October 2007 - SPECIAL FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY EDITION

Dear Reader,

Every week we hear from dozens of incarcerated people or their family members asking us to write a parole support letter or find them a pro bono lawyer or write the governor about the injustices they’ve experienced. We are truly saddened by many of the stories we hear. But in truth unless we really know the person, our support letter would probably mean nothing to the parole board. And we don’t know any lawyers who can afford to take on any more cases for free. And the governor! Well, despite what you may think, we haven’t talked to him since he was elected. So what’s my point? My point is that we do care and that’s why we began working with the Otisville Lifers on the Family Empowerment Project in 2005. We want to change things, and we want our methods to reflect the just and harmonious society we are working to create. Family Empowerment Day 3 is our way of working to change NYS parole policies, prevent unfair arrests, trials, and sentences, and safeguard people in our jails from abuse and inadequate health care. We also want our families to have an easier time; we want more money put into education and social services and less, much much less, put into war and incarceration. If you share our mission, please make sure everyone you know gets out to at least one of the Family Empowerment Day 3 events, to get educated in the ways that have proven successful in creating the changes we seek. We have lower phone bills, but it doesn’t stop there. So if you can’t attend, send someone to represent you. If you are planning to attend, come prepared to start working for justice, and bring some friends with you. Together we can make a difference!

You may not know this, but if you are reading these words we consider you part of the Prison Action Network. All we do is provide the forum for you to expose your ideas and more importantly your actions, to the rest of us. Every single person or organization who contributes to this newsletter IS a member of the Prison Action Network. And every single person who reads it is also. Family Empowerment Day belongs to all of us! So lets all get up to Columbia Law School on October 20 and meet the rest of the family!!

Please share your copy of Building Bridges.


TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. BEDFORD HILLS; REPORT ON CONDITIONS - One of CA's concerns is the "increasingly tense overall atmosphere and the negative effect of a more punitive and hostile prison environment on inmate/staff morale and relations..."

2. CSS RE-ENTRY ROUNDTABLE MEETING - In addition to the legislative updates and information exchanged, the guest speaker on the issue of re-entry was Safiya Bandele, a sister in this struggle that has been doing the time with her partner for over 30 years; the true example of "been there, done that."

3. CRIMINAL JUSTICE PUBLICATIONS - CURE-NY Newsletter . “dedicated to reducing crime by reforming the criminal justice system.” The Deuce Club - “Our current primary focus is in obtaining the just administration of parole for all people in prison.”

4. DRUG POLICY ALLIANCE - Announces 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference in New Orleans. Scholarships available.

5. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 3/NYC - EDUCATE YOURSELF FOR EMPOWERMENT!
Directions, Registration: Tabling: Workshop descriptions:

6. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 3/WNY - Two weeks later in Buffalo, hear an address by the Commissioner of Parole, and choose between 8 informative workshops led by experts in their fields. Pre- registration is required.

7. WHO’S FUNDING FED3? - You are, and your donation will be used entirely for supplies; no one is being paid a penny to do this. But we all stand to benefit.

8. PAROLE - Still no settlement or decision in Graziano v. Pataki, Success stories, Featured Parole Hearing, Woodbourne Sept. stats

9. PRISON RADIO - Sonny Rudert, Ramon Gonzalez, Judith Brink, Kirk James, Dwight Stephenson and 'Santito' are some of the voices you'll hear if you tune in this month. Could be yours next month!

10. SUPPORT GROUPS - Schenectady group cancelled for now. Next event will be a party on December 20.

11. TRANSPORTATION - NEST shuttle cancels their scheduled OCT 20 run to take people from the Capital District to FED3/NYC.

12. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND NEW YORK STATE - Buffalo, NYC, and Albany are busy setting up their FED3 events; in Kingston a play about recidivim, in NYC a panel including Kathy Boudin, Robt. Fllilove, Philip Genty, Michael Jacobson, Manning Marable and Elwin Wu to discuss Reentry.

13. WORDS FROM INSIDE - G.Baba Eng advises: “Let us be vigilant of our successes. Keep up and step up the work.”


1. BEDFORD HILLS; CA REPORTS ON CONDITIONS
As you may know, in 1846 the New York State Legislature passed a law granting the Correctional Association of New York (CA) authority to visit state prisons and report on conditions of confinement.  The Women in Prison Project is the branch of the CA that carries out this mandate in the correctional facilities in New York that house women.  They tour prisons on a regular basis, issue reports based on their findings, and conduct advocacy to improve conditions at the facilities visited. 

In part 1 of their most recent report on Bedford Hills C.F. the Correctional Association found that "...Bedford Hills has been, in many ways, one of the facilities closest to achieving the Department's goal of maintaining a 'stable and human’ community environment in which all participants, staff and inmates, can perform the required tasks with a sense of satisfaction." However, a series of conditions "indicate that the facility has veered from this path." One of CA's concerns is the "increasingly tense overall atmosphere and the negative effect of a more punitive and hostile prison environment on inmate/staff morale and relations, facility safety and efficient operations, and the vitality of programs;".

The second part details CA's evaluation of Bedford’s mental health services and programs. Due to the number of the mental health programs and services investigated at Bedford Hills C.F., Building Bridges is unable to summarize the report in these few pages.

Both parts will be available on their website at www.correctionalassociation.org, or you may write CA at 135 East 15th Street, NYC 10003.


2. CSS RE-ENTRY ROUNDTABLE MEETING
Last week I attended the monthly Re-entry Roundtable Meeting that was held by the Community Service Society of New York. In addition to the legislative updates and information exchanged, the guest speaker on the issue of re-entry was Safiya Bandele*, a sister in this struggle who has been doing the time with her partner for over 30 years; the true example of "been there, done that."

It was a refreshing and critical address to an aspect of re-entry not often visited by the many advocates doing this work. The question that I felt was being asked, and we all need to be thinking about is this; "How will we as women, cope with the release of our loved one?

The presentation performed by Safiya Bandele was so real that I felt like I was back on the line waiting to be processed for a visit. Some of the skits that were presented had an uncomfortable edge of familiarity to them, especially considering that many of us women that are doing time with our men never really talk about doing the time or how that is affecting us as women, as wives, as mothers or lovers. It is a situation that is so real and painful that we brush it off, make jokes about it...anything but confront it and prepare for the day when the trauma of incarceration becomes the trauma of re-entry. We need to face the fact that coming home never has and never will " fix everything."  We owe it to ourselves and our families to have the difficult discussions with our men that will make the life after prison one we are better prepared for. Watching Safiya move her way through the various scenarios we encounter as "prison wives" is the perfect way to begin to have these discussions...within ourselves and amongst ourselves!

- Amy James-Oliveras, Co-Director CURE-NY

*Safiya Bandele will be leading a workshop at FED3/NYC, see article 3.

[For more info about the Re-entry Roundtables, you can contact Community Service Society of New York • 105 East 22nd Street New York, NY 10010 • 212-254-8900 •info@cssny.org


3. CRIMINAL JUSTICE PUBLICATIONS
CURE-NY Newsletter
CURE-NY is dedicated to reducing crime by reforming the criminal justice system. Our newletter is available online at www.bestweb.net/~cureny, or by mail when you become a member. Send an email to cureny@bestweb.net or write to PO Box 1314, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590. Include your name, mailing address or email address if you wish to join or just receive the newsletter. Basic membership is $10, newsletter only is $5, and membership for incarcerated persons is $2.

The Deuce Club
CPR is a broad-based grassroots organization created to inform, organize and bring to light all aspects of the prison industrial complex as it affects our communities, families and people in prison. Parole is one part of a larger issue that affects everyone. Our current primary focus is in obtaining the just administration of parole for all people in prison. The Deuce Club, our newsletter, is available to members online at www.parolecpr.org, or by mail when you become a member. Send an email to membership@parolecpr.org or write to PO Box 1379, New York, New York 10013. Include your name, mailing address or email address if you wish to join, membership is $10 per year for families and $2 for people in prison.


4. DRUG POLICY REFORM CONFERENCE
2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference (for more info click here
December 5-8, in New Orleans, La.
Astor Crowne Plaza/French Quarter
Hosted by the Drug Policy Alliance

This is a most important gathering of people who believe the war on drugs is doing more harm than good - and who are working to pomote a new bottom line: one that seeks to reduce the negative consequence of both drug misuse and our misguided drug control policies.

The Drug Policy Alliance is pleased to announce that we have acquired scholarship funds to bring people to New Orleans for the 2007 International Drug Policy Reform Conference. Find out how to apply at www.kessjones.com/conf07/.


5. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 3/NYC
Saturday, October 20, 2007 - 9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Bldg, 435 West 116th St. (corner of Amsterdam), Manhattan

The Law School is on the NE corner of W. 116th and Amsterdam - big glass building - the entrance is at 435 W.116th Street

DIRECTIONS: Train: Broadway: #1-Bdwy Local, W116th St stop, walk east one block to Amsterdam.
A,B,C (8th Ave Express or Local) W116th St stop, walk west to Morningside Park, climb stairs to top, continue west on 116th one more block to Amsterdam.
Bus: M60, M4, M104 on Broadway to W116th, walk east thru Columbia’s Campus to Amsterdam;
M-11 bus on Amsterdam to 116th St.

NEAREST PARKING GARAGES: GMC, 532 W 122nd St.(betw Bdwy & Amsterdam) $26. for 10 hours 212 961 1075 St Lukes, 502 W 114th St. (betw Bdwy & Amsterdam) $26 for 10 hours 212 523 105 (also an entrance at 1090 Amsterdam)

REGISTRATION:
There will be a morning workshop session and an afternoon workshop session. Each session will last 45 minutes and there will be 5 workshops to choose from at each time. Registration is not required, but anyone with a strong preference for a particular workshop is advised to call 518 253 7533 or email prisonaction@hotmail.com to sign up. Preference will be given to those who do.

TABLING:
Many organizations and people will be sharing information about their issues. Come prepared to learn about the people and groups that are already working on what is important to you. If you would like to interest people in what you are doing or supporting, there is table space available (1/2 table for a $25 donation; full for $35) to promote your organization, display your petitions, prison writings, or parole support petitions or letters for signing. Please send your check or money order made out to Prison Action Network to PAN, HM-IMC, PO Box 35, Troy NY 12181.

MORNING WORKSHOPS:

M-105. HOW TO USE A JAILHOUSE LAWYER'S MANUAL - Christine Ely, Editor-In-Chief and Elizabeth Howell, Executive Editor
We will introduce participants to A Jailhouse Lawyer's Manual (" JLM").  Participants will learn how to use the manual and the types of information and legal tools it provides with emphasis on the following chapters: "Choosing a Court and a Lawsuit: An Overview of the Alternatives," "An Introduction to Legal Documents," and "The Prison Litigation Reform Act."   Participants will also learn how to access the JLM website and become familiar with the additional resources it provides. Finally, participants will receive information about the JLM ordering process.  Participants will have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the manual for themselves or their loved ones, if they choose.

Christine Ely is a third year student at Columbia Law School.    Christine has experience as a law clerk with the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia and as an extern with the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem.  During the past summer, she was a Simpson Thacher & Bartlett Public Interest Fellow with the Education Advocacy Project at the Legal Aid Society of New York.   Prior to law school, Christine was a New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching first and second grade at New York City public schools in the Bronx and Manhattan.   She graduated from Cornell University in 2003.

Elizabeth Howell is a third year student at Columbia Law School.  Elizabeth has experience as an intern at the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and at Loevy & Loevy, a civil rights law firm in Chicago, IL.  Prior to law school, Elizabeth worked at the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.  She also has significant experience working with special needs children.  Elizabeth graduated from Middlebury College in 2003.


M-104. KNOWING YOUR RIGHTS - 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement Who Care
Knowing Your Rights: What should you do if the police knock on your door and demand to enter? What if the police stop you on the street, or when you're in your car? 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care will share the answers to these and many other questions in this workshop. They will arm you with your rights, so that you can control a situation that might otherwise veer toward injustice. What they have to tell you could save your life.


M-103. MAKING OUR VOTES COUNT! - Maggie Williams, Project Director, The Voter Enfranchisement Project
Can you vote while on probation? Can you vote if you have been convicted of a misdemeanor? Can you vote while awaiting trial? Can you vote once you have completed your sentence for a felony conviction?

The answer to all of these questions – in New York State – is YES. If you did not know the answers to these questions, you are not alone. Because felon disenfranchisement laws differ greatly in the 48 states that take away a person’s right to vote for some period of time, an alarming amount of misinformation surrounds these laws: In New York State, an individual loses the right to vote if she has been convicted of a felony and is currently incarcerated or on parole. Yet based on a study conducted by the Voter Enfranchisement Project (VEP) at The Bronx Defenders, close to 40% of people who have been arrested, mistakenly believe that someone cannot vote while on probation.
Using the vote, the friends and families of incarcerated people can create policy change in New York State. Find out the steps we can take in our communities to build a strong base of political power.

In this workshop you can learn about your voting rights; learn how to overcome obstacles to voting; and learn ways to organize the people in your community to turnout and vote.

After graduating from Columbia Law School in May of 2005, Maggie Williams received a NYC Social Justice Fellowship to start the Voter Enfranchisement Project (VEP) at The Bronx Defenders, a nonpartisan effort focused on increasing the political power of the communities targeted by the criminal justice system. VEP strengthens the electoral participation of NYC residents by dispelling myths surrounding felon disenfranchisement laws, assisting individuals in navigating the electoral process, and advocating for policy changes in election administration.


