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!*National CURE Convention June 12-15

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Jun 9, 1999, 3:00:00 AM6/9/99

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Date: Tue, 08 Jun 1999 13:58:15 -0400
From: "John V. Wilmerding" <j...@together.net>

Convention: "Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants" (CURE)

Relevant web site, and to register: <http://www.curenational.org>

Highlights:

SATURDAY JUNE 12TH

2 PM - 7 PM On-Site Registration

7 PM - 10:30 PM Self-Introductions

Convention participants will caucus by state and introduce themselves. A
social will follow.

Millie Holcomb, Oklahoma-CURE leader, is also a travel agent. Call her or
her staff at 1-800-538-3499.

SUNDAY, JUNE 13

9:15 AM - 10:45 AM

Update on the Death Penalty Nationally

Steven Hawkins, Executive Director, Nat'l Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty, Washington, DC; Sam Sheppard, Murdered Victims Families for
Reconciliation, Oakland, CA; Joan Betz, Board Member, Virginians for
Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Manassas, VA; Jane Henderson, Moratorium
Now! Not one more execution! Equal Justice USA/Quixote Center, Hyattsville,
MD.

Starting or Reactivating a Prison Reform Organization

Frank Werder, Kansas-CURE, Valley Falls, KS; Alice- Marie Worthington,
Doctoral Candidate-Massachusetts, Springfield, MA; Margaret "Peg" Lamure,
FACES/New Mexico Chapter of CURE, Dexter, NM; Effie Bowers, Arkansas-CURE,
Little Rock, AR; Susan Beard-Nole, Pennsylvania-CURE, Phoenixville, PA.

Internet Activism on Prison Reform: Electronic Information and Action
Coordination

Paul Kruger, PKDATA, Miami, FI; Rudy Cypser, Chairman, CURE-NY, Katonah,
NY; Lynn Powell, Oklahoma-CURE, Tulsa, OK; Don Braman, National CURE,
Washington, DC; Luis Payan, FIND-CURE, Washington, DC.

The Importance of Visiting

Rosaleen Wilcox, Executive Director, Mathew House, Monroe, WA; Nancy M.
Winters,Co-Director, Pittsburgh Hospitality House, Pittsburgh, PA; Carol
Fennelly, Director & Founder of Hope House, Washington, DC; Betsy Biben ,
Program Developer, Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia,
Washington, DC; Dana Anderson, Chair, Oregon-CURE, Portland, OR.

12:45 PM - 2:15 PM

Efforts to Help Women Prisoners: Today's Women's Needs

Susan Galbraith, Prototypes, Washington, DC; Mary Almore, Ph.D., Univ. of
Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX; Mary Joel Davis or Mathew Blair,
Alternative Directions Inc., Baltimore, MD; Rosi Kniffin, Garden State
CURE, Jericho Ministries-Kairos National, Point Pleasant Beach, NJ;
Charlotte Boyd, CURE Member, Memphis, TN; Ellen Clarke, Western Carolinians
for Criminal Justice, Asheville, NC.

Starting Out, Starting Over, Staying Out

Maurice Alexander, D.C. CURE Chapter, Washington, DC; Harold Russell,
President of Bridges, Washington, DC; Frank Werder, Kansas-CURE, Valley
Falls, KS; Sylvia G. McCollum., U.S. Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC;
Joseph Montgomery, Director of Programs, Offender Aid & Restoration,
Arlington, VA.

Disability Rights in the Prison Industrial Complex: ADA Coverage Must Stay!

Janine Bertram, CURE, Washington, DC; Justin Dart, Jr., Justice for All,
Washington, DC; Curtis L. Decker, Nat'l Assoc. of Protection & Advocacy
System, Washington, DC; Nancy D. San Carlos, S.H.I.P. (Self-Esteem for the
Handicapped Inside Prisons), Issaquah, WA.

Eileen Cano-Stanford, Chairperson of Kentucky-CURE, and Charlie Sullivan,
Executive Director of National CURE, recently testified before the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. They vehemently pointed out
that the United States continues to execute persons for crimes committed
when they were under 18. Eileen's husband, Kevin, was sent to death row
when he was 17.
The Commission is under the Organization of American States and the U.S. is
one of 35 countries that belong. In 1986, the Commission strongly
criticized the U.S. for these juvenile executions. After the hearing, its
criticism was reiterated.

In the panel below, Eileen will share information on the hearing. This is
CURE's first formal effort to seek prison reform by showing the violation
of human rights.

