Smart Justice Ambassadors

Aug 31, 2021 

WMDT TV / ABC News (Delaware) – Deana Harley
Ambassadors…

The American Civil Liberty Union of Delaware is looking for a few good men and women to be smart justice ambassadors.  The qualification the ACLU is looking for is people who have been personally impacted by the system and who have first-hand experience to draw from.  “The ambassadors would learn skills to become advocates for topics in the state like policing, probation, and sentencing. They would advocate for legislation and work alongside lawmakers to push for change statewide.”  Pay, expenses and a stipend for completion of the training! https://www.wmdt.com/2021/08/aclu-of-delaware-looking-for-smart-justice-ambassadors/

Mothers Offering Mutual Support

MOMS have been at the heart of the protests and solutions to the long standing problems of the Ottawa-Carlton Detention Center (OCDC).  The problems are well known but the solutions are consistently denied.  Now, one man who spent four years awaiting trial at the OCDC is suing the Ontario government over the conditions of confinement.  The trail is available on the internet as described below.  The political context, besides the widespread abuses at OCDC, includes the recent unilateral end to the advisory boards for the prisons across the province.

Watch OCDC on Trial in Person or via Zoom Aug. 30 to Sept. 3 – Deepan Budlakoti takes the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General to court over conditions of confinement at the Ottawa jail

Algonquin Anishinaabe Territory (Ottawa, ON) – The suit filed last year by Deepan Budlakoti, who has been detained at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) for four years while awaiting trial and sentencing, resumes August 30th. Mr. Budlakoti is suing the Government of Ontario for violations under sections 2A, 7, 8, and 12 of the Charter. The issues the court proceedings will bring to light include segregation and solitary confinement, excessive force, dynamic entry, privacy relating to and access to medical services, food issues at the Ottawa courthouse and in jail, strip searches and mental health.

What: The court is scheduled to hear from the witnesses below from August 30th to September 3rd. Mr. Budlakoti encourages attendance throughout the trial but stresses the importance of attending the August 30th hearing in-person or virtually as an OCDC official (a Deputy Superintendent), will continue his testimony revealing abhorrent realities about OCDC.

OCDC Deputy Superintendent Joel Bourgeois (continued); Dr. James Deutsch (psychiatrist); Dr. Chetan Mehtan (physician); Dr. Kelly Struthers-Montford (criminology professor); OPS sergeant; Jessica Hutchison (prison researcher)

When: August 30th to September 3rd, 10:00am to 4:30pm (approximate time)

* Note – the trial will continue into September and October with additional witnesses

Where: Physical attendance is possible at the Ottawa courthouse.  Virtual attendance is also possible (see the links below) and also encouraged as Mr. Budlakoti as CPEP members have observed that the Crown and the court treat Mr. Budlakoti more respectfully when there is a large audience. We encourage you to attend virtually in large numbers and to disseminate the hearing links within your respective networks and encourage attendance. This is the main thing Mr. Budlakoti needs from us as he so expressed. We, as community members, keep each other safe from state violence.

August 30th to September 3rd: https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/67743960740

September 7th, 9th and 10th: https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/66094193358

September 17th: https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/62435548857

October 1st: https://ca01web.zoom.us/j/64750488116

How Can You Support Further?
Please fill-out this form to join the ongoing organizing to support and be in solidarity with Mr. Budlakoti: https://forms.gle/ap4g4pbrAxuV99PL8

Background:
Deepan Budlakoti is an Ottawa-born stateless man detained at OCDC awaiting sentencing for criminal charges dating back to November 2017. Mr. Budlakoti is an imprisoned human rights defender who tirelessly organizes and advocates against the carceral state and the violence it exposes incarcerated people to at OCDC. Click here to read his most recent op-ed published in July 2021 in the Ottawa Citizen about COVID-19 and the untenable situation imprisoned people have been subjected to at Ottawa’s provincial jail during the pandemic.

Please share this information far and wide with anyone interested in jail conditions, human rights and prison abolition. It is critical that there is as much virtual court attendance as possible.

For more information contact:   Daniel Cayley-Daoust – daniel.cayleydaoust@gmail.com | 819-593-4579

For technical information contact : Leonardo Russmano – leo@rclpc.ca or admin@rclpc.ca | 613-296-2551

For broader comments on jail conditions at OCDC contact : Justin Piché, Associate Professor of Criminology, University of Ottawa – justin.piche@uottawa.ca | 613-793-1093

 

TVO – Justin Chandler
Will basic income get its due on the campaign trail?  With affordability on many Ontarians’ minds this election, TVO.org looks at the credits and debits of basic income — and at where the major parties stand

This article may prove a helpful summary of proposal, advantages and potential problems on the notion of basic income as a campaign issue.  Given that there are many varieties of proposals for basic income, this one relies on economist Armine Yalnizyan and Mike Moffat of Ivey Business School.  Says Moffat:  “But the system is complex because people have complex needs. Let’s not reinvent the wheel. We’ve done so much work on this — let’s implement the recommendations and the studies that are already out there,” he says, citing such examples as increasing tax credits and helping to ensure that everyone is filing taxes and getting the support they’re entitled to.”  https://www.tvo.org/article/will-basic-income-get-its-due-on-the-campaign-trail

The Innocence Project (US)
Ron Jacobsen Is Exonerated After 30 Years of Wrongful Conviction – Mr Jacobsen had been awaiting a retrial at home in New York since November, despite DNA evidence proving his…

30 years in prison but wrongfully convicted, freed through the efforts of the Innocence Project, here’s how he voiced his relief:  “Today, in response to the dropped charges, Mr. Jacobsen told the Innocence Project, “Thirty years ago, I was called a liar for proclaiming my innocence at trial. Today, I have my freedom by the overbearing proof of my innocence of this crime which I was convicted of, sentenced to life for, and ultimately justice prevailed through the tireless work and efforts of Vanessa Potkin and the Innocence Project. I have my life back and words can’t do justice to my gratitude and appreciation to everyone at the Innocence Project. Thank you.”  Part of the US justice reform movement looks to establish a post-conviction mechanism to confront the kinds of problems that contribute to wrongful conviction.  https://innocenceproject.org/ron-jacobsen-is-exonerated-after-30-years-of-wrongful-conviction/