Monday, June 24, 2013

Broad coalition calls for “a people’s budget, not prison budget!"


Astorino has contracts to build prisons
100 mile march across  PA seeks to halt prison expansion, austerity

In an unprecedented action against mass incarceration, a statewide coalition is embarking on a 100 mile march across Pennsylvania to demand “A People’s Budget, Not a Prison Budget.” The march will start in Philadelphia at Love Park at noon on May 25 and conclude with a noontime rally at the state capitol building in Harrisburg on June 3, as the state legislature reconvenes to discuss the budget for next year. Marchers are demanding that the General Assembly refuse to pass a budget with increases in corrections spending. They further call for the governor to stop the $400 million construction of two new prisons in Montgomery County, outside Philadelphia.

The march is being organized by Decarcerate PA, a grassroots campaign working to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania by insisting that the state stop building prisons, reduce its prison population, and reinvest money into local community resources. More than thirty organizations are cosponsoring the march, including public school advocates, immigrant rights groups, faith-based communities, and a wide array of racial and economic justice organizations.
"Everyone in Pennsylvania has an investment in stopping prison growth." said Layne
Pittsburgh Solidarity at County Assistance Office
Mullett of Decarcerate PA. "That's why community groups, churches, labor unions, parents, teachers, students, formerly incarcerated people, legislators and entire families are getting
involved. We know we all benefit when the state invests in education, not incarceration."

The March for a People’s Budget is an impressive and creative step in a growing national movement against mass incarceration, according to several high-profile analysts.
Voicing her support for the march, noted scholar and activist Angela Davis said, "This march is not just about one state budget. It is about enacting a vision of a society rooted in humanity instead of prisons. Decarcerate PA is an exciting part of a growing national movement to challenge the erroneous idea that prisons make us safer." These endorsers say the march is breaking new ground in the fight against mass incarceration. 
“Decarcerate PA’s march highlights a simple truth: Public budgets should be made by the
people for the people,” said Ruth Wilson Gilmore, an award winning scholar of imprisonment and the past president of the American Studies Association. “In walking the walk, these historic marchers take the fight against prisons and austerity to a new level. What happens in Pennsylvania now can lift all who strive for a new national freedom agenda.”


Pittsburgh Solidarity across from the County Court House
Like other states, Pennsylvania has embraced a path of austerity. In recent years,Republican governor Tom Corbett has cut more than a billion dollars from education, eliminated General Assistance, and slashed health care spending. Philadelphia alone is in the process of closing twenty-three schools. Yet the PA Department of Corrections is requesting an additional $68 million increase in next year’s budget, which will push the DOC budget over $2 billion for the first time in the state’s history. Further, the state proceeds to expand its prison system.
“At a time when prison populations are finally beginning to decline nationally, it’s unfortunate that Pennsylvania is planning to build new prisons,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a national prison reform group. “We’ve seen that sentencing and drug policy reform, along with a broader array of
non-prison options, can have a significant impact on the number of people incarcerated.
Prison construction also assures that resources will be less available
to invest in the communities most heavily affected by mass incarceration.”

The March for a People’s Budget includes rallies and community events in towns and
cities along the ten-day march route highlighting the high costs of social austerity. The march begins only two weeks after Philadelphia witnessed a massive student walkout in protest of school closings.
Decarcerate PA formed in 2011. Last November, seven members of the group were arrested and charged with trespass and disorderly conduct following a sit-in on the construction site of two new prisons in Montgomery County, PA. The demonstrators sat at school desks and wore banners reading “fund schools, not prisons.” The charges are still pending. 
For more information visit www.decarceratepa.info/march
Pittsburgh solidarity at the banking offices!
and @decarceratepa. 

