Da: "adwoa2000"
Oggetto: Stop The Delano II Prison!
Data: venerd́ 8 marzo 2002 4.10
Dear Friends,
Our campaign to stop California from building yet another prison is
reaching a turning point. Legislative aides tell us that the $12.5
billion deficit and a declining prison population give us a real
chance to stop Delano II during UPCOMING BUDGET HEARINGS, BUT WE NEED
YOUR ORGANIZATION's HELP!
After winning our historic lawsuit, generating more than 1000
comments in opposition to the new prison, and amassing a broad
statewide coalition, we have a real opportunity to eliminate 2002-03
funding for the prison.
We are asking your organization to SEND or SIGN ONTO THE FOLLOWING
LETTER or use it as a sample to write your own.
We need you to let Sacramento know that people across the state
oppose the prison and strongly prefer that the state spend $335
million plus interest (another $300 million) and operating costs (up
to $120 million per year) on programs which will benefit California.
We need to get the letter to the legislators who sit on the budget
committee and your local representatives by March 20.
PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOUR ORGANIZATION WILL SIGN ON. If you have any
questions, please call or email us.
Thanks for your continued involvement in this groundbreaking effort.
In Solidarity,
Rose Braz Craig Gilmore
Critical Resistance CA Prison Moratorium Project
510-444-0484 510-652-6633
rose@criticalresistance.org craig@igc.org
or rosebraz@aol.com
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COALITION TO STOP THE DELANO II PRISION
Dear members of the Senate and Assembly:
We are writing to you as members of a statewide coalition asking you
to cancel plans to construct the Delano II prison, or at a minimum,
place a one year moratorium on construction. During the moratorium,
the Legislature can address the budget crisis and assess the full
impact of the drop in the state's crime rate and prison population.
We are part of a coalition of civil rights advocates,
environmentalists, labor, criminal justice reform advocates and
religious communities from around the state. We oppose the building
of Delano II because California doesn't need another prison;
Californians don't want another prison and California can't afford
another prison.
CALIFORNIA DOESN'T NEED ANOTHER PRISON
With per capita crime rates at their lowest level since 1964,
California's prison population dropped an average of 725 prisoners
per month during the last six months of 2001. Corrections' (CDC)
most recent Population Projections forecast 25,000 fewer prisoners
than CDC estimated just one year earlier.
A study by the Justice Policy Institute concluded that "the state
should immediately suspend plans to construct the [Delano] prison and
utilize the $335 million for debt reduction or maintenance of other
state services." We agree.
CALIFORNIA CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER PRISON
California faces a $12 billion budgetary shortfall. The Governor has
ordered a hiring freeze and all state agencies to prepare for 15%
budget cuts. CDC plans to close part or all of one prison due to
empty beds.
Despite the declining prison population, empty beds and the budget
crisis, the Governor's 2002-03 budget allocates funding toward
construction, planning and activation of Delano II. Construction
costs for Delano II are $43.5 million from the General Fund and
$311.5 million through lease-purchase arrangements. Operating costs
could reach $129 million per year. We believe this funding could be
spent more productively on programs like K-12 and higher education,
the Healthy Start Program, the Healthy Family Program, the
Environmental Justice Initiative and Worker Safety Programs.
CALIFORNIANS DON'T WANT ANOTHER PRISON
In pursuing plans to construct Delano II, California is out of step
with the wishes of Californians and the actions of the rest of the
nation. A recent statewide Field Poll found that Californians favor
cutting the state's prison budget more than any other state program
to balance the budget.
States are closing prisons, cutting back on expansion and moving to
alternatives. Republican governors in Ohio, Illinois, Michigan,
Florida, Kansas and Utah are all closing prisons. President Bush has
proposed cutting the Federal Bureau of Prisons' construction budget
in half from 2002.
Delano II will do nothing to improve the lives of the people of
Delano. Since the opening of the Delano I prison, the city's
unemployment rate has increased, local businesses are suffering and
the city's finances are dismal. Corrections projects that only 72 of
the 1600 jobs slated to be created by Delano II will go to residents
of Delano. The prison will remove farmland from production, further
reducing employment prospects for Delano residents; it will have
severe impacts on the region's water table and will cause further
deterioration to the Southern San Joaquin Valley's already polluted
air.
Finally, Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) Options to address the
budget crisis could free over 20,000 prison beds and save $373.5
million. The additional reduction of California's already declining
prison population offered by the LAO further supports cancellation of
the Delano II prison, saving another $335 million plus debt service.
We hope you will take this opportunity to cancel plans to construct
the Delano II Prison and free funds for more necessary and useful
services for the people of California.
Respectfully,
YOUR ORGANIZATION
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If you choose to send the letter yourselves, please fax a copy to
Critical Resistance at 510-444-2177 and to the below elected
officials:
Senator Richard Polanco
Fax: 916-327-8817
Senator Joseph Dunn
Fax: 916-323-2323
Senator Dick Ackerman
Fax: 916-445-9754
Assemblywoman Jenny Orpeza
Fax: 916-319-2155
Asemblyman George Nakano
Fax: 916-319-2153
Assemblyman John Campbell
Fax: 916-319-2170
Assemblyman Rod Wright
Fax: 916-319-2148
Assemblyman Rod Pacheco
Fax: 916-319-2164
Assemblyman Lou Pappan
Fax: 916-319-2119
Senator John Burton
Fax: 916-445-4722
Assemblyman Herb Wesson
Fax: 916-319-2147
Critical Resistance
1212 Broadway, Suite 1400
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (510)444-0484
Fax: (510)444-2177
rose@criticalresistance.org
crnational@criticalresistance.org
criticalresistance.org