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ISSUE 7 MARCH 2015

DECARCERATE PA!

NO NEW PRISONS! DECARCERATION! REINVEST IN OUR COMMUNITIES!


MLK DARE March on January 19, 2015

FROM THE STREETS TO THE PRISONS:

BLACK LIVES MATTER


Over the past six months, from Ferguson
to Staten Island, Cleveland to Philadelphia, people have been coming together
in meeting spaces, public forums and the
streets to express their outrage at police abuse and killings of Black men and
women all over the country. While police
murdering people of color and getting off
without even a write-up on their record
is nothing new, the public rage, the speed
with which these stories are spreading
over social media, and the refusal of millions of people to accept the usual stock
answers from police, prosecutors and
politicians have combined into an inspiring
and powerful movement.
In Philadelphia, Decarcerate PA has been
part of two emerging efforts to combat
police abuse and corruption and to challenge the racism of the police and the
criminal justice system. Since November,
DPA members have been participating
in biweekly town halls that have led to
the formation of the Coalition for REAL
(Racial, Economic & Legal) Justice. These
meetings have drawn hundreds of people,

centering on demands such as an end to


gentrification, investment in communities
not police and jails, and the creation of
a fully independent police review board
with community representation and the
power to discipline officers.
On Martin Luther King Day, we marched
alongside 5000 other people in the MLK
DARE March, which was organized by a
coalition demanding better education

funding, a $15/hour minimum wage, an


end to stop and frisk, and an independent
community police review board. The
march was large and spirited with different
feeder marches approaching the School
District building from many directions.
Decarcerate PA organized a feeder march
against mass incarceration, which left from
Love Park with a hundred or so people, led
by folks carrying a banner made by men
serving life without parole (aka death by
incarceration) at SCI Graterford.
Many of the contingents were carrying
signs and banners that directly reflected
peoples outrage over the recent events in
Ferguson and killings by cops across the
country. There were occasional moments of tension, and dissatisfaction
with the lack of youth speakers on the
stage could be heard at various points,
with shouts of Let the Youth Speak at
some moments interrupting speeches.
In addition to marching in solidarity with
people protesting the killings of Michael
Brown in Ferguson, Eric Garner in Staten
Island, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, and so
many others, Philadelphia has also experienced recent tragedy at the hands of
the police. On December 15th, Brandon
Tate-Brown was shot in the back of the
CONTINUED PAGE 5

WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED:

24-HOUR PRISONER SPEAK-IN WILL DEFY UNJUST LAW


On May 4th, Decarcerate PA and our allies will travel to the Capitol in Harrisburg for
a 24-hour protest against the Revictimization Relief Act, a law designed to silence
incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people.
The Revictimization Relief Act, also called the Silencing Act, was introduced by Representative Mike Vereb and rushed through the legislature during Governor Corbetts
final days in office. The bill was introduced in response to political prisoner, writer,
and activist Mumia Abu-Jamals commencement speech at Goddard College, and is a
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

