A 20-second bond hearing changed the lives of Lavette Mayes and her children because she couldn’t afford bail.
Source: I Spent 14 Months in Jail Because I Couldn’t Pay My Way Out
Lovely article about WESPAC founder Connie Hogarth:
highlandscurrent.org/2019/07/12/social-activist-reflects-on-decades-of-advocacy/
Social Activist Reflects on Decades of Advocacy | Highlands Current
From anti-apartheid to inspiring Generation ZFrom Katie Schaffer:
Dear all,
Thank you for joining us at the FREEnewyork Westchester Town Hall last night! It was powerful to share space and reflect on our collective work for decarceration and pretrial justice.
Attached, you will find photos from the event. Photos courtesy of Andrew Courtney.
Digital copies of the following can be found at wespac.org/2019/07/11/freenewyork-townhall-in-yonkers/:
-Pretrial Bills in the New York State Budget: comprehensive accounting of the successes and shortcomings of the pretrial legislation
-Our Wins, Our Stories, Our Fight to FREEnewyork: 2-page organizing tool with stories and data
-Local Organizing Guide: goals, demands, recommendations, and talking points to support local organizing for decarceration and implementation of the pretrial bills
-The Future of Pretrial Justice is Not Money Bail or System Supervision - It’s Freedom and Community (Raj Jayadev, Silicon Valley De-Bug): brilliant model for pretrial justice organizing in Santa Clara, California
If you want to stay in touch with the Truthworker Theatre Company, you can find them on their website at truthworker.com (links to their social media at the bottom of the page).
To take action right now:
CALL Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins and tell her: “My name is ____ and I am a constituent from ____ [name your town/city]. Thank you for your leadership in moving forward bail, discovery, and speedy trial legislation. As you know, the work is not done! As we move forward, we hope to have your support in passing the next round of bail reform legislation that ends money bail and protects due process for all and true speedy trial legislation that guarantees the right to a speedy trial.”
POST ON SOCIAL MEDIA using this toolkit: bit.ly/freeny-yonkers
CALL your County Legislator and ask them: What is your plan to make sure bail reform is implemented to maximize decarceration and vastly reduce the number of people incarcerated pretrial?
We look forward to working with all of you in the fight for decarceration and pretrial justice in Westchester County.
Katie & the FREEnewyork Team
#FREEnewyork Community Town Hall on pre-trial reform implementation. Yonkers Riverfront Library:
I need folks to join me for this tomorrow morning. We can carpool from White Plains. Please let me know if you can join me. We need a large crowd:
Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins: you have the district’s support and we have your back – we need marijuana justice now!
What: Press conference urging Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins to bring the MTRA to a vote
Where: Van Der Donck Park in Yonkers, NY (across from Yonkers Riverfront Library and close to Senator Stewart-Cousins' office
When: 11AM (please arrive earlier so we can get organized), Friday, June 14th, 2019
