The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

The House of Deputies Committee on Social Justice and United States Policy presented its Report #11 on Resolution A011 (Criminal Justice Reform Study and Advocacy) and moved adoption of a substitute.

Original Text of Resolution:

(A011)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 78th General Convention reaffirm and renew the Church’s longstanding commitment to the evaluation and reform of the federal, state, and local criminal and juvenile justice systems in the United States, as previously called for by General Convention resolutions 1985-C043 (Create a Task Force on Reform of the Criminal Justice System), 2000-B055 (Reaffirm Criminal Justice System Reform), 2003-B026 (Establish the Joint Committee on Criminal Justice), 2006-A111 (Investigate Criminal Justice Issues), and 2012-D026 (Urge Support for Bipartisan U.S. Commission on Criminal Justice); and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention declare support and advocate for the expansion of funding for treatment, alternatives to incarceration, and reintegration services to people leaving prison; and call on Episcopalians to support and participate in mentoring and accompaniment programs for those leaving prison; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention declare opposition to mass incarceration, which perpetuates a cycle of systemic poverty in the United States through its impact on defendants, inmates, parolees, and their families; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention reaffirm and renew the call of The Episcopal Church for a moratorium on the use of for-profit private prisons, including immigration detention centers, which often set occupancy or “bed” quotas, capitalizing on the criminal, civil, and immigration incarceration of individuals; are a leading factor in the “New Jim Crow,” the disproportionate mass incarceration of youth and men and women who are black and brown; and feed the “School to Prison Pipeline,” which depends on the use of school policing and mandatory sentencing for non-violent crimes; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention reaffirm and renew support for the repeal of mandatory-minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention call for the abolition of the sentencing disparity between crack-cocaine and powder-cocaine offenses; and, as an intermediate step, urge the U.S. Congress, in accordance with the recommendation of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, to make retroactive the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act, which reduces the disparity in sentencing from previous levels; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention urge states with monetary bail bond systems to reform those systems, which rely upon often-unlicensed and unregulated bail bond agents and on conditioning release from pre-trial incarceration solely on the ability to pay, discriminating against defendants who are poor; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention, acknowledging the importance of employment for reintegration into society by formerly incarcerated persons, urge policymakers to pursue legal reforms to enhance the employability of people leaving prisons; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention condemn offender-funded law enforcement practices, such as requiring newly released inmates to pay for their own court-required drug testing when they often are unemployed or underemployed, and urge policymakers to create equitable post-sentencing parole systems that remove undue financial burden on the parolee as a condition for maintaining parole; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention condemn the practice by many states of felon disenfranchisement, which removes the right of formerly incarcerated (or "returning citizens") to regain the right to vote once they complete their sentence and leave prison; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention call for exploration and creation of restorative justice programs to transform juvenile justice systems; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention direct the Executive Council to convene a Criminal Justice Reform Coordinating Committee, comprised of church members, ecumenical partners, and outside experts, for the purpose of developing educational information, advocacy tools, and church policy to assist the dioceses and church members in their ministry to prisoners, people returning home from prisons, and their families; and in their advocacy for comprehensive criminal justice reform at all levels of government; and to direct the Coordinating Committee to report to the 79th General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention request the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance to consider a budget to support the work of such Criminal Justice Reform Coordinating Committee.

Committee Substitute:

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 78th General Convention acknowledges that implicit racial bias and racial profiling result in a criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates people of color damaging individuals, families, and communities; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention challenges The Episcopal Church at every level to commit mindfully and intentionally to dismantling our current mass incarceration system; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention urges the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church and the Office of Governmental Relations of The Episcopal Church to advocate publicly for changes in Federal policies that perpetuate the mass incarceration system; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention encourage each congregation and Diocese to undertake at least one specific initiative aimed at addressing the destructive consequences of the mass incarceration system. These initiatives include such possibilities as:

1. Advocating for alternatives to incarceration for those who are addicted, and increased funding for treatment programs;

2. Advocating for alternatives to incarceration for those who are mentally ill, and increased funding for treatment programs;

3. Advocating for protection of the civil rights and provision of appropriate support and accommodation for people with disabilities who are arrested and incarcerated;

4. Advocating for funding for job training and apprentice programs for those who are at risk of incarceration and those who are formerly released from prison;

5. Working with local businesses to create pathways to living wage jobs for formerly incarcerated people;

6. Establishing mentoring and accompaniment programs for those leaving prison;

7. Advocating for the repeal of mandatory-minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses;

8. Calling for the abolition of the sentencing disparity between crack-cocaine and powder-cocaine offenses and, as an intermediate step, urging the U.S. Congress, in accordance with the recommendation of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, to make retroactive the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act, which reduces the disparity in sentencing from previous levels;

9. Advocating to eliminate “three strikes” sentencing protocols;

10. Joining local “Ban the Box” campaigns to remove questions about arrest records in online and written job application forms;

11. Opposing the creation of “for profit” prisons and immigration detention centers, and, where they exist, organize against guaranteed nightly numbers of prisoners and detainees, and for access to education and rehabilitation programs for those being incarcerated or detained;

12. Reforming monetary bail bond systems, which rely upon often-unlicensed and unregulated bail bond agents and on conditioning release from pre-trial incarceration solely on the ability to pay;

13. Advocating for immediate return of the right to vote for those who have served their sentences and left prison; and

14. Calling for the exploration and creation of restorative justice programs to transform juvenile justice systems; and be it further

Resolved, That the 78th General Convention request that each Diocese report back to the 79th General Convention on the initiatives engaged at congregational and Diocesan levels.

The President suspended debate on Resolution A011 until the Fourth Legislative Day and asked the Parliamentarians to preserve the queue list.

Continuation of Debate on A011

The House of Deputies Committee on Social Justice and United States Policy moved to fix a typographical error in Resolution A011 and substitute the word "organizing" for "organize."

Motion carried

Deputy Kloecker of Missouri moved to amend the resolution.

Proposed Amendment:

Amend item 11 to read:

11. Opposing the creation of “for profit” prisons and immigration detention centers, and, where they exist, organizing against guaranteed nightly numbers of prisoners and detainees, and advocate for access to education and rehabilitation programs for those being incarcerated or detained;

Motion carried

Amendment adopted

Deputy King of Western New York moved to end debate on the resolution.

Motion carried

Debate terminated

A vote was taken on the resolution.

Motion carried

Substitute resolution adopted with amendment

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #79)