Philadelphia, PA–In an unprecedented action against mass incarceration, a statewide coalition is embarking on a 100 mile march across Pennsylvania to demand “A People’s Budget, Not a Prison Budget.” The march will start in Philadelphia at Love Park at noon on May 25 and conclude with a noontime rally at the state capitol building in Harrisburg on June 3, as the state legislature reconvenes to discuss the budget for next year.
            Marchers are demanding that the General Assembly refuse to pass a budget with increases in corrections spending. They further call for the governor to stop the $400 million construction of two new prisons in Montgomery County, outside Philadelphia.
The march is being organized by Decarcerate PA, a grassroots campaign working to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania by insisting that the state stop building prisons, reduce its prison population, and reinvest money into local community resources. More than thirty organizations are cosponsoring the march, including public school advocates, immigrant rights groups, faith-based communities, and a wide array of racial and economic justice organizations.
 "Everyone in Pennsylvania has an investment in stopping prison growth." said Layne Mullett of Decarcerate PA. "That's why community groups, churches, labor unions, parents, teachers, students, formerly incarcerated people, legislators and entire families are getting involved. We know we all benefit when the state invests in education, not incarceration."
The March for a People’s Budget is an impressive and creative step in a growing national movement against mass incarceration, according to several high-profile analysts.
Voicing her support for the march, acclaimed scholar and activist Angela Davis said, "This march is not just about one state budget. It is about enacting a vision of a society rooted in humanity instead of prisons. Decarcerate PA is an exciting part of a growing national movement to challenge the erroneous idea that prisons make us safer."
These endorsers say the march is breaking new ground in the fight against mass incarceration.
“Decarcerate PA’s march highlights a simple truth: Public budgets should be made by the people for the people,” said Ruth Wilson Gilmore, an award-winning scholar of imprisonment and the past president of the American Studies Association. “In walking the walk, these historic marchers take the fight against prisons and austerity to a new level. What happens in Pennsylvania now can lift all who strive for a new national freedom agenda.”
Like other states, Pennsylvania has embraced a path of austerity. In recent years, Republican governor Tom Corbett has cut more than a billion dollars from education, eliminated General Assistance, and slashed health care spending. Philadelphia alone is in the process of closing twenty-three schools. Yet the PA Department of Corrections is requesting an additional $68 million increase in next year’s budget, which will push the DOC budget over $2 billion for the first time in the state’s history. Further, the state proceeds to expand its prison system.
 “At a time when prison populations are finally beginning to decline nationally, it’s unfortunate that Pennsylvania is planning to build new prisons,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a national prison reform group. “We’ve seen that sentencing and drug policy reform, along with a broader array of non-prison options, can have a significant impact on the number of people incarcerated. Prison construction also assures that resources will be less available to invest in the communities most heavily affected by mass incarceration.”
The March for a People’s Budget includes rallies and community events in towns and cities along the ten-day march route highlighting the high costs of social austerity. The march begins only two weeks after Philadelphia witnessed a massive student walkout in protest of school closings.
Decarcerate PA formed in 2011. Last November, seven members of the group were arrested and charged with trespass and disorderly conduct following a sit-in on the construction site of two new prisons in Montgomery County, PA. The demonstrators sat at school desks and wore banners reading “fund schools, not prisons.” The charges are still pending.
For live updates and images of the march, visit www.decarceratepa.info/march and @decarceratepa.
- See more at: http://decarceratepa.info/press_release/100-mile-march-across-pa-seeks-halt-prison-expansion-austerity-broad-coalition-calls-%E2%80%9C#sthash.Z4UGCV8u.dpuf
Philadelphia, PA–In an unprecedented action against mass incarceration, a statewide coalition is embarking on a 100 mile march across Pennsylvania to demand “A People’s Budget, Not a Prison Budget.” The march will start in Philadelphia at Love Park at noon on May 25 and conclude with a noontime rally at the state capitol building in Harrisburg on June 3, as the state legislature reconvenes to discuss the budget for next year.
            Marchers are demanding that the General Assembly refuse to pass a budget with increases in corrections spending. They further call for the governor to stop the $400 million construction of two new prisons in Montgomery County, outside Philadelphia.
The march is being organized by Decarcerate PA, a grassroots campaign working to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania by insisting that the state stop building prisons, reduce its prison population, and reinvest money into local community resources. More than thirty organizations are cosponsoring the march, including public school advocates, immigrant rights groups, faith-based communities, and a wide array of racial and economic justice organizations.
 "Everyone in Pennsylvania has an investment in stopping prison growth." said Layne Mullett of Decarcerate PA. "That's why community groups, churches, labor unions, parents, teachers, students, formerly incarcerated people, legislators and entire families are getting involved. We know we all benefit when the state invests in education, not incarceration."
