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Please Help Support ACWIP
Please click here to Take Action on our latest and most urgent petitions
While many wonderful people volunteer many tireless hours working on behalf of incarcerated women all over the United States doing various projects through ACWIP. It still takes money to support the efforts of what ACWIP wants to accomplish now and in the future for women who are incarcerated in the prisons of the United States. To do so we need the help and support of those of you who are willing to Donate to ACWIP.
If you would like to send in a Donation to ACWIP please click the button below and follow the instructions. It is safe and secure.
Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has proposed a National Commission to study the American Criminal Justice System and correct its flaws. As originally proposed the Commission membership did not include prisoner advocates, former prisoners, the wrongfully convicted, or prison rights organizations. I have decided to try for an appointment to the Commission as it is critical that our voices be heard. Please support me by signing this petition. Thank you.
Click on the link to sign Petition to be sent to the President and your Congressmen/women:
Link to Petition
Gloria Killian for the National Prison Reform Committee
To: the President of the United States, Members of the U.S. Senate and Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, see more...
Started by: ACTION COMMITTEE FOR WOMEN IN PRISON
Lead the way and begin the dialog -- being heard yesterday in the Senate subcommittee -- FAMM Julie Stewart Eliminate Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, which has turned America into #1 Jailer in the world and threatened our own people within -- no longer "the land of the free" as 1 in 31 Adults are in Corrections, probation or parole. This does not count many other groups. Write your Congressmen/women. Write Sen. Jim Webb and participate on his Criminal Justice Commission -- citizens are needed, and those exonerated who have spent decades as innocent people trapped in America's jails and prisons - Hell-holes that rival Abu Ghraib in it's treatment of human beings.
We are nominating Gloria Killian, wrongfully convicted, wrongfully imprisoned for 17 1/2 years for a crime she did NOT commit, and exonerated for Sen. Jim Webb's Criminal Justice Reform Commission to overhaul a broken criminal justice and prison system. Only she has more real life experience as a result of the failed policies that no one on the commission has or anyone else nominates. The alarming rate of growth of women and girls being incarcerated is an issue since the history of prisons is they were built for men, not women who have special gender specific needs and issues. It's time to recognize this. The future of this nation depends on honestly facing this crisis.
1. This petition ends on Oct 13.
Thank you.
Camille Tilley
480-375-0093
Arizona Director for the Freedom March-2009
http://www.freedommarchusa.org/default.htm+http://www.justice4courtney.com
SIGN ONLINE PETITION FOR COURTNEY:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-courtney-bisbee---actual-innocence
In another exercise of fiscal and moral stupidity, Governor Schwarzenegger denies parole to a disabled battered woman.
Carol Sue McInnis a 70-year-old battered woman who has served nearly 20 years on a 15-to-life sentence for the death of her abusive and manipulative husband. Ms. McInnis uses a wheelchair and an oxygen tank full-time. She is currently at the infirmary at Valley State Prison for Women and has been diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Diabetes. Ms. McInnis had a stroke shortly after she was incarcerated and was declared medically disabled in 1992. Due to extensive medical limitations, vocation, education, and group therapy have been virtually impossible for her to participate in during her incarceration.
Despite this devastating news we must continue to fight for the freedom of many other survivors whose cases will be up for review before the Governor in the next few months.
We are hoping to help secure the release of two survivors Norma Cumpian and Linda Lee Smith, and we need your support.
Please urge the Governor to release domestic violence survivor Norma Cumpian. Ms.Cumpian has spent 17 years at the California Institution for Women (CIW) on a 15-to-life sentence (plus a four year gun enhancement) for the death of her abusive boyfriend who attacked her while she was pregnant. The Board of Parole Hearings found Ms. Cumpian suitable for parole and I urge you to support their decision to release her. Ms.Cumpian is a 39-year-old woman who has had an exemplary disciplinary record while in prison. She has used her time in prison to transform herself through support groups, study, work, and service. During her incarceration, Ms. Cumpian has displayed considerable leadership skills, as well as a commitment to self-improvement and support for others’ growth. She has been a leader within Convicted Women Against Abuse.
Please write to the Governor urging him to release incarcerated domestic violence survivor Linda Lee Smith. In 1981, Ms. Smith was convicted of 2nd degree murder and sentenced to 15-years-to-life in connection with the death of her two-year-old daughter, Amy, who was beaten to death by her abusive boyfriend. Although the victim in Linda's case was not her abusive partner, the fact that she was a battered woman was significant in her inaction to stop the crime. Linda has been found suitable for parole by the Board of Parole Hearings TEN times since 1989. Each time, the Governor has reversed the Board's decision, despite the fact that Amy's father and sister (who witnessed the crime) support Linda's release. Linda currently is in her 29th year in prison where she has remained disciplinary-free, earned a Bachelor's degree from the University of La Verne, and continues to work toward her Master of Theology degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.
Letters are attached for your use.
Linda Lee Smith Letter
Norma Cumpian Letter
769 Northwestern Drive
Claremont, CA 91711
