An opportunity to help in the effort to end mass incarceration
In October, ministers and delegates to the Connecticut Conference of the UCC overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for changes to law and to its enforcement that will reduce the incarceration of non-violent offenders. (Pastor Matt touched on this briefly in a Carillon article subsequent to that meeting).
Next week, the Malta Justice Initiative will hold a breakfast for members of the Connecticut General Assembly to encourage them to make needed changes to our legal code. The Rev. Marilyn Hendrix of the Church of the Redeemer UCC in New Haven is a member of Malta’s Executive Board and a co-author of their book, The Justice Imperative: How Hyper Incarceration Hijacked the American Dream.
This Legislative Breakfast has received bipartisan support. Senator Len Fasano (R), the Senate Minority Leader, and Senator Martin Looney (D), President Pro Tempore, have agreed to co-sponsor the event. Further, it has the support of Governor Dannel P. Malloy.
What you can do: Please encourage your own state legislators in the House and the Senate to attend this event, to learn about the problem of incarcerating so many people for so long for non-violent offenses, and to learn what they can do to change it.
Malta Justice Initiative Legislative Breakfast: March 26, 2015 – 8:30 am, Old Judiciary Room,Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford
You can learn who your legislators are and how to reach them at this address: http://www.cga.ct.gov
The Connecticut Conference resolution is available here: http://www.ctucc.org/resources/resolutions/2014_End_Mass_Incarceration.pdf
Thank you for encouraging our lawmakers to educate themselves on this very important issue!
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