M-101. PAROLE APPEALS - CHALLENGING THE PROCESS - Cheryl L. Kates Esq.
Learn from an expert what you can do to prepare for a successful parole hearing. Then, in the case of a denial, learn the steps involved in writing an appeal.  What documents will be needed? How are they obtained? What kinds of issues can be raised on appeal? Where can you get help?  The workshop will be interactive; come with questions. Only you control your destiny. You must challenge the administration to work for change.

Cheryl L. Kates Esq. is a lawyer in private practice, focusing on parole issues and administrative appeals.  A graduate of Syracuse Law School, she now practices in the Rochester, NY area.  She first became interested in civil rights while serving as the interim director of the local NYCLU office. 


M-107. "WHEN HE COMES HOME" - Emotional Re-entry Issues for Women - Safiya Bandele
Presenting seven scenarios of women dealing with issues of her loved one's re-entry.  Housing, employment, parole and all the collateral consequences of incarceration are intensified by the emotional impact of re-entry.  The couple's relationship must withstand multiple shocks and trauma after the initial joy of homecoming. Although the seven women are 'fictitious", their stories reflect the workshop presenter's own personal experiences and professional work as a women's issues activist. The seven stories cover a range of experiences, including the couple who met through a friend or a prison event; the couple who re-connected with a childhood friend; baby daddyhood, etc. Through a choreopoem (poetry, dance) Safiya Bandele discusses these issues and makes recommendations for "When He Comes Home."

Safiya Bandele is Director of the Center for Women's Development at Medgar Evers College of CUNY Brooklyn. She is Founding Director (since 1982) of the Center which is a campus-based counseling and programming unit serving women students and families as well as community residents.  The Center organizes conferences and seminars on women's empowerment,  leadership and mind-body-spirit health.  Safiya also teaches in the Women's Studies Department and includes 'prison relationships' as a course module.  She looks forward to the day when her loved one, incarcerated since 1974, comes home. In the meantime, they've experienced thirty-plus years of prison love... and counting.

AFTERNOON SESSIONS:

A-101. ADVOCATING FOR POLICY CHANGE - Rima Vesely-Flad, Director of the Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE)
I will provide information on how to engage in the legislative process, from the initial stages of proposing policy change to the final steps of getting a bill signed into law.  We will discuss how a group engages elected representatives--how to schedule meetings, how to identify oneselves, and how to advocate effectively for your issue--as well as how to build support within your communities.  We will also talk about the political dynamics within New York State, the priorities of the governor's office, and the potential for change in the next election.

Inspired by the writings of incarcerated men and women, Rima Vesely-Flad has sought to engage prison ministry volunteers in a growing movement challenging poverty in Black America, mass incarceration, and high rates of recidivism.  Rima holds master's degrees from Union and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.  Her research and publications have explored the connections between Calvinist theology and criminal law, the Slave Codes and Black Codes of the nineteenth century, and the continuing expansion of the prison-industrial complex.


A-103 HOW TO HELP OUR LEGISLATORS HELP US - Senator Velmanette Montgomery
Voting for the political candidates who are on our side is an empowering act in the journey toward change. But it’s only the beginning. Once our candidates are in office, we must continue to support them in order to successfully move our agenda through the legislative process. In this workshop, Senator Montgomery will tell us how we can help her and other progressive legislators--so that they can help us win!

Velmanette Montgomery represents the 18th Senatorial District, population 311,260, that covers Bedford-Stuyvesant, Boerum Hill, Clinton Hill, Fort Greene, Gowanus/Wyckoff, Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Park Slope, Red Hook and Sunset Park. Senator Montgomery was appointed Co-Chair of the NYS Senate Democratic Task Force on Criminal Justice Reform.


A-105. TELLING OUR STORIES - Sheila Rule
Families with loved ones in prison weave a rich tapestry of stories--stories of struggle, of resilience, of uncompromising love, of hope. But we too often keep our stories to ourselves, thinking that no one would understand, that no one would care. This workshop will be a safe and supportive place where you can share your stories with others who do understand, who do care.

Let's raise our voices and tell our stories! They are powerful tools in the movement to change hearts and minds and bring our loved ones home!

Sheila Rule is a writer and publisher. Her company's first book--"Think Outside the Cell: An Entrepreneur's Guide for the Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated" will be published this fall. It was written by her husband, Joseph Robinson, who's incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility.


A-104. USING THE COURTS TO CHANGE POLICIES - Robert Isseks, Esq. and Peter Sell, Esq., lead attorneys for Graziano et.al. vs. Pataki
People convicted of A-1 Violent Felonies have protested that they do not get fair parole hearings when their denials are based on the seriousness of the crime with little consideration given to years of accomplishments and the amounts of family and community support available for their reentry. Learn about the case; the processes its been through, and whether your loved one may benefit from it. Question and answer period will be included.

Robert Isseks,Esq. is a lawyer in private practice in Middletown, NY. He concentrates on civil rights and constitutional law. Peter Sell, Esq. has a private practice in NYC, and specializes in criminal law and civil rights.


A-107. USING PUBLIC PRESSURE TO CHANGE POLICIES - Peter Wagner, Director Prison Policy Initiative.
Getting the Census Bureau to count incarcerated people at their home addresses: The Census Bureau counts people in prison as if they were residents of the prison town, even though they can't vote and the New York State Constitution says that people in prison are legal residents of their home addresses. When states like New York use Census counts to draw legislative districts, they give upstate legislators extra political clout and dilute the votes of the urban communities that most people in prison call home.

Because the Census Bureau does not respond to direct pressure from the public, we are asking federal, state and local legislators to sign on to an open letter from other legislators calling for the Census Bureau to change how it counts people in prison.

We'll talk about the issue, and distribute materials about the campaign that participants can redistribute to friends and neighbors. At the workshop we will help participants identify their Congressional, state senate, state assembly and city council representatives and send those representatives a letter asking them to endorse the open letter to the Census Bureau. The letters will be prepared and sent during the workshop.

Peter Wagner is Executive Director of the Prison Policy Initiative and the author of Importing Constituents: Prisoners and Political Clout in New York, the first district by district analysis of the impact of Census counts of prisoners on state legislative redistricting. Since its founding in 2001, the Prison Policy Initiative has been working to quantify the problem and suggest solutions. Now they are organizing for change.


6. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 3/WNY OFFERS 8 WORKSHOP CHOICES
Eight workshop choices are now confirmed for the FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY3 conference which will take place in Buffalo on November 3, from 8:30am - 3:30pm at the Cold Spring Church of God in Christ, located at 107 Verplanck Street.

Following the “Meet ‘n’ Greet,” free continental breakfast (donated by Catholic Charities), and the keynote address by Mr. George Alexander, the NYS Parole Board Chairman, these sessions will run concurrently:
Parole- George and Amy Oliveras, “CURE-NY” (“Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants”), Wappingers Falls, NY
The Reformed Offender- Sundiata Sadiq, “Free Mumia Abu-Jamall Coalition
Youth- Marc Fuller, “Stop the Violence Coalition,” Buffalo
Women- Tuwanner Cleveland, “No Return Attitude Support Group for Women” (“GROUP Ministries”), Buffalo

Following the luncheon donated by Elder Sister Bernice Price and Associates, Mrs. Eva Doyle, retired educator, historian, and columnist will deliver the luncheon address, leading into these afternoon sessions:
Voting- Ray Barnes, “Reentry.Net/NY” and the “Center for Community Alternatives,” Syracuse, NY; Patricia Warth,“Prisoners Legal Services,” Buffalo
Family Issues- Abu Bilal and Venita Abdur-Rahman, “Reducing Recidivism One by One, Buffalo
Employment- representatives from “Buffalo Employment Training Center” (BETC), Buffalo
Support Networks- (all Buffalo, NY)- Tia Lewis, “Western New York Independent Living Project”; Mona White, “Mental Health Court”; Reggie Brown, “Back to Basics Outreach Ministries”; Kenneth Gaston, “GROUP Ministries.”

FED3/WNY is sponsored by PRISONERS ARE PEOPLE TOO!, The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders, Friends of Baba Eng, WNY Reentry Coalition, County Legislator Betty Jean Grant, and “The Challenger.” Childcare will be provided by Americorps Volunteers.

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED!
For FED3/WNY information contact karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org or call 716-834-8438. Donations for FED3/WNY may be sent to: Prisoners Are People Too!, P.O. Box 273, Buffalo, NY 14212.


7. WHO’S FUNDING FED3?
You are! We all stand to benefit, so let’s all chip in to make this work. Please, please send a donation! No amount is too small, or too large! We will put your donation to good use. It will be used entirely for supplies; no one is being paid a penny to do this. But we all stand to benefit in the long run. Please send checks made out to Prison Action Network to PAN, HM-IMC, PO Box 35, Troy NY 12181. Indicate which event, or all, you’re contributing to. And if you don’t have any money to send, please make a bunch of phone calls, or write lots of letters, to let all the people in your life know how important this event is to you, and then bring them with you to a FED3 event.


8. PAROLE
GRAZIANO, ET. AL VS PATAKI
Still no settlement or decision. The judge will presumably continue to grant extensions so long as the parties report progress.

REPORT FROM WOODBOURNE: 22 parole applicants appeared, six hearings (all A-1 violent felonies) were immediately postponed for 90 days because no sentencing minutes were in the folders. Another, a de novo hearing because the board had failed to consider 11 correction officers’ letters, was rescheduled for October when it was discovered that the letters were still missing, along with 56 other documents he had acquired throughout his 22 yr incarceration. It is now incumbent upon him to resubmit the letters. Graziano plaintiff Charles Friedgood was one of the 7 postponements but his sentencing minutes were found the next day and he will be reappear in October. Results: 4 people were granted parole. One A-1 violent felony offender on his 5th appearance.

SUCCESSES: Cheryl Kates, who will be presenting one of the workshops at FED3-NYC (see article 5), has been achieving an impressive number of successes lately, both from Parole Appeals and Parole Plans. To applaud her success and congratulate those who made their boards, we list them here:

Parole Appeal Reversals/de novo hearings
Castronova vs. NYS BOP (Albion C.F.) Oct. Board
Shaw v. NYS BOP (Greene C.F.) Sept. Board
R.L v. NYS BOP (Midstate C.F.) Sept. Board
Belfiglio v. NYS BOP (Midstate C.F.) Oct. Board
Valletutti v. NYS BOP (Franklin C.F.) Sept. Board( See below)
Price v. NYS BOP (Collins C. F.) Oct. Board
M.M. v. NYS BOP (Otisville C.F.) Oct. Board
C.G. v. NYS BOP (Greene C.F.) Oct Board
Jennings v. NYS BOP (Arthur Kill C. F.) Nov. Board
Botting v. NYS BOP (Albion C.F.) See below
Vido v. NYS BOP (Albion C. F.) See below
Lohan v. NYS BOP (Collins C.F.) See below

Appeal later reversed
Shawn Chappelle- Released Aug. 2007 5-life

Parole plan releases
Robert Sanchez 20-life, released second board
Rebecca Botting, 7 1/2-15 released first board
Barbara Vido 1 1/3-3 released first board
Raymond Stolpinski 7 1/2- 15  released first board maintained innocence
Keith Bush 25-life released , maintained innocence
Michael Lohan 1 1/3 -4 released, first board
Angela Hoffman 2-6 released, first board.
Frank Valletutti 2-8 released, first board
 
[Cheryl L. Kates Esq. Attorney at Law, Po Box 711, Honeoye, NY 14471, (585) 820-3818
www.cherylkatesesq.com

SUPPORT: This month we present FELIX DELGADO for your consideration. He will be appearing before the Board on Nov.14. According to a petition we received from his friends, Mr. Delgado has devoted most of his time in prison researching the Hep C virus and sharing his findings with friends on both sides of the bars. Most notable is the work he has done for LOLA, Latinos Organization for Liver Awareness. Because of his dedication, LOLA has helped save thousands of lives. Sixteen years ago he made a terrible mistake which he can't undo. If he could, he would not leave any stone unturned until he did so. Instead he has worked unceasingly to give back to the community he harmed. His friends and family believe very strongly that Felix Delgado will not recidivate and will be an asset to his community. For more details or to send a letter of support, please write Mr. Felix Delgado, DIN 93A0549, Otisville C.F., PO Box 8, Otisville, NY 10963-0008.


9. PRISON RADIO
Al Lewis Lives, hosted by Karen Lewis, broadcasts on Saturdays from noon to 1:30 pm on WBAI, 99.5 FM, NYC.  Tune in on Oct 6 to hear the latest on FED3 brought to you by some familiar voices.

The Fancy Broccoli Show: Fancy Broccoli airs on WVKR, 91.3FM, Poughkeepsie NY. on Sundays from 3 - 6 pm, Eastern Time, and streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'. September 30 Fancy featured Kirk James and Dwight Stephenson from the College Initiative at Lehman College. Look for it in the archives at www.fancybroccoli.org. On October 14 "Santito", a formerly incarcerated man that has been paroled and is doing good work on the outside, will talk about his journey. Oct 28 is still unconfirmed.

Democracy Now!, with Amy Goodman airs around the country, check www.democracynow.org to find the station nearest you or to read the transcripts.

Justice Pages Audio at www.justicepages.org/

Voices from the Prison Action Network: No new programs due to technical difficulties and lack of time. But if you’d like to be interviewed by telephone (or in person) please call me to set up something for the future. 518 253 7533. Archives available at www.radio4all.net and http://hmimc.swapspace.com.


