From Hello allies,
$444 million has been allocated for the construction of a federal prison in Letcher County, Kentucky, making it the only federal prison in progress in the country. While public officials tout the proposed prison as a surefire way to boost our local economy, we know mass incarceration to be a false solution in communities across the country. This would be the fourth federal prison Congressman Hal Roger’s has built in our Congressional District. The previous three facilities were placed in economically distressed counties and have done very little to help local communities.
In response to the allocation of tax dollars for a new federal prison , residents formed the Letcher Governance Project. Despite officials attempting to convince the public that this is a done deal, it is not. Rather than settling for what has already been proven as a failure, we opt for creative and innovative solutions to uplift the local economy and foster healing in our communities.
Stand with us as we oppose the construction of a federal prison and promote community driven solutions to the problems we face, surmounted by decades of political corruption and misguidance.
This is what we need you to do:
- Write a short post on any social media platform to help change the story. Use the hashtag #our444million with your vision to show how you would invest $444 million tax dollars in Eastern Kentucky. Let’s populate this hashtag with real investment ideas from real people.
- Spread the word! Encourage friends to use the hashtag, send out this request for support to your list serves. Share our website, Twitter, and Facebook.
The Letcher Governance Project was founded in 2016 in response to the announcement that $444 million was allocated for the construction of a federal prison in Letcher County, Kentucky. The LGP believes that the future of our community depends on the voices of all. We are responsible for holding elected officials accountable for the fiscal decisions they make, and for governing our communities by envisioning solutions that work.
The LGP is made up entirely of local residents, and rejects a prison as the best form of economic development for Letcher County. Study after study has shown that prisons do not create the amount of jobs or economic benefits that officials often tout. And indeed, the planning process for the proposed United States Penitentiary Letcher County (USP Letcher) has largely been done by wealthy and powerful people in the county, without the input of local landowners and citizens.
The LGP stands against the racist systems that lead to mass incarceration, as well as mass incarceration itself, and advocates for a judicial system based on restorative justice. We are deeply concerned with the gradual increase of prisons in the central Appalachian region, and we advocate for a regional economy that is not built on fossil fuel industries and prisons.
Finally, the Letcher Governance Project aims to highlight economic and political corruption at the local level, and advocates for democratic, transparent public institutions.