WE
WILL NOT BE SILENCED
CONTINUED FROM FRONT
clear attempt to silence Mumia and other prisoners and formerly
incarcerated people from advocating for their human rights or
participating in movements for social change. The Silencing Act
allows victims, District Attorneys, and the Attorney General to
sue people who have been convicted of personal injury crimes
for speaking out publicly if it causes the victim of the crime
mental anguish. This law is so broadly written that seemingly
any statement, no matter how unrelated, could be construed as
causing mental anguish. And it can apply to any form of public
speech: from a commencement speech to an interview on the
radio to a letter to the editor.
We believe this legislation is not a genuine attempt to help victims, but a cynical move to stop people in prison from speaking
out against an unjust system. The bill was pushed forward by the
Fraternal Order of Police, passed by cowardly legislators more
interested in what is politically expedient than what is right, and
signed into law by an unpopular Governor hoping to mobilize
right-wing voters on Election Day. If this law is allowed to stand,
it will be a huge blow to the movement against mass incarceration. People behind the walls play a leading role in these struggles
and provide analysis, perspectives, and strategies that are essential to this work. Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people
who speak publicly, write books, contribute to newspapers, or
testify about prison conditions run the risk of being criminalized
simply for sharing their ideas.
Already two lawsuits have been filed in Federal Court to try
and overturn this law on constitutional grounds. One of these
lawsuits, Abu Jamal et al v. Kane et al, was filed by the Abolitionist Law Center, the Amistad Law Project (featured later in this
newsletter) and others. The second lawsuit, filed by the ACLU,
is Prison Legal News et al v. Kane et al. Both legal teams have
filed preliminary injunctions to try and stop the law from being
implemented.
But the fight against this law wont just be waged in the courts.
We also want to send a clear message to Governor Wolf and
the state legislature: For years, politicians have rubber-stamped
repressive legislation like this without any fear for their jobs-but those days are over. Thats why on May 4th, we will stand
on the steps of the capitol and share the words of incarcerated
and formerly incarcerated people for twenty-four straight hours.
Through this public act of civil disobedience, we will defy the
Silencing Act and show that unjust legislation like this will never
hold our movement back. Well also highlight the profound contributions that people who have been and are imprisoned have
made to our culture, our literature, and our social movements.
Finally, we expect to bring nationwide attention to this issue as
we build momentum not just to repeal this law, but to dismantle
mass incarceration altogether.
The protest will begin at 11 AM on May 4th, 2015, and continue all
day and all night. We will read words from people inside Pennsylvanias prisons and hear speeches from formerly incarcerated

individuals who are also targets of this law. Well hear music and
watch plays by and about people in prison, and well read important works from history that could have been suppressed by laws
that silence prisoners: What if Martin Luther King, Jr. could not
have published his Letter from a Birmingham Jail? Or if Henry
David Thoreau had been sued for writing his essay on Civil Disobedience? Or if Angela Davis had been barred by a court order
from publishing her autobiography? When the sun rises on May
5th, well still be there. Well also make sure to visit our legislators while were in town and let them know how we feel about
legislation like the Silencing Act.
Our protest will make clear demands on our political leaders. To
the legislature, we say: Repeal this law! To our new Governor,
we say: Take a stand against this law by asking Attorney General
Kathleen Kane not to defend it in court! And last, but not least, to
the Department of Corrections, we say: Stop all forms of silencing prisoners! Allow the media full access to DOC prisons, stop
mail censorship, dont restrict peoples visitation rights, and cease
all retaliation against individuals who speak out in protest!
The Silencing Act is an especially heinous law, but its only one
of the many ways that the punishment system tries to silence
people. When prisoners are afraid to speak out for fear of retribution, when they must pay exorbitant fees to use the telephone,
or when their mail is censored and tampered with, the state is
working to silence people in prison. When politicians and TV
pundits demonize people who have convictions, they are saying
that people in prison have nothing to teach us. Through stigma,
steel bars, and outrageous legislation like the Silencing Act, the
punishment system tries to deny a voice to people in prison and
people with convictions. Our protest will demonstrate not only
that Pennsylvanias prisoners will not be silenced, but that we all
need to hear what you have to say.
Thats why we are asking for your contributions for this event.
We would like to read your words on the capitol steps and share
them through social media so the whole world can hear you. We
welcome your thoughts on the Silencing Act, your testimony
about Pennsylvanias prison system, and your vision for building strong, safe, healthy communities instead of prisons. Long or
short, funny or sad, poetry or prose--we want to hear from you,
and we would be honored by your participation. (If you submit a
piece to be read, please let us know whether you would like us to
share your name and/or the facility where youre incarcerated, or
if youd like to remain anonymous.)
The politicians who passed the Silencing Act are doomed to fail
because they do not understand that prison walls arent strong
enough to keep the truth locked away. The very fact that they
created this law is a sign that they are frightened of what people
in prison have to say. Together, inside and out, we all must raise
our voices against the rotten system of mass incarceration and
demand real change. From Ferguson to Philadelphia, resistance
is rising against mass incarceration, institutionalized racism, and
police brutality. Change is in the air, and no ones voices are more
critical to hear in this moment than those of incarcerated and
formerly incarcerated people. Our movement cant be contained
by walls or laws--and were going to make sure Harrisburg knows
it. We look forward to hearing from you.

