You have joined us. Was democratic with Democratic Candidates for the United States senate. Senator ed markey. It is the oldest continuously operating free lecture series in america this evening Sussex University continues to honor the storied legacy of the forum by preventing programs. That illuminate key issues facing our country and the world today i wish to thank joe kennedy and ed markey for participating in this important exchange on Justice Reform also think you to the Justice Reform coalition in the member organizations for your impactful advocacy around Justice Reform. And for inviting Sussex University to participate in these important public forums. Thank you to Sussex University social apology. The assistance and wisdom that made this Evenings Program possible. To the Lowell Institute for the generous support that makes programs like this possible into our longtime partner is now my pleasure to introduce jennifer love williams. She serves as the cochair of the working group formally incarcerated people for black and pink national. Also the creator and founder of the love project. They recently released lgbt queue people in massachusetts, new york and new jersey. A warm welcome to all. This town meeting is no accident. It is the result of a communitybased organization that has a community to serve us all. We witness our neighbors gobbled up by the same system. Each day we fight to create the kind of community that we will all want to live in one that is resourced with housing, education and transportation. One allows trauma and neglect that we enjoy at the hands of the government. We want them to be accountable to us. Inclusive to black people. People of color transgender people. Workers. Citizens for juvenile justice disability action families for justice into killing. Sisters unchanged. This is a special organization and i have the pleasure of introducing you to him tonight. It is a historic event. It was organized by the formerly incarcerated people. And marks an important step of centering the voices of those directly affected by those affected by incarceration in the legal system. Many organizations that had worked very hard and many individuals to organize this event. Many of them who are calling for significant and meaningful change. As well as the voices of people who are calling for abolition. To take a moment to do a little bit of housekeeping. It is also historic for us because it is opening the door and beginning to build the platform of what we refer to as the Peoples Assembly process which is important in that it creates an opportunity for people who are elected to office that a representing our communities particularly are black and brown communities that have been most directly affected. The way forward in terms of carrying our concerns and her messages inner voices. Again, thank you very much little but housekeeping i want to touch upon. By now you have probably attended several of these Virtual Events folks that are on here that are also listening. Your microphones are muted your video is turned off and we cannot take your comments in the chat box however we will share relative information with you there. We do want to hear from you we have the question some of you sent in earlier and our producers are minor routine the q a box you can open with a button at the bottom of the screen add questions i will come up for you during this event. Finally, this talk is being recorded by wgbh network and will be published on their website are called mission and organizations will also had access to this recording and will share it with you when it is published. A big thank you again to the Forum Network and also the form at Sussex University for sponsoring this event. Without further ado we will dump jump right to it and we will introduce our congressmen joe kennedy the third he is serving his fourth term representing massachusetts district and it is currently a u. S. Senate candidate. The former peace corps member. Legal aid volunteer and assistant District Attorney. He serves on the house energy and commerce committee. On the issues of healthcare in economics and civil rights. And a politics that are inclusive. Representative and fear. Thank you. For joining us and welcome. In the folks that will participate in this discussion. I think its critically important you and all of the folks that came together to make this possible. Jennifer love i think you as well. I do want to check on this. I jumped in to a democratic primary against the tenant. I believe that in order for massachusetts in our country to see the change that we need work in a need stronger leadership. The fact is nine months or ten months or ten months ago when i got in this race there were 500,000 people that were homeless and 37 million that were going hungry. One of the largest providers of healthcare in the nation. I believe that even more so now. Over the course of the past several months we have seen hundred 50,000 people die largely from a virus that affects disproportionately black and brown and immigrant communities. We have seen over 4 million get sick we have seen a country that allows george floyd to die. And weve a criminal Justice System. Those were some of the lessons that i learned. They worked in the Boston Housing court. Back in 2008 and 2009. I was there every thursday. Trying to keep families in their homes. The Justice System through their eyes. For those head it in contact with our Justice System before. For those that were scared of what that might be. The bullying and the intimidation. The fact that someone would just dangle a few bucks in front of them and threaten them. This to spite the despite the fact that the rights of those tenants that i wouldve had head that been there. Wouldve been the same. It was a justice denied day after day. Thats what got us interested in the Justice System. As an entrylevel prosecutor for two and half years or so i sought every thought every single day the compounding impact of health