| August,
2005
Read On About:
Repeal of Mandatory Minimum Drug Laws Stalled
Further Action Set for 2006
Unfortunately, SURJ's bill
to repeal mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws,
House Bill 181, was not voted on by the
House of Representatives during the final hours of the legislative
session in June. Several House supporters believe the legislation will
fare better in 2006, and SURJ plans to continue its push for this bill
when the legislative session returns early next year.
Our Good Work
on HB 181 Will Continue
We can take pride in
moving the bill another notch further toward success. We gained the
support of more than 40 legislators, Delaware's judicial and legal
community, and three dozen of Delaware's community and religious
organizations (including terrific letters of support from the Catholic,
Episcopalian and Lutheran Bishops).
Many thanks to all
members who contacted legislators and contributed to our impressive
gathering of community support.
Welcome Stephanie, Goodbye Josh
 Stephanie
Symons
will join SURJ as its executive director in early August. Stephanie
received her Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law and is
currently awaiting admission to the Delaware Bar. In addition, she earned her
Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Delaware in
May. SURJ will benefit greatly from Stephanie’s outstanding set of
legal skills and knowledge of public policy.
Stephanie’s leadership
experience and active involvement in policy issues are reflected in her
former positions and activities. At the University of Delaware, she
served as Vice President of the Graduate Student Research Assistant
Organization, completing a variety of community service projects
throughout Delaware. She also worked for the University’s Center for
Research and Service, gathering and analyzing data for the Delaware
State Police’s traffic stop study and conducting research for the Local
TV News Media Project.
This summer
Stephanie served as a law clerk at Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. in
Dover, where she focused on family and elder law.
***
 Executive Director Josh
Templet will be leaving SURJ at the end of July to journey to the
West Coast, where he plans to attend law school. Josh began his work
with SURJ in June 2003 as deputy director, working with then Executive
Director Tom Eichler. As deputy director, Josh developed SURJ’s
grassroots support, worked on legislative initiatives and managed SURJ’s
office. When Tom Eichler retired in the summer of 2004, Josh served as
acting director and was named executive director in 2005.
According to SURJ Board
Member Edmund N. Carpenter, II, Esq., “Josh has an attitude to life and
SURJ that has never lost intensity. He was never an amateur and we are
ever lastingly grateful for what he did!”
SURJ Chair Dale Wolf
commented: “It has been a real pleasure to see Josh’s leadership
blossom, to see first hand his devotion to the SURJ objectives, and to
be a part of the credibility he has maintained and the tremendous
support he has generated. Our goals are closer to fruition and SURJ is
a better organization because Josh was our executive director. I am
saddened to see him move on at this time, but understand his objectives
and sincerely hope he comes back to Delaware to practice law. SURJ is
very fortunate that Stephanie will have the opportunity to work with
Josh for a few weeks before he leaves.”
In bidding farewell to
SURJ, Josh said, “I am grateful to SURJ’s Board and all our SURJ members
for their devotion and passion. I will miss, so much, the many great
people who have lent their time and energy to our shared cause.”
SURJ and Delaware Center for
Justice to Study Ex-Offender Reentry
SURJ and the Delaware
Center for Justice are continuing to plan the launch of the Delaware Reentry Roundtable. The
Roundtable will convene a panel of key state policymakers, community
leaders, and experts; equip them with reentry data; and charge them with
developing a strategic plan of prioritized, research-based
recommendations to improve the success of ex-offenders reentering the
community.
The Roundtable will take place over the course
of five sessions, beginning this fall. The SURJ office will be
in touch with further details.
Why we need to address reentry in Delaware
97% of Delaware’s inmates will one day return to the community—that’s
15,000 inmates being released each year— 1,250 inmates each month.
Unfortunately, nearly 60 percent of those released from prison return
within five years. This high recidivism implies a lack of reentry
success and a troubling cycle of crime.
