The Coalition to Abolish Death by Incarceration (CADBI) is a community organizing group dedicated to ending life in prison without parole. ¹ It became a Pennsylvania Domestic Unincorporated Association in 2019. ² Its co-founders are Robert Saleem Holbrook, ³ Kerry Shakaboona Marshall, ⁴ and Sean Damon. ⁵

Background

CADBI is a left-of-center community organizing group seeking to abolish “Death by Incarceration,” its name for life in prison without parole. Its structure is all-volunteer with no identified leadership. ⁶

CADBI participates in a network of nonprofits, community organizing groups, law firms, and churches. These groups engage in collective “actions” including street protests, lawsuits, Get-Out-The Vote drives, lobbying, and neighborhood meetings, all designed to pressure government to dismantle crime control measures. ⁷

The network demands substituting diversionary programs for criminal penalties, defunding the police, eliminating cash bail, decriminalizing prostitution and drug use, eliminating the sharing of judicial information with immigration authorities, mitigating the terms of parole violation, and returning money spent on crime control to communities. ⁸

Its goal is to fight “against systems of white supremacy and oppression, such as the prison system and the police force.” ⁹

History

CADBI was launched in 2015 by four community organizing groups, Decarcerate PA, Fight for Lifers, the Human Rights Coalition, and Right 2 Redemption, an activist group based inside Graterford State Prison. All three CADBI co-founders are active in these groups. ¹⁰

CADBI registered as a Pennsylvania Domestic Unincorporated Association in 2019. ¹¹ It has no history of incorporation as a for-profit or 501(c)(3) nonprofit. ^{12 13}

Activities

CADBI works “to build a mass movement both inside and outside of prison” to promote decarceration policies. It demands that inmates become eligible for parole after no more than 15 years; that inmates receive parole at eligibility date unless the prison administration can prove “unresolved disciplinary infractions;” and the creation of a maximum sentencing law that would prevent imprisonment for indefinite periods of time. Its ultimate goal is to reduce the prison population, eliminate new prison construction, and return money spent on incarceration to communities. ¹⁴

CADBI regards life without parole as a “crime against humanity.” It views the effort to end it as part of a “broader struggle for racial and economic justice.” ¹⁵

Funding

CADBI is registered as a Pennsylvania Domestic Unincorporated Association. ^{16 17} It received a grant from the Bread & Roses Community Fund in 2020. ¹⁸

Controversies

In a complaint submitted to the United Nations, the Abolitionist Law Center, a Philadelphia public interest law firm headed by one of CADBI’s co-founders, ¹⁹ and associates such as the Center for Constitutional Rights, allege that “Death by incarceration is the devastating consequence of a cruel and racially discriminatory criminal legal system that is designed to satisfy the political pressure to be tough on crime.” ²⁰

Benjamin Mannes, the former Director of the Office of Investigations, American Board of Internal Medicine, points out that decarceration policies lead to crime spikes. He asserts that Philadelphia has pursued extreme policies and that these have led to a surge of crime. ²¹ Mannes favors expanding the police force and lengthy prison sentences but promotes offering second chances to rehabilitated offenders. ²²

People

Robert Saleem Holbrook

Robert Holbrook is a co-founder of CADBI and the Executive Director of the Abolitionist Law Center. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole at age 16 serving 27 years and was released on lifetime parole. ^{23 24}

Kerry Shakaboona Marshall

Kerry Marshall is a co-founder of CADBI and is the editor of left–of-center publication The Movement Magazine. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole at the age of 17, was transferred to federal custody, and served 22 years in prison. ²⁵

Sean Damon

Sean Damon is a co-founder of CADBI and is the Organizing Director of the Amistad Law Project, a Pennsylvania public interest law firm (see Amistad Movement Power). ²⁶

