Advocates for criminal legal reform and increased community investment will mobilize on 5/11 to demand at least 8 more prison closures by 2025.
DATE: Wednesday, May 11th 2022
WHEN: 9am-10:30am
WHO: Organized by CURB (Californians United for a Responsible Budget)
WHAT: #CloseCAPrisons Press conference and rally, calling for increased prison closures and more community investment to be adopted by the state
WHERE: California State Capitol (West Steps)––1315 10th St, Sacramento, CA 95814
DETAILS: Photo and interview opportunities with speakers. CURB and Color Of Change will deliver a petition with thousands of signatures to close California prisons.
VISUALS: Bread and roses will be delivered to legislators by disability and elder care advocates Caring Across Generations.
AGENDA:
- 9:00am Guest & Press Arrival Time
- 9:30am Press Conference
- 10:30am Caring Across Generations: Bread and Roses action
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:
Amber-Rose Howard, Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Derick Morgan, Ella Baker Center
Graham Finochio, Success Stories
Shirley Leslie, Critical Resistance
Courtney Hanson, Care First Coalition
J Vasquez, Communities United For Restorative Youth Justice
SACRAMENTO, CA––United coalitions of community leaders plan to gather tomorrow, Wednesday, May 11th at 9am for a press conference and rally at the California State Capitol (West Steps; 1315 10th St, Sacramento, CA 95814) to discuss Governor Gavin Newsom’s May Revise Budget.
Governor Newsom’s January 2022-23 proposed budget included over $18.6 billion of state funding for corrections spending. Advocates from the campaign to #CloseCAPrisons are pushing lawmakers to reduce spending on incarceration by closing at least 8 more prisons by 2025, and increase investments in priorities like green jobs and community-based systems of care.
The state’s own nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office produced a report in November of 2020 that outlined at least $1.5 Billion annually in savings if California committed to closing five prisons by 2025, and has stated that California continues to be in a position to achieve this projection. Last year, CURB––a coalition of more than 80 organizations working to reduce wasteful incarceration spending––released a roadmap to close at least 10 prisons across the state.
Proposals for billions of dollars in infrastructure prison spending from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) faced scrutiny in March at the California Assembly Budget Subcommittee 5 hearings, which cited the department’s failure to produce a substantive long-term infrastructure plan that is responsive to the Legislature’s years-in-waiting request. “We see the prison population declining, but we see funding increasing. We don’t have faith that we’re spending dollars appropriately,” stated Assembly Sub 5 Chair Cristina Garcia (D-58th District).
“It’s time for Governor Gavin Newsom and elected officials to do what’s right and commit to a smart plan to close prisons in California,” said Amber-Rose Howard, Executive Director of CURB. “A serious plan for prison closure must include deep investments in prison towns to move them toward new, healthy economies, and center investments in healthcare, education, reentry services, and housing for justice impacted families.”
RESOURCES:
- CURB––The People’s Plan for Prison Closure and 2022-23 Budget Overview
- Los Angeles Times––Op-Ed: When a prison closes, its town has a shot at redemption
- The Intercept––Dark, Smoky Cells: Wildfires Threaten More Prisons…
- Blavity––The New Jim Crow Is Alive And Well In This California Town And Its Prison
- Truthout––Don’t Just “Close” Prisons — Demolish Them and Reinvest Their Funding
- Bolts in partnership with Inquest––A Future For Susanville
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