Update on the Death Penalty as it Relates to a Particular State

Lois Robison, Co-Dir. HOPE of CURE, TX CURE member, TCADP Board, NCADP,
Amnesty Int, MVFR, Burleson, TX; Henry Heller, Virginians for Alternatives
to the Death Penalty, Charlottesville, VA; Eileen Cano- Stanford,
Kentucky-CURE, Eddyville, KY; Claudia Whitman, Biddle Publishing Co. &
Equal Justice USA, Mancos, CO; Abraham J. Bonowitz. Director, Citizens
United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Jupiter, FL.

2:30 PM - 4 PM

Coalitions and Other Prison Reform Strategies for the Millennium

Betty Cypser, Co-Chair, CURE-NY, Katonah, NY; Gayle E. Russell, Florida
Prison Action Network, Gainesville, FL; Beth Carter, Campaign for an
Effective Crime Policy, Washington, DC; Dana Anderson, Chair, Oregon-CURE,
Portland, OR; Brian Henninger, National Coalition to Abolish the Death
Penalty, Washington, DC; Eric Lotke, Executive Director, DC Prisoners Legal
Services Project, Washington, DC.

Getting Down on Realistic and Effective Ways to Help the Incarcerated Veteran

Ed Hart, Veterans for Peace, Huntsville, AL; Elzie McIntyre, Jr.,
Vice-Chairman, CURE-Ohio, Trotwood, OH; Sister Susan Van Baalen, O.P,
Chaplain, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC; Mary Ellen McCarthy,
Democratic Counsel, Subcomm. on Benefits, Comm. on Veteran Affairs, U.S.
House of Rep., Washington, DC; Rick Weidman, Director, Government
Relations, Vietnam Veterans of America, Washington, DC.

Out of State Transfers: Cells for Rent!

Jean Auldridge, Virginia CURE, Alexandria, VA; Dawn Swistak RN, C., DC
CURE-Psychiatric Nurse, Manassas, VA; Lucille Reams, DC CURE, Upper
Marlboro, MD; Jason Ziedenbert, Justice Policy Institute, Washington, DC;
Anne Knight, DC-CURE, Chevy Chase, MD; Rev. Bobby Barnes, Jubilee Jobs and
Conquest House, Washington, DC.

Innovative Approaches to Educating "the System"

Tom & Maria Padilla, Colorado CURE, Northglenn, CO; Marie Coleman CSJ,
Salina Co. Jail Chaplain, Salina, KS; Claudia Whitman, Biddle Publishing
Co. & Equal Justice USA, Mancos, CO; Kevin Pranis, Prison Moratorium
Project, New York, NY; Barb Budinger, Michigan-CURE, Upper Peninsula
Chapter, Marquette, MI.

4:15 PM - 5:45 PM

Update on Deportable Prisoners

Otto Perez, FIND-CURE, Silver Spring, MD; Luis A. Payan, FIND CURE,
Washington, DC; Sister Maria Lapazarian C.C.V., Wholistic Program for
Freedom for Prisoners, DC Dept. of Corrections, Washington, DC; Darlene
Jackson, DC CURE, Washington, DC.

Update on Lifers & Elderly Prisoners

Heather Parsons, Life-Long CURE, Cambridge, MA; Nancy Moran, Prison Reform
Activist, Baltimore, MD; Tom Gess, Louisiana CURE, Baton Rouge, LA; Barbara
Greene-Janssen, Illinois-CURE, Chester, IL; Celia Correll, Indiana-CURE,
Indianapolis, IN; Barry Holman, National Center on Institutions and
Alternatives, Alexandria, VA.

Federal Prisons: Failed Objectives, New Directions, Old Perspectives

Fred M. Mosely, Chairperson, CURE-Fed, Cleveland, OH; Sylvia McAfee,
Groesbeck-McAfee Coaching, Portland, OR; Emerson Emory MD, FAPM, CCHP,
Certified Correctional Health Professional, Physician Surveyor-Commission
on Correctional Health Care, Dallas, TX; Rita Lucey Peace Activist who
recently served a federal sentence for civil obedience, Orlando, FL; Kenny
Linn J.D., LLM, former federal prisoner, Dunedin, FL; Paul Magno, former
federal prisoner, Director of The Father McKenna Center, Washington, DC;

The Emotionally Disturbed Inmate

Helen Boothe, Indiana-CURE, Chesterton, IN; Michael Spevak, MD,
psychiatrist, Washington, DC; Brandy Tomhave, National CURE, Washington, DC.

SUNDAY EVENING EVENTS START AT 7:00

Bus Tour of Washington Criminal Justice Sites.

