Decarcerate PA is a left-of-center criminal justice policy organization based in Pennsylvania. The organization seeks to reduce the number of people who are incarcerated in Pennsylvania prisons and jails. The organization is opposed to sentences of life imprisonment, which it calls “death by incarceration.” It has supported legislation that would give all inmates the opportunity to receive parole. ¹

Overview

Decarcerate PA is a left-of-center criminal justice policy organization based in Pennsylvania. The organization’s main goal is to reduce the number of people who are incarcerated in Pennsylvania prisons and jails. ²

The organization was founded in 2011 to oppose the expansion of the prison system in Pennsylvania and to fight budget cuts to public education and health care. The organization opposes the construction of new prisons and the expansion of existing facilities. It also opposes the construction of new county and city jails or the expansion of current facilities, the construction of new detention facilities for illegal immigrants, and the use of privately owned prisons. The organization seeks the redirection of money spent on incarceration to social services including public education and healthcare. ³

Activism

In 2012, seven activists with Decarcerate PA were arrested protesting the construction of a new prison, SCI Graterford. The activists blocked the entrance of the construction site while seated in school desks. The protest also featured a plastic schoolhouse. The activists were told to disperse by the Pennsylvania State Police and, after refusing, were charged with various offenses, with bail set at $5,000 each. ⁴

In 2014, the organization joined other various left-of-center and left-wing organizations for the “People’s Hearing,” which called for cuts to the state’s prison budget and the redirection of that money to public education. The hearing also denounced proposals to reform education as “privatization” and the reconstruction of public institutions for “profit driven models.” ⁵

In 2016, the organization helped establish Coalition to Abolish Death By Incarceration and rallied behind legislation that would abolish life imprisonment in Pennsylvania, which it calls “death by incarceration.” The legislation would make every prison inmate eligible for parole after 15 years. ⁶

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the organization called for the mass release of prison inmates. It believed that reducing the prison would reduce the spread of COVID-19. ⁷

Leadership

Layne Mullett is a co-founder of Decarcerate PA. He is the director of media relations for the American Friends Service Committee. ⁸

Finances

The organization is not a registered nonprofit with the IRS. A detailed financial statement was not available. In the past, the organization has raised money through the crowdfunding website GoFundMe. ⁹

The organization has also received funding from various left-wing organizations including Resist and the Bread and Roses Community Fund. ^{10 11}

1. Lee, Nathaniel. “Group Gathers in Support of Bill to End Life Sentences without Parole.” Philadelphia Tribune. October 26, 2016. https://www.phillytrib.com/metros/west_southwest_south/group-gathers-in-support-of-bill-to-end-life-sentences/article_00fb0b18-ec98-5355-8ec8-c12e8f170157.html.
2. “About Decarcerate PA.” Decarcerate PA. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://decarceratepa.info/about.
3.  “About Decarcerate PA.” Decarcerate PA. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://decarceratepa.info/about.
4. Tressler, Brittany. “Seven Decarcerate PA Members Arrested During Graterford Prison Protest.” Perkiomen Valley Patch. November 19, 2012. https://patch.com/pennsylvania/perkiomenvalley/seven-decarcerate-pa-members-arrested-during-graterford-protest.
5. “PSU & Decarcerate PA Go to Harrisburg for the People’s Hearing!” Philadelphia Student Union. February 11, 2014. https://www.phillystudentunion.com/post/psu-decarcerate-pa-go-to-harrisburg-for-the-people-s-hearing.
6. Lee, Nathaniel. “Group Gathers in Support of Bill to End Life Sentences without Parole.” Philadelphia Tribune. October 26, 2016. https://www.phillytrib.com/metros/west_southwest_south/group-gathers-in-support-of-bill-to-end-life-sentences/article_00fb0b18-ec98-5355-8ec8-c12e8f170157.html.
7. “Car Caravan Delivers Demands to PA Policymakers to Release People from Prison During COVID-19.” Decarcerate PA. November 23, 2020. https://decarceratepa.info/press_release/car-caravan-delivers-demands-pa-policymakers-release-people-prison-during-covid-19
8. Mullett, Layne. “Weology Panel Discussion and Book Release.” Lifelines Project. October 18, 2021. https://lifelines-project.org/2021/10/18/weology-panel-discussion-and-book-release/.
9. “Help End Death by Incarceration!, Organized by Decarcerate PA.” Go Fund Me. September 16, 2018. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-end-death-by-incarceration.
10. “Decarcerate PA.” RESIST. Accessed March 20, 2023. https://resist.org/grantees/decarcerate-pa/.
11. “Grantee Spotlight: Decarcerate PA: Bread & Roses Community Fund.” Bread & Roses Community Fund. Accessed March 20, 2023. http://breadrosesfund.org/grantee-spotlight-decarcerate-pa/.