Join the fight for criminal justice reform
To the Community,
Want to work with an organization seeking criminal justice reform? Consider joining the local chapter of the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration (CADBI-DELCO).
Recent tragic events in this nation have once again highlighted the fact that the U.S. has a mass incarceration problem, one of the many elements of systemic racism. The United States locks up more people per capita than any other nation. Our incarceration rate is almost five times that of similar countries. If the current rate of incarceration continues, one in 20 (5%) current Americans will serve time in prison. But rates vary significantly by race. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 28.5% of African-American and 16% of Hispanic men will be incarcerated at some point in their lives. Criminal justice reform measures require that we end systemic racism and mass incarceration in America.
Under Pennsylvania law, convictions for first- or second-degree murder guarantee life without the possibility of parole, unlike many states that limit life terms to the most egregious cases. But among the current 5,300 imprisoned individuals in Pennsylvania serving life sentences are people who would not be convicted today. They include battered women who killed their abusers in the 1970s and 1980s, before the courts recognized their actions as self-defense. They also include individuals who were accomplices in a crime that resulted in a death, a death that the individual may not have intended nor even known about.
But even when we consider sentences for those who did take a life, a just correctional system is a system that recognizes every individual’s right and ability to transform their lives, to be rehabilitated, and to return to their families and to their communities. Separating people from their families and communities does not make us safer — it makes us less safe, broken, and causes significant suffering. Putting people in prison without the possibility of parole is a violation of people’s basic human rights since they live with no hope of redemption. It is inhumane.
So, what is CADBI? In 2015, over 300 people crowded into the Vineyard Community Church in West Philadelphia to launch a campaign to end death by incarceration in Pennsylvania. Since then, local chapters of CADBI have been formed all over the state. We are working to build a mass movement, both inside and outside of prison, to take a stand against harsh sentencing practices. We are working to advance legislative change both in the state legislature and in our communities. CADBI members come from many walks of life, but all members are committed to criminal justice reform. We share a deep belief in human dignity, in providing chances for redemption, in healing communities, and we believe that every human being deserves a second chance.
Want to learn more? Check out our Facebook page and join us for our monthly meeting (currently happening via Zoom during the pandemic). Now is the time for significant reform.
Virginia Adams O’Connell
Swarthmore
