System Impacted Families Rally on State Capitol

ON NOVEMBER13tha group of 100 plus family members, and prison reform organizations rallied outside the State Capitol Building in Sacramento, in an effort to bring additional awareness to the men and women sentenced to Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP). The families held up signs and banners asking Governor Jerry Brown to commute LWOP sentences before he leaves office in January. The demonstration was organized in part by long time sentence reform advocate Geri Silva of the Fair Chance Project, along with the help of the men of the Progressive Programming Facility at Lancaster. Prisoners from all over California were represented during the rally.
            In a telephone interview with Geri Silva, she announced, “We took your personal letters to the Governor, family photos, messages, and proposals and created books that we presented to the Governor’s representative on prisoner’s behalf. Each prison had its own book—Corcoran, Pelican Bay, and California Institution for Women. The work isn’t done until LWOP is over and you are all home!”
            Additional organizations in attendance were California Coalition of Women Prisoners, Place for Grace, Felony Murder Elimination Project, and Families United to End Life Without Parole (F.U.E.L.). Life without Parole implies that a person can never change that rehabilitation is not possible. There are currently 5,000 men and women sentenced to LWOP in California. 
                                                                                                                                       -Allen Burnett

If you would like to learn more or would like to get involved, visit fuel @ endlwop.com or Fair Chance Project, Fairchanceproject.com
​
​