ACTION
STEPS
1. Participate in the
We Will Not Be Silenced Protest:

Every issue of our newsletter we feature one of the many badass organizations that are part of our coalition. So far over 85 organizations have signed
our platform from large NGOs to street level social justice warriors - check
out whos with us at decarceratepa.info/platform !

ORGANIZATION HIGHLIGHT:

AMISTAD LAW PROJECT

(see featured story for details). We are looking for


writing by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated
people to share during this 24 hour speak-in. This can
include statements, stories, poetry, music, plays and
other writings. Need ideas for getting started? Consider writing about why this kind of legislation is bad,
how prisoners are silenced by the system, or what
you think PA should be investing in rather than building new prisons and passing laws that harm prisoners.
Please send your submissions to:
Decarcerate PA
ATTN: Silencing Act
PO Box 40764
Philadelphia, PA 19107
IMPORTANT: Please let us know if you want us to
publish your whole name, your nickname, or if you
would prefer to remain anonymous.

2. Help mobilize for the CADBI Launch in


early June:

CADBI will be publicly launching our campaign


against death by incarceration with a large-scale
event during the first weekend of June in Philadelphia. Put your loved ones in touch with us via our
PO Box (above) or our e-mail( decarceratepa@gmail.
com) so we can invite them once the coalition has
a location secured and all the details ironed out for
this powerful event. For more info on CADBI, see
http://decarceratepa.info/CADBI or check out the
article on page 6.

3. Send us artwork!

Do you have artwork or graphics that you would like


to donate to Decarcerate PA for use in our flyers,
website, or other promotional materials? In particular, we are looking for images that relate to the
movement to end mass incarceration, but this can
be interpreted very broadly. Artwork can be sent
to Decarcerate PA, PO Box 40764, Philadelphia, PA
19107. If there are any limitations as to how you want
your work used, or if you want your submission to be
anonymous, please let us know.

Nikki (ALP), Saleem, Ashley (ALP), and Brett (ALC) on a recent visit to SCI Greene

Amistad Law Project (ALP) is a West Philadelphia-based public interest


law center founded in October 2014. The two attorneys who currently
make up ALP are also committed activists and organizers. We are prison
abolitionists who view the prison industrial complex as directly related
to the massive divestment from our communities of the things that
make them safe and strong. Our mission is to fight for the human rights
of people in our community by providing a full range of free and lowcost legal services to Philadelphians and those incarcerated in Pennsylvanias prisons. Additionally, we advocate for laws and policies that reflect
our vision for a new justice paradigm and organize events and activities
to educate the public on their rights and the law.
Our name was suggested by Robert Saleem Holbrook, a writer and
human rights activist from Philadelphia who is currently serving a life
sentence, or death by incarceration, in Pennsylvania after being sentenced as a teenager. Amistad refers both to the famous slave revolt and
means friendship in Spanish. We are inspired in our work by this legacy
of resistance as well as a strong connection to our community.
ALP, along with the Abolitionist Law Center in Pittsburgh and the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University, recently filed a lawsuit
to overturn the Silencing Act that was passed by a supermajority of the
legislature and signed into law by former Governor Tom Corbett. This
law is only the latest example of legallyentangled people being railroaded to gain
political points. This law is unconstitutional
and we are confident that it will be overturned soon.
You can reach ALP at P.O. Box 9148 Philadelphia, PA 19139.