and addiction. Every single day it is what has led me to champion the cause to fund our legal aid system. It led me to author of numerous pieces of legislation. Any given night 80 to 90 of the incarcerated individuals in our jail suffer from Mental Illness. Thank you congressman. The panelists that are asking questions. Pushing forward. A mother of two and a director of programs at families for justice thank you. Congressman joe cannot t in april 2020 serving a 26 month federal system. Died as a result of covid19. Twentyeight days after giving birth. While on a ventilator in addition to the newborn daughter. For 26 month drug sentence turned into a death sentence. States including massachusetts have passed sentencing or alternatives. In giving those incarceration. It was a program that will benefit them in their family. We heard that after the august congressional research. It will be introduced by representatives have you supported that for states working on parents. Thank you maam. For the question. The story you tell is hard lined. Under no circumstances should the 26 month sentence or any of that nature. In depth behind bars. I had supported that appropriation. Yes i support as described. I will certainly take a look at it i have not seen the text of at this point. Our system needs to do more to recognize the lived reality and experiences of families that are subject to criminal Justice System. It means not just a system it means a broken family and means children in foster care or living somewhere else. That should not be the intent of our system. To the extent that is what is happening. I worked very closely on a number of issues. I will look forward to engaging with her tomorrow about this piece of legislation. Next step we have jerome. And a survivor of solitary confinement who focuses on implementing to interpersonal harm outside of police impressions. After the passage of the first setback. We have the Trump Administration aggressively prosecute and sentence individuals for drugs. While slow walking the exercise the authority to grant home confinement individuals for covid19. With the pin tenmac. There is increased funding. No meaningful investment for the black and brown community. They are produced proposing a new 15 milliondollar womens present in a proposal for a new jail in sussex county. You had stated that the need to consider the need for incarceration. The need to restructure Law Enforcement to assist people who are struggling. Where do you stand on the reallocation of resources to communities and do you support the campaign. Until we first determine what else as possible. With that building budget with the Community Led initiatives. As i stated in partial response to that last question what we have seen over the course of our nations history. The underinvestment in Community Color across our nation. What we need to do at this moment is not to continue to invest money and incarceration. Make sure we had designated money. And then programs that can assist with that. From issues around the health care. It has been one of my major areas of focus to education the costs of early cost of early child care in the state. In 18 years to save for one. Study after show you while show you some of the best knowledge. Rather than building new jails in punitive treatment. We should be investing in structures to ensure that every single child has a chance to compete in this. I would support that campaign to ensure that we are making the investments in our community besides building another jail. Was or any part that i didnt get to. Was or any part that i didnt get to. Thank you congressman. Next up we have a former incarcerated mother who lost her daughter to gun violence while she was incarcerated inside a federal prison. You publicly stated that you support ending life without parole in massachusetts and on the federal level on minors only. They were killed by violence. They do not believe in locking people up and turn away the key. From experience i know that prisons do not equate to individual accountability and public safety. Would you call for massachusetts and family to end with life without parole sentences for everyone this is an issue ive thought an awful lot about. The violence has touched far too Many American families. And this one candidly has been one that i had had to wrestle with. A man who has killed a member of my own family. But he was given the option for parole. Ive thought about this a lot of late. I recently came out in favor of ending life without parole sentences. I do think its important to make sure that voices of victims in the victims families are heard are in those parole hearings. I think its important that those voices are given the audience that they need. I also think for folks that have been for those head been incarcerated for 50 or 60 years or longer. They should be given the chance to make the chance for their liberty. I want to make sure those victims voices are heard in the process. Next we have quentin who is a survivor of incest he was in the trade at 15. He is now an organizer with outreach project of boston. Quinn, your question. Congressman. I come to you. Hidden because of the criminalization of me and my fellow workers make it dangerous to show my face. I come to you hated because ive never been voiceless. In 2018 thousand my fellow workers prevent the passage. They claim to hold Online Platforms accountable. For that protection and will being of the trafficking workers. As a coalition we opposed the bill as it resulted in workers being what we relied on for safety and security. Workers became more vulnerable. With more of us in poverty more of us living on the streets. And even some of us killed. Now it is law and causing further harm from the perspective of those that they need to attempt. So they can continue to be concerned about. Though current work. I have heard from advocates and activists and voices like yours that have helped me to understand that perhaps the best