| January,
2006
Read On About:
Legislative session resumes in January; SURJ ready to
push for House Bill 181
The Legislative Session of the 143rd
General Assembly resumed Tuesday, January 10, 2006, and SURJ is already
hard at work on
House Bill 181, SURJ’s bill to fully repeal mandatory minimum drug
sentencing laws. To date, over half of the legislature has signed on as
co-sponsors of the bill and more than three-dozen
community and
faith-based organizations have voiced their support for the passage
of this bill. HB 181’s prime House sponsor, Representative Joseph
DiPinto spoke at SURJ’s annual Board of Trustees meeting on December 6th
and expressed his commitment to push for a House vote as early in the
session as possible.
The SURJ office will keep all members
updated on the progress of the bill as the session proceeds.
Take Action
Contact your legislators and let them know that
you want them to vote for House Bill 181! (Follow this
link).
AmeriCorps*VISTA Member Joins SURJ's Team
Natasha Douglas joined the
SURJ team as an
AmeriCorps*VISTA Member on October 25, 2005. Natasha
will work with the SURJ staff for one year and will focus her energy
exclusively on
the Delaware Reentry Roundtable project.
Natasha graduated from
Louisiana State University with a double major in African & African
American Studies and Women & Gender Studies. Before joining the
AmeriCorps*VISTA program Natasha volunteered with several different
organizations. In particular, her experience working with female
ex-offenders through an Adult Education program helped her to understand
the difficulties ex-offenders face as they reenter the community.
Natasha explained that she
joined AmeriCorps because, “I felt like this was really a way to apply
what I’ve learned and to put theories into practice in a community other
than my own.” She is excited about working with SURJ and the
Delaware
Center for Justice on the Delaware Reentry Roundtable because not only
does the project match her background and career goals, but because
“SURJ seems to really have a mission of eradicating injustices…It was a
unique project among other AmeriCorps projects---how they are interested
in looking at, investigating and attacking the causes of crime.”
Female Offenders: Mandatory Minimum Drug
Sentencing and Reentry Challenges
On the second
day of the legislative session, Wednesday,
January 11, 2006,
SURJ’s Executive Director spoke to members of the Delaware Agenda for
Women about mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws and ex-offender
reentry issues. In particular, Stephanie Symons’ presentation focused
on how sentencing policies affect women and the special challenges women
face as they try to reenter society.
Over the
past two decades, the number of women in prison has soared both
nationally and in Delaware. According to the Women’s Prison
Association, “The growth of the female prison population corresponds
directly to the mandatory minimum sentencing laws in effect since the
early 1970s. Since more women are convicted for non-violent,
drug-related crimes than for any other, these sentencing policies have
had a particularly profound effect on women.” (Women’s
Prison Association,
Focus on Women & Justice: Trends in Incarceration, August 2003.)
Furthermore, upon release
many
of
these women face additional barriers to reentry such as regaining
custody of their children and overcoming domestic violence. Without a
strong support network and adequate services, they face losing custody
of their children and many will spiral back into a life of substance
abuse and crime or return to abusive partners.
Stephanie Symons, SURJ’s
Executive Director, watches over a SURJ booth during Newark Community
Days in September. The SURJ staff had information booths at similar
events in Harrington and Pike Creek. If you know of an event at which
SURJ could speak or set up an information booth, please let the SURJ
office know!
Thank you!
Thank you to all SURJ members
who have generously donated to SURJ during our Annual Appeals drive.
Without the support of our members, we would not be able to continue the
important work we are doing to ensure the best quality of justice in
this state. If you have not yet donated to SURJ, please consider doing
so. We can be proud of our accomplishments, but there is so much more
that remains to be done!
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Why should we repeal mandatory minimum
drug sentencing laws in Delaware?
Mandatory minimum drug sentences require judges to sentence convicted
drug offenders to a predetermined, fixed jail or prison term based
solely on the type and weight of the drug possessed. These sentences
strip judges of their ability to consider the unique circumstances of
each case before them and to appropriately tailor sentences to
individuals. Indeed, judges have lamented being forced to give excessive
sentences because of this loss of discretion. These laws also hinder
the designation of valuable prison space for violent offenders, and the
use of more effective alternatives to incarceration, such as substance
abuse treatment for non-violent offenders, when appropriate.
Mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws
have not proven to be effective in deterring crime. Instead, they have
contributed to our already bloated prison population in the state of
Delaware. Delaware has one of the highest incarceration rates in the
U.S., and per capita, our corrections expenditures are among the highest
in the nation. Yet recidivism rates in Delaware are dismal: An
estimated 60% of offenders will be back in prison in five years.
Reducing our prison population would free up money and resources that
could be used for social services. Re-entry studies have shown that
such services reduce the rate of recidivism.
Many states are re-evaluating the cost
and efficacy of these laws, and nineteen states have rolled back or
restructured mandatory minimum sentences and related sentencing
policies, especially those targeting non-violent drug offenders.
SURJ has two new Board Members
At the December 6, 2005 SURJ annual
Board of Trustees Meeting, two new Board of Directors
members were elected. Together they have an extensive background and
expertise that will help SURJ in the years to come.
Victor F. Battaglia, Sr., Esq. was admitted
to the Delaware Bar in 1960 and is a senior attorney with the law firm
of Biggs & Battaglia. He is a native of Wilmington, Delaware.
John H. Taylor, Jr. is the Executive
Director of the Delaware Public Policy Institute. He is the retired
editorial page editor of The News Journal Co., where he spent 37 years.
He is a past president of the National Conference of Editorial Writers.
He is a member of the NCEW Foundation and the Board of Trustees of
Christiana Care.
The Women’s Work Release Center needs clothes, books
for library
The newly opened Women’s Work
Release Center is in need of professional women’s clothing that
residents can wear to interviews and work. They are also looking for
books for their library. If you have clothes or books that you can
donate to the facility, please contact Dana at
dsorenson@surj.org or 302-426-9252 to find a way to get those
greatly needed donations into the right hands.
Delaware Reentry Roundtable Scheduled for
September 29, 2006
The Delaware Reentry Roundtable will be
held on September 29, 2006 at Widener University School of Law.
Sponsored by SURJ and the Delaware Center for Justice (DCJ), the
Roundtable will address reentry issues facing ex-offenders and the
troubling cycle of crime that causes nearly 60 percent of those released
from Delaware prisons to return within five years.
The Delaware Reentry 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. SURJ and DCJ are
working with Dr. Danilo Yanich of the University of Delaware’s School of
Urban Affairs and Public Policy to develop a Delaware reentry portrait
which will serve as the backbone of the Roundtable.
Following the Roundtable, a series of
public information meetings is planned to educate our members and the
public. Please keep an eye out for more details.
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