Press Conference in Albany to Increase Jail and Prison Oversight
Katal Member Robin Lawerence and Organizing Director Melanie Dominguez Co-MC Press Conference in Albany, 3.25.25
Last Tuesday, we held a press conference on the 4th floor of the Capitol to demand increased oversight of jails and prisons. During the press conference, we called on the New York State Legislature to swiftly pass (S. 856)-Salazar / (A.2315)-Gallagher, which will expand and diversify the State Commission of Correction (SCOC).
With the recent killing of Robert Brooks and Messiah Nantwi in state prisons, and five deaths at Rikers in the last six weeks, this is a critical moment. The New York legislature must take swift action now to save lives. No family should have to go through this. No more deaths. Now is the time, we demand action!
Our members, Anthony Maund and Ziyaha Amatulmatin, provided powerful testimonies at the press conference about the urgent need to address the crisis unfolding in correctional facilities across New York. See the press release with quotes from elected officials, partner organizations, and our members.
Check out coverage of last week’s press conference in New York Focus, NPR’s WXXI News, and NewsChannel13. You can see more photos of it here.
Support for this legislation is growing; we currently have 66 community, advocacy, legal, and faith-based organizations signed on from across the state – click here to sign on your organization. For more information on this bill, check out our fact sheet here.
If you want to support efforts to increase jail and prison oversight, please reach out to Yonah at Yonah@katalcenter.org.
Another Death at Rikers this Week
On Tuesday, news broke that, Deshawn Jenkins, 27, died at Rikers Island. We send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. This is the 5th incarcerated person to die in city jails in the last six weeks and at least the 38th person to have died since Eric Adams became mayor in 2022. Four months into the year, the death toll at Rikers is already close to surpassing last year’s total.
In response to the death, our organizing director Melanie Dominguez was quoted in the NYTimes saying, “This is horrific news, yet it’s not surprising, given the worsening crisis and soaring death toll this month at Rikers.” Mayor Adams is failing our communities, and lives are being lost as a result.
Check out the full statement we put out in response to this week’s death at Rikers.
If you’re interested in joining the fight to shut down Rikers and hold Mayor Adams accountable, please contact Melanie at melanie@katalcenter.org.
Saturday 4/5: Hands Off! National Day of Action
Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them. They’re taking everything they can get their hands on—our health care, our data, our jobs, our services. On Saturday, April 5th at 1 pm, we’re taking to the streets at Bryant Park as part of a nationwide day of action to fight back with a clear message: Hands off!
This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of our government and our economy for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. Alongside Americans across the country, we are protesting to demand a stop to the chaos and build an opposition movement against the looting of our country.
If you would like to join us in the streets on Saturday, please reach out to Yonah at yonah@katalcenter.org
Weekly Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps
Join us on Wednesday, April 9th, for our weekly Pro-Democracy Phone Zaps! Every Wednesday from 12-12:45pm (EST), we’re gathering on Zoom to call our elected officials. We’ll start by calling our congressional representatives in D.C. to demand they take action to defend democracy and stop unelected billionaires like Elon Musk from destroying government agencies. Then we’ll call our state-based officials about local campaigns. If you’ve been looking for a starting point to take action, this is a great place to jump in!
Join us for our next Pro-Democracy Phone Zap on Wednesday, April 9th. Register here!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Lily at lily@katalcenter.org. We hope to see you there!
Katal Quotes of the Week
These are some of the quotes we’re thinking about this week.
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” — Frederick Douglass
“Who has the right to have rights? It is certainly not the humans crowded into the cells here. It isn’t the Senegalese man I met who has been deprived of his liberty for a year, his legal situation in limbo and his family an ocean away. It isn’t the 21-year-old detainee I met, who stepped foot in this country at age nine, only to be deported without so much as a hearing.Justice escapes the contours of this nation’s immigration facilities.” – Mahmoud Khalil
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