In this issue…
New Report: New York a National Leader in Incarcerating People for Technical Violations of Parole
In CT: Join Us for our September Statewide Criminal Justice Reform Monthly Call
New Report: New York a National Leader in Incarcerating People for Technical Violations of Parole
Illustration by Sally Deng for Human Rights Watch
A new report issued last week by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reaffirms that New York is second in the nation, behind only Illinois, for incarcerating people for non-criminal technical violations of parole like missing a curfew or failing an alcohol test. The BJS report shows that in 2018 alone, New York sent 5,783 people to jail and prison for technical violations of parole.
The data also reveals that New York leads the nation — by an extremely wide margin — in incarcerating people on parole to receive treatment. In 2018, New York sent 1,648 people on parole back to prison for drug treatment. There is near universal agreement among health officials that incarceration is not an effective approach to the health problem of drug use or addiction. Yet, New York continues to send more people on parole back to prison for drug treatment than all other states COMBINED.
And as Katal Co-Director Lorenzo Jones noted in response to the report, “Of course, it’s Black and brown communities who are bearing the brunt of these practices, which is no surprise given the systemic and institutional racism of mass criminalization.”
We issued this press release, with our partners, responding to the report, calling for passage of the #LessIsMoreNY Act to fix this problem in New York. And check out this twitter thread gaining traction online that was posted this week by campaign supporter, Dyjuan Tatro – who is currently on parole – calling for passage of the bill.
New York residents can join us in demanding passage of #LessIsMoreNY here.
In CT: Join Us for our September Statewide Criminal Justice Reform Monthly Call
Last week, we hosted a special summer convening of the Connecticut Statewide Community Justice Reform Call, to debrief the recent special session. Dozens of participants joined, and our guest speakers provided an overview of the police reform and accountability bills that were passed.
Join us Thursday, September 3 from 11 a.m. to noon for our next Connecticut Statewide Criminal Justice Reform Call held digitally via zoom. These calls bring together organizers and advocates to share updates about criminal justice reform in Connecticut, and discuss ways to align, coordinate, and support each other’s work to end mass incarceration. In the midst of this pandemic, these calls are another way to connect with each other to continue our collective movement work for freedom and justice. We thank all who joined us for our August call, and we hope to see all of you in September!
For more information about our monthly calls in Connecticut and New York, please contact Kenyatta Thompson, at kthompson@katalcenter.org.
Keep practicing social distancing, wear your mask, wash your hands, and check in on your neighbors. If you want to get involved, learn more about our work, or just connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out – we’re online and on socials via @katalcenter.