10. SUPPORT MEETINGS
Albany: PFNY meeting at 7:00 pm every Monday at the Women’s Bldg, 79 Central Avenue. Please call ahead: Alison 518 453 6659

Buffalo: Groups for men and women meet separately on Thursdays, from 5:30-6:30pm at GROUP Ministries, Inc., 1333 Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo. These programs are FREE and confidential. For more information, call 716-539-1844.
North Babylon LI: Prison Families Anonymous meets on the 2nd and 4th Wed of each month at 7:30 pm at the Babylon Town Hall Annex. You are welcome if you have a family member in prison. For more info you may call Barbara: Ph: 631-630-9118, Cell: 631-943-0441

Poughkeepsie: PFNY Support Group Room 306 of the Main Building of Family Partnership at 29 North Hamilton St. Poughkeepsie, NY. Meetings will be held on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at 7pm. The Citizens for Restorative Justice meet the first Monday of the month, 6:30 to 8:00PM. The location changes so call ahead of time, 845-464-4736.

Schenectady: Next PFNY meeting will be a party on Dec.20 from 7-9 pm at First United Methodist Church - 603 State Street - entrance on Chapel Street - behind MVP Building.  Jeanette: 518 346 5653.


11. TRANSPORTATION TO PRISONS
From the Capital District:
The NEST Prison Shuttle schedule:
Mt. McGregor, Washington, and Great Meadow CFs on Sat, Oct 6 ($30 adults, $20 children)
Coxsackie, Greene, and Hudson CFs on Sun, Oct 14 ($15  adults and $10 children)
from Oakwood Ave Presbyt. Church parking lot, Troy at 7 AM, and Albany Greyhound bus station at 7:15.

NO TRIP TO UTICA (MIDSTATE, MARCY, MOHAWK, ONEIDA CFS) ON SAT, OCT 20 SO WE CAN GET FOLKS TO FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY IN NYC INSTEAD. CALL PAN 518 253 7533 to reserve.

Sullivan (Ulster, Eastern, Woodbourne, Sullivan CFs) on Sat, Oct 27 leaving at 6 AM ($40 adults, $25 children).
Reservations: Linda O'Malley 518- 273-5199.

Ride board request - Sharon Crispell - looking for a ride and sharing of gas expenses to Mid-Orange Correctional Facility from Capital District. Ralph Purdy looking for ride to Clinton from Albany. (Contact PAN and we’ll forward your offers)

Door to door, free rides are offered from Albany to prisons within 150 miles by volunteers of FUUSA’s Justice Committee on weekdays only. Please contact us at 518 253-7533 if you need a ride.

Statewide: DOCS Free Bus - to find out how to sign up, from NYC area: Deacon Mason on Tues & Fri, 212 961 4026 and from Albany: on Wed & Thurs, 518 485 9212; from Buffalo area: Rev. Roberson 716 532 0177, x4805; from Syracuse: Sister Patricia: 315 428 4258


12. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND NEW YORK STATE
BUFFALO: Prisoners Are People Too! is a justice advocacy program that meets monthly on selected Mondays in Buffalo at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street from 6:30-8:30pm. Each meeting features a documentary film, related to some prison issue, and one or more guest speakers who address that issue.

At its next meeting on Monday, October 22, 2007, PRP2!’s guest speaker will be Gerald “Jerry” Balone, a recently paroled reformed offender who is from Buffalo, NY. However, after spending 37 1/2 years in prison, Jerry says that he is from “nowhere and everywhere.” He will share his story of crime, rehabilitation, and redemption.

Preceding Mr. Balone’s presentation, PRP2! will screen the History Channel’s documentary film, “Condemned: Life Behind Bars,” which takes a hard-hittting look at the sad state of America’s penal system which does little, if anything, to prepare prisoners for a return to society.

The next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too! is scheduled for November 26. Film and guest speaker(s) TBA.
PRP2! programs are sponsored by The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of Baba Eng.

KINGSTON NY: Passing the Torch - Through the Arts Inc.
Upcoming productions: RECIDIVISM, a one-act play by Michael Monasterial, addresses the issue of gang violence and gets to the heart of the initial breakdown of the family and the motivating factors in the surrounding community’s decline. This play was first performed in the Westchester County Correctional Facility, in Valhalla, NY.  It was endorsed by both the warden and the director of the in-house rehabilitation center, (“The Solutions” program).

WHEN CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST by Laurence Holden is about the last year in the life of Malcolm X.  These two plays will be presented October 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25,26,27,28 at the Arts Society of Kingston, located at 97 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401. Ticket price is $20., which supports the program and finances prison presentations. For more information, please contact Michael Monasterial at 845-790-0400.

NEW YORK CITY: Wednesday October 10 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 103 (116th and Amsterdam).  No RSVP is required. 

Beyond the Bars: An Interdisciplinary Call to Action to Address Prisoner Reentry by: Columbia University’s School of Social Work, Prisoner Reentry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, Columbia University Law Caucus, Black Caucus, and Students for Community Involvement

The event will feature a panel discussion addressing the multi-faceted issues facing formerly incarcerated people and the practical ways that students and professionals across fields can help address these challenges. Panelists include:  Kathy Boudin of Teacher's College; Robert Fullilove of Mailman School of Public Health; Philip Genty of the School of Law; Michael Jacobson of the School of International and Public Affairs; Manning Marable of the History Department; and Elwin Wu of the School of Social Work.

Contact: ajd2123@columbia.edu


13. WORDS FROM INSIDE
Dear Family, Friends, and Fellow Prisoners: I write this with great encouragement and congratulations to you all for all of the large and small successes that our work has accomplished in the work of parole reform, criminal justice reform and some measure of financial justice for our families. Karima, Judith, the Brothers at Otisville, and many others deserve our appreciation and continued support, as we work to bring about some equity in law and social justice to all of our communities on both sides of the wall. Let us be vigilant of our successes. Keep up and step up the work. - G.Baba Eng

SEPTEMBER 2007

Dear Reader,

We are so busy preparing for the Biggest and Best Family Empowerment Day events ever, that we’re barely paying attention to anything else. The Family Empowerment Project working group met on August 20 and had a great meeting.  We have developed trust in each other and in our ability to take on this momentous task of starting a movement for change.  We certainly are committed!  And we certainly have hope!  And we have motivation that comes from our own personal experiences with the criminal justice and prison systems.  We are not doing this for a paycheck.  There is no monetary reward for what we are doing; in fact we are digging deep into our own pockets to help finance it.  But we are being rewarded.  We are rewarded by knowing we are doing the right thing; that in the face of oppression and injustice we are not dissolving into apathy, but we are putting our time and energy into building a force of liberation and justice!  What a thrill it is to be part of this!  Please join us!


ARTICLES

1. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 3 - Updates: Three Locations! Three dates! Three Opportunities!
1. FED3/NYC: Sat Oct 20 - 2. FED3/WNY: Sat Nov 3 - 3. FED3/ALB: Sat Dec 1.

2. COLUMBIA LAW STUDENTS - The law students at Columbia are eager to get involved in FED3. The result of this collaboration could be momentous!

3. GOALS FOR FED3 - We want to fill the rooms of the FED3 events so that we can empty the cells of our deserving loved ones.

4. LEAFLETTING - It’s an opportunity to reach people who may not be already politically active and therefore are unaware of FED3.

5. SPEAKER’S BUREAU - The Family Empowerment Project Speaker's Bureau is now available to speak to your organization.

6. TIPS FOR PROMOTING FED3 EVENTS - Something makes each one of us feel it's important to solicit contributions and get people to attend. It's your enthusiasm that will sell the event. 

7. WHO’S FUNDING FED3? - You are! We all stand to benefit, so let’s all chip in to make this work.

8. DRUG LAW REFORMS - WHERE ARE THEY? - "This isn't the criminal justice system we're supposed to have in this country."

9. FAILURE TO REVIEW SENTENCING MINUTES: REVERSIBLE ERROR - "the Parole Board must give heed to the sentencing minutes in a Parole Board hearing.", says Parole Appeals lawyer Cheryl Kates.

10. INMATES HAVE POLITICAL PULL - In five counties the inmate population was large enough in one or more districts to dilute the political power of residents in the others.

11. JENNIFER ARENA’S QUALIFICATIONS QUESTIONED - If Ms. Arena‘s qualifications are not satisfactory why then is she still sitting on Board hearings? Is there a legal/reversible argument to this issue?

12. PAROLE - Update on Graziano; S2016-A permits discharge from parole; Parole Support for Howard Hughes; Aug. Releases

13. PRISON RADIO - Listen to views you won't hear elsewhere.

14. TRANSPORTATION TO PRISONS - from the Capital District, and elsewhere on the DOCS Free Bus

15. VIOLENT OFFENDERS WINNING INCREASED PAROLE RELEASE - From January to July 2007, [the] percentage increased to more than 15 percent and June's release rate [was] 26.7 percent.

16. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND NEW YORK STATE - Buffalo: PRP2! presents film, “Attica Riot: Chaos Behind Bars.” and Leslie James Pickering, author of MAD BOMBER MELVILLE, Sept 24.
Kingston NY: Passing the Torch-Through the Arts Inc presents RECIDIVISM, a one act play about gang violence and WHEN CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST about last year in life of Malcolm X.

17. WORDS FROM INSIDE: "Change Requires Persistence, so please stay committed. I will do the same." - Jehan Abdur-Raheem; "History is in the making and it is time for us to be a part of it, rather than just be included in it by those who have for centuries misrepresented us." - Zayd Rashid

18. FED3/WNY ANNOUNCEMENT - Please SPREAD THE WORD.

**SUPPORT MEETINGS - no space for the schedule this month, please see past issues in the archives.



1. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 3 - UPDATES 
Three Locations! Three dates! Three Opportunities!

"Educating for Empowerment": Family Empowerment Day 3
Presented by the Family Empowerment Project of the Prison Action Network

ONE!
FED3/NYC: Saturday, October 20, 2007
9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Columbia Law School, 435 West 116th St. (and Amsterdam), Manhattan

TWO!
FED3/WNY: Saturday, November 3, 2007
8:30 am - 3:30 pm
Cold Spring Church of God in Christ, 107 Verplanck St., Buffalo NY

THREE!
FED3/ALB: Saturday December 1, 2007
Albany NY - time and location to be announced soon.

This year's Family Empowerment Day will be bigger and better
because it's time to start DOING, instead of just TALKING.

NYC AGENDA - October 20
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ANNETTE DICKERSON
Coordinator of the Telephone Justice Campaign will describe the strategies that led to lower telephone rates for all of us who accept calls from prison.

A FEW OF THE BREAKOUT-SESSIONS:
Why and How to Vote: Maggie Williams, Voter Enfranchisement Project of Bx Defenders.

Using the Legal Process: Robert Isseks, Lead Attorney, Graziano, et.al. vs. Pataki:

Faith-based Advocacy: Rima Vesely-Flad, Dir., ICARE

Prison Relationships and Re-Entry: Safiya Bandele, Performance Artist, Dir, Women's Ctr at Medgar Evers Coll.


MUSIC: (Please help us find musicians who will inspire and energize our movement for change).

FOOD: A simple lunch will be provided; contributions of homemade food are encouraged.

CHILD CARE: provided by Jorge Diaz, former head of the children's center at Sing Sing, and his staff.


WNY AGENDA - November 3 - SEE ANNOUNCEMENT (#18) FOR DETAILS of event in Buffalo.

ALBANY AGENDA - December 1: ORGANIZER: REV. GLORYA ASKEW, Director of Ministerial Services, NYS DOCS, Co-Sponsored by FEP and The Justice Committee, FUUSA
Plans In Progress

FOR all FED 3 UPDATES: 518 253 7533, prisonaction@hotmail.com


2. COLUMBIA LAW STUDENTS
The law students at Columbia are eager to get involved in FED3. In the next few weeks we will be meeting with them to discuss the ways.  We see this as a great opportunity to reach them at the beginning of their careers, when they are fresh and idealistic (we hope), to show them a side of life they may never before have had the opportunity to see. We hope they will in return be interested in helping us with our legal battles against the injustices that are part of our daily lives.  The result of this collaboration could be momentous!  Who knows where it will lead?!


3. GOALS FOR FED3
We want to bring our incarcerated loved ones home when they are ready and able to contribute to the communities they left. We want to learn the techniques and strategies that will accomplish this. We want to fill the rooms of the FED3 events so that eventually we can empty the cells where our deserving loved ones are kept from us. People in prison need to urge their loved ones to skip their visit on the day of the event! One visit seems a small price to pay for freedom.


4. LEAFLETTING
Family Empowerment Project has been given permission to leaflet at the Free DOCS Bus stop at 41st St and 8th Ave IN NYC.  We need many more people to help with this.  It’s an opportunity to reach people who may not be already politically active and therefore are unaware of FED3.  Unless we show up at the bus stop they may never hear about it.  We have the schedule and we can supply flyers. Contact us at 518 253-7533 to sign up.


5. SPEAKER’S BUREAU
The Family Empowerment Project Speaker's Bureau is now available to speak to your organization if you would like to learn more about becoming a part of FEP. To schedule, please call 518 253 7533 or email resiliencemultimedia@verizon.net.


