Free Grace!!
[ [link removed] ]Paid Family Leave
Join us to demand that Governor Gretchen Whitmer release Grace from
Children’s Village youth prison into her mother’s custody
[ [link removed] ]take action
[ [link removed] ]Take Action
Dear Friend,
During a court hearing on May 14, Judge Mary Ellen Brennan ordered that a
15-year-old high school student, Grace, be sent to Children's Village
youth prison in Oakland County, Michigan for not submitting schoolwork.
[1]
Imagine being sent to jail, being separated from your family, for missing
homework assignments during a pandemic?!
This is an awful situation that we cannot let stand. The start of Grace’s
probation coincided with the closing of schools through the remainder of
the school year and the start of remote learning. Prior to the order for
schools to close, Grace was doing well and had near perfect attendance.
Grace shared with her caseworker that she felt unmotivated and overwhelmed
when online learning began April 15, about a month after schools closed.
Grace’s mom was also concerned that her daughter would struggle without
the in-person support from teachers outlined in her Individualized
Education Plan. She was right in her concerns, and as remote learning
began, Grace did not continue to receive those critical supports.[2]
[ [link removed] ]Take Action! Tell Governor Whitmer to #FreeGrace.
The reality is schools across the country weren’t prepared for abrupt
closures and a pivot to remote learning. And across the country schools,
teachers, parents and students have struggled to create continuous
learning for students during this pandemic. Grace’s school was no
different.
Still Judge Mary Ellen Brennan found Grace “guilty of failure to submit to
any schoolwork and getting up for school” and outrageously called Grace a
“threat to (the) community” for not doing her homework.
“It just doesn’t make any sense, how is this a better situation for her?”
- Charisse, Grace’s mother.
This didn't have to happen. In fact, Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer had
issued an executive order in March that temporarily suspended the
confinement of juveniles who violate probation unless directed by a court
order and encouraged eliminating any form of detention or residential
placement unless a young person posed a “substantial and immediate safety
risk to others.”
Grace is NOT a “substantial and immediate safety risk to others,” and not
doing your homework is NOT a crime. Judge Brennan’s ruling to incarcerate
a child, sending her away from her family during a pandemic is cruel,
harsh, and highlights an alarming trend of Black girls being criminalized
at alarming rates in comparison to their white peers.[3]
[ [link removed] ]Take Action! Tell Governor Whitmer to #FreeGrace.
Join us in demanding that Governor Gretchen Whitmer:
* Release “Grace” from Children’s Village youth detention facility into
her mother’s custody;
* Request the immediate resignation of of Judge Mary Ellen Brennan from
the Oakland County Family Court;
* Drop all charges against “Grace” immediately;
* End the racialized practice of arresting and prosecuting children, and
ensure Michigan kids get the support they need including alternatives
to incarceration and detention and trauma informed support and
services.
Prison is no place for a kid. The United States still incarcerates more
young people than any other country. [4] Our kids deserve a future free of
criminalization, a future that supports their development and capacity to
contribute meaningfully to society. Putting kids in prisons does the
opposite of this. In fact they do little to improve community safety when
compared to community based efforts that provide alternatives to
incarceration by supporting young people, providing the services they
need, and providing access to opportunities to address harm in meaningful
ways.
Together we can END this toxic culture of criminalizing children, and of
putting kids in prison, and we can start with Grace. Sign on to demand
Governor Gretchen Whitmer #FreeGrace NOW! Click the link below to sign
now:
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
- Beatriz, Monifa, Diarra and the whole MomsRising / MamásConPoder team
CITATIONS:
[1] [ [link removed] ]Teen Who Was Incarcerated After Not Doing Schoolwork Won't Be
Released, Judge Says
[2] [ [link removed] ]A Teenager Didn’t Do Her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to
Juvenile Detention.
[3] [ [link removed] ]What can be done to stop the criminalization of black girls?
Rebuild the system
[4] [ [link removed] ]ACLU YOUTH INCARCERATION
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