This is coming up next Tuesday, AUG 14:
Tue, 08/14/2012 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
6:00PM to 8:00PM
Burton Barr Library
1221 N. Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Join the ACLU of Arizona and the American Friends Service Committee for the Arizona is MAXED OUT kick-off event to learn more about conditions in Arizona prisons and the impact of solitary confinement on mental health and re-entry. The community forum will feature presentations about pending ACLU litigation and AFSC’s report on prisoner re-entry after solitary.
-------------------Tell Governor Brewer: No New Prison Beds!!!-----------------
Solitary confinement costs millions of taxpayer dollars and does nothing to reduce crime or make our communities safer. Yet three thousand people are held in isolation in Arizona prisons each year, sometimes for years. States across the country, including Texas and Mississippi have reduced their prison populations and their use of solitary confinement, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.
Arizona is the only state currently planning to add more maximum-security beds.
This year, Governor Brewer and the Arizona legislature approved a budget that includes plans to build 500 new, state-run maximum security prison beds – beds we don’t need and can’t afford. Arizona’s prison population declined last year and the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) expects the prison population to remain stable for the next two years.
Like states across the country, Arizona’s budget reflects cuts to essential services and agencies, yet funding for corrections increased again this year. Take action today and tell Governor Brewer to stop plans to build 500 unnecessary maximum-security prison beds because Arizona is MAXED OUT.
Join the ACLU of Arizona and the American Friends Service Committee as we kick-off a statewide “Arizona is MAXED OUT” tour in Phoenix on Tuesday, August 14th with a Community Forum featuring presentations about pending ACLU litigation and AFSC’s new report on prisoner re-entry after solitary. Visit our calendar for events in your area.
In Liberty,
Alessandra Soler
Executive Director
ACLU of Arizona