6. TIPS FOR PROMOTING FED3 EVENTS
Several people at the planning meeting spoke about feeling inadequate to speak about Family Empowerment Day3 when they ask for money or urge people to attend.  The idea of creating a script was suggested.  But everyone, without exception, DID speak eloquently about the event.  Something brings us to these meetings.  Something has YOU reading these words. Something has made you, dear reader, excited about Family Empowerment Day. That’s why checks are rolling in, some of them for only 50 cents and several for $100 or more. Something makes each one of us feel it's important to solicit contributions and get people to attend.  What is it that motivates YOU?  That's all you have to know.  That's all you have to tell people!  It's your enthusiasm that will sell the event.  And if people want details, tell them what you know and refer them to this website or to the information hotline: 518 253 7533 for more information. 


7. WHO’S FUNDING FED3?
You are! We all stand to benefit, so let’s all chip in to make this work. Please, please send a donation! No amount is too small, or too large! If every single reader sent $7.00 we would have enough to support all three events! Please send checks made out to Prison Action Network to PAN, HM-IMC, PO Box 35, Troy NY 12181. And if you don’t have any money to send, you’re invited to use your time talking to everyone you meet about the importance of supporting the FED3 events.


8. DRUG LAW REFORMS - WHERE ARE THEY?
The only hope for a change in the Rockefeller Drug laws, which can sentence a person to the same sentence as second degree murder, is the Prison Sentencing Reform Committee set up by Gov. Eliot Spitzer that has only recently begun to hold preliminary meetings and whose final report is not expected until early 2008. Critics say that the law ignores major drug dealers and only imprisons minor players in the drug trade. For this reason, they argue, it incarcerates a disproportionate number of minorities. Indeed, since the laws were enacted, more than 90% of those sentenced have been black or Latino, according to the group Real Reform New York.

Gov. Spitzer's seven-member commission will conduct reviews of the state's toughest sentencing practices, under which the Rockefeller laws fall, but it is unlikely to bring about a full repeal of the laws.

"These things keep carrying over and you just wonder when it's all going to be done," Cheri O'Donaghue, whose son is in prison for 7-21 years on a first offense, for delivering cocaine to upstate, says. "When do we get the final report? After the next legislative session?"

"The problem is that they are using a prison cell to address what should be public health issue," says Gabriel Sayegh, a project director at the Drug Policy Alliance. "This isn't the criminal justice system we're supposed to have in this country."

[from the article ‘Mandatory Sentencing: Stalled Reform’ by Madison Gray/New York, published on August 17 and sent to us by Anthony Papa, Communications Specialist at the Drug Policy Alliance. You can find the article at www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1653862,00.html]


9. FAILURE TO REVIEW SENTENCING MINUTES: REVERSIBLE ERROR
Cheryl L. Kates Esq.
CPL 380. 70 mandates when a defendant is given a indeterminate or determinate sentence a certified copy of the stenographic minutes of the sentencing proceeding and a certificate of conviction specifying the section and to the extent applicable, the subdivision paragraph, and subparagraph of the penal law or other statute the defendant was convicted, must be delivered to the person in charge of the institution in which the defendant has been delivered within 30 days from the date the sentence was imposed. NYS CPL 380.70.

It has been recognized that the Parole Board must give heed to the sentencing minutes in a Parole Board hearing. It must pay attention to the wishes of the sentencing judge and the district attorney. The Third Department recently visited this issue in the Standley case.

In Standley, the inmate was serving a term of 20-life for Murder in the second degree. The court found that when the Parole Board did not consider the sentencing minutes and the recommendations of the sentencing judge the judgment of a parole denial must be reversed. NYS Executive Law § 259 (i) (a) (1); (2) (c) (a); Matter of Edwards v. Travis, 304 A.D. 2d 576 (2003); Matter of Walker v. NYS Division of Parole, 203 A.D. 2d 757 (1994); Pennix v. Dennison, Index No. 1977/2006 (Duchess Co., Sammarco, Dec. 19, 2006); Standley v. NYS Division of Parole, Index No. 99252 (3d Dept., 2006); Lovell v. NYS Div. of Parole, 2007 NY Slip. Op. 03809 (3d Dept., May 3, 2007). Carter v. Dennison, 2007 NY Slip Op. 501614 (3d Dept., July 19, 2007)

In McLaurin v. NYS Board of Parole, 2006 NY Slip Op. 01806 (2d Dept., May 17, 2007) the court held the Parole Board was required to order a copy of the sentencing minutes and granted the petitioner a new hearing. The Board must consider the minutes prior to making a parole release decision. NYS Executive Law § 259 (i); Matter of Edwards v. Travis, 304 A.D. 2d 576 (2003); Matter of Weinstein v. Dennison, 7 Misc. 3d 1009A (2005). Lovell v. NYS Div. of Parole, 2007 NY Slip. Op. 03809 (3rd Dept., May 3, 2007).

If you have recently been hit by the Board you should immediately file a F.O.I.L. request asking the facility parole officer for a copy of your sentencing minutes and when they received them. If they do not have a copy this issue should be raised in an administrative appeal as it is reversible error. You should order a copy of your sentencing and or plea minutes from the court if the parole office does not have them as often times there are statements in these minutes indicating the court and or DA etc. thought you should serve your minimum sentence.

The new administration has been handling these matters in an expeditious manner for my office in appeals. My clients have been granted de novo hearings when we provided evidence to the fact the facility parole officer did not receive the sentencing minutes prior to the parole board hearing.
[Cheryl L. Kates Esq. can be contacted at PO Box 711, Honeoye, NY 14471. (585) 820-3818.
Her website can be found at www.cherylkatesesq.com]


10. INMATES HAVE POLITICAL PULL
What's new from Prisoners of the Census, www.prisonersofthecensus.org a project of the Prison Policy Initiative:

[The following are excerpts from the original article. You can click on the link below to read the whole article]

INMATES HAVE POLITICAL PULL IN SOME NEW YORK COUNTIES, By Sam Roberts, New York Times, August 7, 2007 [URL: www.nytimes.com

More than 6 in 10 people who live in the western New York town of Groveland have probably never heard of their representative on the Livingston County Board of Supervisors, James C. Merrick. They certainly have never voted for him. But because of them, Mr. Merrick wields more than twice the voting power that he otherwise would on the Livingston County Board of Supervisors. That's because in the weighted voting system that the board uses to apportion political power, Livingston County counts Groveland's 2,100 state prison inmates as town residents, even though virtually all of them have addresses elsewhere and would leave town at the first opportunity. But under the system, the inmates make up about 62 percent of Groveland's 3,500 people. In Livingston County, each of the 17 supervisors gets a weighted number of votes based on population. The census counted about 3,500 people in Groveland last year, about 2,100 of whom are in prison. According to the Prison Policy Initiative study, Mr. Merrick is allocated 107 votes out of 1,752 votes on the board. He would get only 40 if the prisoners were excluded.

A new study has found that 15 counties in New York, as well as the five that make up New York City, include inmate populations when they redistrict or apportion votes in local legislative bodies. In five of those counties, the study concluded, the inmate population was large enough in one or more districts to dilute the political power of residents in the others.

Legislation that has been pending in Albany would reconfigure census results to count prisoners where they came from, not where they are currently incarcerated.

In New York City, 8 percent of the population of the 22nd Council District in Astoria are Rikers Island inmates, which means that the local councilman, Peter F. Vallone Jr., who, as a prosecutor once helped populate Rikers, actually has fewer voting constituents than most of his colleagues. But arguably, the prison population gives residents of Mr. Vallone's district in northwest Queens more weight in Council politics compared with the rest of New Yorkers.

Peter Wagner, the executive director of the Prison Policy Initiative, said that including prisoners in local census totals "has significantly distorted local democracy" in Livingston and four other New York counties -- Chautauqua, Oneida, Madison and St. Lawrence -- where the vote in districts without prisons is diluted by more than 20 percent.


11. JENNIFER ARENA’S QUALIFICATIONS QUESTIONED
Dear Editor,
Last year you published a commentary on an article, Pataki Appoints 7 to Parole Board, originally written by Frederick U. Dicker, 6/24/06, NY Post. The article highlights the two year appointment of Jennifer Arena, who, according to the article, does not meet the work experience qualification to be appointed a commissioner to the Parole Board.
I went to the Board on July 10, 2007 and Ms. Arena was the questioning commissioner during my hearing. If Ms. Arena‘s qualifications are not satisfactory why then is she still sitting on Board hearings? How is the new Administration justifying her functioning as a parole commissioner? Is there a legal/reversible argument to this issue?
I've researched Executive law Section 259-b (2) and have not run into any cases that annulled a denial decision on the basis that a commissioner was not qualified. Do you know of anyone I could contact to assist me in this matter? Thank you. - Alejo Rodriguez
[If you can help, please send your responses to PAN and we will forward them]


12. PAROLE
Graziano, et. al VS Pataki
Still no settlement or decision. Twice in August the parties asked for an extension, because they still had not reached an agreement. The state requested an extension “so the Division of Parole and the Department of Correctional Services could gauge the feasibility of conducting a new series of parole interviews given the limited size of the board.”

S2016-A  
MONTGOMERY, DUANE, KRUEGER
Rpld & add S259-j, Exec L
Permits discharge from parole for any offender if the board of parole is satisfied that absolute discharge is in the best interests of society.

Click here to read the bill,

put in the number of the bill: S2016-A, choose locate, and then text

Parole Support
This month’s featured parole hearing is that of Howard Hughes who will see the Parole Board in Nov. He asks for support letters on his behalf: “I’ve been incarcerated for 29 years. It is very difficult to explain my past antisocial behavior because there is no logical explanation for the things I have done or for the lifestyle I once lived. But I do deeply regret my part in this terrible crime which resulted in the death of a man and lifelong pain for his family. For the rest of my life, I must live with making that wrong decision over and over and over again. I believe that one day I will see my victim because I believe in God and an afterlife. When I see him, I will beg for forgiveness. My punishment is not how many years I may serve in prison; my punishment is living with what I have done. Sad as it is, prison does have redemptive qualities; because it allowed me to experience the sufferings from my past bad deeds. I believe God provides all of us a road, and there exists no person alive who cannot make a new beginning from their past. I have learned that true happiness is doing good for others.” He goes on to describe how he has not had one single disciplinary infraction in his entire incarceration. He hates who he once was and has taken every self improvement course, educational track, drug program, anger management and anti-violence training in order to rehabilitate himself. He has a degree, among others, from the NYTS, and plans to continue his education upon release. Howard has gained many skills and certificates. He’s had outside clearance privileges since 1998. He has the support of many community organizations. You may write him for more details or send your letter of support to him: Howard Hughes 81A2890, Mid-Orange C.F., 900 Kings Highway, Warwick, NY 10990

August Releases: Congratulations to Brian Conlan who made it on his third board appearance and to Richard Winkler on his second! [if you know of people who get released at this month’s hearings, or of the number of releases at a particular prison, contact us and we’ll publish the good news.]


13. PRISON RADIO
Al Lewis Lives, hosted by Karen Lewis, broadcasts on Saturdays from noon to 1:30 pm on WBAI, 99.5 FM, NYC.  Often you'll hear old friends calling in or joining Karen in the WBAI studio.
[www.wbai.org to listen live from your computer. Program also archived for 30 days]

The Fancy Broccoli Show: Fancy Broccoli airs on WVKR, 91.3FM, Poughkeepsie NY. on Sundays from 3 - 6 pm, Eastern Time, and streams online - go to www.WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'.

Democracy Now!, with Amy Goodman, also airs on WBAI - from 8AM-9AM weekdays, on WVKR every weekday from 5PM-6PM, and on WRPI Troy, 91.5 FM from 9AM-10AM.

Justice Pages Audio at www.justicepages.org

Voices from the Prison Action Network: Latest: Lawyer Cheryl L. Kates discussing the importance of sentencing minutes both at Parole Hearings and in appeals of Parole denials. Scheduled for September 9: Mike Monasterial (see Article 16 below). At www.radio4all.net - browse by series, choose V, then scroll down to Voices from the Prison....


14. TRANSPORTATION TO PRISONS
From the CAPITAL DISTRICT:
The NEST Prison Shuttle schedule: Mt. McGregor, Washington, and Great Meadow CFs on Sat, Sept 1 ($30 adults, $20 children), Coxsackie, Greene, and Hudson CFs on Sun, Sept 9 ($15  adults and $10 children), from Oakwood Ave Presbyt. Church parking lot, Troy at 7 AM, and Albany Greyhound bus station at 7:15. Trip to Utica (Midstate, Marcy, Mohawk, Oneida CFs) on Sat, Sept 15, and Sullivan (Ulster, Eastern, Woodbourne, Sullivan CFs) on Sat, Sept 22 leaving at 5 AM ($40 adults, $25 children). Reservations: Linda O'Malley 518- 273-5199.

Ride board request - Sharon Crispell - looking for a ride and sharing of gas expenses to Mid-Orange Correctional Facility from Capital District [Contact PAN and we’ll forward your offer]

Door to door, free rides are offered from Albany to prisons within 150 miles by volunteers of FUUSA’s Justice Committee on weekdays only. Please contact us at 518 253-7533 if you need a ride.

STATEWIDE: DOCS Free Bus - to find out how to sign up, from NYC area: Deacon Mason on Tues & Fri, 212 961 4026, or on Wed & Thurs, 518 485 9212; from Buffalo area: Rev. Roberson 716 532 0177, x4805; from Syracuse area: Sister Patricia: 315 428 4258


15. VIOLENT OFFENDERS WINNING INCREASED PAROLE RELEASE.
Free With Registration: Data Shows Increase In Violent Offenders Winning Parole Bids
By Joel Stashenko, The New York Law Journal, http://www.nylj.com/
August 16, 2007

[The article is too long to print in these pages. Many readers will have seen it. If you haven’t, it's available on this blog, at the very bottom of this post, and also listed in Previous Posts in right column. The following are some of the major points.]

