Author: smity

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AEA gather with members of the community to dedicate Memorial to Loss in a Carceral State

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On July 8th AEA Gathered with members of the community to dedicate the Memorial to Loss in a Carceral State. The program was the culmination of planning between AEA and Philadelphia Assembled (PHLA). The event featured the walking of the labyrinth, designed by Jared Wood and inspired by traditional African design. The labyrinth can represent the difficult path individuals from our communities are forced to travel as an effect of mass incarceration and the war on drugs. When walked together it gave the opportunity for community members and attendees to not only meditate on these effects but also support each other through a collective experience of healing.

The event began with a speaking program featuring Jared Wood (Artist/Educator), William Goldsby (AEA Chair), Mike Lee (Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity) and Mona Washington (Playwright/PHLA). Conversation topics included the impact of incarceration and criminal records on the community and allowed for open discussion amongst attendees.

Storyteller Denise Valentine then led attendees in a group procession through the labyrinth where individuals carried pots filled with seed pods which were placed at the labyrinths center. The Seed pods were created from the pulped down criminal records and documents of individuals who attended the AEA expungement clinic two weeks prior.

We would like to thank everyone for coming out and ask you to learn more about this event and upcoming work with Philadelphia Assembled at PHLAssembled.net.

Below Denise Valentine speaks about our work together as part of Phila Assembled.

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#IfIDieInPoliceCustody– Family Demands Answers, Investigation into Son’s Death in Florida Jail

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LAURA MCTIGHE· MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2016

Greetings friends, family, and comrades,
I write as a longtime member of Reconstruction Inc. and at the request of Hakim Ali.

This past week, a member of the Reconstruction Inc. extended family was “found” dead in a jail cell in Desoto County, Florida. Travis Hartsfield––son of Sharrone Hartsfield and great nephew of Reconstruction’s founder William Goldsby––was brought into custody on Monday, August 1st. On Friday, August 5th, Travis spoke with his mother and made plans for her visit the following week. The day Ms. Sharrone was supposed to visit, she was notified by the jail that her son was dead. He had been in custody for eight days.

travis
Travis Hartsfield, with his children.

To date, Ms. Sharonne has been unable to get information about her son’s last hours. The Arcadian reported that Desoto County Sheriff’s Office ruled Travis’ death a suicide. Ms. Sharrone knows her son. Travis loved her, and was eagerly anticipating his release in a couple of weeks. He would not take his own life. That sentiment has been echoed in comments on The Arcadian’s Facebook wall by friends, family and concerned citizens alike.
Ms. Sharrone has asked Reconstruction Inc. to help her family get answers.
Here’s what you can do:
(1) SHARE. Travis’ family has asked for this post to be shared widely through social media. There is currently nothing being written or aired about Travis’ death, save the short story at The Arcadian. Any movement towards answers and investigation will depend upon the attention we can put on Travis’ case.
(2) CALL. Travis’ family wants to put pressure on the Desoto County Sheriff’s Office to release information about the circumstances surrounding Travis’ death. You can contact the Sheriff William P. Wise’s Office and the Desoto County Jail at:
(863) 993-4700 – Main Admin Building
(863) 993-4710 – Jail Direct Line
After you call, please send an email to hakim002[at]aol.com to log the information you received.
(3) WRITE. Travis’ family is asking for journalists and researchers in the Reconstruction Inc. network to dig, inquire, and report on the circumstances surrounding Travis’ arrest, confinement, and death. Hakim Ali can answer questions and provide contact information for the family.
We will update this note as further action steps are identified.
For now, we thank you for your time, your support, your voice, and your love.
–All of us at Reconstruction Inc.