The first 45 convention participants who sign up will take a "criminal
justice tour" and see the DC Jail, FBI, Justice Department, halfway houses,
etc. We will drive by most places, make a stop at others. A new view of
Washington!

SUNDAY EVENING CONTINUED

Ask Paul !

Paul Kruger, CURE's Computer Consultant will answer your questions about
E-mail, web sites, etc. and how you can use these in your work for prison
reform.

Biennial Meetings of three of our Issue Chapters. Feel free to attend one
of these meetings especially if you have a interest in (1)
FIND-CURE/deportable prisoners (2) CURE-FEDERAL/federal prisoners. (3)
Life-Long CURE/lifers.

What I Have Learned In Trying To Get My Loved One Out on Parole.

This discussion of tactics will be led by Dianne Tramutola-Lawson,
Chairperson of Colorado-CURE, and Paula Eyre, Chairperson of CURE-Ohio.

"The Last Graduation" and "The Farm" will be shown at 7 PM and 9 PM and 11
PM (see reviews below).

"The Last Graduation" is a 20 minute video that shows the impact of the
loss of Pell Grants for prisoners.Producer Barbara Zahm and Director Benay
Rubenstein will serve on the Update on Correctional Education Panel that
will take place on Monday from 4 PM - 5:30.

"The Farm" is a documentary about life at Louisiana State Penitentiary at
Angola. Recently, it was nominated for an Academy Award.

The writer and editor is inmate Wilbert Rideau, CURE's longtime friend and
supporter.

The Convention is dedicated to the memory of Lois A. Williamson who died
last June after serving as Chairperson of National and Pennsylvania-CURE.
Lois wrote that "prisons are dehumanizing and often brutal environments and
little is done to address the prisoners' perceived criminality. Everyone
in prison is someone's son or daughter, husband or wife and that familial
concern should heighten in proportion to the escalation of oppression ...
Changing such an entrenched system will require massive grassroots support.
Thus, the core of CURE's support will be the family members of prisoners.
They will provide the backbone for CURE's efforts to make the criminal
justice system responsive to the human needs of prisoners."

MONDAY, JUNE 14
9 AM - 10:30 AM

What Makes Recovery Possible & Update on the Drug Issue

Rev. Joseph McCloskey, S.J., Recovery Assistance Program Training,
Washington, DC; Cal Bertram, Jobs Corp., Portland, OR; Julie Stewart,
Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Washington, DC.

Prison Industries at the Crossroads: Can There be More Meaningful
Correctional Work Opportunities?

Tom Petersik, Ph.D, CURE, Washington, DC; Jerry Park, Maryland-CURE, Mt.
Rainier, MD; Mary Shilton , ABA Corrections and Sentencing Committee,
Gresham, VA; Steve Schwalb, Federal Prison Industries, Washington, DC;
Warren I. Cikins, Criminal Justice Consultant, Alexandria, VA; Alvin J.
Bronstein, Director-Emeritus, National Prison Project of the ACLU,
Washington, DC.

Correctional Health Today: A Passing Grade? New Ideas?

Aurie Hall, Open Society Institute, Baltimore, MD; Carol Martindale-Taylor,
CURE, Maryland Chapter, Arbutus, MD; Clara G. Schiffer, Retired, Dept. of
Health and Human Services, Washington, DC; Ken Kerle, Ph.D. , Managing
Editor, American Jail Assoc., Washington, DC; Steven B. Powell, J.D. ,
Director, AIDS Coordination Project, American Bar Association, Washington,
DC; Jackie Walker, ACLU National Prison Project, Washington, DC; Abe
Macher, M.D., United States Public Health Service, Bethesda, MD.

Prison Reform Litigation: Are the Courthouse Doors Closing?

Angus Love, Exec.Dir., Pa. Institutional Law Project, Philadelphia, PA;
Ronald Weich, Zuckerman, Spaeder, Goldstein, Taylor & Kolker, L.L.P.,
Washington, DC; Elizabeth Alexander, Director, National Prison Project of
the ACLU, Washington, DC; David C. Leven, Executive Director, Prisoners
Legal Services of New York, New York, NY; Marie Sennett, Litigation
Director, DC Prisoners Legal Services Project, Washington, DC.

11 AM - 12:30 PM

The Role of Religion in Prison Reform & Are There More Difficulties in
Practicing your Religion in Prison?