EXCERPT FROM RIGHTS OF THE CONDEMNED


BY DAVID LEE

What follows is an excerpt from a longer


article written by David Lee in response
to an editorial by Dom Giordano that appeared in The Philadelphia Daily News on
October 15, 2014. In Giordanos editorial,
he vigorously voices his support for the Silencing Act a reactive, unconstitutional
piece of legislation that was introduced
this fall by PA Representative Mike Vereb
following a remotely delivered commencement speech by Mumia Abu Jamal
for Goddard College. The bill is currently
being challenged in the courts on several
fronts (see feature article on page 1 for
more info).
It is vitally important for those of us
condemned (in the eyes of prejudiced
people) to maintain our human right to
voice our pain. Mr. Giordano suggests that
every time that Mumia Abu Jamal speaks
that it revictimizes Mrs. Maureen Faulkner,
the widow of slain police officer Danny
Faulkner. Well, if he is going to be honest
then it is safe to suggest that there are
many instances in which she is exposed to
painful issues by people not in prison. Do
you silence those voices too? Moreover,
listening to the broadcast commencement
address at Goddard College is optional;
people who do not wish to listen, do not
have to listen. Furthermore, Mumia has
maintained his innocence throughout
the entire process, and many facts have
been presented to suggest that he is in
fact innocent. But due to political reasons those issues are not given the same
considerations that a police officer would
get if he/she were even charged with killing a Black man. Additionally, what about
Mumias family do they count? They are
subjected to painful rhetoric as well, but
who is speaking about their pain?
Now let us look at this situation from a
reverse standpoint: what if a police officer
had killed Mumia and 33 years later this
officer was presented with an opportunity
to speak on the radio. Does any honest
person believe that this would raise an
issue for Mr. Giordano? Would he care
about how Mumias family felt about the
program being aired with the police officer responsible for killing Mumia? Does

he care about all those family members of


the thousands who have been convicted
of crimes and have spent years, even
decades, in prison for crimes they did not
commit, before being found to be innocent and released? Or the thousands who
are innocent, but sadly lack the resources
to prove their innocence? Or the thousands in prison for taking deals because
theyre afraid of being over-prosecuted
by overzealous and uncaring prosecutors.
These victims do not count in the minds
of those working to smash the voices of
the wretched beings in the nations prisons
whose real crime is mere underdevelopment and poverty.
In American society, it is always a safe
bet to vent your absurdity on the most
vilified and powerless segment of this
country: prisoners! We, for the most part,
are powerless to fight back. Sadly, in the
minds of some people, it is okay to further
trample upon our human rights because
weve been condemned and demonized
by those who view us as not in the special
class of human beings. I cannot help but
to cogitate in regards to how Giordano
might feel about all the Black men being
killed by cops around this country. Are
the cops allowed to have a voice and to
go onto the internet and raise hundreds
of thousands of dollars to defend themselves and to elevate their standard of
living in the process? Are these takers of
human life deemed worthy of having a
voice? According to some people, only
certain types of people accused of killing
someone are allowed to speak. We the
condemned masses filling up the nations
prisons have no such rights. We must be
silent while were being persecuted because some people might get upset with
us for challenging their lunacy.
I am an impoverished Black man who has
spent close to three decades in prison
for a crime I did not commit and my human rights are stepped on every day of
my existence in Pennsylvanias cages of
despair and agony. I could care less about
Mr. Giordanos foolishness, but he seems
to represent enough people to force me
to speak on this issue. We prisoners and
our families can ill afford to allow people
like this to just continue to walk over our
rights to live as human beings. We must

organize our voices too! We


have a right to voice our pain! I do have
compassion for those who have lost loved
ones to senseless violence, but placing
innocent people in prison does nothing to
assuage your pain. Justice cannot be about
throwing people into these cages and
allowing them to just waste away. And if
were going to speak about victims, what
about all those victimized by the criminal
justice system, some of whom have spent
decades in prison for crimes they did not
commit. Do we have any say in this matter?
Most of those able to overturn their cases
do so through DNA evidence, but what
about those of us who do not have DNA
evidence available to prove our innocence? What about all those people who
have been time barred by unjust laws and
cannot even raise vital issues in court? We
must understand that we too have rights,
and we must continue to organize and
fight in order for our rights to be respected and honored. We cannot continue to
allow venomous people to silence us due
to our status. We must exercise our voices
at every possible opportunity because we
have no other weapons available to us.
We must resist attempts of anyone who
wishes to further strip us of our humanity. These are our God-given rights, and
we must protect them with a profound
passion, or lose them due to others fears
and insanity.
David Lee #AS3041
SCI Coal Township
1 Kelley Drive
Coal Township, PA 17866

