EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S ANNUAL MEETING REPORT

It probably would have made a nice "Hollywood" ending to the tale of William Penn's life by showing him agreeing to pay each year to King Charles II, two beaver skins and a cut of all gold and silver mined in the "Forests of Penn."* But the story of this heroic figure and, indeed, of liberty's birth in America is far more complicated. Penn spent many of his remaining years in hiding and in prison because of his inattentive management style and despite the grandeur of his vision. So it has been with the Prison Society - an organization born with nobility of purpose but the curse of popular emotions. These 219 years have seen our progress ebb and flow. And, as with Penn's experiment, we may have yawed at times but never drifted too far from where we needed to be.

It is now my great honor to report that we are at the mouth of the channel of progress, a place that finds the winds and tides aligned and our ship in shape for a mighty sail. But before discussing future plans, let me speak to highlights of the year just passed. In fact, it's been one of our best years ever for a number of reasons - not least because of the outcome of the Pardons Board lawsuit. We've been getting thank you letters every day - not for me, but for the work of our solicitor, Steve Whinston, and the other lawyers.

One lifer from SCI Graterford wrote this: "Please add my name to the list of lifers who thank you and counsel for first challenging the lifer amendment and waging battle in court. Though the battle is won, we know the commonwealth will not yield and will undoubtedly appeal. Nevertheless, we are much further ahead now than in the past and now have a modicum of hope - something that was torn away from us." Another expressed appreciation in the name of all lifers at SCI Chester with these words: ". . . thank you. . . for the work you've done in restoring our constitutional rights. . .thank you for being in our corner and may God always bless you and the Pennsylvania Prison Society and the great lawyers who gave their time pro bono to seek and win justice for our cause."

In addition to the court ruling, another reason for their joy was the governor's nomination of Julia Hall to the state Board of Pardons. She was recommended by Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll, we believe, as a way of balancing the Board and getting more public hearings for prisoners. There is resistance to the nomination. But the governor is supportive and we are hopeful of prevailing. Dr. Hall has spent many years acquiring expertise in corrections and criminal justice and brings strong credentials to the nomination. She is, of course, a past president and long time member of the board of the Prison Society. On another front, Dr. Hall, Angus Love and I joined others on a large advisory task force on geriatric and seriously ill inmates. The group finished its work last summer and made three primary recommendations. They included increasing the use of compassionate releases of inmates, and development of more mental health courts. Both of these recommendations are under consideration by the legislature. The third recommendation was to establish for the first time in Pennsylvania, a sentence of life with the possibility of parole after 25 years served and reaching the age of 50. As expected, this proposal met stiff opposition from victims' groups and prosecutors. Although this proposal is likely to languish, it was valuable for the issue to get a public airing.

Throughout the year we increased our presence with a number of criminal justice leaders. In addition to quarterly meetings with officials from the DOC and the Board of Probation and Parole, contingents from our board of directors visited separately with the lieutenant governor and with the attorney general. These contacts help us in a variety of ways.

For instance, county jails have long been a concern of ours. This year, our advocacy paid off with increased public disclosure of the inspection reports done by the state Department of Corrections. These reports showed that four out of five county jails failed to measure up to state standards. Furthermore, the reports made it clear that many counties have done little to improve from one year to the next. Currently, the state is devising new rules that give the DOC a stronger hand in disciplining - to the point of decertifying - counties that repeatedly fail to provide adequate facilities.

Our advocacy stimulated interest in the county jail story by the Associated Press. The wire service gained access to the reports, then wound up writing a series of stories that appeared throughout the state. Some wardens told us the series was helpful to them because it strengthened their cases with county commissioners for funding for improvements. Our visibility with the media was further enhanced by contacts with the editorial board at the Philadelphia Inquirer and other outlets, as well as through comments and commentaries on newsworthy developments. Our commentary piece in the Altoona Mirror aided local groups in winning a reversal of a sheriff's order that would have imposed exorbitant charges on local prisoners to have visits with their children.

And, we now are called upon more than ever by print, radio and television news outlets for our opinions on criminal justice developments in the state and beyond. Among the highlights of this increased visibility was a front-page story in the New York Times featuring the commutation saga of a Pennsylvania lifer before the Board of Pardons. Another high-profile event was the symposium that we and our friends at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania helped the Graterford lifers stage. This was the Lifers' Public Safety Initiative's conference on Ending the Culture of Street Crime. The daylong event drew many of the world's foremost scholars for a discussion of the concept developed by the prisoners. Later, Kay Harris and Maya Silva of Temple and I reported on the conference at the American Society of Criminology meeting in Toronto.

