JUUstice Washington

A Unitarian Universalist State Action Network

Black Prisoners’ Caucus Seeking Volunteers

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African American men incarcerated at the Washington State Reformatory in Monroe founded the Black Prisoners’ Caucus (BPC) in 1972. The men organized Black Culture Workshops between 1969 and 1972.

These workshops laid the foundation for the development of BPC. The organization fosters respect, responsibility, self worth and unity. The BPC stands as a testimony to the potential of the African American community to create a healthier future for ourselves. In spite of the challenges, the men of the BPC have kept the organization moving forward since 1972.

Today the BPC is open to all inmates regardless of ethnicity and was featured in the documentary Since I Been Down.  Its inmate-run TEACH education program is highly successful, but needs sponsors in order to comply with WA DOC requirements.

This Application form is for all interested community members who are invested in actively dedicating their time & wisdom in the form of Sponsorship for a BPC chapter/program across the state of Washington. The purpose of this application is for us to be able to identify, assist and document any interested community member in navigating the sponsor and volunteer process.

Please take a couple minutes to complete this form.  Or contact Kimonti Carter of BPC directly for more information kimonti[at]blackprisonerscaucuscg[dot]org.

HB 1412 Legal Financial Obligations

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In 2018, the legislature passed a bill reducing legal financial obligations (LFO) imposed on defendants convicted of crimes. At that time, LFO legislation was one of the priorities identified at the 2017 Justice Summit. LFO’s are court costs and other financial costs that recently incarcerated people are required to pay after release, and they can deter them from paying other costs such as housing or job searches. HB 1412 would reduce these costs even more because it:

  • Allows a court to refrain from imposing or waive full or partial restitution and accrued interest owed to any insurer or entity that is not an individual if the offender does not have the means to pay.
  • Allows a court to not impose interest on restitution after inquiring into and considering specified factors and input of the victim.
  • Revises standards for the waiver of accrued interest on restitution and non-restitution obligations.
  • Revises the time periods in which judgments for restitution and non restitution legal financial obligations may be enforced.
  • Establishes a revised standard of indigency for purposes of a number of provisions applicable to legal financial obligations.

Take Action: you can contact your representatives to support the bill by clicking on the bill number, HB 1412, which will take you to the bill information page on the legislative website. Then click on “Comment on this Bill,” fill in details to find your reps, and indicate that you support the bill. Below are some the comments made during hearings on February 3, 2021.

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Life and Death of an Anti-Fascist

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Few anti-fascists were as influential on Portland’s recent protest scene as Sean Kealiher, a young anarchist who became a fixture on the city’s streets after he joined an Occupy Portland encampment in 2011, when he was 15. Over the years, Kealiher moved in and out of many of the city’s leftist groups, as he kept reelaborating his belief system to be more radical than most others’ in his circle. “Once other people caught up to him, he would look for ways to go even further left,” one of his friends told me. Kealiher was always arguing with someone and would regularly storm out of meetings with other activists, accusing everyone of being a bunch of liberals. But he would always turn up at the next protest. “If something was going down, he would be there,” his mother, Laura Kealiher, told me.

Read more here.

A podcast about defunding the police and rethinking public safety

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After George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis last May, anti-racism protests exploded across the nation and presented Seattle city leaders with an existential question they are still trying to answer: How might the city rethink public safety while keeping the city safe and eliminating racist practices?

For the second season of This Changes Everything, host Sara Bernard and reporter David Kroman consider this question as well, taking a close look at the challenges facing city leaders as they contemplate whether it’s possible to downsize the police force and create a new public safety regime.

Over the course of six episodes, all available now, Bernard and Kroman explore the history of reform in Seattle, delve into the data and personal stories fueling the call for new solutions, and consider the options and the obstacles facing city leaders.

Read more here.