ALBANY - On Tuesday morning, Gerald T. Balone walked out of Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon on parole. It is something that observers of New York state's parole system thought might never occur. It was the 54-year-old Mr. Balone's eighth attempt at parole.

Eighteen months after the state was sued over its extremely low parole rates for violent offenders, and more than seven months of a new administration in Albany, there are indications that parole boards are easing back on what critics had contended was, in effect, an unwritten policy of denying parole to inmates based solely on the circumstances of their crime (NYLJ, Jan. 31, 2006). WHERE PAROLE BOARDS UNDER FORMER GOVERNOR GEORGE E. PATAKI WERE RELEASING VIOLENT A-1 FELONS AT A RATE OF BETWEEN 3 PERCENT AND 5 PERCENT FROM 2000 TO 2005, MORE THAN 11 PERCENT OF SUCH FELONS WERE GRANTED RELEASE IN 2006. FROM JANUARY TO JULY 2007, THAT PERCENTAGE INCREASED TO MORE THAN 15 PERCENT AND JUNE'S RELEASE RATE OF 26.7 PERCENT RIVALED RATES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN SEEN IN NEW YORK SINCE THE EARLY 1990S, WHEN BOARDS APPOINTED BY FORMER GOVERNOR MARIO CUOMO WERE MAKING RELEASE DECISIONS. [emphasis added]

Attorney Melvin Beldock, said the "rote" denials of parole in the middle and later Pataki years were especially unfair to inmates sentenced prior to Mr. Pataki taking office. Those inmates who were given indeterminate sentences for murder, of 15 years to life or 25 years to life, had the expectation of at least qualifying for parole consideration when their minimum terms were reached, Mr. Beldock said in an interview. But the parole boards, in essence, resentenced them to ever-longer terms past their minimums, for two years at a time, with each denial of parole, he said.

One break Mr. Spitzer has made with the past, at least to date, is in not publicly criticizing the parole board's decisions made during his administration.

Uneven Treatment- Mr. Isseks amended his complaint earlier this year to reflect what he says is the current reality of parole in New York. With the wraps off on granting parole to violent offenders, to some extent, inmates are being subjected to unequal treatment, depending on the makeup of the boards that appear to hear their cases, Mr. Isseks contends. Uneven treatment violates the state statute governing parole boards as well as inmates' due process rights, Mr. Isseks said. Mr. Alexander said the uniform treatment of inmates by parole boards, no matter who is on them, is a goal the division must achieve. Decisions should be contingent on what the inmate brings to the table and what risks are posed if that person is released, he said. "We would like to think we are moving toward the direction of making very consistent decisions," Mr. Alexander said. - Joel Stashenko can be reached at jstashenko@alm.com

16. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND NEW YORK STATE
BUFFALO: Prisoners Are People Too! is a justice advocacy program that meets monthly on selected Mondays in Buffalo at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street from 6:30-8:30pm. At its next meeting on Monday, September 24, 2007, PRP2!’s guest speaker will be Leslie James Pickering, who heads up the Buffalo Chapter of Arissa, a group that works to “create [a] social and political revolution in the U. S.,” by helping community residents as they strive for improved economic and social well-being. Mr. Pickering, who works as a volunteer in WNY prisons, has authored a new book, MAD BOMBER MELVILLE, the biography of Samuel Melville,-- “...a white working class revolutionary whose guerrilla bombings set in motion a flood of armed revolutionary actions in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970.” (quotes from arissa.org)

Preceding Mr. Pickering’s presentation, PRP2! will screen the History Channel’s documentary film, “Attica Riot: Chaos Behind Bars.” While imprisoned at Attica, Sam Melville became a key organizer in uniting prisoners across racial barriers. He was killed by guards in the Attica Rebellion of September 1971.

The next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too! is scheduled for October 22.  Film and guest speaker(s) TBA.
PRP2! programs are sponsored by The Circle of Supporters for Reformed Offenders and Friends of Baba Eng.

KINGSTON NY: Passing the Torch - Through the Arts Inc. is a multi ethnic, community based Theater company, dedicated to education and social change and designed to serve At Risk Youth in an innovative and completely interactive Theater project. We are based in The Arts Society of Kingston, located at 97 Broadway Kingston NY 12401, and all of our productions begin their tour there.

Passing the Torch - Through the Arts is different from other inner-city programs in that we fund ourselves through producing professional theater performances, and employing local artists and tradesman to bringing the finest in theater and life changing theatric experiences to its audiences. 

The artistic director, Michael Monasterial, was headed down the wrong path when involvement in Theater and the Arts changed his life. It gave him a love for the written word, self worth, better communication skills and an ability to work with others in a professional manner. These skills made him employable and offered him a different life. He is dedicating his life’s work to giving the same options to the youth of his community.

Upcoming productions:
RECIDIVISM, a one-act play by Michael Monasterial, addresses the issue of gang violence and gets to the heart of the initial breakdown of the family and the motivating factors in the surrounding community’s decline. This play was first performed in the Westchester County Correctional Facility, in Valhalla, NY.  It was endorsed by both the warden and the director of the in-house rehabilitation center, (“The Solutions” program).
WHEN CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST by Laurence Holden is about the last year in the life of Malcolm X. 

These two plays will be presented October 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25,26,27,28. The Arts Society of Kingston, located at 97 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401 Ticket price is $20., which supports the program and finances prison presentations. For more information, please contact Michael Monasterial - 845-790-0400, or email Michael.


17. WORDS FROM INSIDE
CHANGE REQUIRES PERSISTENCE - In my letter which Building Bridges published in June, the disappointment, frustration and anger I have felt since the new governor took office came through in my words but my intention was not to promote an attitude of futility. My hope is to inspire more activism on the part of the prisoners themselves, most of whom seem satisfied to allow others to do their fighting for them.
Complaining to one another accomplishes nothing. Every prisoner negatively impacted by current policies should be involved in this struggle. If you do nothing but write a letter or have a family member make a call, or donate a few dollars to organizations like PAN, then do that. To do nothing is no longer an option. Change requires persistence, so please stay committed. I will do the same. - Jehan Abdur-Raheem

MOMENTUM IS BUILDING - CHANGE IS IN THE AIR. Several deserving brothers and sisters have been granted parole. Society, many disenfranchised and marginalized communities, children, mothers, fathers, wives, and countless others stand to benefit. This is the case when those who are community ready, and have spent years preparing themselves to give back to society, are eventually released.
Despite the small rays of sunshine, we must not become overly confident, or assume that the work is finished. There is still a lot of ground to cover, and we must continue or things will quickly revert to the old ways. Momentum is definitely building and there is much talk about the Family Empowerment Project and Building Bridges. So now is the time to take the next logical step and begin to act.
Authentic, accurate and relevant information is power, and this is one of the many things PAN, through Building Bridges, brings to the table. Most of you who know me, know that I will only support an organization that has credibility and is sincere and serious about their work. I am vouching for Prison Action Network, and imploring everyone to support this endeavor by making a donation to FED3 and by increasing your donation for Building Bridges to $15. History is in the making and it is time for us to be a part of it, rather than just be included in it by those who have for centuries misrepresented us. Seize the time. - Zayd Rashid

[Despite appearances, the previous articles were totally unsolicited promotions for PAN. We appreciate the support.]

18. FED3/WNY flyer:

FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY
COMES TO BUFFALO!
(PRESENTED BY THE FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT OF THE PRISON ACTION NTWK.)

“Family Empowerment Day” (FED) was born in 2005
when Lifers at Otisville Prison had the idea for
a one-day conference for prison family
members and supporters to come together
to further the work of improving conditions
behind and beyond the wall.
That conference and FED2 in 2006
were very successful!


This year, FED3 will take place in New York City, Albany and BUFFALO!
Join us for FED3/WNY: “EDUCATING FOR EMPOWERMENT”

SPEAKERS*WORKSHOPS*ACTION ORGANIZING*VENDORS*CHILDCARE

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: MR. GEORGE ALEXANDER, NYS PAROLE BOARD CHAIR
LUNCHEON SPEAKER: MRS. EVA M. DOYLE, HISTORIAN, COLUMNIST, EDUCATOR

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2007
8:30AM - 3:30PM
COLD SPRING CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST
107 VERPLANCK ST., BUFFALO, NY 14208

COSPONSORED BY PRISONERS ARE PEOPLE TOO!, THE CIRCLE OF SUPPORTERS FOR REFORMED OFFENDERS, FRIENDS OF BABA ENG, WNY REENTRY COALITION, COUNTY LEGISLATOR BETTY JEAN GRANT,
THE CHALLENGER

INFORMATION: 716-834-8438; karima@prisonersarepeopletoo.org

(FOR INFORMATION ABOUT FED3/ALB AND FED3/NYC: 518-253-7533 or prisonaction@hotmail.com)

Increase In Violent Offenders Winning Parole Bids

Free With Registration: Data Shows Increase In Violent Offenders Winning Parole Bids
By Joel Stashenko
August 16, 2007

ALBANY - On Tuesday morning, Gerald T. Balone walked out of Fishkill Correctional Facility in Beacon on parole. It is something that observers of New York state's parole system thought might never occur.

Two months ago, Mr. Balone had convinced a parole board that he was no longer the aimless young parolee who helped kill three people more than 30 years ago. Rather, Mr. Balone said he had transformed himself into an "asset to society" with several college degrees and occupational citations who is prepared to help young people avoid the catastrophic mistakes of his own life.

"Nobody believed that I would ever get out," Mr. Balone said in a phone interview from Fishkill prior to his release. "Having that hope is what kept me going. . . . This whole prison, everyone, is ecstatic because they figure if I'm being released, then they have a chance of being released. Everybody is saying, 'If Jerry can make it, everybody can make it.'"

It was the 54-year-old Mr. Balone's eighth attempt at parole.

Eighteen months after the state was sued over its extremely low parole rates for violent offenders, and more than seven months of a new administration in Albany, there are indications that parole boards are easing back on what critics had contended was, in effect, an unwritten policy of denying parole to inmates based solely on the circumstances of their crime (NYLJ, Jan. 31, 2006).

Where parole boards under former Governor George E. Pataki were releasing violent A-1 felons at a rate of between 3 percent and 5 percent from 2000 to 2005, more than 11 percent of such felons were granted release in 2006. From January to July 2007, that percentage increased to more than 15 percent and June's release rate of 26.7 percent rivaled rates that have not been seen in New York since the early 1990s, when boards appointed by former Governor Mario Cuomo were making release decisions.

Additionally, settlement talks began earlier last year and recently intensified in the federal case against the state. Southern District Judge Charles L. Brieant has extended to tomorrow a deadline for lawyers to report whether they are making progress on reaching an agreement, which could entail the re-interviewing of more than 1,000 inmates who have repeatedly been denied parole. The state requested the extension so the Division of Parole and the Department of Correctional Services could gauge the feasibility of conducting a new series of parole interviews given the limited size of the board.

George B. Alexander, Governor Eliot Spitzer's parole chairman, said it might be too early to draw conclusions whether attitudes are changing among members of the parole board. But he said in an interview that it is Mr. Spitzer's policy, as well as his own, that commissioners are to consider and weigh a range of factors about an inmate, including the nature of the crime, when deciding on parole eligibility.

Mr. Alexander said he believes Mr. Spitzer has given the board the "autonomy" to do its job, and higher release rates may be the result.

"If there has been any hesitation [to grant parole] in the past, I think people feel more able to do the jobs that they were entrusted with in this administration," said Mr. Alexander, a former Erie County Department of Probation commissioner. Soon after taking over at the board this winter, Mr. Alexander notified commissioners that they are bound to consider several factors when hearing parole cases under Executive Law §259-i. They include not only the nature of the crimes, but also whether the inmates pose a risk to others if released, their prospects for re-entering society and their efforts to improve personally while incarcerated.

Parole spokesman Mark E. Johnson said, "Given that it was the beginning of a new administration, Chairman Alexander felt it was a good time to reiterate to the board all the factors they should consider when making release decisions. His reminder was also timely considering complaints about the board's performance."

Range of Factors
Critics of the system as it had come to operate under Mr. Pataki argued that the commissioners, all of whom were eventually appointed by the former governor, gave inordinate consideration to the circumstances of the crimes and little or none to the efforts inmates made, often over decades, to improve themselves.

One of those critics, attorney Melvin Beldock, said the "rote" denials of parole in the middle and later Pataki years were especially unfair to inmates sentenced prior to Mr. Pataki taking office. Those inmates who were given indeterminate sentences for murder, of 15 years to life or 25 years to life, had the expectation of at least qualifying for parole consideration when their minimum terms were reached, Mr. Beldock said in an interview. But the parole boards, in essence, resentenced them to ever-longer terms past their minimums, for two years at a time, with each denial of parole, he said. "These people who were long-termers were taken in in a climate in which rehabilitation was at least to have been considered as a factor," Mr. Beldock said.

Spokesmen for Mr. Pataki and his parole chairmen denied there was ever any policy in which boards were to reject parole to certain classifications of violent felons.

