Decarcerate PA is a grassroots, all-volunteer coalition that was established to challenge mass incarceration in Pennsylvania.

Decarcerate PA
AbbreviationDPA
Formation2011
PurposeCriminal Justice, Activism, Community Organizing, Prison Reform
Location
Websitedecarceratepa.info

Background

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Decarcerate PA is a democratic organization which operates using a committee structure, with each committee dedicated to separate tasks.[1] Its platform (No New Prisons, Decarceration, Community Reinvestment) has received the support of roughly one hundred other organizations.[2]

Since 2011, the coalition has been involved challenging the construction of two new prisons outside of Philadelphia in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, at the site of State Correctional Institution - Graterford.[3]

In 2013, Decarcerate PA organized a 113-mile march from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state capital, to protest a decision by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and the Pennsylvania Legislature to increase prison funding and decrease funding in public education and social services.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Documents raise questions about cost of new prison". Philadelphia City Paper. Archived from the original on 2014-02-08. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  2. ^ "Decarcerate PA Platform". Decarcerate PA. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  3. ^ "Documents raise questions about cost of new prison". Philadelphia City Paper. Archived from the original on 2014-02-08. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  4. ^ "March to Harrisburg demands budget for people not prisons". Philadelphia City Paper. Archived from the original on 2014-03-25. Retrieved 2014-03-25.