Pre 74 Mrd
|
6
|
Woodbourne
|
61
|
29
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
5
|
Woodbourne
|
44
|
20
|
25-Life
|
Mrd 2
|
2
|
February 2017 - A1VOs Over 60 -Summary [one age unknown]
Age Range
|
Total
|
Released
|
Denied
|
Release Rate
|
60-69
|
19
|
6
|
13
|
32%
|
70-79
|
8
|
2
|
6
|
25%
|
80+
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0%
|
Total
|
27
|
8
|
19
|
30%
|
February 2017 - A1VO Ages at time of commitment
Age Range
|
Total
|
Released
|
Denied
|
|
16-20
|
9
|
4
|
5
|
|
21-25
|
25
|
7
|
18
|
|
25+
|
39
|
14
|
25
|
|
Total
|
73
|
25
|
48
|
February 2017 - ALL Parole Releases (including the A1VOs reported above)
Type of Release
|
Total
|
# Released
|
# Denied
|
Rate of Release
|
YTD Release
|
Initials
|
409
|
97
|
312
|
24%
|
26%
|
All other decisions
|
353
|
122
|
231
|
35%
|
37%
|
Total
|
762
|
219
|
543
|
29%
|
31%
|
Includes Merit time cases
SEE BELOW FOR RELEASES OF ALL PAROLE APPLICANTS AT ALL 58 FACILITIES. [we’ll get the layout right eventually. Thanks for your patience.....]
Here’s something of interest to fill the space:
When the Parole Board denied Laurie Kellogg’release she took them to court. In his unpublished opinion, Judge Engoron not only quoted from Bob Dylan’s “Chimes of Freedom” but he also wrote: “what the Parole Board has done here is to re-sentence petitioner, which the law does not authorize it to do”, “A court may not substitute its judgment for the judgment of the Parole Board; but the Parole Board may not substitute its judgment for the judgment of the sentencing judge”, and this: “there is absolutely no use or reason for another hearing. As a matter of law, petitioner has served her sentence and is entitled to be released”. “The only appropriate remedy is to order the Parole Board to grant petitioner parole.” (You can request the entire decision for a SASE and the date of this issue and title of the article )
Facility
|
Released
|
Denied
|
Adirondack
|
7
|
6
|
Albion W-R
|
2
|
0
|
Albion - Female
|
7
|
15
|
Altona
|
4
|
8
|
Attica
|
1
|
18
|
Auburn
|
3
|
5
|
Bare Hill
|
5
|
28
|
Bedford Hills
|
4
|
7
|
Cape Vincent
|
10
|
5
|
Cayuga
|
9
|
4
|
Clinton
|
3
|
15
|
Collins
|
4
|
17
|
Coxsackie
|
0
|
5
|
Downstate
|
4
|
8
|
Eastern
|
1
|
2
|
Edgecombe
|
1
|
0
|
Elmira
|
4
|
9
|
Fishkill
|
10
|
19
|
Five Points
|
2
|
10
|
Franklin
|
4
|
20
|
Gouverneur
|
8
|
7
|
Gowanda
|
17
|
17
|
Gowanda -SOP
|
0
|
7
|
Gt Meadow
|
0
|
17
|
Green Haven
|
0
|
8
|
Greene
|
1
|
31
|
Groveland
|
7
|
11
|
Hale Creek ASAC
|
2
|
3
|
Hudson
|
0
|
5
|
Lakeview
|
1
|
8
|
Lincoln
|
2
|
1
|
Livingston
|
8
|
11
|
Marcy
|
5
|
19
|
Marcy-ASACTC
|
0
|
2
|
Midstate
|
6
|
19
|
Mohawk
|
10
|
11
|
Ogdensburg
|
5
|
2
|
Orleans
|
2
|
10
|
Other Agency
|
0
|
1
|
Otisville
|
4
|
9
|
Riverview
|
5
|
13
|
Rochester
|
5
|
1
|
Shawangunk
|
0
|
6
|
Sing Sing
|
1
|
11
|
Southport
|
0
|
4
|
Sullivan
|
2
|
2
|
Taconic-ASACTC
|
0
|
1
|
Taconic - female
|
6
|
4
|
Ulster
|
11
|
16
|
Upstate
|
1
|
15
|
Wallkill
|
2
|
11
|
Walsh Med Ctr
|
1
|
4
|
Washington
|
2
|
15
|
Watertown
|
3
|
5
|
Wende
|
5
|
4
|
Woodbourne
|
9
|
9
|
Wyoming
|
3
|
20
|
Total: 762
|
219
|
543
|
2. Legislative report: 12 Senate bills and 20 Assembly bills
Explanation: S stands for Senate, A stands for Assembly. If a bill has a sponsor in both chambers we identify it with a slash mark between their two numbers (A.1234 / S.5678) and the primary sponsors like this: (Kavanagh/Parker). For Assembly bills, the first name is the Assembly Member and for Senate bills the Senate sponsor is listed first. We don't list the co-sponsors. You may write us for that information (SASE required) or look it up on-line.