Mr. Alexander and Michael Balboni, Mr. Spitzer's deputy secretary for criminal justice, each signed statements in connection with the ongoing Southern District case challenging parole board determinations, Graziano v. Pataki, 06-00480, saying they were unaware of a previous parole board policy that resulted in violent felons routinely being denied parole based solely on the nature of their offense. They urged that the suit be dismissed as moot.

One break Mr. Spitzer has made with the past, at least to date, is in not publicly criticizing the parole board's decisions made during his administration. Mr. Pataki spoke out when his boards released some felons, most adamantly in 2003, when a two-member board released the one-time Weather Underground radical Kathy Boudin. She served 22 years for the slaying of two police officers following an armored car robbery in which another man died.

Mr. Pataki said at the time, "I am thoroughly disappointed and completely disagree with the parole board's decision." Within a month, former Parole Board Chairman Brion Travis had relinquished day-to-day operation of the board and within four months he had been reassigned to the Insurance Department. Pataki spokesmen said at the time the actions were unrelated to Ms. Boudin's release.

Four members of the 19-member parole board have been selected by Mr. Spitzer, including Mr. Alexander. Mr. Pataki placed 13 members on the board. There are two vacancies. Should all of Mr. Pataki's appointees finish out their terms, it would be June 2010 before a majority of the board will have been appointed by the current governor.

Two or three members of the board typically hear individual parole cases.

Mr. Alexander said he has found all members of the board to be "open and willing" to work with him. A major emphasis of the Division of Parole under Mr. Spitzer will be to coordinate the resources of several state agencies to ease former inmates' re-entry into society. Mr. Alexander said the board decisions would be consistent with that goal.

"It doesn't make a whole lot of sense bringing a lot into this re-entry process if we are not letting anybody go," Mr. Alexander said.

Uneven Treatment
Robert N. Isseks, a Middletown criminal defense lawyer who filed the Graziano suit, said there has been something of an easing of parole board decisions toward violent inmates. He attributes that in part to his January 2006 litigation on behalf of inmates who contend they were denied parole unlawfully by boards who failed to weigh all factors relevant to their release. The nature of the inmates' crimes was overwhelmingly or solely used as the basis for denial of parole, Mr. Isseks suit contends.

Mr. Isseks amended his complaint earlier this year to reflect what he says is the current reality of parole in New York. With the wraps off on granting parole to violent offenders, to some extent, inmates are being subjected to unequal treatment, depending on the makeup of the boards that appear to hear their cases, Mr. Isseks contends.

"It's pretty stark randomness," he said in an interview. "You have some people whose prospects of release are said to not be good and yet they are getting out and you have people with exemplary records who are still being kept in. It is really unpredictable."

In his briefs, Mr. Isseks cites several instances where A-1 inmates with good prison records have been denied parole in the last 18 months, and several others cases where A-1 prisoners who had been the subject of repeated prison disciplinary actions were paroled.

One egregious case, Mr. Isseks said, involves the continuing incarceration of Charles Friedgood, one of the plaintiffs in the Graziano suit, who is now 88 and in ill health. A former physician, Mr. Friedgood has served 30 years for slaying his wife in Nassau County. When he was denied parole in 2005, the Appellate Division, Third Department, ordered a new hearing after finding the board had performed a cursory review of his record. A different parole board denied him release again last year after a rehearing.

Like Mr. Balone, Mr. Friedgood has an impressive educational record in prison, Mr. Isseks said.
On the other hand, another inmate whose release was resisted by parole boards under Mr. Pataki, Harry L. Morrison, was among those who have won freedom. He was released following his seventh parole hearing in June. Mr. Morrison was convicted of giving his ailing wife an overdose of Phenobarbital and smothering her with a pillow in an assisted suicide in Broome County in 1980. Mr. Morrison turned down a plea bargain to first-degree manslaughter but ended up getting convicted of second-degree murder. He had served 27 years on a 15-year-to-life sentence when he was paroled on July 12.

The parole boards that released Messrs. Morrison and Balone were comprised of Pataki appointees.

Mr. Alexander speaks for the parole board and individual members are prohibited from talking to reporters, Division of Parole spokesman Mark E. Johnson said.

Uneven treatment violates the state statute governing parole boards as well as inmates' due process rights, Mr. Isseks said.

Mr. Alexander said the uniform treatment of inmates by parole boards, no matter who is on them, is a goal the division must achieve. Decisions should be contingent on what the inmate brings to the table and what risks are posed if that person is released, he said. "We would like to think we are moving toward the direction of making very consistent decisions," Mr. Alexander said.

'More Balanced Approach'
As attorney general, Mr. Spitzer defended numerous parole board decisions in Article 78 proceedings, and his successor, Andrew Cuomo, is doing the same. The courts have upheld the parole agency in the great majority of those cases.

In Sanchez v. Dennison, 1942-07, Albany County Supreme Court Justice John C. Egan Jr. ordered a new hearing for Alvaro A. Sanchez Jr. after determining a parole board failed to consider several issues germane to his bid for release. They included letters from prison guards recommending that he be granted parole, which is a rarity, and a forensic psychological report indicating Mr. Sanchez was at low risk of committing another crime.

Marina Drapey, an attorney for Mr. Sanchez, said if there is a new attitude toward parole denials of violent offenders, it was not evident from the opposition Mr. Cuomo's lawyers displayed. "The attorney general's opposition to our papers was very vigorous and very aggressive," she said in an interview. "We had thought that they might not oppose it at all because we had such a compelling case. . . . It made me wonder, actually, to what extent the new policy has permeated the system."

Amy James-Oliveras, who is active in several parole reform and inmate relatives groups, said she has been at meetings involving Mr. Alexander at which he has assured families that a new attitude is in place and that the families are an important factor in an inmate's successful re-entry into society. It was the first time the chairman has met with the families of inmates, she said. "They expressed that there was a new atmosphere and that there was a new balanced approach . . . but that it would take time," said Ms. James-Oliveras, of Wappingers Falls. Her husband, George Oliveras, served 27 years of a 25-years-to-life term for murder before being paroled.

Ms. James-Oliveras said she is worried, however, that a more open-minded attitude by parole boards could vanish overnight if Mr. Spitzer is politically embarrassed by the actions of a parolee. "I think it would be his Willie Horton if any of these high-profile guys get out and commit a crime," she said. "I don't think it will be seen as an individual. It will be seen as, 'No one should be paroled.'"

Mr. Balone said he believes he will have a strong support system waiting for him at a Buffalo halfway house where he will live for at least 90 days and for as long as a year. He will be under the sponsorship of Cephas, a group that aids inmates' transition to civilian life.

It will be different, Mr. Balone said, than in 1973. Then, he was a seething 21-year-old thug recently paroled from prison for robbery (NYLJ, Jan. 31, 2006). "I was a parasite," Mr. Balone said. "I had no job skills, no support group, no money. I was destined to come back to prison." He lasted for five weeks before he and a co-defendant broke into a home in Buffalo, beat a couple with a hammer until they revealed the location of their coin collection and then shot the couple dead with bullets to the head. As they fled, Mr. Balone and his accomplice killed a third person that had come to investigate. "I don't know if I'm ever going to pay my debt to society," Mr. Balone, who served time in 17 state prisons, told Parole Commissioners Debra J. Loomis and James Ferguson on June 20 at Fishkill. "All I know is that from all the people that I'm involved with, all the good things that I can do out in the street, I already have numerous speaking engagements, I'm going to be working with a lot of different organizations, Back to Basic Ministry, group ministries, the Catholic Church, and I'll be paying my debt forever."

Mr. Balone faces a series of conditions following his release, including abstinence from drugs and alcohol, mandatory testing for drugs and alcohol, observing a curfew and undergoing anti-aggression counseling and mental health evaluation.

Mr. Balone said he would like to speak before a commission created by Mr. Spitzer to review the criminal sentencing system in New York, including parole. Denise O'Donnell, Mr. Spitzer's assistant secretary for criminal justice, is chairing it. "I have asked to go before the committee once I get out," Mr. Balone said in the interview. "Who's better an expert than me? Who knows the criminal justice system better than me?"
- Joel Stashenko can be reached at jstashenko@alm.com

August 2007 Edition

Late Additions:

GRAZIANO CASE [see report of the July 20th hearing in article 7, below]:
The parties to the pending class action suit, Graziano, et.al. v. Pataki did not reach a settlement by their second deadline of Aug 17. Robert Isseks, the lead attorney in the case, reports: "We asked the Court to defer decision because we are still working on a settlement." You are invited to check back here for all updates about the case.

FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 3 ADDS TWO MORE EVENTS TO ITS 2007 SCHEDULE
3 Dates! 3 Locations! 3 Opportunities! FED3/NYC, FED3/WNY, and FED3/ALB.
"Educating for Empowerment" will present successful strategies for changing incarceration-related conditions in NYS.
Check back here after September 1 for details, or call 518 253 7533.

TROY DAVIS DEATH PENALTY CASE:
For those of you following the Troy Davis case: Great news! Troy Davis, who won an unheard of 90 day stay of execution within 24 hours of being killed by the State of Georgia, will receive a hearing by the Georgia Supreme Court, which has agreed to consider the new evidence. Supporters feel the new evidence will completely exhonerate Mr. Davis.

Dear Reader,

As you are well aware, there are many ways the system needs changing. Prison Action Network finds it impossible to select only one to work for. We want to change the whole system! But of course that won’t happen all at once. Nevertheless, thanks to years and years of struggle by some of the veterans of the movement for criminal justice and prison reform, we are seeing a shift in the consciousness of the public and of our state government. We want Prison Action Network to join them in becoming agents of change. For that reason, this year’s Family Empowerment Day 3 theme is ‘Educating for Empowerment’. Through speakers who’ve had experience creating change; through workshops where we can learn how to start taking actions for change, Family Empowerment Day 3 will take us on the first step of a year long Campaign for Change. So if you are tired of complaining and want to start working, please set aside Saturday, October 20 to come to Columbia Law School and make it happen. We’ve included a flyer at the end of this letter to help you spread the word wherever you go. We can’t do it without YOU!

Big ups! to all who sent donations in response to last month’s call for help in keeping Building Bridges afloat. We can’t afford to send thank you notes but please know you touched our hearts and our pocketbook in a positive way.

Have a wonderful month!


ARTICLES

1. BECOME ACTIVE - "I have high regard for the Otisville Lifers who created the concept of Family Empowerment Day, and to PAN, CPR, and all the other organizations involved in the struggle to make the world a better place." - Zayd Rashid

2. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS - Help change the public’s perception of ex-prisoners; if you’re a formerly incarcerated entrepreneur please contact Sheila Rule about being included in her upcoming book of essays.

3. CONGRATULATIONS ON PASSED BILLS - We all did an amazing job this legislative session getting some decent bills passed that will contribute to a better quality of life for many of us. We have made a difference!

4. CURE-NY NEWSLETTER - Summer 2007 is out, and better than ever!

5. FORGIVENESS AT THE HEART OF CHANGE - "Forgiveness and redemption -- especially forgiveness of oneself -- are crucial to promoting social change." - Tony Papa

6. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT SEEKS REPS - Family Empowerment Project; become a REP for FEP - you’ll be glad you did and being glad is one of the greatest achievements! - Joe Rudd

7. PAROLE - Report from Graziano VS Pataki hearing; Facilities report July parole stats

8. PRISON RADIO - Turn off your TV and tune your radio to programming that reports the truth of incarceration

9. SUPPORT MEETINGS - Opportunities to meet other people who have a loved one in prison

10. TELEPHONE JUSTICE CAMPAIGN - "GTL is the [new] holder of the contract, [but] they are using much of the infrastructure that MCI/Verizon has built over the years.", After 3 years of struggle, victory!!

11. TRANSPORTATION TO PRISONS - From Albany: cheap or free, weekends or weekdays

12. VOTER REGISTRATION IS IMPORTANT! - THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR THE 2007 PRIMARY ELECTION IS AUGUST 24TH

13. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND NEW YORK STATE - In Buffalo, Prisoners Are People Too!, in NYC FEP is going strong preparing for FED3.

FED3 FLYER



1. BECOME ACTIVE
In March of 2006 I was shocked to learn that no one at the facility to which I had been recently transferred had heard of Family Empowerment Day 1 (FED 1). I attributed this, in part, to the fact that the facility was in west hell, and seemingly cut off from progressive developments affecting prisoners and their families. Not long after, I was transferred to another prison, in NYC, and forced to reassess the situation, as no one I spoke to there had heard of FED 1 either, or was aware of the upcoming FED 2.

After some serious work and the formation of a Lifer's organization, things there are much different now. However, I can assure you that if information was not reaching them it is fair to assume that it was not reaching many other prisons. Consequently, if we are going to be more successful at the upcoming FED 3, this is an issue that we will have to confront and resolve.

Speaking from experience, I can assure you that unless we unite, become active, learn to speak in one voice, and work hard for the greater good, we will continue to find ourselves disadvantaged by years of ill conceived legislative mandates and executive agendas. There have been some recent long deserved changes, but there is still a lot of work to be done. If you think I am kidding, read the July issue of Building Bridges.

