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Advocates and returning citizens urge council to pass EASE Act to let incarcerated residents testify
Summary
Witnesses, including ANC Commissioner Harold Cunningham and dozens of advocates and returned citizens, urged the Council to adopt the EASE Act so Department of Corrections residents can deliver testimony, access ANC commissioners, and submit written testimony; DOC officials warned of security and infrastructure constraints that would need funding and operational changes.
Chair Brooke Pinto opened a March 18 hearing of the Council's Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety to consider the Ensuring Access to Supporting Engagement (EASE) Act, which would require the Department of Corrections to provide devices, Internet access and no‑cost communications so incarcerated residents can register for and deliver oral and written testimony to the DC Council and contact their Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC).
The bill drew broad support from returning citizens, legal advocates and civic organizations who said allowing testimony would improve oversight, reveal conditions inside the jails, and strengthen rehabilitation and reentry. "Being heard is therapeutic," said ANC Commissioner Harold Cunningham, who represents residents of the DC jail and read testimony from more than a half dozen incarcerated people who could not appear in person. Cunningham told the committee he speaks on behalf of roughly…
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