1. Decarcerate PA. Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://www.decarceratepa.info/CADBI
2. Bizpedia. Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration. Accessed March 30, 2023. https://www.bizapedia.com/pa/coalition-to-abolish-death-by-incarceration.html
3. Holbrook, Robert Saleem. “How a Decarceral and Abolitionist Movement Helped Defeat the ‘Red Wave’ in Pennsylvania.” Counterpunch. February 9, 2023. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/09/how-a-decarceral-and-abolitionist-movement-helped-defeat-the-red-wave-in-pennsylvania/
4. Rose, Maddie. “Fighting for Redemption in an Unjust System.” Philadelphia Partisan. May 16, 2018. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://philadelphiapartisan.com/2018/05/16/fighting-for-redemption-in-an-unjust system/
5. Amistad Law Project. Our Team. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://amistadlaw.org/our-team
6. Decarcerate PA. Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://www.decarceratepa.info/CADBI
7. PA Justice Alliance. Coalition Members. Accessed March 27, 2023.  https://www.pajusticealliance.org/coalition
8. Guest User. “What is the Judge Accountability Table Platform?” Reclaim Philadelphia. March 20, 2019. Accessed March 28, 2023.https://www.reclaimphiladelphia.org/blog/2019/3/18/what-is-the-judge-accountability-table-platform
9. Zipkin, Michele. “Local justice organizations fight against mass incarceration.” Philadelphia Gay News. June 17, 2020. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://epgn.com/2020/06/17/local-justice-organizations-fight-against-mass-incarceration/
10. Rosado, Felix, and Mullett, Layne. “Organizing Across Prison Walls Is How We’ll Bring Them Down.” Critical Resistance. December 14, 2028. Accessed March 21, 2023. https://criticalresistance.org/resources/organizing-across-prison-walls-is-how-well-bring-them-down/
11. Bizpedia. Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration. Accessed March 30, 2023. https://www.bizapedia.com/pa/coalition-to-abolish-death-by-incarceration.html
12. ProPublica. No listing. Accessed March 24, 2023.  https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/
13. Mergent Intellect. No listing. Accessed March 25, 2023.
14. Decarcerate PA. Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration. Accessed March 24, 2023. https://www.decarceratepa.info/CADBI
15. Rosado, Felix, and Mullett, Layne. “Organizing Across Prison Walls Is How We’ll Bring Them Down.” Critical Resistance. December 14, 2028. Accessed March 21, 2023. https://criticalresistance.org/resources/organizing-across-prison-walls-is-how-well-bring-them-down/
16. Bizpedia. Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration. Accessed March 30, 2023.

    https://www.bizapedia.com/pa/coalition-to-abolish-death-by-incarceration.html

17. PA Business One-Stop Shop. Nonprofit Corporations. Accessed March 30, 2023.

    https://business.pa.gov/plan/choosing-a-business-structure/nonprofit-corporations/

18. Bread & Roses Community Fund. 2020 Grantees. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://breadrosesfund.org/2020-grantees/
19. Abolitionist Law Center. About. Accessed March 29, 2023.  https://abolitionistlawcenter.org/about/
20. Cohn, Marjorie. “Human Rights Groups Call for Ending ‘Death by Incarceration’.” LA Progressive. October 11, 2022. Accessed March 27, 2023.  https://www.laprogressive.com/prison-reform-2/ending-death-by-incarceration
21. Mannes, A. Benjamin. “Policies of Surrender.” City Journal. March 29, 2022. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://www.city-journal.org/criminal-justice-policies-making-philadelphia-a-destination-for-lawlessness
22. Mannes, A. Benjamin. “Philadelphia’s Only Surging Industry.” City Journal. April 2, 2020. https://www.city-journal.org/covid-19-philadelphia-crime-spike
23. Holbrook, Robert Saleem. “How a Decarceral and Abolitionist Movement Helped Defeat the ‘Red Wave’ in Pennsylvania.” Counterpunch. February 9, 2023. Accessed March 29, 2023.  https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/02/09/how-a-decarceral-and-abolitionist-movement-helped-defeat-the-red-wave-in-pennsylvania/
24. The Opportunity Agenda. Robert Saleem Holbrook. Accessed March 23, 2023.  https://opportunityagenda.org/our_team/2021-communications-institute/robert-saleem-holbrook/
25. Rose, Maddie. “Fighting for Redemption in an Unjust System.” Philadelphia Partisan. May 16, 2018. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://philadelphiapartisan.com/2018/05/16/fighting-for-redemption-in-an-unjust system/
26. Amistad Law Project. Our Team. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://amistadlaw.org/our-team