Virtual Town Hall: HB 13-1254 & Restorative Justice in Colorado::: April 3rd 5pmPST

You are invited to join us for a Virtual Town Hall

...to hear the important points up for vote in HB 13-1254, The Restorative Justice Pilot Project, in the State of Colorado and championed by Rep. Pete Lee, one of our honored guests for this evening's discussion. We'll also be opening up the hall for questions and comments. Also featured will be Officer Greg Ruprecht from the Longmont Police Department, and Deb Witzel, Executive Director of the Longmont Community Justice Partnership, along with a few representatives who have experienced Restorative justice and how it worked for them.

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Wednesday, April 3rd 5pmPST/6pmMST/8EST -- Open to All / Free

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And to take action supporting the bill's passage:

TAKE ACTION NOW

The people of Colorado have an opportunity this month to pioneer the development of one of the world’s most powerful peacebuilding tools: Restorative Justice.

House Bill 13-1254, also known as The Restorative Justice Pilot Project, is about to go to vote in the Colorado Legislature.

Restorative Justice looks at juvenile crime as an issue involving families, communities, relationships and feelings. It nips criminal activity in the bud more effectively than incarceration, and provides a more healing and thorough response to teenagers in trouble. 

Use this easy tool and write your state elected officals today!

More about the bill:

HB 13-1254: The Restorative Justice Pilot Project

The Peace Alliance is mobilizing its statewide networks to support the passage of HB 13-1254, a bill championed by Rep. Pete Lee that will open the channels for the “Restorative Justice Pilot Project”, to be focused on two new RJ programs in the 10^th and 19^th Judicial Districts in CO, and that will further along the efforts to model a juvenile system in Colorado after the highly successful model in motion for over a decade in New Zealand.  Your support and networking of this bill is critical to its passage, as it is up for vote in mid-April.  Major support for the bill comes from the State Restorative Justice Council and working programs such as the Longmont Community Justice Partnership, one of Colorado’s leading RJ programs offering Law Enforcement, Schools, and Community systems that have a proven track record in significantly reducing recidivism and saving the State a massive amount of money by diverting incarceration.  The bill is also supported by a network of Law Enforcement officials who actively speak as advocates for Restorative practices, such as Officer Greg Ruprecht of the Longmont Police Department.

 

Why the bill matters so much:

• It costs an average of $50,000 to jail or incarcerate a single person for one year-juvenile or adult.
• The United States houses over 35% of the world’s prisoners, and yet is less than 4% of the world’s population.
• In a DOJ report from 1973, it was recognized that jails and prisons make criminals, not rehabilitated or ‘corrected’ individuals.
• The Prison Industrial Complex  and NYSE-traded behemoths, Correctional Corporation of America and the GEO Group, made combined profits of close to $5B in the 2012 fiscal year. They are actively attempting to buy out state prisons with cash money in return for signing a contract that ensures prison beds stay 90% full and on terms of 20 years and sometimes more.
• Juvenile community conferencing systems in New Zealand have led the way in showing just how cost effective Restorative justice is, while still very much holding offenders accountable and requiring restitution and making right that includes community and victims, when willing/able.
• HB 13-1254 will provide Colorado two powerful working systems that then will be the bases for other systemic implementation, and provide further statistical proof of the success of this approach to justice, in this case particular to Youth.
• It will not further burden the Judicial Department’s coffers, but rather provides its own initial funding

 

The bill is up for vote mid-April, and its passage depends on mobilizing the power of our local and state networks to take actions now!