Hundreds to gather in New Haven to urge humane reform of Connecticut's and US Prison policy

August 20, 2018 — On Saturday August 25th, residents from across Connecticut will mobilize in New Haven to voice their support for prisoners around the United States who will be participating in strike actions, calling for an end to inhumane conditions of confinement, including overcrowding, lack of rehabilitation services, labor at a fraction of the minimum wage, and the absence of any meaningful process by which prisoners may voice grievances.

Green Party of Connecticut
www.ctgreenparty.org

***PRESS RELEASE & MEDIA ADVISORY***
August 20, 2018

CONTACT:
Owen Charles, Shoreline Green Party, CT, 203 421 1094 [email protected]
Jamarr Jabari, Party for Socialism and Liberation, New Haven, CT [email protected]
Peter Goselin, Green Party Candidate for Attorney General, CT [email protected]

A nationwide Prison Strike will be occurring from August 21 to September 9, 2018, called by the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC).

In Connecticut an official solidarity event will occur on August 25th 1pm at the Superior Court at 239 Whalley Avenue with a Press Conference, Keynote speech by Attorney General candidate Peter Goselin, and a rally and march to the nearby New Haven Correctional Center.

The Connecticut Green Party and its candidates for public office join with the Party for Socialism and Liberation of New Haven and other organizations to express their solidarity and support for the prisoners' strike and highlight that here, in the "land of the free," the U.S. has the largest prison population and the highest percentage of the population in prison of any country in the world, and reform is long overdue.

WHAT:
Press conference, speeches by candidates and activists and rally outside the Superior Court at 239 Whalley Avenue and then March past the nearby New Haven Correctional Center.

WHEN:
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm on Saturday, August 25th, 2018

WHERE:
New Haven Superior Court, 239 Whalley Avenue, New Haven, CT

WHO:
Peter Goselin, Green Party Candidate for Attorney General, CT
Madeleine Leveille, Green Party candidate for State Representative, 35th District
Owen Charles, Chair, Shoreline Green Party, CT
Jamarr Jabari, Party for Socialism and Liberation, New Haven, CT
ULA, CT Bail Fund & Other featured candidates and speakers - TBA

Additional Information

BACKGROUND:

The IWOC & Jailhouse Lawyers Speak issued Press Releases & call for nationwide strike- the following is from IWOC website:
Rebels incarcerated in prisons across the nation declare a nationwide strike in response to the riot in Lee Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison in South Carolina. Seven comrades lost their lives when prison officials turned their backs on a riot they provoked. We are demanding humane living conditions, access to rehabilitation, sentencing reform and the end of modern day slavery.

Demands

• Immediate improvements to the conditions of prisons and prison policies that recognize the humanity of imprisoned men and women.
  
  
• An immediate end to prison slavery. All persons imprisoned in any place of detention under United States jurisdiction must be paid the prevailing wage in their state or territory for their labor.
  
  
• The Prison Litigation Reform Act must be rescinded, allowing imprisoned humans a proper channel to address grievances and violations of their rights.
  
  
• The Truth in Sentencing Act and the Sentencing Reform Act must be rescinded so that imprisoned humans have a possibility of rehabilitation and parole. No human shall be sentenced to Death by Incarceration or serve any sentence without the possibility of parole.
  
  
• An immediate end to the racial overcharging, over-sentencing, and parole denials of Black and brown humans. Black humans shall no longer be denied parole because the victim of the crime was white, which is a particular problem in southern states.
  
  
• An immediate end to racist gang enhancement laws targeting Black and brown humans.
  
  
• No imprisoned human shall be denied access to rehabilitation programs at their place of detention because of their label as a violent offender.
  
  
• State prisons must be funded specifically to offer more rehabilitation services.
  
  
• Pell grants must be reinstated in all US states and territories.
  
  
• The voting rights of all confined citizens serving prison sentences, pretrial detainees, and so-called "ex-felons" must be counted. Representation is demanded. All voices count.

For More Information:
https://incarceratedworkers.org/campaigns/prison-strike-2018
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ShorelineGreenParty/

Statement of Endorsement by the Green Party of Connecticut for the National Prison Strike:
Green Party of Connecticut Supports National Prisoner Strike,

Green Candidates Demand Reforms to Connecticut Criminal Justice

From August 21 to September 9, 2018, prisoners around the United States will be participating in strike actions, calling for an end to inhumane conditions of confinement, including overcrowding, lack of rehabilitation services, labor at a fraction of the minimum wage, and the absence of any meaningful process by which prisoners may voice grievances.

The Connecticut Green Party and its candidates for public office express their solidarity and support for the prisoners' strike and observe that here, in the "land of the free," the U.S. has the largest prison population and the highest percentage of the population in prison of any country in the world.

In this election season, with so much discussion about the role of voting in effecting change, there has been little discussion about those to whom the right to vote is denied. That includes millions of African American voters whose votes are suppressed through both legal and illegal means, as well as transgender voters who are prevented by antiquated ID laws from being able to vote. Disenfranchisement is also a fact for 6 million citizens in the US who are presently or were incarcerated.

When government deprives human beings of their right to peaceably and lawfully oppose unfair treatment, it forces those human beings to take up other means of protest. The national prisoner strike is the cry of resistance of a population that the government tries to keep silent.

The Green Party of Connecticut and its candidates for public office call on the State of Connecticut to implement the following measures that would help to address the overincarceration that especially affects people of color and poor people in our state, and the dehumanizing conditions that exist in our prisons:

• Abolish money fines and cash bail. Fines are a regressive tax on poor people and cash bail is nothing less than the criminalization of poverty. Whether or how a person is treated when they are arrested should not depend on the size of their bank account!
  
  
• Assign an ombudsperson to oversee the health care system in Connecticut's prisons.
  
  
• Provide genuine mental health treatment, not just pill-pushing.
  
  
• Ensure educational programs are available in prisons as part of rehabilitative services.
  
  
• Abolish slave labor. Guarantee the Connecticut minimum wage for all prison labor.
  
  
• Restore the vote. Enfranchise all prisoners and formerly incarcerated people.
  
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