David Lee, February 2015

participating
individuals
to use their
phones, pens,
and all forms
of social media to draw further attention
to the indignities that our imprisoned
loved ones continue to suffer.

12 DAYS FOR JUSTICE AND ACTION


This past holiday season marked the sixmonth anniversary of the historic Coal
Township Dining Hall Boycott, when 1,300
prisoners at SCI Coal Township refused to
go to the dining hall for a week to protest
food cutbacks and denials of their basic
human rights. At the end of that boycott,
prisoners released a list of 22 requests/
demands. Six months later, the vast majority of these changes have not yet happened and prisoners at Coal Township and
across the PA Department of Corrections
continue to suffer from inadequate nutrition, poor medical care, unfair disciplinary
policies, and separation from their loved
ones. Thats why this past December,
Decarcerate PA organized the 12 days for
Justice, a social media action campaign
inviting individuals, in the 12 days leading
up to Christmas, to call and write the Department of Corrections and ask them to
implement these reasonable and necessary
changes. Each day, Decarcerate highlighted
a different demand and encouraged all

While the majority of prisoners concerns


remain unanswered, there have been some
positive changes at Coal Township since
the dining hall boycott took place. In early
June of 2014, in anticipation of the boycott
and in an unsuccessful effort to placate
prisoners via a single concession, the
prison facility opened up Saturday yard
for the first time in more than a decade.
Since the boycott, the photo policy at
the institution has been changed to allow
prisoners to take individual photos that
do not resemble or require mugshot-like
poses and attire. Further, staff at Coal
Township now deliver mail when the facility is on lockdown, (which unfortunately
occurs with unreasonable frequency). Finally, across the entire PA prison system, a
major victory was achieved this December

when there was


a substantial price reduction for in-state
phone calls. This change in phone pricing and policy is one that people inside
and outside of the prison walls have been
campaigning and petitioning for across
many, many years, and its achievement
stands as an important tribute to those
unflagging efforts.
On the twelfth and final day of the 12
Days for Justice action, participants
wrote, called and emailed to voice their
demand that the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections respect the human
rights and dignity of all people in prison.
Sadly this last goal is still a far cry from
being achieved. However, it is only via our
collective and ongoing actions together
that we will be able to continue to bring
it closer.
For loved ones and family members who
want to see more about this recent action,
as well as to view and sign on to a comprehensive list of the 22 Demands , please
refer them to: http://decarceratepa.
info/12days.

BLACK
LIVES MATTER
continued from front

the public and that Philadelphia create a


real community review board with real
power over the police.

head by a Philadelphia police officer during a traffic stop in the Mayfair section of
Northeast Philly. The PPD claims that the
officers did nothing wrong and has placed
the officers back on active duty, yet has
failed to produce a shred of evidence to
back up that claim. They have refused
requests from Brandons family, the media,
and the public that the names of the officers involved and surveillance video of
the incident be released. Decarcerate PA
is fighting alongside Brandons mother and
members of the Philly Coalition for REAL

As we fight to end mass incarceration,


we stand in solidarity with the growing
movement to end police abuse and brutality. We recognize that police abuse their
powers everyday when making decisions
about who is arrested and funneled into
our prison system. Police function as the
entry way into jails and courts. A racist,
oppressive police force is one arm of a
racist system of mass incarceration that
systematically targets families and communities of color.

