The following piece was written by Kempis “Ghani” Songster as a speech he planned to deliver to the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. Only select speakers are allowed two minutes to share their words before the permanent forum, and Ghani was ultimately not allowed the time to share this speech in …
A Call to the United Nations to Abolish Death by Incarceration Read More »
Last week at City Hall, community leaders rallied with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Kranser to deliver a message to Republican legislators moving forward with their attempt to oust the city’s first progressive prosecutor from office. Following the recent PA House of Representatives’ impeachment of Krasner, Republican legislators have moved the process into the PA Senate …
On November 8, 2021, John L. Buckalew, or Buck, was released from SCI Frackville after serving about ten years in prison. Five months later, on April 13, 2022, two women walking their dog reported to the police that they found a man “sleeping in his car.” When the police arrived, they found 34-year-old Buck dead …
Post Traumatic Prison Disorder and the Fight to Heal Our Communities Read More »
April is Second Chances Month, and while the state paints “victims” in opposition to second chances for people in prison, a growing network of people identifying as “dual victims” are exposing the lie behind this narrative. Dual victims are people who have lost loved ones to interpersonal violence and mass incarceration. Their lived experiences demonstrate …
“Second Chances Don’t Diminish Justice, But Fulfill It” Read More »
The Urgent Need For Second Chances In Pennsylvania’s Sentencing System What better time for justice than 2022. As we dive into this new year, we should lean into our lawmakers to urge them to bring our friends and loved ones home. As part of their continuous efforts to support second chances in Pennsylvania, Families Against …
Grassroots Coalition Calls on City to Release Loved Ones from Philadelphia Jails Immediately This year, the Christmas season was tainted with blood on the hands of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons (PDP). By the time of this article, 18 people had died in Philadelphia jails since the beginning of the year. Four of them died …
Mid-day on September 30, 2021, community members and lawmakers gathered outside of Philadelphia City Hall around the 12-foot bronze Octavius Catto statue for a press conference to gather support for the newly introduced Senate Bill 835 that would establish geriatric and medical parole in Pennsylvania. Several movement partners came together to host the event, namely …
By: Charles Crowe, staff writer at the San Quentin News This piece was originally published in the August 2021 edition of the San Quentin News, a newspaper written and produced by incarcerated men at San Quentin State Prison in California. “Life without parole (LWOP) sentences are steadily replacing the death penalty across the United States,” …
Life-Without-Parole Sentences Slowly Replacing the Death Penalty in America Read More »