Please read and take action on this vital alert sent out by Decarcerate PA - police, prosecutors, and politicians are once again exploiting crime victims to pass an authoritarian police state measure. Take action today!

Pennsylvania legislators are trying to stop prisoners from speaking about their ideas and experiences. PA Representative Mike Vereb introduced a bill (HB2533) called the “Revictimization Relief Act,” which would allow victims, District Attorneys, and the Attorney General to sue people who have been convicted of “personal injury” crimes for speaking out publicly if it causes the victim of the crime “mental anguish.” 

The bill was written in response to political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal’s commencement speech at Goddard College, and is a clear attempt to silence Mumia and other prisoners and formerly incarcerated people. Mumia was framed for the killing of a Philadelphia police officer in a 1982 trial condemned by Amnesty International. Learn the FACTS of his case in the short documentary Manufacturing Guilt.

This legislation is not actually an attempt to help victims, but a cynical move by legislators to stop people in prison from speaking out against an unjust system.

Although this is a clear violation of the first amendment, unfortunately the PA General Assembly doesn't agree, and they have fast-tracked the bill for approval and amended another bill (SB508) to include the same language. The legislation could be voted on as early as Wednesday.

If this bill passes, it will be a huge blow to the movement against mass incarceration. People inside prisons play a leading role in these struggles, and their perspectives, analysis, and strategy is essential to our work. Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people who write books, contribute to newspapers, or even write for our Voices from the Inside section would run the risk of legal consequences just for sharing their ideas. 

That’s why we are asking you to take action TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 by calling Pennsylvania lawmakers to tell them that prisoners should not be denied the right to speak.

Please call your legislators and demand that they vote NO on HB2533 and SB508. You can look up contact information at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/.

We are also asking folks to call the following Senate leaders and ask them to stop the bill from moving forward:

Senate Majority Whip Pat Browne  (717) 787-1349  

Senate Minority Whip Anthony Williams  (717) 787-5970 

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi  (717) 787-4712 

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (717) 787-7683 

For more information, as well as call scripts and talking points, see http://decarceratepa.info/freespeech

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD! 

Human Rights Coalition - FedUp!
5129 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh, PA 15224