Monday, November 19, 2012
Activists were arrested after blocking the SCI Graterford construction entrance to protest prison expansion in Pennsylvania.
Seven members of Decarcerate PA were arrested Monday morning after blocking the construction entrance of SCI Graterford with school desks, apples, and a plastic school house. "Seven protesters were putting their bodies on the line about how serious they are about getting this project canceled," Decarcerate PA's Thomas Dichter said. The organization, which posted video of the early-morning protest, has been a loud voice against a $400 million project to increase the prison population in the Philadelphia suburbs. "These new prisons represent an expansion of mass incarceration in Pennsylvania and a continuation of policies that lock people up instead of giving our communities the resources they need to thrive," said a statement released by …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Despite being prevented by police from protesting in front of the prison, the movement voiced their concerns regarding Governor Corbett’s priorities.
Decarcerate Pennsylvania protested the Graterford Prison expansion on Tuesday, though it was semi-thwarted when members of the Pennsylvania State Police prevented them from walking onto the Graterford complex. The group had initially planned to meet at Perkiomen Valley High School and walk to the prison entrance, but state police prevented them from making the trek citing safety concerns. “We prevented them from obstructing the highway – we did it for their safety,” said a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper. “People are going to start looking at them, and not pay attention to the way they are driving, so it is an issue of safety.” Despite the concerns from police, Decarcerate Pennsylvania member Hakim Ali believes that the police were not …
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The protest seeks to raise awareness of the $400 million Graterford Prison expansion at a time when the state is cutting budgets elsewhere.
Members of the Decarcerate Pennsylvania movement will once again take aim at Governor Corbett on Tuesday afternoon, as a planned protest seeks to raise awareness to the $400 million Graterford Prison expansion at a time when state funding for education and health services is on the decline. "Governor Corbett just began construction of two new prisons on the grounds of SCI Graterford in Montgomery County," reads a recent posting on the DecarceratePA Web site. "Meanwhile, Corbett has slashed hundreds of millions of dollars from education, environmental protection, homeowners assistance, and healthcare and mental health services." As previously reported by Patch, the construction project at Graterford will establish two new prison facilities …
Turtleboots
12:38 pm on Wednesday, April 10, 2013
"Human Rights Watch Thursday published its annual World Report, in which it lays out a pointed critique of the U.S. prison system. The enormous prison population — the largest in the world at 1.6million — “partly reflects harsh sentencing practices contrary to international law,” notes the report." http://www.salon.com/2013/01/31/human_rights_watch_decries_u_s_prison_system/ more ›