Delores Chepiga S.S.J., Sisters of St. Joseph and Prison Chaplain,
Hagerstown, MD; Martin Hochberg, National Honorary Chairman & Great Lakes
Regional Coordinator, Jewish Prisoners International, Michigan City, IN;
Claire Dugan S.S.J., Sister of St. Joseph, Catholic Chaplain, Adult
Correctional Institution of R.I., Providence, RI.

Update on Juvenile Justice

Rachel King, Legislative Counsel, ACLU, Washington, DC; Mark Soler, Youth
Law Center, Washington, DC; Rosaleen Wilcox, Washington State CURE, Monroe,
WA; Jenni Gainsborough, Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy, Washington,
DC.

Update on Incarcerated Fathers

Donald Braman, Anthropologist working with families of prisoners,
Washington, DC; Lorin Harris, C.S. Mott Foundation, Flint, MI; Jane Sachs,
Supervisor, Administration & Training, Montgomery County Pre-Release
Services, Rockville, MD; Robert M. Fisher, VT-CURE, Montpelier, VT; Creasie
Finney Hairston, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois
at Chicago, Chicago, IL.

The Role of the Local Church in Prison Reform

Rev. Robert Schulze, Director, Office of Jail & Prison Ministry, Diocese of
Trenton and Garden State CURE, Trenton, NJ; Louis N. Jones, Conquest
Offender Reintegration Ministries, Washington, DC; "Brother" Lou Schwartz,
Associate Chaplain-D.C. Jail, Washington, DC; Rev. John W. Wimberly,
Pastor, Western Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC; Eleanor Hannon Judah,
St. Dominic Parish Social Concerns Committee, Washington, DC.

MONDAY 2 PM - 3:30 PM

Control Units & Special Housing-Torture in U.S. Prisons: Applying
International Law Domestically

Jim Murphy, Capital Region Ecumenical Organization, Scotia, NY; Joe
Eldridge, Univ. Chaplain, American University, Washington, DC; Bonnie
Kerness, Interim Director, American Friends Service Committee, Newark, NJ;
Patrick Chapman, World Organization Against Torture USA, Washington, DC;
Rev. Charles E. Doyle, NW Indiana Coalition to Abolish Control Unit
Prisons, Michigan City, IN; Elisa Massimino, Director, Washington Office,
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Washington, DC.

The courts found Shebaka Waqlimi innocent after being on death row in
Florida for 15 years and coming within hours of being executed. He will
explain this experience in more detail in the panel below. Shebaka is now
on the staff of a homeless shelter downstairs from the CURE office in
Washington. He volunteers many days a year travelling to states to speak
out against the death penalty.

Winning at Any Cost: Putting Innocents Behind Bars

Scott Wallace, National Legal Aid & Defender Association, Washington, DC;
Shebaka Waqlimi, Father McKenna Center, Washington, DC; Sam Sheppard,
Murdered Victims for Reconciliation, Oakland,CA; Clare Regan, Judicial
Process Commission, Fairport, NY; Dianne Tramutola-Lawson, Colorado-CURE,
Chair, Denver, CO; Bernita D. Wideman, Codirector, Pgh. Hospitality House,
Pittsburgh, PA.

Voting by Felons: Challenging the Perils of Disenfranchisement

Marc Mauer, The Sentencing Project, Washington, DC; Hilary O. Shelton,
N.A.A.C.P., Washington, DC; Fredd Lee, Ambassador, Vermont-CURE,
Montpelier, VT; Dave Elvin, Massachusetts-CURE, Amherst, MA; Peggy Williams
Smith, Virginia-CURE, Washington, DC; Jamie Fellner, Human Rights Watch,
New York, NY.

Hope for the Future: Restorative/Tranformative Justice

Rev. Michael Bryant, Nat. Convocation of Jail & Prison Ministry,
Washington, DC; Ruth Morris, Rittenhouse Education Director, Downsview,
Ontario; John Wilmerding, General Secretary for the Campaign for
Equity-Restorative Justice (CERJ), Brattleboro, VT; Thomas P. Keevey, Asst.
Chief, Office of Victim-Witness Advocacy, NJ Division of Criminal Justice,
Trenton, NJ; Tom Christian, Mediator/Trainer, Tucson, AZ (Panelists are
especially invited to respond to Frank Dunbaugh's talk in the evening.)

4 PM - 5:30 PM
Update on Correctional Education

Steve Steurer, Correctional Education Association, Lanham, MD; Alma
Bingnear, SND, Associate Chaplain, DC Jail, Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur,
Washington, DC; Barbara Zahm/Benay Rubenstein, Producer/Director of Video
"The Last Graduation", New York, NY; Stuart O. Simms, Secretary, Maryland
Department of Public Safety & Correctional Services, Towson, MD.