A select number of
low-income communities, home to a comparatively large number of
ex-offenders, are particularly devastated by this cycle of crime, which
splits families apart and destabilizes communities. Further, as it
costs up to $26,400 a year to incarcerate an individual in Delaware,
poor recidivism rates drain resources that could be used for education,
social services and community development.
Upon release, the
ex-offender faces a myriad of challenges: finding affordable housing,
reconnecting with children and families, finding effective treatment
programs, and seeking employment, to name a few. It is such barriers
to reentry that SURJ and DCJ will address through the Reentry
Roundtable. Removing and rethinking such obstacles promises to improve
ex-offenders’ chances of becoming contributing members of society.
|
SURJ’s Legal Team and Others in Action
On June 2nd,
SURJ’s House Bill 181 was unanimously reported from the House Judiciary
Committee, following a successful presentation by SURJ’s Legal Team:
Assistant Public Defender Brian Bartley; and Former Deputy Attorneys
General Ned Carpenter, Tom Foley, and Jim Liguori.
The SURJ attorneys
emphasized the importance of restoring discretion to Delaware’s
distinguished judges by removing sentencing laws that impose “one size
fits all” sentences on offenders and prevent judges from considering the
many mitigating factors in each case. Attorney Tom Foley stated, “After
my ten years of prosecuting drug offenders, I have found that no single
sentence works for all people. Assembly line justice is not
effective.”
Former Delaware Attorney
General Charles Oberly, III, and former Delaware Superior Court Judge
Joshua W. Martin, III both submitted statements of support for the
committee’s consideration. Oberly noted, “During my twelve-year tenure
as Attorney General, I opposed mandatory sentencing in the area of drug
offenses….I have no hesitation in recommending that our judges be vested
with complete sentencing authority in deciding the appropriate sentences
for drug offenses.”
In his statement, Judge
Martin remarked, “It is time to move away from the unnecessary injustice
risked by one-size-fits-all mandatory minimum drug laws and return
sentencing discretion, under sentencing guidelines, to our outstanding
judiciary.”
After hearing all
arguments, a majority of the eight Representatives present indicated
support for the bill, and it was unanimously reported from committee.
3000 in Delaware join SURJ for criminal justice reform
This summer SURJ’s
membership topped 3,000. We would like to extend a warm thank you to
all of SURJ’s supporters who speak up for the quality of justice in this
state. By lending your voice to our shared dialogue, members ensure
that SURJ continues to educate the community and policymakers about
critical criminal justice issues.
How can you help support
SURJ in its mission?
·
Invite a member of SURJ’s Speakers’ Bureau to your place
of worship,
organization or club to discuss criminal justice reform in Delaware.
·
Call or e-mail
Dana and ask her to send you a packet of brochures and new
membership cards so that you can spread the word about the important
work that SURJ is doing in this state. Or ask her about opportunities
to join SURJ staff at an information booth at upcoming events—you can
sign up for a two-hour time slot.
·
Sunday, August 21, Festival Hispano, Millsboro
·
Saturday, September 17, Harrington Heritage Day,
Harrington
·
Sunday, September 18, Newark Community Days, Newark
Senate Bill 200
SURJ members can take
satisfaction in the passage of Senate Bill 200 (passed unanimously by
the House and the Senate). This bill promises to ensure that fewer
juveniles are unnecessarily transferred to the adult court and adult
corrections system, where their chances of successfully returning to the
community and remaining-crime free have been shown to significantly
diminish.
Thank you to
UD Interns!
This summer the SURJ
office has benefited from the help of University of Delaware interns
Joanna Champney and Katie Feeley. Joanna, who is studying
Political Science, recently worked as an intern at the Howard R. Young
Correctional Institution. She has researched ex-offender reentry and
mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws and has contributed to this
newsletter and SURJ’s website. Katie, an International Relations major,
has also lent her enthusiasm to SURJ, as an energetic researcher and
fact-checker. We want to extend a warm thank you to both Katie and
Joanna for all their hard work.
A thank you is also due to April Sherwood, who is studying law
at Widener University. April has volunteered several hours each week to
help in the SURJ office. Her assistance has been much appreciated. |