Here is a message from Travis’ mom, Ms. Sharrone:
“…My name is Sharrone Hartsfield, my son was lynched on Tuesday, August 9th, 2016. He was in Desoto County Jail in Florida. We cannot get a media voice.
My son’s name is Travis Hartsfield, and he is 30 years old.Travis was doing what he needed to move forward, which meant a brief jail sentence for a minor offense.This was suppose to be freeing, no more roadblocks. He had planned to try traveling around, making new choices and just seeing what a difference he could make.
I last spoke with him that Friday night. He said, “I’m straight. I will see you on Tuesday for visitation,” and said, “I Love You.” This is why I could not understand when jail officials came to my house to inform me that my son had expired.
It’s like I’m in deep hole, and I’m screaming for answers and no one is listening. Instead, they started covering up the hole. Tray (what we all called him) deserves justice. Any assistance and knowledge would be appreciated…”
#TravisHartsfield #Justice4Travis

Compassionate Release for Terminally Ill

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Compassionate Release for Terminally Ill– Compassionate release refers to a court’s authority to permit the early release of a prisoner based on “extraordinary and compelling reasons.” Congress codified the option for compassionate release in federal statute 18 U.S.C. §3582(c)(1)(A)(i), however several states have taken care to create their own compassionate release statutes applicable to state prisoners.

Juvenile Life Without Parole

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Sentencing juveniles to life without parole (JLWOP) is one of the many areas of criminal justice in which the United States sets itself apart from the rest of the world. No other country allows for the imposition of life sentences without the possibility of parole for child offenders. Pennsylvania has the most people serving Juvenile Life without Parole in the country.Of the approximately 2,500 JLWOP sentences in the United States, around 400 or so were awarded in Pennsylvania, which is what is known in juvenile sentencing terms as a "double mandatory" state: juveniles involved in a homicide are automatically transferred to adult court and tried as adults (“adult crime, adult time“) and both first- and second-degree murder convictions carry mandatory LWOP sentences.

In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court (In Miller v. Alabama) ruled That Mandatory Life without Parole Sentences for Juveniles Are Unconstitutional. At that time the decision did not state that the ruling was retroactive therefore each state's court made their own decision on retroactivity and unfortunately Pennsylvania's high court declared that the decision was not retroactive. This left over 400 individuals serving JLWOP in PA without the right to seek relief from the Supreme Court Decision. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear another case (Montgomery v. Louisiana) in which the main issue was whether the 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama was a substantive rule that must be applied retroactively. Last month the U.S Supreme Court issued their decision in Montgomery v. Louisiana and declared in a 6 to 3 decision that the rule is Retroactive. As a result of this decision, 69 year-old Henry Montgomery (who has been serving a mandatory JLWOP sentence for over 50 years), along with over a thousand others serving mandatory life without parole sentences for crimes committed while they were juveniles, will receive new sentencing hearings or be considered for parole. In Pennsylvania specifically this means that over 400 individuals serving JLWOP will finally be given an opportunity for new and hopefully just sentencing.

Elderly Lifers

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Elderly Individuals Serving Life Sentence – PA also incarcerates the second highest amount of elderly prisoners of any state. Not everyone who is elderly in prison is serving LWOP, but many are. In 1980 there were 370 elderly people in PA’s state prisons, now there are over 8000. It costs the state an average of $42,000 a year incarcerate someone in PA, but due to higher medical costs it costs approximately $66,000 a year to incarcerate elderly prisoners. There are also innumerable costs to families and communities who lose the economic and emotional support of loved ones who are forced to grow old in prison. PA Department of Corrections’ FY2011-2012 Cost & Population Report See the Vera Institute’s Report-The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers

See the ACLU’s Report “At America’s Expense: The Mass Incarceration of the Elderly

Mentally Ill

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Challenges for those who are mentally ill & serving LIFE Sentences –Due to the closing of state hospitals and the high cost of private facilities, prisons have become excessively populated with men, women and children whose mental health status has been criminalized.  Prison exacerbates the illness and fails to provide appropriate treatment.  Mentally ill prisoners often are sent to harsh punishment cells and units which only worsen their conditions.  Families of the mental ill prisoner need to know the laws and how to advocate for their loved ones.  Currently, 73% of all women at SCI Muncy have a mental health diagnosis. SCI Waymart was created to house the male mentally ill population.