Statement to Public
Society-First wants to thank every advocate, organization, ministry, ex-offender and individual who has joined with us to form the Road to Restoration Coalition. It is a true honor to fight along side you in this war to end mass incarceration.
It is our deepest desire to see that a restorative criminal justice system replace the draconic system of Florida that has amassed the largest LWOP population, per capita, in the WORLD.
As expected we have faced adversity, even from those who call themselves advocates for reform. There have been some who have fought against a unified front, ignoring the sad truth that division has taken root in their hearts.
We implore all who have allowed self-interest and who have looked at this movement as competition to their own existence and agenda to, finally, come to see that fighting this war with an absolute unified front will give us all the desired result that we all so claim to want.
We want to make clear what we are, and what we are not. We want to bring a clarity to exactly what we are doing and we want to eradicate any discord that may stand in the way of the movement. We need everyone to agree to come together in the most formidable alliance ever seen.
As for our goal here and now, it is to answer any questions that you may have about the Road to Restoration Coalition. We want nothing but absolute transparency and will try to clear up any doubt as to our mission and purpose. First and foremost, understand that we have dedicated our own time, energy, and even our own money to finance this movement up to this point.
We have begun to take in some small amount of donations, which have been an absolute blessing. They have helped tremendously as all of the rallies, marches, and especially the conference has seriously drained our personal finances. We have taken on the responsibility ourselves on top of fulltime careers to bring hope to every lifer, by chalenging the unconstitutionality of Florida's Life sentences. What we need is for every one to contact us through a love one and give us your:
1.) Name
2.) DC#
3.) Current Institution
4.) Name of loved one, relationship & outside contact telephone #
5.) Circuit court and county of conviction
6.) Case number
(It is a "one size fits all claim" so refrain from sending us any of your personal case information, please).
The issue at hand is the fact that Florida's Life sentences violates Article 1, Section 17 of the Florida Constitution entitled "Excessive Punishment," which distinctly states "...indefinite imprisonment is forbidden."
As we travel down this Road to Restoration it is our hope and belief that there will be more and more attorneys who will join beside their comrades in this fight. It is our belief that the larger more prominent organizations from both state and federal levels will join us as we push onward.
It is our hope that those who are standing in the shadows waiting to see if we are successful will step out to stand with us. It is also our belief that the Church will finally be the force of advocacy that Jesus Christ was... Or at least, become imitators of His advocacy. We are talking about the biggest criminal justice movement in the last century.
It is clear through the historical background that Florida's Life sentences were Florida's ex-slave owners' attempts to re-establish slavery back into social fabric of society. The covert objective was to place former slaves in prison for Life and then lease them back out to be worked as not as slaves, but as criminals.
To top this off, Supreme Court Chief Justice, Arthur J. England, Jr recognized that the Florida Life sentence was illegal when he stated, "...if the net effect of a penal statute is to give an indefinite term of imprisonment, then the law is at odds with Article 1, Section 17 of the Florida Constitution."
All Lifers and loved ones, please contact:
Joan Lewis - Director of Communications
Phone: (803)704-4766
Email: joan.societyfirst@gmail.com
Email: reform@society-first.com
Website: www.Society-First.com
Putting society first in social and criminal justice reform
Watch our video!
Society-First seeks to educate the public on how mass incarceration affects every citizen whether they have been the victim, perpetrator, incarcerated, or even had a parking ticket. The reforms of one group affect us all thus we aim to make information our strongest ally in the fight most do not even know exists.
We seek to enlighten the people about the sweeping effects that lead many to prison and how change is paramount to our future. How we can develop new ideologies in ridding our nation of a culture that is responsible for its victimization. A culture, not a people, that is behind the cold detachment that has created this rampant criminality so ingrained in many of our citizens.
To understand not only what brings those to victimize, but also how we can prevent such from taking place at all. That when the prison is needed, it will be efficient in cultivating people into productive members of society... and not simply warehousing them indefinitely. A society that takes no ownership in its problems, is a society that will never identify its solutions.
Society-First is a social networking site that seeks to bring light to the people who are most affected by the criminal justice system, our communities. It is essential our justice system becomes a productive part of society itself and is imperative we find the best-laid plan in reforming it. Justice can NO LONGER wear a blindfold, she must open up her eyes to see what she has BECOME.
