Senator Sharif Street joined FAMM on Tuesday, July 23rd from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for an educational forum on parole reform for lifers in PA. 

Pennsylvania prisons currently hold more than 5,200 people serving life sentences, more than 10% of Pennsylvania’s state prison population, which stands as the second highest number in the country. One of only a handful of states that deny parole to lifers, almost half are aging and geriatric (as defined by the Department of Corrections) and include over 600 individuals who did not take a life having been sentenced under PA’s Felony Murder rule.

This event continues the Redemption Tour, featuring stops across the commonwealth to educate the public on the need to reform parole for some lifers in PA.  

Program included a panel discussion and an opportunity to hear from the public. 

Harrisburg, PA, October 3, 2018 – PA Senator Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia) was joined by over 400 advocates, led by the Coalition to End Death by Incarceration and a bipartisan coalition to pass Senate Bill 942 which empowers the Parole Board to review life sentences in PA. Attendees included the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans for Prosperity, victim advocates Mothers In Charge and hundreds of advocates from across Pennsylvania. The morning Judiciary Committee meeting which reviewed the bill, did not include a vote.