Plainfield Decarceration Petition Launched

Courtesy https://plainfieldview.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/plainfields-march-for-equality/

A couple days back I wrote about ways that local communities can work with (or work on which ever the case might be) their local elected officials in local municipal government including the mayor and local council or committee members, as well as members of the local school board toward decarceration efforts.

http://decarceratenj.blogspot.com/2016/07/how-can-we-decarcerate-locally.html

Then yesterday, having heard about efforts of Plainfield youth to demonstrate against the ongoing spate of street executions by police in ruthless killings often caught on video, I reached out to Brittany Wheeler, one of the key coordinators of the Plainfield march.  In addition to the concerns she is raising about in town around the issue of police violence targeting the Black communities across the country, Brittany also expressed concerns about the local Plainfield budget and how 60% is spent on policing, vs. the amount spent on all other matters including youth activities.

We discussed the idea of pushing for decarceration measures at the local municipal level in Plainfield and we worked together on drafting a petition with a number of suggestions for ways the Plainfield Council and Mayor can take actions to help in the struggle to reduce mass incarceration and to provide direct support around the issue in Plainfield.

Brittany spearheaded the circulation of the petition at the successful march through Plainfield Monday night, filling out at least 4 sheets with signatures mostly from participants in the march - at 12 signatures a page that amounts to almost 50 signers on the first night of circulation!

Asked about why she is coordinating the local petition, Brittany states;

"With incarceration rates at an all time high and up for debate during the upcoming presidential election something needs to be done about it. This petition is just the first step. Black and whites commit the same crimes at similar rates (especially minor infractions like Possession of marijuana), but because of the systematic racism in this country black men are more likely to be arrested than a white man. We are coming together as a community to help those who have lost their voices due to the system. We are breaking down the walls of white supremacy in this country so all ppl can be treated equally."

As for the justice rallies in Plainfield, according to Brittany, they plan to continue each Monday, 6:30 pm starting on the corner of 4th and Watchung.

The following is the full text of the petition, which will be on hand Saturday from 1:30 - 4:30 pm when Decarcerate the Garden State is in Plainfield at the little park where Front and Park intersect, handing out leaflets and newspapers and hopefully recording a music video (at 2:30 pm).

PLAINFIELD DECARCERATION PETITION

As members / supporters of Decarcerate the Garden State’s goals of reducing incarceration in the State of NJ and particularly in Plainfield, NJ, we hereby call upon our council and mayor to take the following actions:
* Pass a resolution calling for legislation to be passed with the goals of reducing NJ prison population by 50% or better.
* Direct police attention away from victimless and minimal infractions like cannabis, other small quantity drug issues, other minimalist issues toward more pressing community issues.
* Review the police budget and based upon shifting away from enforcement of minimalist infractions, reallocate funds from police to youth activities and other quality of life issues.
* Based upon Sentencing Project findings of 12:1 ratio where a Black NJ resident is 12 times as likely to end up in prison as a white, statistically analyze Plainfield arrest and prosecution records to determine how Plainfield contributes to this statistic by applying racial factors to policing and prosecution.  Follow up with legal action to provide sentencing relief to those incarcerated due to the racial factors.
* Provide support to Plainfield families seeking sentencing relief
* End the practice of considering assessed fines as a source of local revenue in budgeting
* Provide assistance to local Plainfield Decarceration organizations in organizing discussions and provide fast track approval for use of outside and indoor venues for such activities
* As corruption in policing and prosecution surfaces including evidence tampering, provide complete review and dismiss convictions that relied on evidence from such corrupt sources.

NAME                                        CELL                                        EMAIL                                        TOWN (PF for Plainfield)

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Return completed petition to: ___________________________________