Madison Organizing in Strength, Equity, and Solidarity
for Criminal Legal System Reform
During the week of March 9th, stop by The Stream in the Theatre Arts building at Edgewood College in Madison WI to experience life in a solitary confinement cell. This experience is contemplative in nature and campus-wide participation is encouraged. The Solitary Cell can be reserved for an individual over a 30 or 60 minute time period. Please contact Tony Garcia, tgarcia@edgewood.edu, for group/classroom visits.
People of Faith United for Justice
Madison Action Day
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Bethel Lutheran Church
312 Wisconsin Avenue, Madison, WI
Cost: $25 per person includes lunch, childcare and transportation. Registration deadline is April 15. Please download and complete this form and or email info to mosesorganizer@gmail.com to register.
All contributions are welcome! Scholarship requests will be honored on a first come-first served basis. Make checks payable to MOSES and deliver during a monthly meeting. You may also mail checks to: MOSES, PO Box 7031, Madison, WI 53707
Keynote Speakers:
Reverend Everett Mitchell, Director of Community Relations of UW-Madison and Pastor at Christ the Solid Rock Baptist Church in Madison.
Hannah Rosenthal: CEO and president, Milwaukee Jewish Federation
Agenda
Please indicate if you are:
For more information, email info@mosesmadison.org or call 608-622-2360.
CO-SPONSORS: Wisconsin Council of Churches, Faith Voices for Justice, Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, Lutheran Office for Public Policy, Madison Area Urban Ministry, Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Jewish Federation of Madison, Wisconsin Jewish Conference and WISDOM
The MOSES Jail Task Force gave an update at the January monthly MOSES meeting about Dane County’s plans to study and invest in new jail facilities. MOSES opposes spending county money on new jail construction or on redundant studies.
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW to act and mobilize others is available in four documents from the MOSES Jail Task Force:
THIS TUESDAY: The Dane County Public Protection and Judiciary Committee (PP&J) will discuss several issues related to the new jail (see agenda here, items on final page) including additional funding requested by Sheriff Mahoney to expand the Mead & Hunt study (with little additional study on mental health) as well as a request from Supervisors Bayrd and Pan to study Criminal Justice Reform.
What can you do NOW?
Testify for up to 3 minutes (this can include simply reading from the mobilization letter, or the jail task force goals paper, or the powerpoint presentation);**Be prepared to stay two hours or more, as testimonies and discussion about the jail proposals may take that amount of time.
In the news:
MOSES JAIL TASK FORCE
Meets 3rd Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Optional orientation for newcomers 6:00
(Sub-committee work teams have additional meetings)
St. Mark’s Church (in basement)
605 Spruce St., Madison (Off S Park St.)
Contact: Ann Pooler, apooler@charter.net, 608-658-6847
The replica of a solitary confinement cell will be installed at First Congregational Church in Madison, WI from January 4 – January 10, 2015.
The cell will be available for viewing during the following times:
Sunday, Jan 4: 10am worship service
Also, view the Reform Now video on Solitary Confinement including footage from the October 1 rally at the State Capitol:
MOSES SAYS “NO” TO NEW JAIL
AND “YES” TO REDUCING INCARCERATION
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MOSES’ goals are ambitious and involve multiple complicated systems. But other municipalities have already succeeded with similar goals, using evidence-based strategies. JOIN US!
MOSES JAIL TASK FORCE
Meets 3rd Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:30 PM
Optional orientation for newcomers 6:00
(Sub-committee work teams have additional meetings)
St. Mark’s Church (in basement)
605 Spruce St., Madison (Off So Park St.)
Contact: Ann Pooler, apooler@charter.net, 608-658-6847
Background: In July, a consultant firm (hired by the County Board) recommended that Dane County build a new jail estimated to cost $135 – $141 million. A MOSES team immediately formed to decide MOSES’ position. We studied the consultants’ 600-page report and began to attend and testify at county committee meetings.
MOSES determined that the proposal assumed a continuation of already outdated incarceration practices. We discerned that many people are in jail unnecessarily—meaning that they are not a risk to the public and are in jail only because they are waiting for a court or DOC hearing, or cannot pay fines or bail (often $500 or less). We also found racial disparities in jail alternative programs (e.g., only 16% of those released from jail on home monitoring are people of color, compared to 51% of those in jail).
MOSES rejected the new jail proposal in a position statement we released on August 25th. We presented this at a NAMI public forum, at numerous County criminal justice meetings, and to stakeholders and media. MOSES celebrated an advocacy win October 1st when the County Executive removed the jail proposal from the budget; but our work has just begun.
Please click here to access MOSES position statement including facts and figures about the jail population. Feel free to share this document widely.