MLK DARE March on January 19, 2015

Justice to demand that Police Commissioner Ramsey release all information to

EMERGING COALITION SEEKS TO ABOLISH DEATH BY INCARCERATION


Over the past year, Decarcerate PA has
been working with other groups to build the
newly formed Coalition to Abolish Death
By Incarceration (CADBI). The Coalition
was formed as a joint effort of Decarcerate
PA, Fight for Lifers, and the Human Rights
Coalition. This emerging effort has been
laying the groundwork for a powerful public
campaign to abolish Life Without Parole
Sentencing in Pennsylvania. We have been
working to develop a clear and democratic
decision-making structure. A structure for
individual and organizational membership is
also in the works for people inside and outside prison to be able to fully participate in
the coalition, as well as a position paper that
outlines the perspectives of the coalition on
LWOP/DBI.
CADBI has established three core legislative
demands:

Banner created by Lifers at SCI Graterford and carried by DePA members in MLK DARE March

1. Parole eligibility for everyone after 25 years


2. Presumptive parole: people will be automatically paroled
at their first eligibility unless the prison administration can prove
serious unresolved disciplinary infractions.

3. A maximum sentencing law that will stop the commonwealth from indefinitely incarcerating individuals.
We are hoping to organize a broad base of people around these
demands, compelling a change in the political climate and forcing
This quarterly newsletter
is intended to be a tool
of communication and
information between
Decarcerate PA members
on the outside and people
inside of Pennsylvania
prisons.

WHO WE ARE

no prison expansions, no
new beds in county jails,
no immigrant detention
facilities, no private prisons.
We also demand changes
in policing, sentencing and
legislation to reduce the
Decarcerate PA is a
prison population. We
coalition of organizations
believe that public money
and individuals seeking an
should instead be spent on
end to mass incarceration
quality public schools, jobs
and the harms it brings
and job training, communityour many communities.
based reentry services,
Decarcerate PA seeks
health care and food access,
mechanisms to establish
and maintain whole, healthy drug and alcohol treatment
programs, stable housing,
communities and believes
that imprisonment exacer restorative forms of justice
and non-punitive programs
bates the problems we
face. We therefore demand that address the root cause
of violence in our communi
an immediate and lasting
ties. The task before us is as
moratorium on all new
large as it is necessary. With
prisons: no new prisons,
no new county or city jails, your help, we can put an end
to mass incarceration.

policy makers to act. We believe a campaign to abolish LWOP/


Death By Incarceration will only be successful if we can build a
strong movement both inside and outside of prison, and we are
looking to connect with individuals incarcerated in the PA DOC
who are interested in working with us.
In early June, CADBI will be taking our campaign public and hosting a launch event in Philadelphia. The next year will be a busy
year for all of us as we outreach, organize to change the conversation around LWOP/DBI, and mobilize people to turn up the
pressure on policy makers. See the Action Steps section for how
to get involved.

If you know others who


would also like to receive
this newsletter, please
encourage them to write us
at the address below.
This newsletter is also
available online at http://
decarceratepa.info/
newsletter

DECARCERATE PA
Box 40764
Philadelphia, PA 19107
decarceratepa@gmail.com

decarceratepa.info
(267) 217-3372

SCI PHOENIX SURVEY

In September of last year, Decarcerate PA sent


surveys out to prisoners at SCI Graterford asking
them to share their concerns about the construction of State Correctional Facilities Phoenix I and
II, the projected closing of SCI Graterford, and the
subsequent transfer of thousands of people. We
received over fifty responses highlighting concerns about the construction of SCI Phoenix I and
II. Many of the responses included apprehensions
about how transfers will be determined, whether
people will be able to remain close to their families, and how the new facilities will impact their
access to programs, single cells and prisoner-led
organizations.
We summarized the questions we gathered about
these concerns in a letter and sent the letter to
Superintendent of Graterford Michael Wenerowicz and DOC Secretary John Wetzel in February,
asking for a response. We requested a reply by
the end of the month. If we dont hear back, well
escalate public pressure on the DOC and demand
answers.

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