May Delegate Assembly on criminal justice reform

At the May Delegate Assembly, we gathered to listen to stories and lived experience from those who have been incarcerated, or employed within the criminal justice system.  The specific focus of our Assembly was the harm Ballot Measure 11 (mandatory minimums) has brought to Oregon since it was voted into law in 1994.  In the 2021 legislative session there are two bills related to Measure 11 under consideration: House Bill 2002 and Senate Bill 410.

We heard stories from two formerly incarcerated individuals, and professional assessments from Senior Judge Ed Jones and Aaron Knott, chief of staff for Multnomah County’s District Attorney Mike Schmidt.

As community organizers who are working toward addressing the root causes of societal issues, members of MACG organizations are encouraged to:

1. Learn more about how our prison system actually works
2. Work toward returning sentencing to judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and parole boards.
3. Understand that Measure 11 exacerbates the power structure in prisons, affecting the most vulnerable populations the most.
4. Educate friends and family.
5. Contact our local elected officials, encouraging them to work toward criminal justice reform.
6. Respond to MACG Action Alerts by directly contacting officials about specific bills, asking to provide testimony, and tracking these and other bills that are of interest to our MACG organizations.