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3372







Electrifying Protest Demands Halt to Prison Expansion
Decarcerate PA Charges DOC with Abuse of Power

Attn: News Desk
For Immediate Release
Press Contact: Ashley Henderson, (267) 217-3372

Mechanicsburg, PA - State leaders responsible for Pennsylvanias surging prison expansion costs
are meeting with growing resistance. About twenty protesters appeared unannounced at the
Department of Corrections headquarters in Mechanicsburg today with a gigantic orange
electrical plug. Members of Decarcerate PA, a grassroots coalition working to end mass
incarceration in Pennsylvania, called for an immediate halt to the $400 million prison
construction project in Montgomery County, saying it was time for Corrections Secretary John
Wetzel to pull the plug on this expensive plan.

The protesters hoped to short-circuit the new prisons, which would be the second most expensive
state construction project in Pennsylvanias history. If completed, the new prisons would house
4100 people. Current projections from the Department of Corrections actually indicate that the
prison population is expected to drop over the next five years, pointed out Thomas Dichter, a
member of Decarcerate PA. It doesnt make any sense to press forward with expanding the
prison system.

The states decision to build the prisons, called Phoenix I and II, has sparked a battery of
questions. In June, Secretary Wetzel told the Philadelphia Inquirer that his first instinct was to
pull the plug on the prison construction (Work Underway to Build Graterford Prison
Replacement, 6/2/2013). Todays protesters insist that Wetzels initial impulse was correct.
Even if the old Graterford facility were closed, explained Dichter, the data the DOC used to
justify the construction which Secretary Wetzel fought tooth & nail to keep us from obtaining -
does not demonstrate any savings for the state.

The demonstrators want the Corbett administration held accountable for their decision to
continue construction. There is a shocking lack of transparency in the Department of
Corrections decision-making process, said Decarcerate PA member Hakim Ali. Secretary
Wetzel has really left the public in the dark about why hes squandering $400 million on prisons
the Pennsylvania doesnt want, doesnt need, and cant afford.

The protestors amplified their message by inviting Secretary Wetzel out of the building to pull a
gigantic orange plug out of an oversized outlet. When Mr. Wetzel declined to participate, the
protesters symbolically pulled the plug on the prison construction themselves. In addition, two
members of the group ventured inside the building to deliver a list of ten demands. Cancelling
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the prison expansion is essential, said Nikki Grant, but there are many other things that the
Department of Corrections could do today to help reduce the prison population. The groups
demands included ending long-term solitary confinement, providing adequate mental health and
medical services, and streamlining the parole process.

The issue of prison construction is fast becoming a lightening rod for criticism of the state
budget. We think that the mounting pressure will force Secretary Wetzel and Governor Corbett
to make a switch in their budgeting priorities, said Hanako Franz of the Teacher Action Group,
noting the massive cuts to education and social services made under the Corbett administration.
The people of Pennsylvania have the power to put a stop to prison expansion and demand real
investment in our schools and communities instead.

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Decarcerate PA is a grassroots campaign working to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania.
We demand that PA stop building prisons, reduce the prison population, and reinvest money in
our communities. For more information, visit www.decarceratepa.info.