Click on the image to play!
R2R CALL TO ACTION CHURCH EVENT
JUNE 11, 2022 @ 2OOPM
Iglesias Ebaniza Baptist Church11505 Colony Hill Drive, Seffner, FL, 33584
Follow I-75 N to FL-80 E in Lee County Take exit 141 from I-75 N
Follow FL-31 N to FL-70 W/SE Hwy 70 in DeSoto County
Take US-17 N, US-98 N, FL-570 W/Polk Pkwy and I-4 W to your destination in Hillsborough County. Take Exit 10 from I-4W
PLEASE REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE SO WE MAY KNOW HOW MUCH FOOD WILL BE NEEDED!!!!
COME JOIN US FOR AN AFTERNOON OF FELLOWSHIP TO PUSH FOR REDEMPTION, LOVE, SALVATION & REFORM TO THE INCARCERATED POPULATION THRU OUR ROAD-2-RESTORATION COALITION.
R2R RALLY @ SUMTER CORRECTIONAL 05/21/22
R2R RALLY @ SOUTH BAY CORRECTIONAL 04/30/22
R2R Day of Empathy @ Hardee CI 04/02/22
We, here at Society-First, want to thank you all for coming out and joining us as we CELEBRATE Florida's Day of Empathy with Dream Corps JUSTICE.
It is a day that is dedicated to all men, women, and children who have been cast away as irredeemable citizens, and who, ultimately, has been sentenced to die in prison... A reality that can take a teenager up to 50-70 years to do.
The Day of Empathy is a Day that gives voice to those who have no voice... strength to those who have no strength... and hope to those who have no hope!
It is a Day that will pave a new Road to Restoration as Society-First,
Dream Corps JUSTICE,
Black Lives Matter Restores,
ACLU,
REFORM Alliance,
TOPS,
NEEC,
Inmate Encounters,
117,
and many other organizations, ministries, and advocates have joined together to bring a end to the draconic practices that has led to Florida leading the WORLD per capita in Life Without Parole sentencing...
That has led to Florida having more LWOP sentences than 30 other states COMBINED... That's over 13,000 men, women, and children shackled to indefinite imprisonment, and this isn't even considering the 4,000 Life With Parole sentences that never get paroled... or the 8-10 thousand Virtual Lifers who have also been sentenced to die in prison.
A total amount of 25-30 thousand citizens that have been buried alive under the unforgiving culture of Florida's mass incarcerational machine...
We are all here today to put the world on notice that our Empathy will overcome this travesty of inhumanity...
We are here to put Florida on notice that we will sign up every Lifer against the unconstitutionality of Florida's Life Sentence as it violates the governance of "Excessive Punishments" under Article 1, Section 17 of the Florida Constitution which distinctly "forbids indefinite imprisonment."
We are tired of accepting the crumbs of reform that fall from the legislative table, and if Florida refuses to bring a restorative criminal justice system...
If Florida refuses to bring a system that heals rather than destroys, then we will be left with no other choice but to execute 13 thousand plus motions into the court system.
With each lifer we will grow stronger.. we will grow louder... we will grow wiser. With each prison visited those looking out who have been shackled to an endless line of hopelessness will be able to breathe again... they will be able to Dream again... they will be able to live again!
We have removed the Confederate flag... torn down the Confederate statues... and now join All of US united as we eradicate the Confederate manipulations that have been in place since the 1800s.
On this historic Day of Empathy we will pronounce that NO LONGER WILL "LIFE" MEAN DEATH!!
R2R March on the Capitol
R2R Inaugural Conference
Donate to Our Cause
Your support and contributions will bless us to meet our goals and FIGHT for sentencing reform & policy change in Florida for you and your loved ones. Your generous donation will fund our mission to create awareness of the need to abolish life sentences without parole (LWOP) in Florida and bring an incentivized parole system that will allow those who want an opportunity for redemption and a second chance to do so. We ask for your prayers as we continue on this journey doing God's work and pray God will continue to use us as his vessels. Many thanks and God Bless!
