Author Archives: JustJust

Regional Workshop Sept 15

On Saturday September 15th JUST will be hosting a regional conference on decarceration and countering “carceral humanism”.

The schedule and agenda are below, and a flyer with this information is A  is attached here: Workshop Agenda Draft Aug 21. Background readings are here.

Closing Jails and Countering “Carceral Humanism
Decarcerate Upstate Regional Meeting
September 15, 2108

Location:  Southern Tier Independence Center
135 E. Frederick St, Binghamton NY

Those of us working in the Southern Tier and beyond are encouraged by a growing movement to stem mass incarceration in our areas.  It is surprising how much is being done, in very new ways, and through new community organizations.

At the same our very success generated alternatives to incarceration that pose deep and unexpected new problems:  mental health and substance use disorder treatment and funding, for example, is being channeled by Sheriffs and Albany into our jails, while new forms of control by the police, courts, and probation, youth, and parole programs have widened the carceral net outside our jails and prisons—often pulling in service providers and community groups.

On Saturday September 15th Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier (JUST) will be hosting a regional conference to pull together our knowledge on these challenges and forge new paths to end mass incarceration while countering these new forms of “carceral humanism”.

Please join us.  The event is open to the public. If you are interested in participating in a particular workshop let us know. Also please rsvp so we an plan lunch.  And if you need translation or related services tell us (we will provide these as far as our resources permit).  Contact us at: justice.southern.tier@gmail.com

An agenda is below. It will be adjusted as participants are confirmed.

Closing Jails and Countering “Carceral Humanism”
Decarcerate Upstate Regional Meeting
September 15, 2018

11:00am

Welcome: Sue Ruff, Advocacy Director STIC
Introductions: Personal and Group Opening Remarks:  Justice Alternatives—and Countering “Carceral Humanism” Andy Pragacz

11: 30-12:15 No More Jails

Evolving local strategies in the battle against jail expansions and modernizations.

Chairs: Jack Norton and Andy Pragacz

Lead Participants (5 min presentations): representatives from JUST, Decarcerate Tompkins County, United Voices of Cortland, Vera, and…

 12:15-1:00 Bail, Court Watch and Oversight Work

What works upstate? Lessons from ongoing bail and court watch work, working with judges, DAs, courts, community and New York City organizations.

Chairs: Joey Cardamone, Citizen Action

Lead Participants (5 min presentations): Tina Chronopoulos, Bobby Black, Citizen Action, Joey Cardamone, Barrie Gewanter, Zhana Kurti, and…

 1:00-1:45: Lunch

 1:45-3:00pm Community Health vs. Incarceration

Expanding health, substance use disorder, and disability services in the community—and countering efforts to centralize health and treatment services in jails, police, and courts

Chair: Kevin Revier, Sue Ruff

Lead Participants (5 min presentations): Sue Ruff, Alexis Pleus (TruthPharm), Kevin Revier, Decarcerate Tompkins County, and United Voice of Cortland representatives, and…

3:00-3:15:  Break 

3:15-4:00:  Inside/Out:  Supporting the Incarcerated and those Coming Home

Creating and sustaining community support for those incarcerated, their families, and those coming home—as opposed to state-, police- and court-controlled programs.

Chairs: Bryce Lawson, Jessica Farrell

Lead Participants (5 min presentations):  Rozann Greco, Bryce Lawson, Tinamarie Gunther, Jessica Farrell (Mental Health Justice Project (Delaware & Otsego Counties)), and…

4:00-4:30:  Roundtable: Organizing an Agenda and Alliances for the Coming year

Lessons from working with Albany and state-wide organizations, and setting priorities from the day’s discussions

Chairs: Bill Martin, Mardi Crawford

 

The workshop will be held at the Southern Tier Independence Center, 135 E Frederick St, Binghamton, NY 13904 (back door entrance on Grant street). It will be adjusted as regional participants suggest changes and participants are confirmed.

 

Pragacz and Revier online on BC Jail

From Pineal Press online link to interview:

Broome County Jail is a microcosm for much larger problems in American criminal justice.

To detail how Broome County Jail shows us why we need to dismantle the carceral state, we invited Binghamton University Sociology PhD candidates and prison abolitionists Andy Pragacz and Kevin Revier to Pineal Express.

Andy and Kevin are a part of Justice and Unity for the Southern Tier, or JUST, an organization that advocates for major progressive changes in the carceral system. They also provide direct visitation to incarcerated individuals in need.

Andy and Kevin talked with us about Broome County Jail’s destructive community impact, individual abuses, poor medical care, use of solidarity confinement, racial disparities, denial of education, and actual death.

https://soundcloud.com/user-222473875/episode-18-just-on-dismantling-the-carceral-state

Expose: Jail falsifies medical records

JUST has for years laid evidence in front of the County, the State Commission on Correction, the Health and Correction Committees of the State Assembly, the Attorney General of New York, and Disability Rights of New York.  The C0unty has lost lawsuits over its medical care.  The inhuman treatment and deaths continue.  Here is yet more evidence of mistreatment and misrule: a lawsuit by former nurses at the jail, testiying they were forced to file false medical reports–and fired when they refused to do it.
The complaint and press release are here:4-24-18 Press Release 4-24-18 Complaint-ECF
News coverage:

Former CMC nurses say jobs, licenses threatened if they didn’t falsify records

Mariame Kaba in Binghamton on Criminalizing Youth April 17th

On Tuesday April 17th at 4:30pm the legendary Chicago activist and scholar Mariame Kaba will be speaking at the Broome County Library, 185 Court Street, on

“Interrupting the Criminalization of Youth of Color Through Creating Restorative Communities

Free and open to the public. Mariame Kaba is the founder and director of Project NIA, a grassroots organization with a vision to end youth incarceration, and has founded multiple organizations and projects over the years including the Chicago Freedom School, the Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women, the Chicago Alliance to Free Marissa Alexander and the Rogers Park Young Women’s Action Team (YWAT) among others.

Women have no privacy in the BC Jail

Women have no privacy in Broome County jail

Judy Arnold and Alexis Pleus,   March 29, 2018 Press & Sun-Bulletin

Picture this: The new female pod at our Broome County jail, which was paid for under the most recent $5.7 million expansion, is a giant former gymnasium where everything you do takes place in the same room. Women sleep in bunks along the walls, eat in the middle of the room at tables just several …

League of Women Voters and JUST vs Mass Incarceration

League of Women Voters team up to help end Mass Incarceration

WICZ

Unfortunately, without alternatives we’re going to see people who really shouldn’t be at the jail, at the jail,” said Susan Ruff, President of the League of Women Voters of Broome and Tioga. Local officials have estimated, 80-85% of those in Broome County Jail suffer from addiction problems. Another …

JUST at Beyond the Bars Conference

On Sunday March 4, 2018, members of JUST made presentations at the Beyond the Bars Conference in New York City in two workshops: 1) What Incarceration Does to People: Combating Pre- and Post-Incarceration Trauma: presentations by Tinamarie Gunther and Josh Price, and 2) Fighting Jails Beyond NYC: Lessons from Grassroots Struggles in Broome, Cortland, and Tompkins Counties: presentations by Andrew Pragacz, Bill Martin, Kevin Revier, Joey Cardamone, Jack Norton, Bobby Black