FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: ML Smith, info@mojustice.org, 314-814-2910
Date: October 31, 2023
Townhall Tour Begins This Weekend in Springfield, St. Joseph
ST. LOUIS, MO–This weekend, the Missouri Justice Coalition (MoJustice), a nonprofit advocacy organization mobilizing communities in support of comprehensive prison reform, begins its Statewide Townhall Tour in Springfield and St. Joseph.
“This tour will give people impacted by our prison system a space that they have desperately needed for so very long to talk about the trauma and harm it inflicts on all Missourians,” said MoJustice Director ML Smith, who will host and moderate each of the tour’s nine Townhalls, beginning in Springfield this Saturday, Nov. 4. “MoJustice is excited and proud to provide this platform.
The MoJustice Townhall Tour will bring together formerly incarcerated community members, family members and loved ones of people who are currently in prison, and others who have been impacted by incarceration to advocate for humane conditions and build a base of empowered advocates for change. Click the links to each Townhall in the following table for registration details:
Each event on the Statewide Town Hall Tour will include a screening of the documentary film, The First Step, a panel discussion and Q&A with organizers who are directly impacted by the prison system, and information and resources for town hall attendees.
Missouri runs 20 prisons, affecting every single community across the state. Take a look at the numbers:
- At least 105 incarcerated people have died in Missouri prisons in 2023, so far, after 134 in-custody deaths occurred in 2022 inside the Missouri Department of Corrections.
- There are approximately 40 people incarcerated in Missouri prisons who are at least 70 years old. Missouri’s Department of Corrections is a prime example of the reality that prisons are the largest nursing homes in the U.S.
- Missouri has the 18th-highest rate of incarceration in the U.S. More than 90,000 Missouri residents live under some form of carceral supervision and, most importantly, the vast majority of them will return to their communities and be expected to contribute as responsible members of society.
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The MoJustice Statewide Townhall Tour will educate, inform and activate communities into the ongoing work necessary to advocate for comprehensive change. All media should RSVP by emailing info@mojustice.org.