Last night Philadelphia's First Unitarian Church hosted a forum about how other cities and states are ending the use of cash bail in the criminal justice system.
Members of the group Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration (CADBI) gathered on the step of the Capitol in Harrisburg on Tuesday to call for an end of life sentences without the possibility of parole in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Participants included the West Philadelphia-based Human Rights Coalition and a host of others who traveled to Harrisburg to support HB 2135, which was introduced by Rep. Jason Dawkins. The bill would make those sentenced to life eligible for parole in 15 years of serving.
There’s a faint glimmer of hope for Pennsylvanians who are condemned to spend the rest of their lives in prison.
House Bill 2135, introduced last spring by state Rep. Jason Dawkins (D-Phila.), would make inmates serving a life sentence eligible for parole review after 15 years.
Subramanyam Vedam would certainly qualify. He was a 19-year-old State College kid when his friend Tom Kinser disappeared in 1980. He was 21 when he was accused of killing Kinser and then found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole (LWOP).
HARRISBURG, Pa — More than 200 people rallied at the Capital, calling for an end to life sentences without parole.
It was led by the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration, the group is pushing a bill to ensure an inmate serving a life sentence could be eligible for paroled after 15 years.
In Pa., being sentenced to life without parole is equivalent to being sentenced to death. This Tuesday, a coalition of advocates will rally in Harrisburg to support reforms once deemed nonviable.
October 17, 2016 Attn: News Desk For Immediate Release
Advocates Rally & Sing Against ‘Death by Incarceration’
House Bill 2135 would end Life Without Parole
HARRISBURG, PA -- On Tuesday October 18th, over 200 people, led by the Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration (CADBI), will gather at the State Capitol to demand that all imprisoned people in Pennsylvania have a meaningful opportunity for parole.