The Vital Connection: A Job/ Removing the Restrictions & Reducing Recidivism
Robert Vieweg, CURE-ENOUGH, Detroit, MI; Janine Edmonds, CURE-ENOUGH,
Kalamazoo, MI; Leon C. Gane, Shepherds, Southport, ME; Antonio J. White,
(activist-ex-felon), Master of Public Admin. M.P.A. (Gov. management),
Washington, DC; Ron Rubbin, Federal Bonding Program, Lewisville, TX.
Wayne Bowers is a former prisoner and a recovering sex offender He directs
CURE-SORT (Sex Offenders Restored through Treatment) and SATA (Sex Abuse
Treatment Alliance). He will chair the panel below.

Restorative Justice's Role in Sex Abuse Prevention & Update on Sex Offender
Issues and Treatment

Wayne Bowers, CURE-SORT, Okemos, MI; John C. Cosby, Volunteer-CURE-SORT,
Floyd, VA; Deborah Ingraham, Activist for Restorative Justice, Former
Incest Survivor Litigant, Haddonfield, NJ; Jim Hosch, Offender in
Treatment, Morgantown, NC; Dorothy Bartholomew, Fort Worth, Chap Chair.,
Texas CURE, Fort Worth, TX; Judy Burch MSN, Baltimore, MD.

"Killing for Church & State-Why Not?"/Role of Religion in Abolishing the
Death Penalty

Ken Robison, Co-Dir. HOPE of CURE, TX CURE (Member of TCADP, NCADP, Amnesty
Intern'l, MVFR, ACLU), Burleson, TX; Pat Clark, National Criminal Justice,
Representation for the American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia,
PA; Jim Megivern, UNC- Wilmington, Author of "DP: an Hist. & Theol.
Survey", Wilmington, NC; Dan Misleh, US Catholic Conference, Washington, DC.

MONDAY EVENING 7 PM

Biennial Meetings of three more of our Issue Chapters.
Feel free to attend one of these meetings especially if you have an
interest in (1) CURE-SORT/sex offender treatment (2) HOPE of CURE/organizes
those on death row and their families (3) CURE-ENOUGH/seeks to remove job,
voting etc. restrictions on former prisoners.

CAN WE ABOLISH THE CRIMINAL LAW BY CREATING RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AS AN
ALTERNATIVE TO THE CIVIL LAW?

20 minute presentation by Frank Dunbaugh, Executive Director of the
Maryland Justice Policy Institute. Critiques -- especially from the
earlier restorative justice panel -- will be appreciated.

TUESDAY JUNE 15TH
8:30 AM - 9:30

HONORING Sen. Paul Wellstone for his leadership in providing treatment for
the mentally ill prisoner. His staffer, Charlotte Oldham-Moore, will accept
the award for Sen. Wellstone and talk about his legislation on this issue..

RECOGNIZING CURE's pro-bono attorneys Brian Menkes, Christopher Holt,
Cheryl Tritt, Casey Anderson and Yaron Dori..

REMEMBERING prison reformers who have died in the last two years. If you
know of someone, please contact CURE with the name and a paragraph about
her or his prison reform work.

TUESDAY 9:30-9:45 AM

OPENING - Prison Reform Exhibit. Remarks by photographer Alan Pogue who
will announce the name of the Exhibit. Alan has been taking pictures of
CURE events for almost 25 years. Alan will again take the capitol group
picture on Tuesday at 2 PM. Besides showing the urgent need for prison
reform, the Exhibit will highlight positive programs. Alan took this
picture of a Kansas prisoner on work release. He welds snowplows, is paid
good wages and can even purchase shares in the business. The Exhibit will
tour the country. First stop is the Washington Center for Photography.
Some of the pictures are now on its web site (www.wcp.org). On Thursday,
June 17, at 7 PM, Alan will speak about the pictures at the Center. Would
you help in coordinating the Exhibit in your state? Please contact us. A
most creative idea for using the Exhibit is its second stop. CURE-Ohio
will have it for 18 days at its booth during the Ohio State Fair in August.
The Exhibit is made possible by a $2,000 grant from Resist, 259 Elm St.,
Suite 201, Somerville, MA 02144 (617) 623-5110. Alan is donating his
considerable photographic expertise, and some of the expenses.

TUESDAY NOON

Visiting your two senators and representative on Capitol Hill to discuss
our prison reform agenda.

LOCATION: Trinity College
125 Michigan Ave. NE
Washington, DC 20017-1090
(202) 884-9000

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