Dear Fellow Justice Seekers,We have made great strides in the past year. Perhaps we can't see or feel it yet, but things are changing and will continue to change for the better. More and more people are coming together to fight injustice and are demanding profound changes. There are numerous social movements all over this country that are aware of the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) and all that it entails. And, they want to see it abolished. We believe that there is strength in numbers and have joined many other groups in a common united front to achieve such goals. Not only were we present at the National Stopmax Conference in Philadelphia this past Spring, but we were also at CR10 (10th Anniversary of Critical Resistance) in Oakland, CA this past September.There were thousands upon thousands of people at these events from all over the United States as well as other countries and we are all dedicated to seeing an end to our current form of enslavement and the warehousing of human beings. More people are becoming enlightened all the time and joining in the movement. We have been going to various speaking engagements and are breaking new ground with anti-death penalty advocates and victims of violent crime. We have been having both intrastate and interstate teleconferences on a regular basis and are planning strategic methods to achieve our goals. We are also working closely with Fight For Lifers, Inc. in Philadelphia and may soon have new chapter in Central PA. If you know of any lifers' family members in the center of the state who would like to become involved, please contact us. We will have a statewide teleconference every 4th Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m. if anyone wants to get involved. We understand that you keep hearing promises that never seem to take fruition. We understand that things continue to get worse on a daily basis. And we understand your frustration with the long wait, especially when you can't see any positive changes occurring. All I can tell you is that we are doing everything we possibly can to bring about these long awaited and needed changes. We have been addressing these matters from various fronts. As you may imagine, we have a very strong and powerful opposition that will not go quietly. They want business to go on as usual and are retaliating against anyone that dares to speak out or take action. Many of our loved ones on the inside have been retaliated against and it now extends to active family members and friendson the outside. They want us to go away. We cannot and will notstop our efforts because we know that things will only get worse. We must all stand strong and stand together.We must never give up and we must always maintain hope.Just think, if someone would have told us that we would have elected an African American as the President of the United States of America, even 4 years ago, we would have never believed it in our wildest dreams. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream and it isfinally becoming a reality. We must hold on to our dreams, our hopes and our futures. Together, we can accomplish what seems to be the impossible. This is a time of change. A promise of a new tomorrow.I wish a wonderful New Year to everyone. May your dreams come true.Peace and Solidarity,Donna Pfender – President of FFLW
From the President:Greetings, Fellow Justice Seekers,I am glad to be able to give you some long awaited good news. We have been networking with other groups in Pennsylvania and around the country and there are many others who are seeking positive change in our criminal justice system. Advocates from around the United States and the world are shocked to hear that in Pennsylvania, Life means Life! We are forming a network and are seeking changes in archaic laws and attitudes. Since our last printing, we have gone to a protest at SCI Smithfield in January because we received news of suspicious suicides there. We did several news stories to draw media attention to allegations of abuse and neglect as well as wrongful deaths and possibly murders. People from other states and from around PA joined us. We were a small group, but our voices rang out clear. We also went to Harrisburg in April to demand an investigation into abuse, neglect and suspicious deaths and asked that an independent overseer be appointed to police the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. This time we had a few more people, news coverage and were noticed by anyone who walked through the Capitol Rotunda that day. Senator Greenleaf issued a statement that very day regarding the failure of our current system of incarceration. (see: excerpts elsewhere in this newsletter) We had a letter writing campaign to the United States Department of Justice and as a result, they appointed a new section and director to answer letters regarding such allegations. We are planning further actions for the foreseeable future. We have also aligned with HRC-FedUp! who is based in Pittsburgh and are doing great work regarding abuse logs and strategy planning. Some of us went to the Pittsburgh based Prison Ministries and spoke to them in May. They expressed great interest in our advocacy and said they would like to be involved and attend our open meetings. They said they wish to offer their support for our endeavors. They too, were shocked to find out that life truly does mean life in Pennsylvania. They believe in redemption and forgiveness as we do. They also believe that lifers deserve a second chance.We also went to STOPMAX in Philadelphia from May 30 – June 1st. There were people there from all over the United States as well as a few foreign countries. Many of us are sick and tired of the inhumane treatment and warehousing of Americans, especially those of color, the poor and the under-educated. We spoke of the Prison Industrial Complex and how we must strategize to bring it down. We have already begun the process across the land. We want to see our prisons replaced with school buildings, especially in the inner urban communities. We want to see taxpayer dollars going into education, health care, affordable housing and decent paying jobs. Many of you may already be aware that one out of 100 Americans is now incarcerated. One out of nine African American males are incarcerated. The Geneva Convention has ostracized the United States for their racism and are currently doing a study of the prison systems in the USA to report to the World High Court later this year. We have submitted a proposal in unison with Fight For Lifers in Philadelphia to go to the 10th anniversary of Critical Resistance in Oakland, CA in September, 2008. CR10 wants to see the abolishment of prisons altogether. We feel there are more humane and successful ways to treat people who break the law. We are tired of the schools to prison pipeline that exists in too many urban communities around our nation. We are tired of seeing people with mental health diagnoses ending up being warehoused rather than treated for their illness. We are tired of seeing persons with drug or alcohol addictions being over-penalized for crimes used to support their destructive habits. We are tired of governments who can't manage the taxpayer's money constructively and instead use the prison industrial complex as a means to create jobs . Jobs where they enslave those who they feel are expendable, and built in poor rural communities where such opportunities are glorified because there are no viable options. WE ARE TIRED! If you are tired too, please help us in our plight. We can't do this alone and traveling and fighting for your rights isn't free. We need your families involved. We need support. We are not paid for this work, we do it out of love. In Solidarity,
I hope that the New Year will bring much needed justice and hope to all lifers and their supporters. As you can see, I climbed a mountain and stand atop it. (please see photo page) This was not only a physical challenge but a mental one as well. It somewhat represented the determination we must all have in our struggle to overcome any obstacle. We will all have many mountains to climb in the coming year but we must never give up. Onward and upward we must go!
