Click here to download the CA Mandela Act: AB 280 Toolkit
Click here to read solitary survivor's, Kevin McCarthy, op-ed in Cal Matters titled "How can Gavin Newsom reform California prisons but still allow solitary confinement?"
MEDIA ADVISORY:
January 20, 2023
CONTACT:
Stephanie Mkhlian
P: 626 351-1917
E: Stephanie.Mkhlian.ca.gov
Assemblymember Chris Holden Reintroduces Mandela Act / AB 280
WHAT:
Assemblymember Chris Holden will be hosting a press conference on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, from 11:30am-12pm outside the California State Capitol on the West Steps. Over the past year the community coalition for the Mandela Act has grown as have the concerns of the treatment of detained individuals in prisons/jails/detention facilities. Assemblymember Chris Holden will have a press conference on January 24, 2023, upon the introduction of the bill, The California Mandela Act. According to virtually every scientific study, model for rehabilitation and international standard, solitary confinement is torture and does not make anyone safer. There are clear alternatives that we need to pursue, and that was the goal of this bill. With this veto, the Governor is basically saying there is no room to discuss oversight and compassion, or limits on the use of solitary confinement in the state. That is unacceptable. Although CDCR has made a commitment to improve their inhumane practices, we know from past behavior that these claims may lack foundation and execution. We have demonstrated -using past budgets for the Governor and CDCR- how reducing solitary confinement would actually save the state of California money. The billion-dollar price tag placed on this bill was a cynical ploy to blackmail us into abandoning the bill. The simple fact is that unless a facility is over capacity, then it was built to provide space for things like yard access. The argument that every single prison needs to undergo construction because of this bill is completely fabricated.
WHEN:
January 24, 2023
11:30am-12pm
WHERE:
Sacramento State Capitol West Steps (1315 10th St, Sacramento, CA 95814)
VISUALS/MAP:
Capitol Building, Capitol garden and steps.
Read press coverage on this day:
https://www.pasadenanow.com/main/holden-reintroduces-california-mandela-act-targeting-solitary-confinement-in-jails-prisons-and-immigration-detention-facilities
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article271642677.html
January 20, 2023
CONTACT:
Stephanie Mkhlian
P: 626 351-1917
E: Stephanie.Mkhlian.ca.gov
Assemblymember Chris Holden Reintroduces Mandela Act / AB 280
WHAT:
Assemblymember Chris Holden will be hosting a press conference on Tuesday, January 24, 2023, from 11:30am-12pm outside the California State Capitol on the West Steps. Over the past year the community coalition for the Mandela Act has grown as have the concerns of the treatment of detained individuals in prisons/jails/detention facilities. Assemblymember Chris Holden will have a press conference on January 24, 2023, upon the introduction of the bill, The California Mandela Act. According to virtually every scientific study, model for rehabilitation and international standard, solitary confinement is torture and does not make anyone safer. There are clear alternatives that we need to pursue, and that was the goal of this bill. With this veto, the Governor is basically saying there is no room to discuss oversight and compassion, or limits on the use of solitary confinement in the state. That is unacceptable. Although CDCR has made a commitment to improve their inhumane practices, we know from past behavior that these claims may lack foundation and execution. We have demonstrated -using past budgets for the Governor and CDCR- how reducing solitary confinement would actually save the state of California money. The billion-dollar price tag placed on this bill was a cynical ploy to blackmail us into abandoning the bill. The simple fact is that unless a facility is over capacity, then it was built to provide space for things like yard access. The argument that every single prison needs to undergo construction because of this bill is completely fabricated.
WHEN:
January 24, 2023
11:30am-12pm
WHERE:
Sacramento State Capitol West Steps (1315 10th St, Sacramento, CA 95814)
VISUALS/MAP:
Capitol Building, Capitol garden and steps.
Read press coverage on this day:
https://www.pasadenanow.com/main/holden-reintroduces-california-mandela-act-targeting-solitary-confinement-in-jails-prisons-and-immigration-detention-facilities
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article271642677.html