of intentions across the debate it has led to a more dangerous reality for workers. And has put their safety at risk. Thats obviously the last thing in the world we want to do. If there is an example of an industry that is going to process it might be that kind of work. Ive done my best to study this issue. I do believe that the time has come to decriminalize. I do think that we need to and i would welcome your feedback on how to do this right how do we make sure there is adequate protections and in all likelihood the criminal penalties. I want to make sure that we get people are going to be able to operate safely securely while also protecting those that might be subject to exploitation. And i think theres a way to do that. I would welcome your feedback quinn. Next step we had harold adams who is incarcerated person and the founder of the Boston Community of friends and relatives of prisoners harold, your question. Congressman candy i became a jailhouse lawyer in prison i was able to get seven people out of prison through studying the law. No other politically unpopular group has have the access to the courts in the way that incarcerated people have. To ensure that all incarcerated persons can pursue legal remedies. Would you also a cosponsor for legislation to repeal the present litigation act to ensure that all incarcerated persons can pursue legal remedies through unjust conditions. Without question. First off. Its an honor to be with you. Thank you for sharing that story. Enter your incredible work. To use a lot to actually bring about justice particularly for those when injustice was done. The fact is that our system has strategically and deliberately limited the rights of incarcerated individuals. As i was learning more about this. Its a bit baffling that we put greater protections on civil rights like habeas corpus rather than actually expand them to make sure that someone incarcerated does have it increased to those rights. If there is evidence of such a thing we should have a system that encourages that. Absolutely. Im working with my staff now for a couple months on legislation that should look at that. I do think it is critically important. Thank you sir. Next we have cassandra who is the coordinator for massachusetts against solitary. And the organizer for the unitary universalist. And a member of the families for justice act. Who has been working on criminal reform for 11 plus years. Cassandra, your question. Think you. Solitary confinement has been in practice in jails and prisons such as the segregated housing unit, the special management union. Administrative segregation and restrictive housing. Solitary confinement is disproportionately used against black and brown people people with disabilities lgbt q plus individuals and people with Mental Illness and icy detainees. Regardless of what is called short and longterm isolation causes lasting harm to men, women and children on top of that drama of being incarcerated. It is a courtship by the united nations. Would you author or cosponsor legislation to end the torturous practice of solitary confinement. I think you had stated beautifully. This is a practice that has been recognized by International Bodies as torture. The idea that we would take someone who was physically or intellectually disabled or somehow different and think of the appropriate way of keeping them was going to leave them alone locked up is for extended periods of time on end. The appropriate way to treat a human being is ludicrous. The short answer. Is yes. Thank you for your work. Thank you very much congressman. We are going to introduce mr. Derek washington. Susan baranowski prison in massachusetts serving a life without parole sentence and working to restore the Voting Rights of incarcerated people. You may remember that until very recently incarcerated people in massachusetts have the right to vote. And derek is doing a lot of work leaving the campaign. Lets hear from derek. My name is derek watson. It is indeed just a pleasure to have this opportunity to share my thoughts and provide some insight about incarcerated suffrage. These conditions are horrible and it is beyond punishment. The continuous torture to say the least. I believe the conditions are the way they are because we dont have representation just been able to pick the people up. Because we cant do that we dont had representatives or legislation are Public Officials coming in their looking at the full food we eat or the brown water we drink. As not being able to see our mothers and our kids in our families for months on end. We are locked down 30 plus hours from others. There is camera phones a capture of the bs that they do. Im sure voting and having that representation will be away to snuff that behavior out and i think society is only as good as those at the bottom of it. So to invest into society is to invest into those incarcerated by providing them the vote. Teaching them to value their society by allowing them to engage in civic duties teaching them and educating them so my position as where do you all stand on incarcerated suffrage because without suffrage we are suffering. Grateful that you made the time mister washington to speak with me tonight. Thank you for your advocacy. I agree. It has long not made sense to me that the remedy for someone breaking the law is that they would lose their ability to cast what was defined by our founders of our country and the godgiven right which is the right to vote. I agree that incarcerated individuals should have that right and we will work to make sure that that is the case. Thank you for your work sir. Think human congressmen. We are moving from the panelist questions now and we are going to open up the questions from our audience and the start with the first question you have emphasized the urgent need for change during your campaign but just two years ago when there were multiple opportunities to support reform and change in candidates especially in the area of justice i