As a former journalist, I have dealt with many unusual occurrences. Still, this event - which germinated inside the prison and attracted so many world-class figures - was most impressive. And it was an honor for us to have played a role in it. But these highlights don't speak to the day-in, day-out advocacy of the Prison Society and our volunteer visitors in the chapters across the state. The issues they address may not always warrant media attention but mean much to the people we serve. For example, we are developing a healthcare clearinghouse to assist prisoners with concerns about medical treatment. We are not dispensing medical advice or providing second opinions. But we are opening channels of communications that help the DOC to better monitor levels of care provided by private medical contractors and that offer reassurance to inmates.

Just yesterday we received a letter -- and a cash donation -- from the president of the Lifers Association at SCI Dallas who wrote about different concerns. He said: "Addressing issues such as fans during the summer months (as the Prison Society did, as well as many other issues of importance) makes life on the inside just a tiny bit bearable. The Prison Society addressed our concerns when we are unable to address them ourselves, and of course allowing us to give you many headaches (smile), means so very much to us all!" Every donation from the prisoners is special because they have so little. But I am reminded to say a word too about the generosity of you, our members, and the work of our staff and board fundraisers. In addition to our annual appeal, this year we also ran three special, targeted fundraisers. Each one of these helps to build our donor base.

Now, we're not the most sophisticated fundraisers around. But for an organization that had no development staff at all just a few years ago, we are making important headway. We are building the unseen but all-important infrastructure of the agency.

All of these developments contributed to our stature in the field. But it is our firm belief that our leadership is built on service as well as advocacy. Our service programs are directly tied into our mission. We model and teach just, humane and restorative corrections in a variety of ways: 

It is indeed unfortunate that for several reasons - not least of which is financial - we will have to curtail our program approach to restorative justice. This does not mean we are abandoning the concept of restorative justice. In fact, we intend to work these concepts into all of our other programs and to continue assisting prisoners in this area through volunteer efforts. Barb Toews has done a superb job developing the restorative justice program since its inception five years ago. Because we were never in a position to service the full demand statewide, she has developed written guides for inmate groups and others wishing to implement RJ programming. Barb plans to pursue doctoral studies this year but will remain active in the Prison Society's program administration at a part-time level.

If the past year was an exciting time of accomplishment, the future fills us with a spirit of optimism. Here are my reasons for making such an outrageous statement:

So, where does all this optimism lead us?

How do we proceed?

In the months ahead, we plan to launch a major new public policy initiative within the agency. The primary aim of this effort will be to build on our ability to educate influential constituencies on the positions the Prison Society holds dearest. Our board was challenged months ago to consider how we might reframe key issues -- especially those that have turned our criminal justice system into an emotionally driven configuration that measures success on the basis of temporary incapacitation and has little impact in correcting the underlying causes of crime and violence. We will work to identify and articulate those new framings. Our staff began a networking expansion last year, and we have increased our contacts with individuals and organizations across the state. This vital recruiting effort will continue but we will add to it strategies for pulling new voices and new coalitions into our advocacy. Our contacts with lawmakers and other policymakers are not nearly as strong as they should be. We will address these shortcomings systematically, and strengthen these key connections. Our tools for directed communications are outmoded. We will plan and seek funding for the technology that will enable us to act and react in a world of instantaneous opinion shaping. Our newsletters - both Correctional Forum and Graterfriends - have won plaudits from many, but we must get them read by many more.

These steps and more will take us toward that goal we strive for.

If the task seems difficult in these days of "tough on crime" attitudes, consider this. One hundred years or so before the Prison Society was founded - in the latter part of the 1600's - when Catholics and Protestants were persecuting each other, when almost all were picking on the Quakers and the Jews, and when everyone stole from the Indians, William Penn established his unique Pennsylvania colony with a written constitution and a humane penal code. Our legacy is courageous, righteous and deeply rooted. And it is also a teacher that is pointing us in the direction of smart, aggressive public advocacy.

The time is right. The conditions are favorable. Our course is clear. With your continued support, we foresee a period of significant accomplishment.

Thank you.