**MEDIA ADVISORY**
Contact:
Katie Schaffer, kschaffer@
Nada Khader, wespacfoundation@
Vanessa Agudelo, vagudelo@
Luke Grandis, [email protected], 917-702-8781
CLAIMING URGENCY AND A PROGRESSIVE MANDATE FOLLOWING THE ELECTION, NEW COALITION LAUNCHES DEMANDING DECARCERATION
RALLIES WILL TAKE PLACE OUTSIDE OF A JAIL, PRISON, IMMIGRANT DETENTION CENTER & THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION AS NEW COALITION CALLS FOR ACTION
WHEN: December 9th at 11am
WHERE:
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Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/
webinar/register/WN_ XUZZw9SXRmyTqJS5whLWNw -
In person:
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Sing Sing prison (State Street & South Street, Ossining)
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Orange County Building (255 Main Street, Goshen)
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Governor’s Mansion (138 Eagle Street, Albany)
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WHAT: Rallies outside of a county jail, state prison, immigrant detention facility and the Governor’s mansion announcing the launch of a new coalition: Decarcerate the Hudson Valley. The new coalition will be building power throughout the Hudson Valley to demand action by local and state elected officials to address the crisis of mass incarceration. Following the November elections, advocates and impacted people urge state legislature to act on a progressive mandate.
WHO: Formerly incarcerated Hudson Valley residents, families with incarcerated loved ones and advocacy organizations in the Hudson Valley including: Alternatives to Incarceration Coalition Westchester, Beacon Prison Action, Beacon4BlackLives, Black Lives Matter Hudson Valley, Call BlackLine, Center for Community Alternatives, Community Voices Heard, Dutchess County Progressive Action Alliance, End the New Jim Crow Action Network – Poughkeepsie, Equitable Future, Inc., I Am Citizen, Irvington Activists, Jews for Racial & Economic Justice, LIFE Progressive Services Group Inc, Newburgh LGBTQ Center, New York Immigration Coalition, Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson, Mid Hudson Valley Democratic Socialists of America, NYCLU Hudson Valley Chapter, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, Release Aging People in Prison – RAPP, Showing Up For Racial Justice Westchester Chapter, VOCAL-NY, WESPAC Foundation, Inc., Westchester Coalition for Police Reform (WCPR), Westchester for Change, Yonkers Sanctuary Movement.
BACKGROUND:
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While we have seen real decarceral success in the Hudson Valley since 2019 – with a 36% reduction in the number of people jailed pretrial – mass incarceration continues to be a crisis.
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Each day, there are over 13,000 Hudson Valley residents languishing in county jails and state prisons. (In October 2020, there were 2,200 people incarcerated in county jails each day and 11,152 incarcerated in state prisons.)
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In addition, there are over 4,000 people subject to parole supervision in their Hudson Valley communities.
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There continue to be stark racial disparities.
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Local and county governments in the Hudson spend over $856 million each year on the carceral system. This includes nearly $406 million on jails alone.
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