It is with deep joy and gratitude that we share with you an update that one of our Black mamas freed in our 2022 Black Mama's Bail Out, Amber, had a court hearing for her probation review and has officially had her probation terminated!
Originally Amber’s probation was set to be terminated Summer 2023, but on the morning of June 15, Essie Sisters, Essie staff, and A New Way of Life, arrived at the courthouse in Long Beach, CA, alongside Amber, to make clear to the judge that Amber has a village of support and a community standing behind her.
We mobilized court support and provided multiple letters of support, ultimately pushing the judge, Daniel Lowenthal, to go AGAINST the prosecutor’s position to keep Amber on probation after the DA argued that although Amber has made progress, she “had not been on supervised probation long enough” for it to terminated.
This reinforces that our loving and powerful community of women with incarcerated loved ones are the blueprint for community care in action! We are steadfast in bailing out our Black mamas with love and intention, walking hand-in-hand in support with them, providing reentry support, and connecting them to community care resources that actually help them.
Amber’s story, from her bail out on April 19 to her probation being terminated on June 15, concretely demonstrates how possible, necessary, and successful community based alternatives to incarceration are.
Judge Daniel Lowenthal stated, in part:
"You are surrounding yourself with fabulous people, you have what appears to be a tremendous support system of people who care about you around you. You're working full time and doing everything else right. I think this is exactly what we want from people so I think this is what needs to be encouraged. I applaud you for how you have responded over the last recent period and I will grant the request to terminate probation. You all keep up the good work!"
This is an incredibly huge win for Amber, most importantly, but also to all who support Essie in our fight for a world free of cages.
And the fight continues. Join us on June 22nd at 9AM, outside of the LA County Board of Supervisors office, as we demand them to prioritize a care first budget and community needs over increased LA County Sheriff and probation budgets! Follow us on social media @Essie4Justice for more updates!
