Date/Time
Date(s) – 01/23/2020
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Location
Southside Presbyterian Church

Categories No Categories

Tucson SURJ will be kicking off 2020 with an open SURJ meeting on Thursday, January 23rd, 6pm at Southside Presbyterian Church (317 W 23rd St.) In the meeting we will focus on the crisis of mass incarceration, and more specifically on the use of Risk Assessment Tools (RATS) in Pima County. Pretrial RATS are being implemented across the country as an “alternative” to money bail to help judges decide whether to release people from jail before their trial. However, like every “reformist” policy, the use of RATS has done nothing to end pretrial incarceration or address the racial bias of judges. Systems like RATS continue to keep disproportionately black and brown people locked up across the country. At the meeting we will delve deep on the impact of RATS in Tucson, how we can mobilize to oppose it, and the anti-RATS campaign led by the Tucson Second Chance Community Bail Fund. More info on RATS

This conversation feels especially urgent given that two people recently died while locked up at the Pima County Jail in pretrial detention. There has been no transparency from Sheriff Napier or his department regarding the details of their deaths. We cannot view these deaths as isolated incidents. They are directly linked to the system of white supremacy in which people of color are disproportionately subjected to violence, locked up, and separated from their communities. Watch this video of the press conference organized by the Tucson Second Chance Community Bail Fund to learn more.

The Southside Presbyterian Church is wheelchair accessible and fragrance-free. Childcare will be provided in the same room, if needed.