October 2018. • Photo by SounderBruce/Wikimedia Commons.
As the Washington State legislative session comes to a close on March 12, those of us counting on real changes to the carceral system are once again left feeling highly disappointed. It’s hard not to feel duped by politicians who claim to care about issues regarding those directly impacted by the legal system, yet rarely pass any meaningful legislation that offers any sort of relief. This session has been no different.
Bills proposed this session that were not passed:
HB 1274 (Fair Score Act): Provides an opportunity for people whose sentences were increased by juvenile points (felony convictions) to petition for a resentencing. It makes EHB 1324, which passed in 2023, retroactive.
HB 1317 (Second Look Pathway for Youth): Would expand the Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board (ISRB), permitting those who committed their crime prior to their 21st birthday to seek review after they have served 15 years. 20 years for 1st degree Murder, and 25 years for Aggravated Murder.
HB 1111 (Youth Hope Act): Allows people convicted of one or more crimes before a person’s 18th birthday to petition the ISRB after reaching the age of 24. HB 1125 (Judicial Discretion Act): Provides judicial discretion to modify sentences in the interest of justice.
HB 1137 (Administrative Segregation): Establishes uniform policies and procedures within DOC facilities relating to disciplinary proceedings and administrative segregation.
HB 1178 (Sentencing Enhancements): Gives judges the discretion to de-stack mandatory consecutive sentencing enhancements that have drastically increased prison sentences.
HB 1192 (Standard of Proof): Pertains to disciplinary hearings held by DOC.
HB 1196 (Vote/Prison): Revokes a person’s voting rights only when convicted of a state crime punishable by death allowing for current prisoners to vote.
HB 1233 (Wages): Ends forced labor for incarcerated individuals, while keeping prison wages no less than $1 per hour.
HB 1229 (Rob 2): Provides resentencing for individuals sentenced to an exceptional sentence pursuant to a plea agreement intended to avoid a persistent offender (third strike) sentence due to a Rob 2 charge or conviction.
HB 1239 (Reentry Ready): Prepares incarcerated people for successful reentry upon release from a correctional facility and increasing good time to a third rather than a tenth of a sentence.
SB 5231 (Communications): Reduces fees and expenses for services for people confined in state facilities.
I’ve been incarcerated for 16 years now, and year after year, beginning on the second Monday of every January, when the legislative session starts, I’ve seen this same cycle. It’s a constant promise that those of us, who have been sentenced to extraordinarily long sentences, will finally see some sort of sentencing reform that could potentially bring change. And year after year, a majority of us continue to feel hopeless after those few short weeks at the conclusion of the session.
But the responsibility of this cycle doesn’t rest solely on the shoulders of politicians positioning themselves for more power, although they are the main players in this game. The legislative session, and legislative “work” in general, have become a cash grab for many nonprofit organizations, and ironically, those directly impacted, who are also incarcerated, who are attached to them.
First, these nonprofits come up with an attractive agenda that appeals to those incarcerated and their families. They develop buzzword mission statements and flashy logos, and brand themselves as the “specialists” in legislative advocacy. They then proceed to find inmates that they can lure with the promise of certain benefits and access. These two parties then team up with the politicians to push bills that they know they’re never going to pass. Meanwhile, all of them are lining their pockets with grant money and selling the rest of us dreams in the form of fancy symposiums, dull teach-ins, and other watered down forums where they throw statistics about our communities around and pretend like we matter to them. Doing just enough to stay relevant. And if you really take a look around, the people in those audiences tend to be affluent funders seeking yet another project to help rid them of their White guilt.
It’s these bogus organizations, and their tokenized inmates, that are just as bad, if not worse, than the politicians who prey on our communities. And it’s these same conniving individuals who use their access and proximity to political power to push real community-connected organizers to the margins. But what should we really expect from people who prioritize grant funding over actual community needs and align themselves with these same politicians who were former prosecutors incarcerating us in the first place?
Now, I’m not knocking the hustle. But when that hustle comes at the expense of the freedom of those that I love and my community, that’s not a hustle, that’s a jack move. It’s a dirty game, y’all.
And while there are some great advocates, inside and out, doing wonderful legislative work that comes from a place of truth and authenticity, even they will find themselves victims of the cycle and pushed to the margins.
So as this cycle continues, I’m left to wonder if their reforms should even be our goal at all. Because at the end of the day, are we really going to benefit from surface level “reforms” to a system that, at its core, is deeply rooted in racism, and disproportionately impacts BIPOC communities anyway? Especially those of lower income. That’s a rhetorical question by the way.
These nonprofits, tokenized inmates, politicians, and “system” are all one in the same. And as long as we’re content with just reforms, they’ll continue to control the narrative — and the cycle. In order for us to fully be free, we can’t keep depending on weak legislation and even weaker politicians. We must demand changes that take a more transformative approach that dismantles the current status quo, centers our people, and brings the power back to our communities. To be free, we must look towards Abolition. By any means necessary.
Free Palestine!
Until next time, keep dreaming!
***
Felix Sitthivong is an incarcerated storyteller, community organizer, and founding member of the Peoples’ Empowerment Assembly for Collective Equity (PEACE). Sitthivong is also the former president and senior advisor for the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Awareness Group (APICAG). He is currently serving a 66-year sentence at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, WA. Reach him with questions for “On the Fence Line” via Securus (WA #354579) or write to him at Felix Sitthivong #354579, PO BOX 900, Shelton, WA 98584.
Felix Sitthivong is an incarcerated storyteller, community organizer, and founding member of the Peoples’ Empowerment Assembly for Collective Equity (PEACE). Sitthivong is also the former president and senior advisor for the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Awareness Group (APICAG). He is currently serving a 66-year sentence at the Washington Corrections Center in Shelton, WA. Reach him with questions for “On the Fence Line” via Securus (WA #354579) or write to him at Felix Sitthivong #354579, PO BOX 900, Shelton, WA 98584.
