In addition to fighting prison and jail construction in Los Angeles County and the Bay Area, Critical Resistance is launching a statewide petition calling for an immediate halt to all prison and jail expansion projects across California.
JOIN US TO DEMAND: NO MORE CAGES IN CALIFORNIA!
Prisons and jails have devastating impacts on our communities. People who have lived through prison and jail time often come back to their communities less able to secure the basic life necessities. Imprisonment harms people's physical and mental health and formerly imprisoned people often lose their jobs, homes, and children. Inside jails and prisons, people face medical neglect, constant harassment, and physical and sexual violence. The racist violence of imprisonment takes away vital economic and emotional support from mostly poor communities of color.
Our goals are to:
- Eliminate statewide funding sources for prisons and county jails.
- Persuade cities, counties and the State to adopt a resolution to halt all current and future construction of jails and prisons.
- Educate people about how inhumane and costly imprisonment is.
- Build relationships with allies also working to reduce imprisonment and abolish jails and prisons.
We demand that decision-makers across the State of California take the following steps:
- Immediately end any and all planning, construction, and/or expansion of prisons and jails across the state. Cancel all lease revenue bonds sales to investors who would profit from prison and jail construction. Stop creating tens of billions of dollars in debt for future generations.
- Invest in projects that improve the health and well-being of our communities and increase public safety. We need schools, job training centers, youth centers, rehabilitation facilities, housing, not more jails and prisons.
- Implement well-known strategies to reduce rates of imprisonment, and create innovative programs that support the real needs of people coming home from prison and jail. Current policies have resulted in the prison population growing from 20,000 in 1980 to over 170,000 in 2007. Repeal repressive sentencing laws and policing policies that have targeted and destabilized communities of color.
SIGN THE PETITION NOW!
You received this email because you signed up to get information about Critical Resistance, Californians United for a Responsible Budget alliance, or the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity coalition.
Our mailing address is:
Critical Resistance
1904 Franklin St.
504
Oakland, CA 94612
No comments:
Post a Comment