Tzedek March 2022 Update

On January 25th, 22 Beth Shalom members participated in a Multifaith Lobby Day for Incarceration Reform. Members Carolyn Cohen and Abby Zorn were on the organizing team, and Rabbi Borodin was also in attendance. This lobby day brought together over 100 participants representing 14 Jewish, Christian and Muslim congregations across Washington to speak to legislators. The religiously and ethnically diverse group met with 17 state representatives and state senators throughout the day and also heard from inspiring speakers during plenary sessions. 

The lobby day was sparked by the recent documentary film Since I Been Down, which tells the story of Kimonti Carter, a man who has been in the Washington State prison system for decades and has been a transformational leader while incarcerated. Participants in this lobby day urged their legislators to support bills that would expand clemency, restrict solitary confinement, reform juvenile sentencing, and remove barriers to re-entry into society. Overall, these bills aim to reduce the disproportionate number of Black and brown men in the prison system. The Faith Action Network (FAN) and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) also support these bills.

During the plenary sessions, Representative David Hackney (11th District) spoke to attendees and emphasized changes to juvenile sentencing that could disrupt the “trauma to prison pipeline” and give juvenile offenders a better chance of re-entering society. He also underscored how impactful lobby days like this can be. Dr. Gilda Sheppard, the director of Since I Been Down, spoke about how meaningful it was to see people coming together and taking-action after seeing her film. Other speakers during the plenary sessions were Duha Mohamed, board member of Muslim Association of Puget Sound, Rev. Paul Benz, former co-director of the Faith Action Network, Kavana Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum, and Plymouth Chuch Rev. Kelle Brown. The day was spearheaded by Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, from congregation Herzl-Ner Tamid. 

Attending a lobby day such as this one is a great way to participate in the legislative process. State legislators engaged with their constituents in these meetings and were unaware of some of these bills before the lobby day. It was clear that these conversations made a difference. This Multifaith Criminal Justice Reform Team is a newly launched effort and will be planning other educational opportunities, activities, and events. If you are interested in being involved in this effort for incarceration reform in Washington, please reach out to Melani Baker at melanibaker@bethshalomseattle.org.