Martin O'Malley Speaks on Criminal Justice at Urban League

[bigtree]

Last edited Fri Jul 31, 2015, 11:50 AM - Edit history (1)

CSPAN ‏@cspan 30m30 minutes ago
@MartinOMalley addresses @NatUrbanLeague Conference –

WATCH on C-SPAN2 http://www.c-span.org/video/?327429-1/national-urban-league-conference-resumes-shortly&live=# #SaveOurCities




Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley referenced Barbara Jordan quote: "the gap between the promise and reality of America can one day be finally closed"

Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley: we have moved towards a fuller respect for one another. But we are not there yet #SaveOurCities

Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley: our country was not born with perfection or without original sin #SaveOurCities

Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley: we can become a more just and compassionate nation and people. There is more that unites us than divides us


Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley plans to make rehabilitation at the center of his criminal justice agenda #SaveOurCities

Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley: our laws must allow punishments to fit the crime

amber payne ‏@payneNBC
@MartinOMalley talks about his work in #Baltimore on criminal justice reform, decrim marijuana, repeal of death penalty #SaveOurCities

Lis Smith ‏@Lis_Smith 33m33 minutes ago
@MartinOMalley: "Not on our 1st try, not on the 2nd try, but finally on the 3rd try, we abolished the Death Penalty in Maryland."

Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley: every year we bury 300 Black men who die on the streets due to violent death - #BlackLivesMatter. #SaveOurCities

Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley: every story reminds us that Americans of color endure a constant state of vulnerability, even when they're driving to work.

deray mckesson ‏@deray
"We must improve policing and the way that we police the police." - O'Malley

Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley: we must embrace new technologies like body cameras. Technology won't fix everything but it is a vital step forward

Natl Urban League ‏@NatUrbanLeague
@MartinOMalley: the voice of justice never dies, it will always resonate #SaveOurCities

deray mckesson ‏@deray
This might be the best speech I've ever heard O'Malley give.

deray mckesson ‏@deray
O'Malley's way of weaving in BlackLivesMatter was well done.

deray mckesson ‏@deray
And O'Malley references #SandraBland again in a way that is well done re: illuminating flaws in the criminal justice system.

deray mckesson ‏@deray 51m51 minutes ago
It appears that O'Malley is referring to the Dawson Family murder in Baltimore. I'll never forget that. Never.

deray mckesson ‏@deray
O'Malley mentioned #SandraBland and #WalterScott, then asks, "How many names do we not know?"

“How many individuals, like Sandra Bland, have been subject to abusive arrest when the cameras were not known?” he asked. “How many Walter Scotts have been savagely shot down?... How many names do we not know?”

deray mckesson ‏@deray 3m3 minutes ago
O'Malley focused almost exclusively on matters of criminal justice and he did it quite well, while releasing an issue platform too.

“As president, I will require every police department to publicly report all custodial deaths, all incidents involving use of lethal force, and all complaints of discourtesy and excessive force,”

“Our federal government must lead by example in banning the box so that a past criminal record does not prevent a person who has paid their debt to society from obtaining gainful employment”

Says he will “forge a consensus to repeal the death penalty in America and thereby remove the United States from the small group of nations responsible for a majority of the world’s public executions”

“As Americans, we believe that you do not surrender your human dignity when you change lanes without signaling”

“If you do not believe that, you are not qualified to wear a badge and carry a gun”

deray mckesson @deray
Here is O'Malley's initial Criminal Justice platform, just released: http://martinomalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/OMalley-Criminal-Justice-Reform.pdf …

and here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251484008


Lis Smith ‏@Lis_Smith 16m16 minutes ago
Meta: lots of photo requests for @martinomalley at #saveourcities

[bigtree]

1. kick

[bigtree]

2. kick

[Raine1967]

3. Transcript and video here:

elleng originally posted this in the Martin O'MAlley group. http://www.democraticunderground.com/12811989

here is the root link. https://martinomalley.com/speech/national-urban-league/

[div class="excerpt"]As Americans, we believe that you do not surrender your human dignity when you change lanes without signaling. As Americans, we believe that you do not surrender your human dignity when your tail light burns out. And no American surrenders their dignity—whatever the emergency—because of the color of their skin.

If you do not believe that, you are not qualified to run a city.

If you do not believe that, you are not qualified to wear a badge and carry a gun.

(snip)

From 1999 forward, a thousand fewer black men died violent deaths in Baltimore thanks to the biggest ten year improvement in public safety of any big city in America. 52 days into office as Governor, we closed the most notorious and violent prison in our state, the Maryland House of Corrections.

By the time I left office as Governor in January, we had reduced violent crime to a 35-year low in Maryland, we reduced recidivism by 15 percent, we reduced our incarceration rate to a twenty year low, And we reduced new prison admissions by 19% compared to ten years before.

How?

By doing the things that work, like expanding reentry programs, dramatically increasing drug and mental health treatment, expanding education and workforce training inside the wall, giving ex-offenders an ID card before release so that they can apply for jobs, housing, and benefits.

We also did this by doing away with the things that clearly did not work: we decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and we restored voting rights to 52,000 citizens with old felony records. Not on our first try, not on the second try, but finally on the third try, we abolished the Death Penalty in Maryland.

This was my favorite part:

We cannot understand what we do not see.

We cannot improve what we do not measure.

But once we measure, once we see, and once we understand, we can certainly improve.

The reality is that racial injustice and law enforcement in America have been painfully intertwined since the first days of our nation.

If we are to have any hope of improving police and community relations in America — for our own sakes and for the sakes of our children and grandchildren — these measures of professional policing must be open and visible for all to see.

His plan is a big step in dismantling structural, institutionalized racism that this country was built on.

You and I are part of a living, self-creating mystery called the United States of America. Our country was not born in perfection, or without original sin. Because of the sacrifices and perseverance of so many in generation after generation, we have moved toward a fuller respect for one another, we have moved toward a more equal justice and more equal protection under the law.

But we are not there yet.

I really believe that O'Malley gets it.

[FSogol]

4. K&R. Thanks for posting.

Just catching up on all your excellent posts bigtree. Keep up the good work.