On February 16th I arrived in Rocky Point, NY, brought there by an invitation extended by the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA). PHEWA was forming a new Criminal Justice Network and reached out to me due to my extensive work on criminal justice issues here on Daily Kos, asking me to serve as an adviser to the CJN.
From the 16th to the 19th dozens of clergy, theological professors, authors, activists and those specializing in offender reentry held discussions and presentations on every aspect of criminal justice. We discussed issues of the death penalty, prison privatization, prison industries and the legislation that had been enacted over the years to bring the total U.S. prisoner population to nearly 2.3 million; minimum-mandatory sentencing act, truth in sentencing act, and the third theft felony act).
I presented on prison industries, inmate exploitation in the PIE Program by private companies and the involvement of ALEC in crafting model legislation (Prison Industries Act, the targeted contracting for certain correctional facilities and services act and thePrivate Correctional Facilities Act) used to incarcerate and create a huge cheap workforce with prisoners. Most present had never heard of ALEC and when I completed my presentation, there were question after questions posed. They wanted more information, trying to understand how an organization such as ALEC could have existed for so long without their knowing about it - or that most of the criminal justice laws we all live under originated within ALEC's back rooms.
Alex Friedman from Private Corrections Institute presented on privatization and mass incarceration, gave an in-depth analysis and report on CCA and Geo Group, the drug laws used to incarcerate so many needlessly - and keep all prisoners for as long as possible.
On the final morning we discussed how we could immediately begin to change the landscape of the current prison system. As opponents worked to defeat the prison privatization legislation in Florida that week, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) sent letters to 48 state Governors proposing to purchase state prison facilities outright We decided our best course of action was to counter CCA's proffer by issuing a letter opposing any form of privatization and profiting off of incarceration - and distribute a copy to every Governor. The letter was to object to privatization of prisons and the profiting off of incarcerating human beings - objected to on principles of faith, morality and ethical grounds.
Within ten days PHEWA's Criminal Justice Network, the United Methodist Church and the ACLU all worked together and put together a huge number of signatories including faith and church organizations and non-faith groups. We prepared press releases for the media outlets in each state and the target date for release and hand delivery of the letters was to occur on February 29th in conjunction with the Occupy F-29 Protest ALEC and Corporations. However, such a complex task of coordination, preparing the letters and attracting supporting signatories took us a day longer. The actual press releases were sent out at 10:00 am March 1st and individuals, ministers, and groups in several states arrived at the offices of numerous Governors, letters in hand.
Another Kossack, OllieGarkey posted a diary yesterday: http://www.dailykos.com/... about the ACLU letter and included a copy in the diary. Below the fold I have copied the letter I hand delivered to Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana and a copy of the letter sent out in conjunction with ours by the UMC to the Governors.
Here is the first media notice of the PHEWA/UMC/ACLU camapign.
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