FW: [msop.fam] Americans Speak with Legislators: Event Notes, Email Template, & Talking Points
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Subject: FW: [msop.fam] Americans Speak with Legislators: Event Notes, Email Template, & Talking Points
These are the notes from the MSOP Conference. Whatever people’s/ an organizations specific issue ( Registry/ prison/ civil commitment) if you want to change things, these notes help train for success. Take Care, Janet Mackie
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From: End MSOP
Sent: Sunday, September 24, 2023 6:16 PM
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Subject: [msop.fam] Americans Speak with Legislators: Event Notes, Email Template, & Talking Points
NOTES- 3rd Annual OCEAN Conference 9/23/2023: Americans Speak with Legislators
Daniel Wilson, Russell Hatton, Eliseo Padron - Detainees
Please reach out if you would like more information from them.
Jennifer Williams, F.A.C.T.S. FAMILIES AGAINST COMMITTING TEXANS STANDUP
Contact your legislators. Request a meeting at a specific date and time. Meetings will typically be only 15-30 minutes, so you can schedule as many as possible. Keep meeting with them so they know who you are.
Bring your concerns to the legislature. They work FOR US. Some ideas/tips:
· What are your thoughts on MSOP?
· Can I send you some information?
· 1-Pager of information is handy
o Topic = Civil Commitment
o List the TOP 3 issues
o Keep it simple
o Be up-front about NOT CONDONING CRIME
o Be yourself! It’s okay to show emotion – shows your humanity – you are impacted too!
o DO NOT victim blame or state how your loved one was wrongfully charged – they will NOT listen to that
· Person-first language (instead of “sex offender”, use “person convicted of sex-related charge” “person forced to register” etc…)
· This is a human rights/civil rights issue!
· Email them before and after, thanking them for taking the time to meet with you about this issue
What can legislators do about it?
1. AUDIT
2. Oversight committee
Look up State Legislature online to get notifications of Keywords when bills come to committees.
· Who is on those committees or deciding on bills? (Appropriations, Health & Human Services)
· Learn about them to connect personally with them.
Can get attention with a protest during the session. Poster ideas: “Pretending Prisoners are Patients” etc…
Jennifer is available most evenings. Please reach out if you need her contact information.
Steve Sandell, Former MN Representative
Also on the RAFC at Moose Lake (Resident and Family Council)
The legislature claims to talk about hard topics – this is one of those! – Steve introduced a bill in 2022
Evidence shows this program does NOT work.
Legislators can CHANGE IT
· House and Senate both elect leaders
· Those leaders appoint all chairs and majority committee members
· Committee chairs decide what bill to discuss and will not move forward if either opposes it
How?
1. 1 Representative & 1 Senator to author a bill
2. Need speaker and leader to agree & support the bill
3. Governor should be informed of human rights and civil rights issue here
4. Prevention and safe reintegration
Be Positive and Convincing with an argument – this is preventive detention BEFORE a crime is committed
Human Rights = Reform & Rehabilitate people
Remind them that in 2011 & 2013 Reports were IGNORED and the program is repeatedly criticized in publications like the Star Tribune, Wall Street Journal, etc…
This feat will not be easy or quick…
When?
· NOW. They are already working on bills to introduce & in February will already establish priorities.
Pete Dross, Center for Victims of Torture
Also part of $100 Million Committee to sunset and reinvest MSOP to programs that work
Has been meeting with legislators of the possibilities – Session is Feb 12 til mid-May
2024 is an election year - MSOP gets weaponized as politically risky - Make ending it a PRIORITY
- Find your legislator: Google Search “Who Represents Me?” (https://www.gis.lcc.mn.gov/iMaps/districts/)
a. Find your state senator (sen.firstna...@senate.mn)
b. Find your state representative (rep.firstna...@house.mn.gov)
i. Find their legislative assistants/aides (first...@house.mn.gov or first...@senate.mn)
Talking Points for Meeting With Legislators:
- Begin by introducing yourself and thanking them for meeting with you to discuss the Minnesota Sex Offender Program. Remind them of your interest in the program (you have a loved one in the program). Talk about the impact of your loved one’s incarceration on you and your family.
2. Then ask them how familiar they are with the program. (Remember that those who are on health or human services or public safety committees will likely be familiar while those who don’t serve on those committees will be less familiar.)
3. Regardless of what they say, you can respond by saying something like: during the ___ years that my ___ has been in MSOP, I’ve learned a lot about MSOP.
a. There are now nearly 750 people confined in the program, mostly in Moose Lake but also St. Peter.
b. It’s functionally a system of indefinite detention; some of the people have been imprisoned for more than 20 years.
c. It’s had no discernible impact on the incidence of sexual violence in Minnesota.
d. It costs Minnesota taxpayers more than $100 million annually.
e. One is nearly six times more likely to die in this so-called treatment program than to be released from it.
f. People are imprisoned not for what they’ve done, because most of the residents have already served prison sentences, but rather because of someone’s assessment of what they might do – and that is a chilling prospect.
g. This issue has been weaponized and used in political elections—by Republicans against Democrats, and by Democrats against Republicans.
h. A narrative has developed and taken hold that MSOP holds “the worst of the worst.” That is simply not true.
i. Other untrue myths have taken hold, such as that they’re all violent sexual predators who attack strangers. Yet 96% of sexual violence is committed by someone known to the victim.
j. More than one third of the prisoners are over age 60, and the recidivism rate for persons that age is virtually non-existent.
4. There is an effort building to create a broad and bi-partisan coalition to do something about this program. If that coalition comes together, do you think you could support the broad objective of sunsetting the program and reinvesting the funds in prevention?
5. And then stop and listen, and then have a conversation
- Recommends emailing the representative or senator
- Wait 10 days, then follow up with a phone call to their assistant about your email and wanting to meet with them
Email Template Example:
Dear Senator or Representative_________:
I’m a constituent, and I’d be grateful for the opportunity to discuss with you the Minnesota Sex Offender Program.
My husband/brother/cousin/nephew/friend is in that program.
MSOP costs Minnesota taxpayers more than $100 million each year, yet it hasn’t had any discernible impact on the incidence of sexual violence in Minnesota.
It’s also a program in which one is nearly six times more likely to die in it than be released from it.
And money spent on MSOP starves spending on proven and promising approaches to sexual violence prevention.
Would you be willing to meet with me to discuss ways we can end this program?
Thank you very much.
It’s a good idea to copy the legislative assistants on the message. You won’t see their email addresses on the member’s web site, but for House assistants the address is first name.last na...@house.mn.gov. For Senate assistants the address is first name.last na...@senate.gov.
You might or might not hear back from the member of the assistant. I generally wait about ten days after sending the message, and then I follow up by phone with the assistant. I tell them I’m calling to follow up on an email I sent to the Senator or Representative regarding the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, and that I’d be grateful for the opportunity to meet with them in the near future.
You’ll need to be persistent. But when you get the meeting, remember that they’re human beings and we all have things in common. Do some research beforehand. Learn what you can about their families, about their professions. Maybe you went to school with them or a relative. Maybe you know people in common. If so, reference that when you meet with them. And talk not just about MSOP, talk about the impact of your loved one’s incarceration in the program has done and is doing to your family. Remember that if they’re on a health or human services committee they’re likely to know about MSOP. If they don’t sit on health or human services committees, they might now know much about it.
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