Continued from Page 25
lesbian, she
Pequeño, who is a lesbian, says her
won a Gloria
political views were shaped by her
Rights Amendment. She palled around with
Award from
brother’s murder in 1985. She sees
Bruce Springsteen to raise money tor an or
the Ms. Foun
parallels between society’s response to
ganization that favors abolishing the death
dation earlier
crime and to queers: “We don’t know
penalty. She frequently speaks and writes about
this year for her
how to deal with it.”
her experience as a crime survivor.
leadership.
David Dean, 36, also works at the
Bird’s two-year advocacy fellowship from
The project
project and is queer. His involvement
the Open Society Institute will tund her proj
has helped pre
in criminal justice reform comes from
ect to establish groups of crime survivors in
vent additional
the inside. He spent nearly two years
Washington and Nevada. These groups will he
harsh mandato
in prison for committing fraud and
affiliated with a program of the Portland-based
ry sentencing
identity theft in order to fund his drug
Western Prison Project and will he the basis of
legislation and
habit.
a regional network.
educated more
“I saw a lot of people who were in
“My vision for the groups is that they will
than 15,000
prison for the third or fourth time,”
ex-felons about
mostly focus on advocacy toward policy
says Dean. “I decided I didn’t want to
changes that improve the system’s response to
their voting
be a lifer.”
rights across
survivor and community needs,’’ says Bird.
Dean got clean and sober while in
Open Society Institute program officer Kate
seven Western
jail. He kept a low profile and worked
Black told Just Out: “As a crime survivor,
states. Fcx:using
in the prison library. At the sugges
“ I decided I didn’t want to be a lifer”
Arwen lends a powerful voice of dissent to
on prisoners,
tion of a friend, he contacted Sarabi
— David Dean
‘tough on crime’ policies that, contrary to pop
former prison
when he got out to see about getting a
ular belief, do not represent the views of all
ers and their families, the organization works to
job with the project. Now he helps register
crime victims. OS1 is proud to support Arwen
make prisons more humane and raises aware
other ex-felons to vote and educates them
and her work to advocate for a more humane
ness about the overreliance on prisons in the
about their voting rights.
and effective system of justice.”
United States.
Bird will use the model of SA FES for her
Not surprisingly, Bird calls Sarabi a mentor.
work in Nevada and Washington. The crime
“I was able to see very early in getting to
survivors groups will focus on restitution
know Brigette that she had many wonderful
reform, improving crime victims’ compensii-
skills and gifts,” she says. “She is able to orga
nize diverse groups of people
Queer Western Prison Project hoard member
to come together around a
Scot Nakagawa says he is sometimes asked,
common goal.”
“Given all the misery in the world, why would
Though Sarabi is the sur
you want to help people who inflict crime?”
vivor of a violent assault, it
Nakagawa, who worked for several years for
was having a family member
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, says
in jail that led to her voca
the reason he is devoted to his field of work is
tion. Her daughter spent
because “when you kx)k at who is in prison,
more than three years in jail
you realize prisons are a way for society to man
for robbery, and it was then
age the poor."
that Sarahi learned that the
Bird adds: “If prisons and a punishment-ori
criminal justice system was
ented response to violence work so well, why
failing to help perpetrators of
isn’t the prison system shrinking instead of the
crimes, their families or their
tremendous growth that it’s had in the past
victims.
decade? 1 know that we can do better.”
Bird does not think it is a
According to the Prison Index, a joint ven
Kathleen Pequeño got involved in criminal justice reform after
coincidence that queer
ture of the Western Prison Project and the
her brother was murdered in 1985
women like Sarabi have been
Prison Policy Initiative, incarceration grew
her peers and role models.
rapidly in the 1990s, with almost 2 million
tion, sentencing reform and advocacy for better
“I haven’t necessarily sought that out,” says
adults in prison or jail by 2000. During that
government spending.
same decade, crime rates were falling; for
Bird, “but it seems to be the reality o f who is
While much of Bird’s work has been direct
instance, murder rates dropped from 9 per
drawn to this work, who stays involved for the
ed at improving circumstances for crime sur
long haul and who sees criminal justice reform
100,000 people in 1994 to 5.5 in 2000.
in the broader context of social justice and
vivors, the criminal justice reform movement
However, public perception was that crime
tackles a wide spectrum o f issues. From prison
human rights.”
was on the rise. In 2000, almost half of all U .S.
ers’ rights to stopping the expansion of prisons,
Kathleen Pequeño, membership director at
citizens thought crime was increasing. Why?
justice reform advocates work on many fronts.
the Western Prison Project, says queers are well
About 82 percent of the public say they base
their opinions about crime on what they hear
A s Brigette Sarabi says, “This is a big move
represented in the movement because they
understand the connection between the crimi
on the news. And in the last half of the 1990s,
ment, and there’s room for all perspectives.”
Americans shelled out an extra $50 billion to
Sarabi, 44, is the founder and executive
nalization (T homosexuality and other forms of
injustice.
director of the Western Prison Project. An out
spend on criminal justice.
Oregon added more prisoners to its system
in 2002 than any other state in the region.
According to the Western Prison Project, the
fxxnn in incarceration is directly because of the
passage of Ballot Measure 11, Oregon’s “one-
strike” mandatory sentencing law, in 43 per
cent of cases.
Nakagawa takes the stance that “crime is
not a social problem or an issue of evil individ
uals.” He notes that almost everyone in society
has been affected by crime and that we all have
a vested interest in helping offenders re-enter
society successfully.
“One in 37 people has been in prison or in
jail,” says Nakagawa. “Almost everyone comes
back to stKiety. How we treat them will affect
how they treat us.”
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Scot Nakagawa says he is sometimes asked,
“ Given all the misery in the world, why would
you want to help people who inflict crime?”
Bird concurs. She says she is trying to create
a world in which “people are able to be them
selves and live to their full potential...because
of the inherent safety, adequate resources for
everyone and recognition of the contribution
that each person has to make.”
All you need is one kxdc in Bird’s bright,
compassionate eyes to knew that her convic
tion is hard-won and deeply felt. Being a crime
survivor, she says, has given her the power to
touch hearts.
Her goal in using that power is at once simple
and daunting: “I am fundamentally driven,” she
says, “by the desire to prevent what happened to
me from happening to someone else.” JH1
Staff Writer M eg D aly am be reached at
megdaly@justout. com.
STEPHEN B lair is a Portland free-lance writer.
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