Breaking!
Attending a demonstration held by the Decarcerate NOW Coalition, protesting living conditions and civil rights violations at Rhode Island prisons, influential State Senator Sam Bell called for, among other demands, the immediate resignation of Patricia A. Coyne-Fague, Esq.
“There is blood on the hands of Patricia A. Coyne-Fague, there is blood on the hands of Gina Raimondo … And if (Governor) Dan McKee doesn’t do something about it yesterday, there is blood on his hands too …”
There have been 4 deaths at the Adult Correctional Institute in recent months, including the still, unexplained February death of Jose Franco.
(Updated) From The Decarcerate NOW Coalition News Release:
The Decarcerate NOW Coalition is calling on the state to
- Halt arrests and grant personal recognizance and bail to reduce the numbers of people at the ACI. Hundreds are currently incarcerated for parole and probation violations or awaiting trial.
- Restore good time and grant parole wherever possible to reduce the existing prison population.
- End 23+ hour lockdown and fully restore programming, visitation, and access to the outdoors. In order to limit the use of segregation, incarcerated people must be provided adequate PPE; prisoners testing positive and negative cannot be placed in contact with one another; and COs must be held accountable around social distancing and mask wearing.
- Provide transparency and accountability to incarcerated people’s families. Create an external oversight board with incarcerated people and their families that can address prisoner grievances, including reports of correctional staff abuse.
- Redistribute tax dollars that are funding CO salaries towards reentry supports for formerly incarcerated people.
Below: Video of Entire Event
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