Three Strikes: Just do it: call your reps and senators now!

Stop 3-Strikes!  Actions & Updates

I.   Call / Email Your Rep & Senator Now! [all week]

II.  Conference Committee Meeting [Wednesday @ 11am]

III. Stop 3-Strikes Rally & Lobby Day [Thursday]

IV. Boston City Council Passes Resolution Against 3-Strikes Bill

www.BostonWorkersAlliance.org

I.  Call / Email Your Rep & Senator Now! 

Our state legislators are on the brink of passing a 3-strikes bill that would further overcrowd our prisons and cost our state millions.  Call or email your legislators today and tell them to Stop 3 Strikes and pass Smart Sentencing Reforms.  

Sample phone script - call / email both your State Rep and State Senator: 

"Hello, my name is [________].  I live in [Rep / Senator _______'s] District.  I'm calling today ask [Rep / Senator _______] to help Stop the 3-Strikes Bill and pass Smart Sentencing Reform.  

I am against 3-strikes sentencing and mandatory parole, but I do support  shrinking the school zones and ending mandatory minimums for non-violent offenses.  

The bills they are discussing would overcrowd our costly system.  While private prison contractors get rich, those funds should be used for jobs and programs that could make our communities safer.  Thank you."  

State House Operator (get any official): 617 722-2000

Find out who your Senate and Rep in General Court is: www.wheredoivotema.com 

Find their phone # and email: www.malegislature.gov/people/findmylegislator

Please have your friends, family, allies, staff and members make phone calls to their state officials this week!  You can also call Governor Patrick's public comment line and leave a message (617) 725 4005.   

Every call and email counts - be seen and be heard! 

II.  Conference Committee 

Notice from State Senator Cynthia Creem: 

There will be a Conference Committee meeting where the public is able to attend.  The Conference Committee is responsible for creating the final bill that will be sent to the Governor's Desk.  

Thursday, March 14, 11 am, State House, 4th Fl., Conference Room 413-E

For questions, Senator Creem's Office is: 617 722 1639

III.  RALLY TO STOP 3-STRIKES LAWS IN MASSACHUSETTS

Community Rally to Stop the 3-Strikes Bill
Urgent Action for Criminal Justice Reform

Rally & Lobby Day
State House Steps
Thursday, March 15
11-1pm

Please join us and help spread the word! 

 Tell your Reps and Senators to stop the 3-Strikes bill
 This dangerous bill will expand an overcrowded prison system
 It costs $48,000 a year to jail a prisoner; these funds could be used for jobs, schools, housing and transportation
 Incarceration breaks apart families but does not deal with the real causes of crime
 Stand up against mandatory sentencing and demand fairness in the criminal justice system

Help stop this costly and harmful bill before it is too late: the "Justice System" is Unjust and the time for action is now!  We will rally on the State House steps and then enter the building to visit our elected officials.

Support the Rally or for Questions contact: (617) 606-3580 / info@bostonworkersalliance.org / BostonWorkersAlliance.org

Learn More About Prison and Sentencing Reform:  Blackstonian.com / ChurchandPrison.org / CJPC.org / Exprisoners.org /  FAMM.org / MCLS.net
Endorsing Organizations*

Aid to Incarcerated Mothers, Alternatives for Community Environment (ACE), American Civil Liberties Union-MA, APIA Movement, Arise for Social Justice, Arlington Street Church (Social Committee), Artists for Humanity, Asian American Resource Workshop, Black Educators Alliance of Massachusetts, Blackstonian, Boston Workers' Alliance, Cambridge Peace Commission, Center for Church and Prison, Chelsea Collaborative, City Life / Vida Urbana, Coalition Against Poverty / Coalition for Social Justice, Coalition for Effective Public Safety, Codman Square NDC, Community Change Inc., Community Church of Boston, Community Labor United, Criminal Justice Policy Coalition, Dorchester People for Peace, EPOCA - Ex Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Gavin House, Grove Hall Neighborhood Development Corporation, Hyde Square Task Force, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Jobs With Justice, Lansing Workers Center, Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, Marcus Garvey House, Mass Alliance of Minority Law Enforcement Officers (MAMLEO), Mass Jobs with Justice, Massachusetts Communities Action Network, Mass Global Action, MassUniting, NAACP New England Area Conference, National Association of Social Workers-MA, National Lawyers Guild-MA, Neighbor to Neighbor MA, New England United for Justice, Nuestra Community Development Corporation, Occupy The Hood Boston, Oiste Latino Civic Engagement Organization, Partakers, Inc., Prisoners' Legal Services, Right to the City Alliance Boston, Rosie's Place, Roxbury Dorchester Labor Committee, SEIU 1199 Healthcare Workers, SEIU 615 Janitors and Security, Side-by-Side Community Circle, Sisters At Work, Social Workers for Peace and Justice, SPAN, STRIVE, Inc., Students for Sensible Drug Policy, TFCC-Boston, Northeastern University School of Law chapter, Survivor's Inc., The Real Cost of Prisons Project, Union of Minority Neighborhoods / MARC, Unite Here! New England Joint Board, Urban League of Eastern Mass, UU Mass Action, Voices of Liberation, Young Cape Verdean Club

*Partial list