CMPP CONFERENCE RESOLUTIONS
RESOLUTIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE ON RAZA PRISONERS AND COLONALISM
JUNE 28, 2009
1. End to all forms of prison torture, including the SHU (security housing units).
2. End to inhumane, illegal, and oppressive laws such the 3 Strikes Law, Prop 21 (allows children to be tried as adults), and anti-immigrant ordinances (makes it illegal to rent a home, park cars on streets, etc.).
3. End to capital punishment. It is not only inhumane and cruel, but on too many occasions, innocent people are killed for crimes they did not commit.
4. The review of all cases/convictions by “independent commissions” of human/civil rights organizations to determine if those convicted received a fail trial. Our communities know that most Raza in prison are locked-up because of racist juries/judges or lack of funds to pay for effective legal defense.
5. End to mass incarceration as being implemented by the ICE (Immigration and Costumes Enforcement) raids. Hundreds of children, women, and men, are rounded up everyday by an occupation paramilitary force and sent to prison for living in a land the belongs them.
6. An end to gang injunctions and all forms of criminalization of youth. Branded as “gang members”, our young people are being locked-up and criminalized by the thousands.
7. The immediate firing of all racist and sadistic prison personal (wardens, assistants, guards, etc.). We must end the brutal and racist treatment that Raza and other non-European prisoners face on a daily bases.
8. Freedom of religion and spiritual expression in all prisons. Just as Christianity is allowed in prisons, so too should the practice of Indigenous religions be permitted.
9. Establishment of rehabilitation programs to include vocational, primary/secondary, and college education.
10. Proper medical care for all prisoners. Prisoners with psychological problems should be sent to hospitals, not prison.
11. The immediate implementation of Raza/Chicano/Mexican Studies and Multicultural programs, associations, and/or study groups. Education builds character, positive self-esteem, and enables prisoners to truly understand the society in which they exist.
12. The formation of “prison administration committees” composed of family members of prisoners, community organizations, human rights/legal workers, and prisoners, to oversee prisons policies and guarantee the respect for the human rights of prisoners.