The March for a People’s Budget is an impressive and creative step in a growing national movement against mass incarceration, according to several high-profile analysts.
Voicing her support for the march, acclaimed scholar and activist Angela Davis said, "This march is not just about one state budget. It is about enacting a vision of a society rooted in humanity instead of prisons. Decarcerate PA is an exciting part of a growing national movement to challenge the erroneous idea that prisons make us safer."
These endorsers say the march is breaking new ground in the fight against mass incarceration.
“Decarcerate PA’s march highlights a simple truth: Public budgets should be made by the people for the people,” said Ruth Wilson Gilmore, an award-winning scholar of imprisonment and the past president of the American Studies Association. “In walking the walk, these historic marchers take the fight against prisons and austerity to a new level. What happens in Pennsylvania now can lift all who strive for a new national freedom agenda.”
Like other states, Pennsylvania has embraced a path of austerity. In recent years, Republican governor Tom Corbett has cut more than a billion dollars from education, eliminated General Assistance, and slashed health care spending. Philadelphia alone is in the process of closing twenty-three schools. Yet the PA Department of Corrections is requesting an additional $68 million increase in next year’s budget, which will push the DOC budget over $2 billion for the first time in the state’s history. Further, the state proceeds to expand its prison system.
 “At a time when prison populations are finally beginning to decline nationally, it’s unfortunate that Pennsylvania is planning to build new prisons,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a national prison reform group. “We’ve seen that sentencing and drug policy reform, along with a broader array of non-prison options, can have a significant impact on the number of people incarcerated. Prison construction also assures that resources will be less available to invest in the communities most heavily affected by mass incarceration.”
The March for a People’s Budget includes rallies and community events in towns and cities along the ten-day march route highlighting the high costs of social austerity. The march begins only two weeks after Philadelphia witnessed a massive student walkout in protest of school closings.
Decarcerate PA formed in 2011. Last November, seven members of the group were arrested and charged with trespass and disorderly conduct following a sit-in on the construction site of two new prisons in Montgomery County, PA. The demonstrators sat at school desks and wore banners reading “fund schools, not prisons.” The charges are still pending.
For live updates and images of the march, visit www.decarceratepa.info/march and @decarceratepa.
- See more at: http://decarceratepa.info/press_release/100-mile-march-across-pa-seeks-halt-prison-expansion-austerity-broad-coalition-calls-%E2%80%9C#sthash.Z4UGCV8u.dpuf
Philadelphia, PA–In an unprecedented action against mass incarceration, a statewide coalition is embarking on a 100 mile march across Pennsylvania to demand “A People’s Budget, Not a Prison Budget.” The march will start in Philadelphia at Love Park at noon on May 25 and conclude with a noontime rally at the state capitol building in Harrisburg on June 3, as the state legislature reconvenes to discuss the budget for next year.
            Marchers are demanding that the General Assembly refuse to pass a budget with increases in corrections spending. They further call for the governor to stop the $400 million construction of two new prisons in Montgomery County, outside Philadelphia.
The march is being organized by Decarcerate PA, a grassroots campaign working to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania by insisting that the state stop building prisons, reduce its prison population, and reinvest money into local community resources. More than thirty organizations are cosponsoring the march, including public school advocates, immigrant rights groups, faith-based communities, and a wide array of racial and economic justice organizations.
 "Everyone in Pennsylvania has an investment in stopping prison growth." said Layne Mullett of Decarcerate PA. "That's why community groups, churches, labor unions, parents, teachers, students, formerly incarcerated people, legislators and entire families are getting involved. We know we all benefit when the state invests in education, not incarceration."
The March for a People’s Budget is an impressive and creative step in a growing national movement against mass incarceration, according to several high-profile analysts.
Voicing her support for the march, acclaimed scholar and activist Angela Davis said, "This march is not just about one state budget. It is about enacting a vision of a society rooted in humanity instead of prisons. Decarcerate PA is an exciting part of a growing national movement to challenge the erroneous idea that prisons make us safer."
These endorsers say the march is breaking new ground in the fight against mass incarceration.
“Decarcerate PA’s march highlights a simple truth: Public budgets should be made by the people for the people,” said Ruth Wilson Gilmore, an award-winning scholar of imprisonment and the past president of the American Studies Association. “In walking the walk, these historic marchers take the fight against prisons and austerity to a new level. What happens in Pennsylvania now can lift all who strive for a new national freedom agenda.”
Like other states, Pennsylvania has embraced a path of austerity. In recent years, Republican governor Tom Corbett has cut more than a billion dollars from education, eliminated General Assistance, and slashed health care spending. Philadelphia alone is in the process of closing twenty-three schools. Yet the PA Department of Corrections is requesting an additional $68 million increase in next year’s budget, which will push the DOC budget over $2 billion for the first time in the state’s history. Further, the state proceeds to expand its prison system.
