This October 16th-23rd the Drop LWOP Coalition is hosting an online Strategy Week to bring together organizers dedicated to ending Life Without Parole. The week will be a mix of information sharing and brainstorming so we can build on the momentum of the past two years since our L.A. Strategy Session in 2019 and work together to accelerate concrete plans to fight the LWOP sentence. We hope that you can join us! The zoom link for the entire week is below along with the detailed schedule.

We plan to focus on four main strategies - Legislation, Commutations, Resentencing and Influencing/Countering DA’s - and we’ll learn more about the current opportunities and challenges of each strategy. During the week we’ll have evening sessions to discuss and brainstorm ways to move forward in each of the four main areas and on the final Saturday we’ll come together again to talk about the ideas generated during the week, figure out the best tactics for moving forward, and how we can coordinate our efforts.

Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83297207157

Full Schedule

all times are Pacific Time

Saturday October 16th

9:00am-1:00pm

1. Welcome

2. Ending LWOP Nationwide - Hear what groups around the country are doing to end LWOP, what’s worked and what hasn’t, and how we can work together in the future.

3. Legislation to End LWOP - Learn the basics of the penal code that leads to LWOP sentences, how the laws came to be, what we can do to change the laws, and what votes will be necessary to pass legislation that will reduce and end LWOP in CA.

4. Commutation Challenges and Opportunities - Learn more about the commutation process Newsom’s team is using, how applications are considered, and specific ways the Drop LWOP coalition may be able to influence the Governor to increase commutations.

5. Expanding Resentencing Options - Hear about the different ways people can be resentenced and why most people with LWOP have generally been excluded. Learn about the work of the 1170d Coalition, the stories of some people with LWOP who have been able to be resentenced and how we could potentially increase resentencing through DA’s offices.

Monday October 18th

6:00-8:00pm

1. Organizing to Pass Legislation - This panel will focus on what goes into organizing around legislation to reduce LWOP sentences.

2. Discussion - We’ll break into small groups and then have a large group discussion on organizing to pass legislation that will reduce and ultimately end LWOP

3. Future Legislation Discussion - We’ll talk in more detail about potential legislation we could support in the future

Tuesday October 19th

6:00-8:00pm

1. Strategizing Commutation Campaigns - We’ll break into small groups to discuss how we can increase commutations and then join as a large group to talk about all of the different ideas.

2. Commutation Applications and Amplification Techniques - The focus of this panel will be on commutation application specifics and how individual families can help amplify their loved one’s applications.  

Wednesday October 20th

6:00-8:00pm

1. Expanding Resentencing for LWOPs - We’ll break into small groups to talk about ideas for expanding resentencing opportunities and then discuss all of the ideas together as a large group

2. Intro to the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code and Discussion - Learn about the committee that is reviewing the Penal Code and how we can influence their recommendations. Then brainstorm with others about how we can work as a Coalition to impact the committee’s reports and future meetings.

Thursday October 21st

6:00-8:00pm

1. LWOP and District Attorneys - In this session we’ll learn about the powers of DA’s related to LWOP, both to sentence people to LWOP and also their powers to assist with resentencing. We’ll talk about how some DA’s actively work against our efforts and what we can do to counter their harmful opposition. We’ll also discuss the efforts of some DA’s to reduce LWOP and how the coalition could support them and their efforts.

2. Group discussion and brainstorming about DA’s - We’ll strategize how the Drop LWOP Coalition can counter negative DA’s and also support DA’s who are fighting to reduce LWOP sentences.

Saturday October 23rd

9:00am-12:00pm

1. Weekly Wrap Up

2. Introduction to the Drop LWOP Workgroups - Learn about each of the workgroups and how you can get more involved to end LWOP

3. Reflection

4. Moving Forward - We’ll discuss next steps and how we’ll take the great ideas and turn them into action going forward.