Too often we depend on just a few individuals to carry the torch, leading to burn out and frustrations. Moreover, in these times, this is not enough. We need everyone on board, and we need everyone to contribute according to their ability. My advice is to join Prison Action Network and CPR, stay informed, spread the word, and encourage your families and friends to attend FED 3. -Zayd Rashid


2. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
I'm compiling a book of essays by formerly incarcerated men and women who've become entrepreneurs. The book is the first in a series that my publishing company, Resilience Multimedia, is developing with the aim of changing the negative images of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people in this country. If you were incarcerated and now operate your own business -- or know of someone who fits that description -- I hope you'll contact me at resiliencemultimedia@verizon.net or 212-645-5045.
Thank you. Keep the faith, Sheila Rule


3. CONGRATULATIONS ON PASSED BILLS!

from CCR’s COALITION FOR WOMEN PRISONERS:

Great news: Governor Spitzer signed the Medicaid suspension bill.  Congratulations to the Coalition's Reentry Committee and to all who worked so hard to make this happen! (The law will go into effect in April 2008. -editor)
 
If you are interested in working on next steps related to Medicaid and on other issues facing women in reentry, please come to the next Reentry Committee meeting on Friday, September 7 at 3pm at the CA. The Coalition has a new metro card policy!  We are now able to offer formerly incarcerated women who need assistance with transportation two $2 metro cards for Coalition and Committee meetings and events.  Please contact the address below about this policy and how to sign up to receive metro cards. 
 
Tamar Kraft-Stolar, Women in Prison Project Director,Correctional Association of New York, 135 East 15th Street, New York, NY 10003 Tel 212-254-5700 x306 tkstolar@correctionalassociation.org, www.correctionalassociation.org

from ICARE:

We are very excited to report that two of ICARE's "Restoration of Rights" agenda items--the Medicaid Suspension Bill and the Family Connections Bill--were signed into law by the governor! Congratulations to everyone who raised your voice on these issues--people of faith were continuously highlighted for speaking out with moral conviction. We particularly applaud the Correctional Association's Coalition for Women Prisoners and the Center for Constitutional Rights' Telephone Justice Campaign, which put tremendous resources into the passage of these two bills.  Thanks to their efforts and yours, people on Medicaid will not lose their health benefits should they become incarcerated, and families will not be financially exploited when their loved ones call from prison.

We are also pleased to highlight that S1602/A03208 was signed into law. Led by the Legal Action Center, the signing of this bill means that Corrections Law 23-a now extends protection from criminal record based discrimination to current employees and licensees, rather than just applicants.

Momentum continues to build, and your voice always matters. Faithfully, Rima

from LAC’s NATIONAL HIRE NETWORK:

The Legal Action Center's National HIRE Network, working collaboratively with local advocates, recently celebrated a significant legislative victory for employees with criminal records in New York State.   We commend Governor Eliot Spitzer for his insightfulness in signing the bill, as well as members of the legislature who sponsored the measure and helped to shepherd it through the legislative process.
 
S.1602/A.3208 – Amends Article 23-A §752 of the Correction Law so that individuals who are employed, as well as individuals who are applicants for a job are protected from unfair employment discrimination. Article 23-A of Correction Law currently prohibits unfair discrimination against individuals with criminal records whose convictions are unrelated to the job sought and do not constitute a threat to safety, and encourages “the licensure and employment of persons previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses.” However, the anti-discrimination protections in §752 applied only to applicants for employment or occupational licenses who have criminal convictions. The law provided no protection to current employees or license holders who face unfair discrimination based on criminal records that predate their employment or licensure. 
 
S.1602/A.3208 extends the anti-discrimination protections to current employees and license holders whose convictions predate employment or licensure, since it is inconsistent to require employers to individually consider each person with a criminal history who applies for a job but not extend that protection to individuals who are already employed.   
 
Note: S.1602/A.3208 will not protect individuals who lie on an employment application, as it is legal for an employer to fire someone for lying on an application. 

from PRISON ACTION NETWORK:

We all worked hard to make sure the The SHU bill (S333B) passed, but we have to wait for the Fall Legislative Session for the Assembly to approve the revised version (A9342). The New York Law Journal reported on July 19 that the governor and the senate had agreed to a compromise bill, and the assembly was sure to follow. [Copies of the NY Law Journal Article and/or the revised bill are available from PAN by request with a SASE.]


4. CURE-NY NEWSLETTER
The Summer 2007 edition of the CURE-NY Newsletter has been mailed and is now available on the CURE-NY website, http://users.bestweb.net/~cureny/.  You'll find info on:
New leadership for CURE-NY;  Issue priorities of CURE-NY; The Sept 25 Annual CURE-NY Meeting;  A Spring 2008 Reentry Conference; The May 29, 2007 DCJS Reentry Panel;  The PFNY 2007 Family Retreat;  and Legislative Activity.


5. FORGIVENESS AT THE HEART OF CHANGE 
By ANTHONY PAPA

(First published: Saturday, July 21, 2007, The Times Union (Albany NY):

God works in mysterious ways. Sometimes life's path is cut out for you in ways that might not fit your liking. This was true for me when, in 1985, I was sentenced to 15-years-to-life stemming from my involvement in drugs. My life was dramatically altered forever. At the time of my arrest I was 29 years old, married, with a 6-year-old daughter. I made the biggest mistake of my life when I delivered a package of four ounces of cocaine for the promised sum of $500.

Nothing in the world could have prepared me for life in prison. I was sent to Sing Sing, a maximum security prison in Ossining. It was a living nightmare. Not only did I lose my family, I lost my life as I knew it.

When I arrived at the prison I was surrounded with a sea of faces of men who had lost all faith in their lives. It was the lowest point in my life and I surely thought that God had abandoned me.

Soon after, I was walking past a row of cells that sat on the top tier of the A Block housing unit. I inhaled the odor of paint and followed its trail to a cell. I looked in and saw the most magnificent paintings. They belonged to a prisoner named Indio. We became friends and he taught me how to paint.

I began absorbing myself in my art. I was hooked. In 1988, I was sitting in my cell when I picked up a mirror and saw a reflection of a man who was going to be spending the most productive years of his life locked in a cage. I set up a canvas and captured the image. I named it "15 to Life." As my art became more and more a center point in my life, I realized that God had not abandoned me but, instead, given me a vehicle to find real meaning and purpose in my life.

I entered a graduate program in 1994 offered by the New York Theological Seminary at Sing Sing prison. I studied liberation theology with an emphasis on urban ministry. The center of our teaching was based on praxis. We were taught that we could talk all we want about tradition and the Bible but that, without a tangible action, our intentions would be meaningless. The program's director, the Rev. Bill Webber, who became my spiritual father, had given me vision to become an agent of change and transformation.

In 1995, my self-portrait, "15 to Life," was exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art. I received a lot of media attention and, in 1997, I received clemency from Gov. George Pataki. My art became my ministry. I had exhibits and used my art as instrument to speak out against inhumane drug laws.

At the same time, I made trips to Albany to speak with legislators. Most of them had a dual view of reforming the laws. Their public view was that the Rockefeller Drug Laws were working fine. Behind closed doors they agreed the laws needed to be reformed. But they were afraid of publicly speaking out against them because it would cause their political deaths. I decided at that point that I was spinning my wheels by trying to convince them.

I remember reading a book titled "The Upside Down Kingdom" by Donald Kraybill. It basically spoke about how Jesus created change from the bottom up, instead of the top down.

My idea then was to try and change the way politicians thought about New York's drug laws by changing their constituents' views. I took that concept and, in 1998, I co-founded the Mothers of the New York Disappeared. This advocacy group was comprised mostly of family members of those imprisoned by the Rockefeller Drug Laws. We formed a street movement that generated tremendous press by utilizing the human element of the issue.

It was a long row to hoe, but we managed to shift public opinion and exert public pressure on the politicians. In 2004-05, the first reform changes were passed with hope that more will follow.

Forgiveness and redemption -- especially forgiveness of oneself -- are crucial to promoting social change. What gets in the way are the psychological and spiritual walls we build to separate us from one another. If we apply these concepts, we can break down these barriers so that positive change can take root

Anthony Papa is a communications specialist for the Drug Policy Alliance.


6. FAMILY EMPOWERMENT PROJECT SEEKS REPS

Family Empowerment Project (FEP)

THIS IS HOW WE GET DOWN FROM NOW ON!

POSITIVE ATTITUDE + MOTIVATION = SUCCESS

To Think Only the Best,
To Work Only for the Best and to
Expect and Accept Nothing But the Best.

Do you want to be a REP for FEP? To be involved in something positive? Do you want to press on to greater achievements? Do you want to help yourself while helping others? Do you have an attitude that reflects hope, desire, self-belief and supports positive projects? Then you have the right attitude we are looking for, because the person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and becomes nothing.

Become a REP for FEP to gather support for our October 20, 2007 Family Empowerment Day 3 event at Columbia Law School. (Use flyer below to recruit attendance and donations) You’ll be glad you did and being glad is one of the greatest achievements.

- Jumping Joe, Public Relations, PAN/F.E.P.


7. PAROLE
GRAZIANO, ET. AL VS PATAKI HEARING:
Building Bridges attended the hearing before Judge Brieant on July 20, 2007. We didn't see any reporters there - no NY Law Journal, so we’re sharing our notes. We regret the gaps in our recall of the arguments.

Judge Brieant was a very likable, seemingly fair and honest man. The Attorney General had 2 representatives (AG1, AG2) , AG1 argued to dismiss, AG2 argued against the class action suit. Robert Isseks, Esq. (I), accompanied by Peter Sell, Esq., argued alone and spoke very directly and without a lot of legal jargon. Judge Brieant (J) also avoided legal jargon.

AG1: moves to dismiss on grounds claims are now moot.
J: why moot if allegations are true? many of complainants are still entitled to some relief.

AG1: Change of administration, and statement by George Alexander (Parole Commissioner) makes claim of mootness valid.
J: I already said claim was valid w respect to Alexander's statement, but it's not moot for the complainants still held as a result of past administration's policies.

AG1: we object to class certification. several of original claimants have received a new hearing and the rest will by the end of the summer.
J: Why not review all of them NOW and really make it moot? I have to take their claim seriously.

AG1: Graziano and Tally were seen already, Buckley and Harris ( are scheduled?? I can't remember what was said about them...)
J: There's a large number of people who belong to the class out there. I know. They've been writing to me. If they are denied their rights to a proper hearing a court can order a re-hearing.

AG1: Alexander has issued a statement to the board saying to consider all factors.

I: Rehearings are needed for all those who were denied parole since before the Alexander memo.
J: If Alexander says they've changed their policy we have to assume they did.

I: The same parole board members who did not follow the law before Alexander was appointed are still there.

AG1: But you said they were not acting on their own principles but following orders from Pataki. Pataki is no longer in charge and Alex. has said they have to consider all factors.
J: Original claim said outside influence had affected their behavior.

I: Agents of Pataki supported our observations. Katherine Lapp said Pataki rejected the possibility of rehabilitation for violent felons. Instead of following the statute the parole board made sure violent felons would be kept in. When a board rejects the idea of rehabilitation they are unable to fulfill the statute.
J: an officer of the law has to follow the law regardless of own feelings.

I: Katherine said they were willing to reject the law. Alexander tells them to obey the law, but they've shown themselves to be willing not to. We want the court to rule that the Board has to follow the law, because obviously members of the parole board still feel they have the right to decide a judge's sentence was not long enough. Under Pataki, the parole board was operating outside the law. The current administration is complicit because they are still appealing decisions that were made against the board for ignoring the law.
J: your argument for class action?

I: we have received many hundreds of unsolicited letters from inmates who have provided documentation showing they are eligible to be members of the class.
J: The State argument?

AG1: I'd like to just point out that the complainant has changed the complaint to be against Parole not Pataki.
J: I don't see it that way. (and explained, but I don't recall the argument...)

AG2: (re class action) Plaintiffs failed to provide evidence of numerosity.
J: But it's a matter of public record, is it not?

AG2: Yes, but we asked for a formal statement. Plaintiffs are supposed to be present... (I couldn't understand her arguments. The judge stopped asking questions and just let her finish.)

J: I'm going to reserve judgment. I want to speak with both sides privately in the courtroom. If you'd like a few minutes before that to talk between yourselves, that would be agreeable with me. We will meet here in 15 minutes.

The courtroom was then cleared.

I understand Judge Brieant gave them until August 3 to reach a settlement. If an agreement cannot be reached by then, he will render a decision - reported by J. Brink


PAROLE STATISTICS:

AT OTISVILLE - Only 2 out of the 23 seen were granted parole. 1st board for one with a 20-Life and the other person was a deportation. 3 merit board applicants were denied. A man with 25-Life suffered his 5th hit. James Ferguson and Vanessa Clarke presided, with recently (6/14) appointed Sally Thompson observing. Ms. Thompson is a former NYPD detective who investigated violent crimes, and prior to that was in the Bx Narcotics/Major Case Div.

ARTHUR KILL - Of the 90 people interviewed, 14 were given a date. Among them, 4 Lifers were granted parole; 2 at their 1st appearance, and 2 at their reappearances. Out of 4 Merit time interviews 2 were given a date. All who were denied were given 24 months. Before the Pataki era 24 months was the exception, unlike under Pataki and Spitzer where it’s been the rule, claims our source.


PAROLE SUPPORT
This month’s featured parole hearing is that of JOSEPH RUDD who will see the Parole Board on September 10. Joe was born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn where he lived in the family home until incarcerated in 1982 on a murder conviction. Prior to this he had attended Catholic grammar school and obtained a GED while working with local 32B union as a heating plant technician. He and his fiancé of 6 years had planned and scheduled a wedding date. Upon entering prison in 1983 he realized that in order to truly seek redemption he could not wait until released back into society. Through lots of soul searching and deep faith he began to take steps to change his life. Joe Rudd is known throughout the prison system as a caring and committed man with deep religious convictions who invests all of his time in helping others as well as in his own personal growth. While he understands that none of his prison accomplishments will ever compensate the tragic loss of life for which he is responsible and deeply regrets, he hopes they will serve as an honest testimony to the sincere and positive changes in his life.