 “At a time when prison populations are finally beginning to decline nationally, it’s unfortunate that Pennsylvania is planning to build new prisons,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a national prison reform group. “We’ve seen that sentencing and drug policy reform, along with a broader array of non-prison options, can have a significant impact on the number of people incarcerated. Prison construction also assures that resources will be less available to invest in the communities most heavily affected by mass incarceration.”
The March for a People’s Budget includes rallies and community events in towns and cities along the ten-day march route highlighting the high costs of social austerity. The march begins only two weeks after Philadelphia witnessed a massive student walkout in protest of school closings.
Decarcerate PA formed in 2011. Last November, seven members of the group were arrested and charged with trespass and disorderly conduct following a sit-in on the construction site of two new prisons in Montgomery County, PA. The demonstrators sat at school desks and wore banners reading “fund schools, not prisons.” The charges are still pending.
For live updates and images of the march, visit www.decarceratepa.info/march and @decarceratepa.
- See more at: http://decarceratepa.info/press_release/100-mile-march-across-pa-seeks-halt-prison-expansion-austerity-broad-coalition-calls-%E2%80%9C#sthash.Z4UGCV8u.dpuf
Philadelphia, PA–In an unprecedented action against mass incarceration, a statewide coalition is embarking on a 100 mile march across Pennsylvania to demand “A People’s Budget, Not a Prison Budget.” The march will start in Philadelphia at Love Park at noon on May 25 and conclude with a noontime rally at the state capitol building in Harrisburg on June 3, as the state legislature reconvenes to discuss the budget for next year.
            Marchers are demanding that the General Assembly refuse to pass a budget with increases in corrections spending. They further call for the governor to stop the $400 million construction of two new prisons in Montgomery County, outside Philadelphia.
The march is being organized by Decarcerate PA, a grassroots campaign working to end mass incarceration in Pennsylvania by insisting that the state stop building prisons, reduce its prison population, and reinvest money into local community resources. More than thirty organizations are cosponsoring the march, including public school advocates, immigrant rights groups, faith-based communities, and a wide array of racial and economic justice organizations.
 "Everyone in Pennsylvania has an investment in stopping prison growth." said Layne Mullett of Decarcerate PA. "That's why community groups, churches, labor unions, parents, teachers, students, formerly incarcerated people, legislators and entire families are getting involved. We know we all benefit when the state invests in education, not incarceration."
The March for a People’s Budget is an impressive and creative step in a growing national movement against mass incarceration, according to several high-profile analysts.
Voicing her support for the march, acclaimed scholar and activist Angela Davis said, "This march is not just about one state budget. It is about enacting a vision of a society rooted in humanity instead of prisons. Decarcerate PA is an exciting part of a growing national movement to challenge the erroneous idea that prisons make us safer."
These endorsers say the march is breaking new ground in the fight against mass incarceration.
“Decarcerate PA’s march highlights a simple truth: Public budgets should be made by the people for the people,” said Ruth Wilson Gilmore, an award-winning scholar of imprisonment and the past president of the American Studies Association. “In walking the walk, these historic marchers take the fight against prisons and austerity to a new level. What happens in Pennsylvania now can lift all who strive for a new national freedom agenda.”
Like other states, Pennsylvania has embraced a path of austerity. In recent years, Republican governor Tom Corbett has cut more than a billion dollars from education, eliminated General Assistance, and slashed health care spending. Philadelphia alone is in the process of closing twenty-three schools. Yet the PA Department of Corrections is requesting an additional $68 million increase in next year’s budget, which will push the DOC budget over $2 billion for the first time in the state’s history. Further, the state proceeds to expand its prison system.
 “At a time when prison populations are finally beginning to decline nationally, it’s unfortunate that Pennsylvania is planning to build new prisons,” said Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, a national prison reform group. “We’ve seen that sentencing and drug policy reform, along with a broader array of non-prison options, can have a significant impact on the number of people incarcerated. Prison construction also assures that resources will be less available to invest in the communities most heavily affected by mass incarceration.”
The March for a People’s Budget includes rallies and community events in towns and cities along the ten-day march route highlighting the high costs of social austerity. The march begins only two weeks after Philadelphia witnessed a massive student walkout in protest of school closings.
Decarcerate PA formed in 2011. Last November, seven members of the group were arrested and charged with trespass and disorderly conduct following a sit-in on the construction site of two new prisons in Montgomery County, PA. The demonstrators sat at school desks and wore banners reading “fund schools, not prisons.” The charges are still pending.
For live updates and images of the march, visit www.decarceratepa.info/march and @decarceratepa.
- See more at: http://decarceratepa.info/press_release/100-mile-march-across-pa-seeks-halt-prison-expansion-austerity-broad-coalition-calls-%E2%80%9C#sthash.Z4UGCV8u.dpuf