If a bill is “reported” or “referred”, it means it passed out of the Corrections Committee to another committee (from where it may go to the entire Assembly for a floor vote). 3rd reading means it’s one step away from a floor vote. Before any of these bills become law they have to be passed in both houses, where changes can be made from the floor before a final vote. If passed, the Governor has to sign them before they can become the law.
Senate’s Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee passed twelve (12) on March 23 and 27
Patrick Gallivan, Chair
Bill Number
|
Primary Sponsor/s
|
Purpose
|
S.785/No Same As
Referred to Finance
|
Carlucci
|
Requires that websites providing inmate information be searchable by the inmate's name, former name or alias
|
S.3581/A.6888
3rd reading
|
Gallivan/Weprin
|
Requires notice be provided to any officer or employee of the department of correctional services whose personal information is the subject of a subpoena duces tecum
|
S.3982/A.3053
Reported to Finance
|
Montgomery/Weprin
|
Requires parole decisions to be published on a publicly accessible website within 60 days of such decision
|
S.1009/ No Same As
Referred to Finance
|
Robach
|
Prohibits level three sex offenders from living in college housing
|
S.2477/ A.2950
in Assembly
|
Gianaris/Simotas
|
Requires registered sex offenders to personally appear at the law enforcement agency having jurisdiction for purpose of having a photograph taken; repealer
|
S.1271/A.3259
Passed Senate
Referred to Correction
|
Avella/Ortiz
|
Directs the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to establish standards for the distance from school grounds of the residence of certain sex offenders on probation or parole
|
S.2997-A /A.2350-A
Committed to Finance
|
LaValle/Thiele
|
Increases from twenty-four to sixty months, the time for which reconsideration for parole for a violent felony offense shall be determined
|
S.3822/A.3138
3rd Reading
|
LaValle/Thiele
|
Prohibits certain persons convicted under article six-C of the correction law from serving as a trustee, principal, officer, or member of a board of education.
|
S.193/A.2915
Committed to Finance
|
Marchione/McDonald
|
Requires the department of corrections and community supervision to maintain the responsibility and costs of monitoring any person required to use an ignition device.
|
S.744/A.305
Reported to Finance
|
Richie/Gunther
|
Requires parole violators to be transferred to state correctional facilities after 10 days in a local correctional facility
|
S.2125/A.6930
3rd reading
|
Richie/Abinanti
|
Prohibits civilian drone use within 1000 ft of a correction facility
|
S.3504/A.3824
3rd Reading
|
Griffo/Brindisi
|
Relates to allowing the Oneida county sheriff and correctional facility to hold detained persons prior to arraignment
|
Assembly’s Correction Committee passed five (5) bills on Feb. 6 and 9
David Weprin, chair
Bill Number
|
Primary Sponsor/s
|
Purpose
|
A.1776/S.3396
Referred to Ways and Means
|
Joyner/Parker
|
Authorizes a study by the department of corrections and community supervision pertaining to the treatment of aging prison populations.
|
A.1904/No Same As
3rd Reading
|
O’Donnell
|
Creates the office of the Correctional Ombudsman to achieve transparency, fairness, impartiality and accountability in NYS DOCCS.
|
A.2385/No Same As
3rd Reading
|
Weprin
|
Provides that attorneys representing inmates in prison disciplinary hearings shall be given the complete hearing record, but may not
re-disclose any confidential information to any person not otherwise authorized to obtain confidential records.
|
A.3053/ S.3982
Reported to Finance
|
Weprin/Montgomery
|
Requires Parole Appeal Decisions to be published on a publicly accessible website within 60 days of such decision.
|
A.3206/No Same As
Referred to Ways and Means
|
Aubry
|
Conforms the definition of an inmate with a serious mental illness to the definition of "person with a serious mental illness" in the mental hygiene law.
|
On March 22nd, fifteen (15)more bills were passed by the Assembly’s Correction Committee
Bill Number
|
Primary Sponsor/s
|
Purpose
|
A.588-A/No Same As
Referred to Ways and Means
|
Rosenthal
|
Relates to providing feminine hygiene products at no cost to individuals in correctional facilities and to any other individual in a punitive custodial setting.
