Sept. 5 event to close violent prison facility

Dear King Hall Community:

I am writing to request your participation in an important event on September 5, Labor Day. On the 5^th, Books Not Bars, Alternatives for Youth Campaign will hold a rally, cultural gathering, and memorial for Dyron Brewer. (Dyron is one of several youth who died while incarcerated at Chad Youth Prison in Stockton exactly one year ago on this date.) The event promises to bring together families of incarcerated youth, students, activists, young people, formerly incarcerated individuals, community and religious groups, and concerned citizens. The purpose of this gathering: to demand the closure of Chad, the most notorious and brutal of youth facilities in the State of California.

The California Youth Authority is knows as the country’s most violent youth prison system. With a 90 percent recidivism rate, it leads to more crime than it prevents. Last year, the Prison Law Office implemented a major lawsuit against the CYA on behalf of incarcerated youth. (http://www.prisonlaw.com/pdfs/cyastate.pdf) According to a consent decree the State must fix CYA facilities. However, Chaderjian Youth Correctional Facility (Chad) is beyond repair. It should be shut down immediately and youth moved into other facilities. Further, community based rehabilitation programs must be implemented. Housing our most troubled youth in violent prison-like settings is not only inhumane, it is counterproductive. (see articles and reports on Chad conditions and the CYA below.)

The September 5 event is pivotal in the campaign to close Chad. Two weeks following this event, the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice holds its Restructuring Youth Corrections conference for Sacramento officials and lawmakers. Please join Books Not Bars and other community groups at Chad in Stockton on the afternoon of September 5. The drive is less than an hour from Davis and I will coordinate carpools from here. Please save the date now! And, if you plan to attend, please let me know if you require a ride, or have a ride to share.

I will send further information once the semester begins. Please forward!!

Thank you,

Erica Ballinger

UC Davis, King Hall Class of 2007

eballinger(at)ucdavis.edu

*Books not Bars report on Chad conditions: http://www.ellabakercenter.org/page.php?pageid=71&contentid=293

*Sac Bee Editorial Board calls for immediate closure of Chad: http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/13242914p-14085383c.html

*A report on CYA from the Director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice: http://www.cjcj.org/pdf/Close_the_CYA.pdf

*Models for Detention Alternatives: http://www.cjcj.org/jjic/reforming.php#ems

Bay Area Book Launch -- Defending Justice

(Note: Please see contact info below; this project is not affiliated with the UC Davis law school.)


PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY!

Why does the prison industrial complex continue to expand?
What is the role of conservative and oppressive ideologies?

Do distinctions between the Left, Right and the State even matter?
Why is it so hard to create the change we seek?

JOIN us for the BAY AREA Book Launch of Defending Justice!
* * * * *
Defending Justice, an Activist Resource Kit, is a new analytical tool to
help progressive activists understand and resist the Right, the State, and
the System.

Edited by Palak Shah, Defending Justice is a 275-page resource that analyzes
the role of the Right and the State in the Criminal "Justice" system. It
includes overview articles, factsheets, Q&A with activists, and organizing
advice on such topics as the modern "Tough on Crime" Movement, War on
Terrorism and Immigrants, Profits from Incarceration, Youth, Faith and
Religion, and Women and Reproductive Rights.

Visit www.defendingjustice.org for more details and ordering information.

Saturday, April 30, 2005
10 AM - 2 PM
10-1 Workshop for Activists
1-2 Panel/Public discussion

The workshop and panel discussion will offer:
• Discussions on the role of the Right and the State
• Explanations for why tough on crime is "common sense"
• Analysis of conservative criminal justice frames and opportunities to
"reframe"
• Suggestions on how to use this resource in your work

Cultural Center at New College of California
766 Valencia St. in San Francisco
(between 18th and 19th, 3 blocks from the 16th Street BART)
For questions/directions, call 415.437.3408

The event is free.
Purchase your own copy of Defending Justice for $10.
Snacks and drinks provided. Please bring your own lunch.
Workshop Space is limited. RSVP to Palak Shah, p.shah@publiceye.org,
617.666.5300 or 617.233.9870 (cell)

Graciously Hosted by New College of California's Activism & Social Change
Emphasis Degree Programs
http://www.newcollege.edu/activismchange/
* * * * *
Defending Justice is a publication of Political Research Associates (PRA),
an independent, nonprofit research center that exposes and challenges the
Right and larger oppressive movements, institutions, and forces. Based in
Boston, PRA produces accurate applied research and useful analytic tools to
inform and support progressive activism that promotes equality and justice.
[www.publiceye.org]

The Truth Unlocked: A California Prison Law Symposium

Schedule - California Prison Law Symposium
Saturday, April 9, 2005, Room 1008, King Hall
UC Davis School of Law

9:00 - 9:30 Registration / Breakfast

9:30-10:00 Welcome

Susan Jordan, 2L, UC Davis School of Law

10:00-11:20 Who Runs the Prison System, and What Are the Conditions In It?

Panelists:

Mary Rubach, California Prison Focus

Scott Kernan, California State Prison- Sacramento

Judy Greenspan, California Prison Focus

Celina Ramirez, Books Not Bars

11:20-11:35 Break

11:35-12:55 Gender and Oppression in the Prison System (Lunch Panel)

Panelists:

Alice do Valle, Justice Now

Miss Major, Transgender Community Activist

Johanna Hoffman, Free Battered Women

12:55-1:00 Break 1:00-2:20 Immigration and Post-Release Issues

Panelists:

Daniel Torres, UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic

Professor Millard Murphy, UC Davis School of Law

2:20-2:30 Closing Remarks

Susan Jordan

Directions to King Hall (Law School), UC Davis

From San Francisco:
80 East
Take Exit 71 (UC Davis) towards the Robert & Margrit Mondavi Center)
Turn left at the stop sign (Old Davis Road).
Pass the parking structure.
Turn left at the stoplight.
Go past the stop sign, left at the roundabout, and park in front of King Hall.

From Sacramento:
80 West
Take Exit 71 (UC Davis) towards the Robert & Margrit Mondavi Center)
Turn right at the stop sign (Old Davis Road).
Pass the parking structure.
Turn left at the stoplight.
Go past the stop sign, left at the roundabout, and park in front of King Hall.