Newsletter - September 2008

Maryland's Outside Connection Newsletter

Committed to Improving the Lives of those Impacted by the Maryland Prison System

September 3, 2008

CENTER FOR HEALTH JUSTICE

announces

a national

HIV & HEPATITIS

INFORMATION

HOTLINE

for

PRISONERS

Call Collect:

(323) 822-3838

TUES/WED/THURS/FRI

12 P.M. to 7 P.M.

Eastern Time

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE
WE LOVE BEHIND BARS?

LEGISLATIVE AGENDA for The MARYLAND RESTORATIVE JUSTICE INITIATIVE

Bills the Initiative is working to have introduced in the upcoming legislative session focus on the following issues:

PAROLE REFORM

DRUG TREATMENT

HEALTH CARE

EDUCATION/HABILITATION

VOTER INITIATIVE

Family members and friends are encouraged to cast their vote for their incarcerated loved ones in a block vote.

VOTER REGISTRATION

Voter registration will be available and licensed voter registors will assist with registration.

ISSUES AND CONCERNS

A workshop will be convened at the seminar to address the concerns of family members and friends.

DATABASE DEVELOPMENT

Family members and friends will be provided with the opportunity to provide contact information to create a bloc vote initiative.

Dear Activists,

In July, many of you joined thousands across the country and participated in the 21st Century Tea Party letter writing campaign calling for prison reform. While those on the outside targeted the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, inmates addressed their concerns to the Governor of Maryland.

We received many letters from inmates who participated in the campaign. One individual encouraged over 100 individuals to sign letters to the governor. We also received emails from several caucus members pledging their support in the upcoming legislative session.

The Legal Awareness Seminar organized by the Extra Legalese Staff at JCI (Larry Brent, Vincent Greco, Robert "Manchild" Morgan, Ronald Ellis and Rashid Salih) was also a huge success and sparked a sense of hope within those who participated. The organizers received many letters of support for their outstanding work and convey a special thanks to Sgt. Sonji Lynn, Volunteer Coordinator at JCI, who worked especially hard to ensure that the seminar was a success.

While the seminar lacked support from Maryland Division of Corrections officials, among them Wendell France and Cornelius Woodson, it enabled positive community connections as recommended by the Confronting Confinement report (http://www.prisoncommission.org/report.asp). Secretary Gary D. Maynard served on the prison commission.

Several hundred inmates participated and workshop presenters included Frank Dunbaugh, Marc Mauer, Walter Talley, Dan Zaccagnini, Val Hymes, Nancy Forster, Curtis Cooper and a host of others.

As the number of new AIDS cases in Maryland prisons doubled between 2004-2005 and leads the nation in HIV percentage of infection, please spread the word about the Center for Health Justice HIV and Hepatitis information line found in this issue.

All of the energy generated from the summer events lead us into PHASE II of The Maryland Restorative Justice Initiatve (see calendar of events).

Clarence "Tiger" Davis to be Keynote Speaker at The Maryland Restorative Justice Initiative Seminar

Clarence "Tiger" Davis in November 1982 was elected to the House of Delegates of the Maryland General Assembly where he held several leadership positions. He was an Associated Professor of History at Essex Community College from 1986-96 and currently lectures in history at Morgan State University.