|
A.1730 / No Same As
3rd Reading
|
Mosley
|
Allows telephone calls - within 24 hrs. - for inmates after transfer to new correctional facilities.
|
A.1909 / No Same As
Reported to Codes
|
O’Donnell
|
Requires the use of risk and needs assessments in parole decisions; provides a process permitting inmates to correct verifiable factual mistakes or errors in their risk and needs assessments or other non-confidential documents given the Board prior to their appearances.
|
A.2534/ S.3498
Referred to Ways and Means
|
Roczic/Bailey
|
Requires rehabilitation programs for females in state correctional facilities be equivalent to those provided to males in correctional facilities elsewhere in the state; such programs shall include, but not be limited to, vocational, academic and industrial programs.
|
A.3974/S.1056
Referred to Ways and Means
|
Sepulveda/Carlucci
|
Requires the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance and DOCCS to conduct an evaluation on the current way the sanction system exists as part of re-entry planning. including but not limited to: Housing; Medical; Mental health counseling; Substance abuse and addiction services; Employment; Benefits programs; and Childcare Services.
|
A.4036/ No Same As
3rd Reading
|
Weprin
|
Clarifies the medical parole review process by addressing some of the deficiencies in the medical parole certification and parole board hearing processes so that inmates who are dying or severely restricted in their ability to self-ambulate or perform significant normal activities due to the debilitative nature of their medical conditions can be released to die at home or be cared for by their families or in outside medical facilities.
|
A.4158/ S.3342
Reported to Ways and Means
|
Aubry/Bailey
|
Establishes commission to study and make recommendations to
the legislature and the governor regarding the availability and effec-
tiveness of post-secondary correctional education programs in prison.
|
A.6352/ No Same As
3rd Reading
|
Weprin
|
Provides that the State Commission of Correction shall only redact its death review to the extent required by state and federal law to protect confidential medical and behavioral health records.
|
A.6007 /No Same As
Reported to Ways and Means
|
Walker
|
Requires DOCCS to provide an annual inmate mortality report. Further, it
requires the department to provide a report to the legislation within 7
days following the suicide or other death of an inmate.
|
A.6666/ S.5368
Reported to Ways and Means
|
Gjonaj / Alcantara
|
Provides the lowest cost of local jail telephone service to those people using such service. When determining "best value" as stated in state procurement requirements, the cost to the user shall be emphasized.
|
A.1776/ S.3396
Reported to Ways and Means
|
Joyner/Parker
|
Authorizes a study by the department of corrections and community supervision pertaining to the treatment of aging prison populations
|
A.1904/ No Same As
Reported to Ways and Means
|
O’Donnell
|
Creates an independent public oversight agency, the office of the correctional ombudsman, to monitor the prisons, investigate complaints and report to the governor, the legislature,DOCCS and the public.
|
A.2385/ No Same As
3rd Reading
|
Weprin
|
To provide complete hearing records to attorneys representing inmates in
appeals of prison disciplinary hearings and other related legal
proceedings.
|
A.3053 / S.3982
Reported to Ways and Means
|
Weprin/ Montgomery
|
This bill directs the Board of Parole to publish its appeal decisions on
a public website and create an annual index of such decisions,so that the public and concerned citizens can have access to the body of decisions that informs the Board's practice.
|
A.3206/ No Same As
Reported to Ways and Means
|
Aubry
|
This bill changes the definition of serious mental illness in the correction law to match the definition in the mental hygiene law. The definition of serious mental illness should be the same throughout the state no matter where Office of Mental Health is operating.
|
PLEASE HELP US LOBBY! Write letters of support and opposition.
Legislators ask Prison Action Network and other similar organizations to write letters of support for bills we approve, and letters of opposition for those we don’t. Building Bridges is inviting our readers to help us write those letters. Each month we will feature a bill we support and one we don’t, and will ask you to send us your opinions. Time is of the essence as bills move quickly through the system, so please hurry. Please limit them to 300 words as legislators (along with the rest of us) do not have much time to read all their mail. (Try to make them as short as these Sponsors’ Memos:)
[Descriptions are taken from the Sponsors’ justification memos ]
OPPOSE. S.2997 / A.2350 Sponsors: Sen.LaValle, A.M.Thiele. Parole Board can schedule hearings five years apart.
