Free our incarcerated elders from prison

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York and Governor Gavin Newsom please listen to our urgent -- and important -- plea to free our incarcerated elders from prison!

We recently taped a video of Forefront Church leadership holding up these signs to ask these Governors to release our elders from prison. We are asking you to do the same.

For many of us, this pandemic has made us check in and call on our elders -- our grandparents, our parents -- because they are at risk, and because, where would we be without them? 

We will be advocating for our incarcerated elders by partnering with an organization called RAPP, or Release Aging People in Prison, which is launching a coast-to-coast social media campaign.

In NY, nearly 20% of the prison population is over the age of 50. Right now, social distancing is the only way to control the spread of COVID-19, but that is impossible to do in prison or jail. 

Basic hygiene, like soap or hand sanitizer, is often banned or not available. So we are facing the very real likelihood of mass deaths in jails and prisons very soon.

The number one reason why governors refuse to release people is because of “community opposition.” That’s why we’re doing this to let our elected officials know that there is community support for releasing our elders from behind bars.

We’re sure you might be wondering, aren’t these people put in jail or prison for a reason? Why do we want to let them go? Well, in NY, the vast majority of the prisoners have completed their mandatory minimum sentences, and have impeccable conduct records during their incarceration. We’re simply asking that those incarcerated receive a speedy parole hearing and end the needless risk and exposure to a potentially deadly virus.

Not only that, but aging prisoners are a demographic that are least likely to commit crimes after release. 

As Christians, we believe in the power of redemption and forgiveness, and we believe in a God who sees us as more than the sum of our mistakes.

We’re asking everyone who watches this video to make a sign, with the hashtags #LetThemGo and #ClemencyCoast2Coast and ask your state governor to release our elders. Take a selfie, post it on social media with the hashtags, and tag @RAPPcampaign, and if you’re in our church, tag @forefrontbk as well. 

For all this, we thank you.