(c/o the Ella J. Baker House)
411 Washington Street, Dorchester, MA 02124
www.cjpc.org/email: admin@cjpc.org Telephone (617) 697-4195
Community Forum
On the Proposed Three Strikes Bill for Massachusetts
Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
6:00 – 8:00pm
Saint James African Orthodox Church
50 Cedar Street, Roxbury, MA 02119
Please join
Prof. Charles J. Ogletree Jr.
Founder and Director of the Charles H. Houston Institute on Race and Justice, Harvard University School of Law
Robert Lewis, Jr.
Vice President Program, The Boston Foundation
Rev. Eugene Rivers
President and Founder, the Ella J. Baker House
Moderator
Benjamin F. Thompson, Executive Director, CJPC
Community Forum
The “Three Strikes” Legislation
Come hear how recent legislation passed in the Massachusetts Senate (S2059) and House of Representatives (H3811) will have a dramatic impact on our communities.
OPENING REMARKS:
Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr.
PANEL MEMBERS:
Robert Lewis Jr.
Rev. Eugene F. Rivers 3rd
Leslie Walker, Executive Director, Prisoner Legal Services
Charmane Higgins, Executive Director, STRIVE Inc.
Lyn Levy, Executive Director, SPAN Inc.
Taron Tibbs (ex-felon with two strikes; student and father)
Closing remarks; Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr.
Please RSVP by December 16, 2011 to admin@cjpc.org.
Dear Friends:
At a recent meeting at a job training program for ex-offenders I asked the class “how many of you have been convicted of two felonies and sentenced to either the state or federal prison system”. Several of the young men raised their hands. One young man, no older than 25, went on to state that although he had two prior felony convictions for drugs, he had never committed an act of violence. If this young man, under the proposed Habitual Offender bill, were convicted of breaking and entering a motor vehicle in the daytime, he would be eligible for life in prison without parole, never having physically harmed another person. If we assume average life expectancy, he would probably spend the next 40 years incarcerated at a minimum cost of 1,880,000. He would never hold a job, pay taxes, care for his children or contribute to society. We as taxpayers would assume all costs.
On December 21st, 2011, The Ella J. Baker House and the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition will co-host a community informational forum in response to recent legislation passed in the Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives that will have a dramatic impact on each of us.
With the recent passage of S2059 and H3811, Massachusetts is preparing to pass “three strikes” legislation as well as introduce changes to our parole, probation and judiciary that will increase the need for costly prison beds and divert public tax dollars away from needed services. These changes will not reduce crime since there has been no evidence-based research to support the passage of this draconian legislation. Instead this legislation is a knee-jerk reaction from elected officials designed to appear hard on crime. We support being hard on crime but also demand that our legislators be smart on crime.
There has been little debate on this legislation (less than 24 hours of debate in the House of Representatives) prior to the vote. There has been no information on the social cost of increasing incarceration under this proposed legislation. Evidence based research has proven that this legislation will not reduce crime or improve our recidivism rates.
Please join our distinguished panel members, the Ella J. Baker House and the Criminal Justice Policy Coalition for this community informational forum on December 21st, 2011 from 6:00 – 8:00pm at the Saint James African Orthodox Church, 50 Cedar Street, Roxbury, MA 02119.
Respectfully,
Benjamin F. Thompson
Executive Director
P.S.
The Committee for Effective Public Safety (CEPS) is recruiting community members interested in building strategies to lobby the upcoming conference committees on S2059 and H3818. This will be recruitment only. Training will follow at a later date.
STRIVE, SPAN and Prisoner Legal Services will be providing an opportunity for ex-offenders to sign up for their next job training, support services and advocacy services
*** light refreshments will be served ***