This bill would only affect those with convictions for murder in the first degree, aggravated murder, and murder in the second degree, where a sentence other than death or life imprisonment without parole is imposed. Each time such an inmate is considered for parole, the victim's family must relive the horror of the crime for the sake of impressing upon the Parole Board the inappropriateness of early release. This bill does not infringe upon the Parole Board's ability to allow for the current 24-month reconsideration period. It merely provides another option for the board to consider if it is apparent that nothing could transpire in the next five years that would cause them to render a different opinion regarding parole release. Only in the cases described above would the board have the ability to set the date for reconsideration anywhere between 24-months and 60-months which would afford grieving families a greater period of peace before having to testify at the next parole hearing. [emphasis added]
SUPPORT. S.3095/A.4353 Sponsors: Sen. Parker, A.M. Aubry -Safe and Fair Evaluations (SAFE) Parole Act
Under current law, the Parole Board may deny an inmate parole simply due to the nature of his or her crime. Under this criteria, an inmate may never become eligible for parole - no matter how successful he or she has been in rehabilitative and educational programs. This bill would require the Parole Board to inform an inmate who was denied parole the exact reasons for the denial, and what steps are required to be considered for parole in the future. [It also says they must be released once they complete those requirements...]
3. NetWORKS, the monthly column of the New York State Prisoner Justice Network
Running in Place, or Practicing for the Long-Distance Marathon?
“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass
YES! It took all the running we could do, but the forces of justice succeeded in keeping visits in New York’s maximum security prisons at their current level of seven days a week. Turning back the Governor’s proposal to cut visiting days from seven to three was an important, celebration-worthy victory. And the running itself was valuable, as we will see.
Governor Cuomo, despite his promises to reduce mass incarceration and prison racism, continues to be the master of the grand gesture that makes little or no difference to the overall suffering caused by the criminal legal system. But this was worse: a proposal to increase suffering, marginalization, and stress on families and incarcerated people already struggling to survive in this cruel system.
Tucked into the Governor’s budget proposal for the 2017-2018 budget year, set to begin April 1st, was a meager savings of 2.6 million dollars in the 3-billion-dollar Corrections budget, gained by cutting visits to maxes. His defense of the measure was absurd: to bring the maxes into line with the mediums, which already only allow weekend visiting. Since we have a terrible policy in some prisons, according to this reasoning, the best thing to do about that is to spread it to the rest. His staff’s excuse was even more dishonest: weekend visits are the most “popular.” They did use the word “popular,” like our horrific 24-hour treks to the ends of the earth to see our loved ones were a survey about favorite ice cream flavors.
The pushback against the proposal was the most powerful and unified we have seen, at least since the reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws. It involved dozens of grassroots organizations obtaining over 5,000 signatures on an online petition and sending uncounted numbers of calls, emails, and tweets to the Governor and other officials. Families of incarcerated folks lost no time in describing how difficult visiting is currently and how much worse it would be if seven days’ worth of visitors had to squeeze into the already overcrowded weekend visiting rooms with their 2 and 3 hour processing lines.
The pushback also involved an uncompromising legislative stance led by Assemblyman Weprin, new head of the Assembly Correction Committee, who held press conferences in New York and Albany and mobilized a good number of his colleagues. They did not mince words in calling this the worst idea ever invented, for the most piddling savings. A number of news stories echoed both the legislators and the families in describing the proposal as nasty, stingy, and counterproductive. In the end, all three one-house budget bills – the Democrat-led Assembly, the Republican-led Senate, and the Senate Independent Democratic Caucus – proposed restoring funding for 7-day visiting.
So we still have our seven-day visits. They were hard to begin with, in more ways than we can describe to anyone who hasn’t done one. The long overnight bus trips were always awful, and then the state scrapping the free buses was a serious step backwards. The processing in can take hours, and prison personnel never seem to be in any hurry to help us – even in facilities where all of us, including frail elders and little babies, are standing outdoors in Northern weather, waiting to get in. The new “security photos” take even more time and involve added humiliation. And there’s the culture of contempt from the staff, hard to describe but recognizable to anyone who has been there. If a line of visitors is waiting, for example, and anyone, with any kind of business, civilian, workperson, CO, attorney – anyone but us – comes along, they are automatically processed first, no matter how long we have been standing there. Look in the parking lot – no, not over here near the front gate, but way off in the farthest possible corner with the longest possible walk – there’s a little sign saying “visitor parking.” And now it appears that family reunion visits can be taken away based on nothing you have done wrong in all your long years in prison, but instead on the crime for which you were convicted decades ago.
It will take all the running we can do to keep from going backwards. And yet, this pushback against the visit cutbacks was an excellent sprint to get us in shape for the marathon, strengthening our running muscles and sharpening our reflexes. Some of the lessons: sharp focus on a single well-explained objective; vigorous use of social media; broad collaboration among different organizations; cooperation between grassroots organizations and friendly legislators; never letting up until victory is certain.
