ENJAN is co-sponsor with Beacon Prison Action and the Newburgh LGBTQ Center of a Rally to End the New Jim Crow at Memorial Park in Beacon (meet at pavilion by the Fishkill Ave parking lot) on Saturday, November 21, at 1:30 PM. Wear masks, bring signs, social distance. See also attached flier.
Laurie Dick sent the following message:The COVID crisis is hitting New York’s prisons hard and turning prison sentences into death sentences. Because prisoners have little to no control over their medical care & hygiene, and are required to live in close quarters, outbreaks like the one at Elmira last month have proven to balloon into the hundreds in a matter of weeks.
The State of NJ just released over 2,000 prisoners in order to prevent a major tragedy and to free-up funds to pay for the sorts of help their communities need right now. At the same time, New York is going backward. Governor Cuomo has released very few of even the most vulnerable prisoners. Marc Molinaro is about to spend $200 million of Dutchess County taxpayers' money to break ground on a new jail. This at a time when the number of pre-trial detainees should be going down, not up.
At a time when our communities are suffering the worst economic downturn in decades, New York continues to send disproportionate support to carceral systems which disproportionately target Black and Brown New Yorkers.
Come out Saturday to say, "This needs to change!"