What would YOU do with $220 Million a year?
What would you do with $220 Million a year??
Have you ever thought about what you would do with $220 million dollars a year? Well, FREE! has!! FREE! Families Rally for Emancipation and Empowerment knows that $200 million a year are wasted on racist, inefficient mandatory minimum drug laws in New York State.
These laws don't increase public safety, waste hundreds of millions of community and taxpayer dollars, and fail to get at the ROOT of drug related incidents, which includes poverty, education and public health! Black and Brown people are "collateral damage" of this "drug war".
Drugs are a Public Health issue that should be TREATED with Alternatives to Incarceration (ATIs), Substance Abuse Detoxification programs, better Educational resources, and JOBS!
RIGHT NOW Governor David Paterson and your Senators are deciding what to do with the $220 million dollars they can save by repealing Mandatory Minimum sentencing, and restoring discretion to the judges (instead of leaving it in the hands of prosecutors). FREE! wants to see that money REINVESTED in the COMMUNITIES MOST IMPACTED BY MASS INCARCERATION, namely SEVEN NEIGHBORHOODS in NYC and in segrated urban metropoli across NY State. THIS MONEY BELONGS TO US!
On Saturday, March 21st, YOU have an opportunity to TELL THE GOVERNOR and YOUR SENATORS what you want to see done with the $220 million they will save by changing these laws, before they sneak approval on the state budget (by April 1st) WITHOUT ASKING ANY OF US WHAT WE THINK!
HEAL OUR BROTHERS, SISTERS, FAMILIES, COMMUNITIES NOW!
SCHOOLS, HEALTHCARE, REHABILITATION, JOBS, HIGHER EDUCATION, NOW!
Green/Weatherization jobs and training in Upstate New York!
No More Mandatory Minimums! No more profiteering off of Black and Brown bodies...
To sign up for your 15 minute timeslot, call 718-706-0195 or 917-653-2610 or email prisonfamz@gmail.com with your full name, and contact information. Appointments will be given for Saturday, March 21st, between 1-5pm in downtown Manhattan. You must be registered to participate, and you must bring Photo Identification to enter the secured building.
Prison Famz Productions is a Media Justice Project of FREE! Families Rally for Emancipation and Empowerment. FREE! is supported by the New York Foundation, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, Fortune Society, and the North Star Fund.
www.freefamilies.us