[Audio from 1/26/22 interview unavailable due to technical malfunction]
Founded in 2016 as a campaign of ExPO: Ex-incarcerated Persons Organizing, FREE works particularly with women’s issues in prison and after release. In this episode of the 8 o’Clock Buzz, Jerome Dillard speaks with Tamra Oman, the statewide director of FREE, about the activities of the group — housing for released women, breaking the generational cycle of incarceration, pay and educational opportunities for women in prison — and several upcoming events. The annual cost of incarcerating a women in Wisconsin is $42,000, money which could be better spent providing opportunities.
Thursday, January 27, 2022, FREE will be sponsoring a special live-streaming of the not yet released PBS documentary “Apart”, which follows three pregnant incarcerated women as they struggle to negotiate the separation of their new-born babies in the prison system. Pre-registration via their Facebook page is required to obtain an access code for this special showing. A discussion follows.
On February 2, 2022, get to room 200SE of the Capitol Building early to participate in a public hearing for Senate Bill SB595, which proposes to allow termination of parental rights of incarcerated individuals. This bill will tear families apart more than already happens, according to Oman. Be there and make your voice heard to legislators!
