I have always been opposed to private-for-profit out-of-state prisons; and I received this in my e-mail box today; and you need to read it, too. O.K.? You’ll read it? Please?
Vermont prisoners have been locked up and shipped away for too long:
Bring them home! It’s the Vermont way.
Thursday, October 30, 2014 11:44 AM
From: “Locked Up and #ShippedAway – VT Campaign”
vcjrcoordinator@gmail.com
October 30, 2014
Vermont prisoners have been locked up and shipped away for too long:
Bring them home! It’s the Vermont way.
To Governor Peter Shumlin, elected officials and legislative candidates:
Today, there are nearly 500 Vermont inmates being warehoused in private prisons;
some more than 1,000 miles from home.
We, the undersigned grassroots, faith, labor, criminal justice reform, public policy,
educational, social justice, business and other organizations,
oppose Vermont’s practice
of shipping inmates to private, for-profit, out-of-state prisons.
We call on the General Assembly and the Administration
to make reducing Vermont’s prison population an immediate priority.
This will enable Vermonters currently being warehoused
in private prisons in Kentucky and Arizona
to return to Vermont.
Our coalition strives for a criminal justice system that is fair, consistent, frugal
with public tax dollars and effective in reducing crime.
Warehousing Vermont prisoners in for-profit prisons across state lines
goes counter to that vision.
Reasons why shipping prisoners out of state to for-profit prisons is not the Vermont way:
Shipping inmates a thousand miles away makes it extremely difficult for families
to maintain connections. This is especially hard on children.
And family and community connections have proven to be critical
to an offender’s successful reintegration.
Sending taxpayer dollars that could be spent strengthening Vermont families
and communities to Corrections Corporation of America (CCA),
the multi-million dollar,
for-profit corporation
that warehouses Vermont inmates out of state,
is bad for Vermont.
We need sustainable supports to keep people out of prison
and to better serve those re-entering society.
Allowing out-of-state transfers
only benefits
the for-profit prison corporations.
CCA’s business model is driven by a perverse incentive:
the more people incarcerated,
the better the company’s bottom line
and the more money
for shareholders.
Vermont can do better.
In order to bring Vermonters home, we must reduce the number of people
behind bars.
New York, New Jersey and California have all reduced their prison populations by 25%
—without adverse effect on public safety.
We can do the same.
We in Vermont are making progress, but we can’t stop now.
Public and private agencies are working together to expand pre-trial services
and increase mental health and drug treatment opportunities.
We also have drug courts, court diversion, mentoring programs and community justice centers
that provide restorative justice panels and re-entry programs such as
Circles of Support and Accountability.
But to further reduce the prison population and increase public safety, we must do more.
We must expand restorative justice options,
reform sentencing practices,
change supervision policies
and re-evaluate the state’s approach to housing.
We call on our colleagues in the General Assembly and Administration
to work with community partners and continue the good work already begun,
to reduce Vermont’s prison population.
Ending the use of private prisons
and bringing out-of-state inmates home,
and reinvesting in families
for safer communities, is what’s best for Vermont.
Sincerely,
ACT for Social Justice
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) –VT
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Chai-Wallah
Community Justice Center Network
Just Schools Project
Kingdom Recovery Center
Lyndon FAIR
Main Street Landing
Mercy Connections
Nation Inside
NEK Allies for Racial Justice
Northeast Kingdom Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Peace & Justice Center
Peace and Justice Club, St. Michael’s College
Silliman Massage and Bodywork
Small Dog Electronics
Social Justice Web, First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington
Umbrella
Vermont Association of Court Diversion Programs
Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform
Vermont Interfaith Action
Vermont Legal Aid, Inc.
Vermont Partnership for Fairness & Diversity
Vermont Tent Company
Vermont Workers Center
Webskillet Cooperative
Wild Carrot Farm
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