We have been very busy since our last newsletter and much is being done by numerous organizations not only in Pennsylvania but also across the United States to seek justice for those serving life without parole. We are gathering strength in numbers and more people are beginning to open their hearts and minds to the inhumane sentencing and barbaric prison conditions in Pennsylvania. We have established ties with many like-minded organizations and more are joining all the time. Some of our affiliations include Justice and Mercy, PPS, Art for Justice, PA Institutional Law Project, the Disabilities Rights Network of PA and the National Alliance of Mental Illness in PA. We have formed a committee that encourages and supports legislation for more humane prison conditions and sentencing laws in Pennsylvania. We meet at the Capitol monthly and are achieving some manner of success. We are also working with FFL, Inc. and the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers) in Philadelphia to establish a moratorium on Life Without Parole. We are seeking support for this movement from victim's rights groups who believe in redemption and forgiveness rather than a 'living death' sentence. We hope that other religious conferences will join. We are also involved with the ACLU, The Lobbyist Coalition and various other organizations.
At our monthly meetings, we are gaining members and outside support. As you know, we have moved our meetings to a larger facility to accommodate change. We are ever evolving and exploring new avenues in our continuing struggle to see lifers and their families achieve justice. In October, we had a mind mapping workshop that taught us how to set goals and achieve them. At our November meeting we had a letter writing workshop. Some of us attended the Beyond Innocence Conference at New Economy Village on November 9th and received information about the volumes of research that is being gathered for submission to the Innocence Commission which will meet in Harrisburg next November. Enclosed, please find information from the conference regarding their recommendations about the Post Conviction Relief Act as well as a letter from Ernie Preate regarding future plans about commutation.
Well, I have to go and climb a few more mountains but my feet will be firmly planted on the ground. I hope you will join me and give me a boost or a hand when I need one.
Donna Pfender - President of Fight For Lifers West
In this issue, I have decided to focus on our future plans rather than our recent accomplishments. We are moving forward, not standing stagnant and surely not slipping backwards. Fight For Lifers West is in the process of change and growth and because of this, we are going through some of the pains of such processes. Please bear with us during our transformation and continue to support our never ending quest to better serve those for whom we advocate. First, We have created a new Mission Statement: Fight For Lifers West is dedicated to supporting people sentenced to life without parole and their loved ones, while striving to improve the criminal justice system and building positive community relationships. We are establishing standing committees: Special Needs – This will address the quality of life in prison for all lifers and inmates as well as the specific needs of certain lifer populations. Subcommittees include Juvenile, Female and Veteran Lifers. Other committees that are being formed: Finance/Budget; Outreach/Media; Criminal Justice/Legislation; Policy/Endorsements; Membership; Correspondence; Special Projects/Events. We need more volunteers to chair and join these committees. We also have future workshops and fundraising campaigns planned. We are allying with like-minded organizations across Pennsylvania, the United States and Worldwide.We are presently having a membership drive. We need more (active) members if we are ever going to change the inhumane and barbaric laws that condemn lifers to a living death with no hope for freedom, redemption or forgiveness. Laws that endlessly burden our taxpayers and cause lifers' and their family members and friends countless and endless heartache. There are approximately 450 – 500 lifers from AlleghenyCounty and Western Pennsylvania serving life without parole in this Commonwealth. For each lifer who has been sentenced, there must be at least one family member or friend who is concerned. Yet, we only have 15-20 dedicated members at our monthly meetings. We are curious why more loved ones are not involved? Have you been struggling alone? Have you given up hope? Do you think your voice doesn't count or your efforts would be fruitless? I appeal to the lifers to get their loved ones involved. I appeal to the families and friends of lifers to attend our meetings and to help us make a difference. We need you. There is strength in numbers. Help us to keep the hope alive. Help us to achieve justice. Make it a priority! What can be more important than saving a human life? Shortly, we will be moving to a larger meeting facility to accommodate our hoped increase in membership. We will maintain our affiliation with the ThomasMertonCenter and will remain as one of their projects. Join us and become a part of history. All Justice Seekers are welcome!In Solidarity,Donna Pfender, President - Fight For Lifers West