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Route for Pittsburgh March for A People's Budget!


On Sunday, May 26, come join for all or part of Pittsburgh's March For a People's Budget, a 6 mile march across Pittsburgh to build momentum around passing a state budget prioritizing services and programs to increase the security, safety, and health of the people of our state - rather than spending millions on locking people up. Don't forget: the march will be followed by the Community Day BBQ, featuring free food, speakers, kids activities, and more opportunities to build community and oppose prison expansion in Pennsylvania.


March Itinerary:

Feel free to meet up at any point along the route if you are not interested in or able to walk the whole march. A shuttle will be available partway through the route to transport people to the Community Day BBQ at Mellon Park.

1. 10:00 Meet at Point Park Fountain (Blvd of the Allies and Wood Street)

2. 10:20 Arrive at Astorino (227 Fort Pitt Blvd.)

- Walk to Wood St. and turn left
- Walk down Wood St. until you arrive at Fifth Avenue.
- Turn right on Fifth

3. 10:40 Arrive at Governor’s Office (301 Fifth Ave.)

- Walk down Fifth Ave.

4. 10:45 Arrive at Allegheny County Assistance Building (350 Fifth Ave.)

- Walk down Fifth Ave. until you arrive at Grant St.
- Turn right on Grant St.

5. 10:55 Arrive at Allegheny County Courthouse (Fifth Ave. and Grant St.)

- Continue up Grant St. until Sixth St.
- Turn right onto Sixth Street and follow until Centre Ave.
- Turn right onto Centre Ave.

6. 11:25 Arrive at Freedom Corner (Centre Ave. and Crawford St.)

- Shuttle to Community Day BBQ
- Continue down Centre Ave. thanking allies along the way
  
7. 11:50  Arrive at Jake Wheatley’s Office (2015 Centre Ave.)

- Continue down Centre Ave. for 4 miles (1 hour 20 minutes)

8. 1:10 Arrive at Community Day! At Mellon Park across from Bakery Square in Shadyside/East Liberty/Point Breeze

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Community Day BBQ and Sister March for A People's Budget

On Sunday, May 26, 2013 join us for a March for a People's Budget, Not a Prison Budget to be followed by a Community Day and BBQ!

Year after year, Governor Corbett cuts funds from education, healthcare, environmental protection, and social services. Yet he continues to spend millions on locking people up.

This is why we will march in Pittsburgh to demand a People's Budget, Not a Prison Budget, echoing the message from across the state where on May 25th the March for A People's Budget will begin in Philadelphia, to land in Harrisburg on June 3rd to demand that legislators invest in communities, not prisons.

10:00 am - 1:00 pm - Sister March begins - A 6-mile march across Pittsburgh, making stops at offices of PA legislators to demand that the new budget reflects the people's interest for re-investment in our communities and an end to prison expansion! The march will also make stops at the offices of companies invested in increasing criminalization of our communities. March will end at the Community Day BBQ -- join for the whole march, or join at any point along the route! Contact us, or see website for more details!

1:00 pm - 4:00 pm - Community Day BBQ - Join us at Mellon Park in East Liberty across from Bakery Square where we will join together to celebrate and give voice to the things that we want in our communities, the things that make us safe, healthy, and secure, unlike mass incarceration. Food, Speakers, Activities for kids! Families encouraged to come!

CONTACT: decarcerate.pa.pgh@gmail.com - 412-945-0664
                     decarceratepittsburgh.blogspot.com
                     decarceratepa.info
                     twitter: @hrcfedup
 

Monday, December 17, 2012

National Call In Day - December 19th - Wednesday!


Join with Decarcerate PA for a statewide call-in day on December 19th to demand that Governor Corbett cancel all new prison construction in 2013!