The lessons are not easily applied. There are so many wrongs in the criminal legal system, and we do need all our separate organizations to be working on all these different fronts at once. We can’t give that up. We have learned that at selected moments, for a selected issue, we can all pull together for a limited initiative.
Perhaps helping to make the anti-cutbacks campaign possible was that, over the past few years, many of New York’s grassroots prison reform and abolition organizations (that split isn’t as deep as it used to be) have developed ties with each other and begun to project a common narrative against the punishment and cruelty of the prison system. Many of those organizations will be advancing that movement-building momentum on May 10th, when justice activists and advocates from all over New York State will be coming to Albany for a lobbying, rallying, speaking, performance art, and networking day against mass incarceration and for prison justice. For those who can come, and for those inside who have friends and families who can come, remember to sign up in advance at the link https://tinyurl.com/z8aboy7 or email may10dayofactionRSVP@gmail.com. And for those behind the bars, your presence and voices will be felt and heard as we march, lobby, and shout for fundamental changes in the violent, cruel, and unnecessary system of mass incarceration in New York State.
4. May 10th May 10th!
Challenging Incarceration for A Day of Advocacy and Action on May 10th in Albany.
Along with a rally and speakout, we will be arranging legislative visits with individual State Senators and Assembly members to push for policy change. To make sure everyone is prepared for these visits, we will be holding Legislative Advocacy Trainings in NYC and in Albany.
Just drop in!
NYC
1) April 9th, 1-3pm (location: Castle Gardens, 625 W. 140th St. New York, NY 10031)
2) April 24th, 6:30-8:30pm (location: Room 206 at NYU Law, 40 Washington Square South)
ALBANY
3) April 26, 6-8pm (location: First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany, 405 Washington Avenue, Albany)
5. The fight for “prison justice” is an ongoing battle
Karima Amin
The fight for “prison justice” is an ongoing battle….not relegated to a special time. It is intense and necessary. It is hard work to engage a moral imperative. In the second half of Panthers, the film we watched at last month’s meeting, we watched young people stepping up their efforts to change the gun laws by confronting lawmakers at their State Capital in Sacramento, CA. This is what we will do on May 10 when we speak out in Albany, uniting for Prison Justice in “A Day of Advocacy and Action.” This is “LOBBY DAY” and it will be a day of speaking truth to power. The list of our concerns regarding mass incarceration is extensive. You will find information about the issues that top the list of our concerns at our website. Go to: www.prp2.org. Check the page listing “CURRENT INITIATIVES.” Our concentration on these four issues may only make a dent in a system that denies the humanity of prisoners as well as their families and communities but it is our responsibility to stand up and speak out.
6. Next we get ready for August!
March for Justice is a 180-mile, 18-day march sponsored by the Alliance of Families for Justice from New York City to the state Capitol in Albany. This march for justice calls for:
The closure of the historically abusive Attica Correctional Facility
The elimination of human rights violations in all state prisons and jails
Comprehensive reforms of the criminal and youth justice systems
The march will begin in late August and culminate in a massive rally and press conference on September 13, 2017, the anniversary of the Attica uprising and massacre. March for Justice is an important civil rights event. Our march from NYC to Albany will include teach ins along the way. Caravans from other parts of NYS will take place simultaneously to join us in Albany. Different days of the march will focus on different issues. A mural project engaging local artists will be part of the march so that in each town where a press conference and teach-in event is held, there will be a mural to memorialize the march. There are numerous prisons, jails and colleges located along the Hudson River between NYC and Albany. These provide excellent sites for teach-ins and press conferences.
To stay abreast of planning and news related to the news visit our website.
SIGN UP TO MARCH. Email us at info@afj-ny.org
Write us at 8 W. 126th Street, 3rd floor, NY, NY 10027 Phone: 347-973-0580
7. DOCCS’ new package policy
In case the new policy has not reached everyone (families and advocates as well as people in prison), DOCCS Directive #4911, “Packages and Articles Sent or Brought to Facilities” will soon be revised to become Directive #4911A. All packages and articles, with few exceptions, will only be allowed to be received from approved secure vendors. Packages will no longer be allowed to be dropped off prior to visiting. Eligible inmates will be able to order packages and articles from approved vendor’s catalogs. Families will also be able to order from the approved vendors via an online/internet web page that will be linked to the DOCCS home page: http://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov, or by mail order catalogs provided by the vendors. Books and magazines are not included.
Building Bridges is Prison Action Network’s way to communicate with our members.
Please contact us by one of the methods below if you’d like to join us.