Last year, Decarcerate PA and our allies mobilized to stop a package of anti-prisoner bills designed to leverage additional financial penalties against incarcerated people and people facing criminal charges. We were successful at stalling these bills, but in the last legislative session, some have been reintroduced. 

Philly needs bail reform and education funding, not more prison beds

In March of 2015, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter released a “10-Year Master Plan for the Philadelphia Prison System (PPS).” The plan recommends the city close the House of Correction and build a new jail with 3000 beds, more than doubling the intended capacity of the existing facility.  

On June 6, 2015, after months of meeting and organizing, the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration (CADBI) officially launched its campaign at the Vineyard Community Church in West Philadelphia. Over 300 people attended the launch.

24 Hour Speak In Celebrates Defeat of the Silencing Act and Demands an End to all Forms of Silencing Prisoners

Just after midnight on May 5th, a group of activists with Decarcerate PA sat together on the steps of the Capitol building in Harrisburg. A full moon shone overhead as we read excerpts from numerous books by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. These works represented the vital contributions to our movements, cultures, and communities of those most impacted by mass incarceration. Had the Silencing Act been allowed to stand, such works could have been repressed and their authors could have faced legal consequences.