2013 is fast approaching, and that means its time to make new years resolutions. Unfortunately, some of our elected (and appointed) officials could use a little help! That's why we are asking all of you to give Governor Corbett and Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel a call and remind them to add "NO NEW PRISONS" to their resolutions list.  Want to see how its done?  Check out the call-in day promo video (starring Corbett and Wetzel themselves!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GieSfQjgauA 

Right now, Governor Corbett is just breaking ground on two new prisons in Montgomery County. If completed, these prisons will cost $400 million to build and will house 4,100 people. At the same time, the Philadelphia school district has just announced they will close 37 schools this year. Please call Governor Corbett and Secretary Wetzel at the numbers below and ask them to fund schools, not prisons! PA needs more classrooms and fewer prison cells.

Corbett's office - 717-787-2500
Wetzel's office - 717-728-4109

You can also tweet at @GovernorCorbett, or you can write to them at:

Governor Tom Corbett
Room 225
Main Capitol Building

7 Decarcerate Members Arrested!



Seven members of Decarcerate PA set up school desks, banners, and a little red schoolhouse to block the entrance to the prison construction site in Montgomery County.  They then sat at the desks, linking arms and refusing to move or allow construction vehicles onto the sight.  Construction was delayed for over an hour before all seven protesters were arrested and taken away.  The new prisons are being built on the grounds of SCI Graterford in Montgomery County.  If completed, they will cost $400 million and house 4,100 people.  We believe these prisons must be stopped, and that the money should be reinvested in our schools and communities.    

You can see a a video of the action featuring statements from the arrestees here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOTFLCbuP-o

And a statement from Decarcerate PA about the action here: http://decarceratepa.info/content/decarcerate-pa-statement-direct-action-graterford-prison

You can also see more photos HERE, and video of the livestream action HERE.  Or check out ourwebsitefacebook, and twitter for more information.  

The folks who were arrested were charged with three misdemeanors each: Defiant Trespass, Failure of Disorderly Persons to Disperse upon Official Order, and Persistent Disorderly Conduct.  They have all been released on bail.  However, we had to borrow money for bail, and need to pay people back.  We are also anticipating court costs and fees.  So if you can, please consider making a donation to DecarceratePA to help us cover these costs.  You can make a donation HERE, or by going to our website athttp://decarceratepa.info/ and clicking on the “Donate” button.

Please help us spread the word about these actions and forward this along to anyone you think might be interested.

Thank you so much for your support!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Picture This!

When Governor Corbett came to Philadelphia in May, Decarcerate PA lined the streets with prison beds and banners to demonstrate that money spent on prison beds is money taken away from the things PA really needs.  Now we are taking our beds on the road!  Every day from now until the budget passes, Decarcerate PA will post a new photo of these prison beds in front of institutions and places in Pennsylvania that are negatively impacted by Governor Corbett’s broken priorities.

Governor Corbett’s proposed 2012-2013 budget would continue his attack on public education, health care, and social services. His budget cuts $78 million from basic education, $264 million from higher education, $319 million from General Assistance, and millions more from environmental protection, homeowners assistance, and healthcare and mental health services.  He claims these drastic cuts will somehow benefit the state. But if Governor Corbett really loved Pennsylvania, he would focus on funding the vital industries and support systems that help Pennsylvanians grow, learn and stay healthy.

At the same time, Governor Corbett is moving ahead with a $685 million project to build three new prisons and expand nine existing facilities. Each new prison will contain about 2,000 new beds and cost $200 million to build. For each new prison bed, Pennsylvania taxpayers will pay about $100,000. In all, this expensive construction will add over 5,000 new beds to the prison system at a time when Governor Corbett’s own Department of Corrections Secretary, John Wetzel, acknowledges that thousands of men and women are currently incarcerated in PA beyond their minimum release dates due to programming wait lists and bureaucratic backlogs.

If Governor Corbett cared about Pennsylvanians, he would invest in education, healthcare and other industries that promote a brighter future, not more unnecessary prison beds. Join Decarcerate PA in asking Governor Corbett, “Where is the love?”

For more on Decarcerate PA’s campaign, visit: www.decarceratepa.info
For more details on the impact Governor Corbett’s proposed budget cuts, visit: http://pennbpc.org/

Check Out Picture This HERE!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Free Spaghetti Dinner

Come Join Decarcerate PA For a
Free Spaghetti Dinner!!!!
Friday March 16th 2012
6pm to 8pm


Bidwell Presbyterian Church---North side
1025 Liverpool Street Pittsburgh, PA 15233
Contact Decarcerate PA- - 412-945-0664

Come learn about the $685 Million,  Governor Corbett wants to spend on prison expansion and share how mass incarceration has impacted you and your community!


There will be activities for children so bring the whole family!!


art by Kevin Caplicki