DelcoCPR cofounder Kabeera M. Weissman wrote a guest column for the Delco Daily Times in response to GOP Chairman Tom McGarrigle’s recent bad-faith complaints about our organization. We are reproducing the column here:
Delco Coalition for Prison Reform (CPR) is a grassroots group of volunteers and concerned citizens who care deeply about prison reform in our county. We do not believe that a private company should profit from the incarceration of human beings. Research has shown that private prisons cut costs to increase profits, leading to more inhumane treatment and dangerous conditions for prisoners and guards alike, as well as increased recidivism rates, driving up costs to taxpayers.
Our county’s prison, George W. Hill Correctional Facility, is the only privately managed prison in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. GEO Group, the private company that profits from the incarceration of Delaware County citizens, makes billions of dollars nationally from the prison industry each year. What’s more, they are frequently in the news for atrocities and inhumane conditions, and our organization is routinely contacted by prisoners, their family members and current staff members who want our help in bringing the deplorable conditions at this facility to light. We believe Delaware County can do better.
The three Democratic County Council candidates, Christine Reuther, Elaine Schaeffer and Monica Taylor have all pledged to deprivatize our county prison and return it to public, county management — as every other county in Pennsylvania manages their facilities. The three Republican candidates, Kelly Colvin, Mike Morgan and Jim Raith have not agreed to deprivatize this prison or to remove the corporate profit incentive from its management. We chose to endorse the Democratic candidates for council because we believe they will stand up for the vulnerable people incarcerated at George Hill, the staff and guards at this facility who are overworked, understaffed and underpaid, and the taxpayers of Delaware County by removing the millions in profits from GEO Group’s pockets and returning them to our county.
GOP Chairman Tom McGarrigle’s recent fear-mongering editorial highlights the criminal background of one of our members. He is incorrect, however, in stating that our team member is on our “board of directors.” At present, Delco CPR is not formally incorporated and does not have a board of directors. We are a group of volunteers from diverse backgrounds. Our team includes criminal justice professors and attorneys, activists and educators, as well as many with personal experiences of incarceration or professional experiences of working at George Hill. We have made it clear that all our welcome and we do not have a litmus test for participation, nor do we run background checks. We value the experiences and perspectives of all our members. We also have Republican members who fight for our cause of deprivatizing George Hill, including staff there who believe this facility is in serious need of change and better oversight.
Calling out the decades old criminal background of one of our members is simply a desperate scare tactic from a political party leader. I found it ironic that in his earlier press release, Tom McGarrigle stated, “… the corrections system is worthy of a true discussion about how to reform convicts and put them on a path to being productive members of society.” First, Delco CPR agrees that rehabilitation and supporting people in being productive members of society is important. That is exactly what our team member has done – he has paid his dues and is a productive member of society. Second, Tom, please take note: Most of the prisoners in our county prison are not “convicts.” In fact, 88% of those incarcerated at this facility are detainees who have not been sentenced, with more than half there unable to make bail.
Tom, in your editorial you were incredulous that “… the Democrats are willing to take this person’s endorsement and advice.” The Democrats are taking the endorsement and advice of our organization, not of a single individual. We are a collective with various kinds of expertise. Also, we must give pretty good advice because the current Republican County Council Members have already been swayed to advance one of our goals. We pushed for adopting PA Title 61, which brings the county prison board into the modern era. Kevin Madden and Brian Zidek have championed this as well. Originally, the Republican members of council would not adopt PA Title 61 and voted down a resolution for this.
At Delco CPR’s candidate forums, we encouraged the Democratic County Council slate and the Republican County Council slate to pledge to adopt PA Title 61 and its modern prison board. Only the Democratic council candidates agreed. The Republican council candidates did not agree to adopt PA Title 61. Lo and behold, a few months later, the current Republican members of council came around and saw the value in creating a modern prison board, as many other counties in Pennsylvania have done. They have now voted to adopt PA Title 61, and have followed our advice.
We were right about PA Title 61 and we are right about the moral and economic imperative to deprivatize our county prison. McGarrigle’s editorial is clearly a political stunt to smear the Democratic candidates a few weeks before the election in the hopes of scaring voters.
It won’t work.
We trust that voters in Delaware County know better. On November 5th, please vote to restore integrity, transparency and accountability to Delaware County Council and to our prison. Vote for the Democratic slate.