Please write Joe for more details or send your letter of support to: Joseph Rudd 83A7286, Arthur Kill Correctional Facility, 2911 Arthur Kill Road, Staten Island, NY 10309


8. PRISON RADIO

AL LEWIS LIVES, hosted by Karen Lewis, broadcasts on Saturdays from noon to 1:30 pm on WBAI, 99.5 FM, NYC., or live stream at WBAI Tune in Aug 18; you may get a pleasant surprise.

THE FANCY BROCCOLI SHOW: Fancy Broccoli airs on WVKR, 91.3FM, Poughkeepsie NY. on Sundays from 3 - 6 pm, Eastern Time, and streams online - go to WVKR.org and click on (or near) the word 'LISTEN'. The lineup for the next 3 shows: 8/5 - Felix Rosa, the executive director of parole. The next show is Vernon Manley. The one after that will be no guest due to the fund raiser and after that is Ron Hayes, a formerly incarcerated individual who is a social worker that specializes in PTSD for guys that have done time.

DEMOCRACY NOW!, WITH AMY GOODMAN, WBAI, 99.5 FM in NYC (or see link above) from 8AM-9AM weekdays and on www.democracynow.org, WVKR every weekday from 5PM-6PM, and also WRPI Troy, 91.5 FM (www.WRPI.org) from 9AM-10AM.

JUSTICE PAGES AUDIO at www.justicepages.org

VOICES FROM THE PRISON ACTION NETWORK: Available on a new site that might be easier for you to access: www.hmimc.swapspace.com. It’s also still available at www.radio4all.net, where it is podcast.


9. SUPPORT MEETINGS

ALBANY: PFNY meeting at 7:00 pm every Monday at the Women’s Bldg, 79 Central Avenue. Please call ahead: Alison 518 453 6659

BUFFALO: Groups for men and women meet separately on Thursdays, from 5:30-6:30pm at GROUP Ministries, Inc., 1333 Jefferson Avenue in Buffalo. These programs are FREE and confidential. For more information, call 716-539-1844.

NORTH BABYLON LI: Prison Families Anonymous meets on the 2nd and 4th Wed of each month at 7:30 pm at the Babylon Town Hall Annex. You are welcome if you have a family member in prison. For more info you may call Barbara: Ph: 631-630-9118, Cell: 631-943-0441

POUGHKEEPSIE: PFNY Support Group Room 306 of the Main Building of Family Partnership at 29 North Hamilton St. Poughkeepsie, NY. Meetings will be held on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month at 7pm. The Citizens for Restorative Justice meet the first Monday of the month, 6:30 to 8:00PM. The location changes so call ahead of time, 845-464-4736.

SCHENECTADY: PFNY meeting at 7pm on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of every month at First United Methodist Church - 603 State Street - entrance on Chapel Street - behind MVP Building.  Jeanette: 518 280 0354 anytime after 6pm.


10. TELEPHONE JUSTICE CAMPAIGN
Thanks to Lauren Melodia for supplying families with the following information:

1. While Global Telephone Ltd. is the new holder of the contract, they are using much of the infrastructure that MCI/Verizon has built over the years.  This includes the customer service phone number that you previously used with MCI 1-800-388-7346 and the website you had previously used to make payments: https://corrections.mci.com/.

2. You DO NOT need to set-up a new account with GTL.  If you had an account with MCI/Verizon, GTL has acquired it and it will remain your active account.

3. Your previous account balance (if you had one) with MCI/Verizon will remain in your account.

4. You should call (800) 388-7346 if you have any problems, questions or would like to make a payment.  You should continue to use https://corrections.mci.com/ to make payments online.  You will be redirected to a GTL online account system that is specific to New York.  Do not call any of the other GTL customer service numbers.  Do not try to make your payment by logging onto GTL’s general online payment system through their website.  GTL has trained customer service staff who understand the terms of the contract in New York State who will field your calls at (800) 388-7346.

5. You will NOT be charged $9.50 processing fee for paying online or 19% processing fee for paying over the phone.

6. If you opened a direct remit account with GTL in the past week or two, GTL will make sure that you will receive proper credit from your previous MCI/Verizon account.

7. GTL was experiencing several technical difficulties with the system last week, which they are working to sort out immediately.  If your phone was blocked from receiving collect calls last week and you were up-to-date on your payments, etc. the block was as a result of technical difficulties and should be resolved soon if it has not already been resolved.

8. GTL will be posting all policy information online at https://corrections.mci.com as soon as possible so that everyone has the information they need to pay their bills, receive calls and deal with problems.

9. If your experiences last week do not comply with numbers 1 – 8 on this list, please call (800) 388-7346 to sort out any difficulties with GTL staff.  If you still have problems, please call Tom Herzog at DOCS at (518) 457-2540.

AFTER THREE YEARS OF TIRELESS WORK, WE WON!
In January 2007, newly-elected New York Governor Eliot Spitzer agreed to eliminate the State’s 57.5 percent kickback commission and reduce the prison telephone rates by 50 percent; more savings are due in September.

In June 2007, the New York State Legislature passed our Family Connections Bill and made it law that the State will not profit from any future prison telephone contract and that any future contract instead must “prioritize the lowest cost to the consumer.” (Previous contracts were awarded based on which bid would provide the highest commission for the State.) Last week, Governor Spitzer signed the bill into law.

We’re not finished yet – we continue to fight the legal battle with our case Walton v. NYSDOCS and MCI, which seeks a court judgment that the State’s commission is an illegal and unconstitutional tax. A victory in the case would prevent future legislatures from creating similar contracts and would compensate affected families for the years that they’ve overpaid to remain connected to their loved ones. We argued the most recent round in June and are awaiting a decision. [ from a message by Annette Warren Dickerson, CCR Director of Education and Outreach]


11. TRANSPORTATION TO PRISONS

From the Capital District:
THE NEST PRISON SHUTTLE schedule: Mt. McGregor, Washington, and Great Meadow CFs on Sat, Aug 4 ($30 adults, $20 children), Coxsackie, Greene, and Hudson CFs on Sun, Aug 12 ($15  adults and $10 children), from Oakwood Ave Presbyt. Church parking lot, Troy at 7 AM, and Albany Greyhound bus station at 7:15. Trip to Utica (Midstate, Marcy, Mohawk, Oneida CFs) on Sat, Aug 18, and Sullivan (Ulster, Eastern, Woodbourne, Sullivan CFs) on Sat, Jul 25 leaving at 5 AM ($40 adults, $25 children). Reservations: Linda O'Malley 518- 273-5199.

Door to door, FREE RIDES are offered from Albany to prisons within 150 miles by volunteers of FUUSA’s Justice Committee on weekdays only. Please contact us at 518 253-7533 if you need a ride.


12. VOTER REGISTRATION
Today I signed up to go door to door getting signatures on a petition to nominate someone for Albany’s school board. Anyone who thinks they can’t make a difference should consider what a difference a few hours of my time could make. Albany’s youth are in much the same predicament as New York City’s youth. The schools are failing them. I believe the candidate I will be petitioning for will bring some realism and some wisdom to the board - some insight into the role racism plays in the way our schools are run. It’s not earth-shaking, but if her election could mean the difference in even one child’s school life, wouldn’t you agree my time was well spent? Let’s ALL get informed and out in the streets making a difference!

THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR THE 2007 PRIMARY ELECTION IS AUGUST 24TH (that’s THIS month, folks!). Only enrolled party members can vote in the primary election. Party members who help nominate candidates by signing petitions and voting in the primary have greater political clout than non-enrolled voters who can vote only in the general election. Also, you are not obligated to vote for your party’s candidate in the general election. In November you can vote for any candidate from any party.

The deadline for registering to vote in the General election is October 12.

ANYONE WHO IS A U.S. CITIZEN, WHO WILL BE 18 OR OLDER BY ELECTION DAY, AND HAS COMPLETED THEIR SENTENCE FOR A FELONY CONVICTION IS ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER AND VOTE IN NEW YORK STATE.

If you’re not eligible to vote, you can still register people to vote and have even more impact than if you simply voted. Everyone who wants to change the laws that oppress us SHOULD get involved in registering voters. It’s our most powerful tool. You may think it doesn’t make a difference, but that’s only because so many people DON’T VOTE and don’t get EDUCATED about the issues.


13. WHAT’S HAPPENING AROUND NEW YORK STATE

BUFFALO AREA:

1. Prisoners Are People Too!
is a justice advocacy program that meets monthly on selected Mondays in Buffalo at the Pratt-Willert Community Center, 422 Pratt Street from 6:30-8:30pm.

On Monday, August 27, 2007, PRP2!’s guest speaker will be Ray Barnes, who serves as the Coordinator and Reintegration Specialist for Upstate Reentry Net/NY. He advocates against the discriminatory barriers that formerly incarcerated people face upon reentry. Mr. Barnes, who earned several college degrees during his  imprisonment, also works with youth and young adults as a violence prevention facilitator. Ray has 25 years of experience in this area. 

Preceding Mr. Barnes’ presentation, PRP2! will screen the documentary film, “Ray’ Redemption,” a Syracuse University production about the speaker’s life which details his crime, his incarceration, and his subsequent reentry in November of 2005 after 30 years in prison.

The next meeting of Prisoners Are People Too! is scheduled for September 24.  Film and guest speaker(s) TBA. PRP2! programs are sponsored by The Circle of Support for Reformed Offenders and Friends of Baba Eng.

2. Quality of Life Associates, Quality of Life Films, Parents Encouraging Accountability and Closure for Everyone (P.E.A.C.E), and Buffalo Area Neighborhood Study (BANS): University at Buffalo, Sociology

Invite you to participate in
“WE MISS THEIR FOOTSTEPS:A SILENT MARCH”
To observe the magnitude of lives lost through homicides in Buffalo, NY
Bring one pair of shoes, and a small picture, to be placed on a monument to represent your loved one

FRIDAY AUGUST 10th 2007
2PM - 6:00 P.M. – RAIN OR SHINE
AT THE MCKINLEY MONUMENT
(IN FRONT OF CITY HALL)
The event will be filmed for the upcoming movie Lessons from Homicides: The Buffalo Story

For additional information call:
Dr. Peter K. B. St. Jean, 603-0992; Dave Collins, 563-6415; Teresa Evans, 400-9762; or Brad Watts, 435-5639



METROPOLITAN NYC:
The Family Empowerment Project (FEP) announces Family Empowerment Day 3 ! ! !

We'll be starting our preparations for Family Empowerment Day 3 scheduled for Saturday October 20 at the Columbia Law School. Those who would like to join are invited to attend our next General Meeting on Monday August 20 from 6 - 8pm. (If you're planning to be picked up, I'd suggest arranging that for 8:30pm to allow time for personal conversations.) We'll be at the Puck Building, in NYU's second floor conference room.

The Puck Building is at 295 Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan, between Prince and Houston Sts. It's the Broadway/Lafayette stop on the B,D,F,V trains (the stairs labeled Hudson/Lafayette take you right there). On the #6 train, it's the Bleeker St. stop. The N,R,W trains stop at Prince.

Please bring the following:

1. a friend, to lighten the workload
2. your calendars
3. a bag for the flyers we'll have available for you to hand out
4. and your checkbooks. We will be taking up a collection in support of Family Empowerment Day 3 expenses.

Readers of Building Bridges are at the forefront of this movement. Let your light shine!
Please copy the flyer below, and pass it out wherever you go.

We need everyone to get involved in creating change!

"EDUCATING FOR CHANGE"
FAMILY EMPOWERMENT DAY 3
Saturday, October 20, 2007
9:30 am - 3:30 pm
Columbia Law School 435 W.116th St., Manhattan

We are working to bring our incarcerated loved ones home ready and able to contribute to the communities they left. Family Empowerment Day was the brainchild of people in prison. We are working with them to make this a powerful event. You can help by:

* Skipping your visit to your loved one on October 20! (it's only this one time and it could bring him or her home sooner)

* Attend Family Empowerment Day 3! (and please prepare your loved one’s favorite dish to share in his or her name)

* Sending a donation! (last year's event was financed by hundreds of donations, ranging from $.50 to $200. No amount is too small ...or too large.) Please send checks made out to Prison Action Network to PAN, HM-IMC, PO Box 35, Troy NY 12181.

This year's Family Empowerment Day will be bigger and better
because it's time to start DOING, instead of just TALKING.

Tentative Agenda:
Theme: We will focus on 3 strategies: Legal Avenues (lawsuits and appeals), Legislative Actions (writing bills and lobbying our legislators to pass bills we support), and Grass-roots Organizing (knowing our rights, voter registration, rallies, lobbying).

Speakers: Representatives of organizations that have had successful campaigns will tell us how they did it, and we will do on-the-spot letter writing, petition signing, and telephone banking. Family Empowerment Day 3 will kick off a year-long campaign, at the end of which we expect to have something to celebrate on Family Empowerment Day 4!

Music: All successful social movements have relied on music to inspire and energize. We'll be looking for musicians to help us find our songs. Your suggestions are welcomed.

Food: Pot-luck lunch (we’ll all bring a dish to share)

Networking and sharing stories

"How to" sessions Legal, legislative, and grassroots actions. Actual on-site voter registration, petition writing, phone banking

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

FOR INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 518 253 7533.