Today is August 18, 2018. I am sitting in an air-conditioned room- something that I have apparently taken for granted. I did a quick Google search and was appalled to learn that all prisoners do not have air conditioning. This summer, in New York, we have seen temperatures as high as 96 degrees Fahrenheit according to Accuweather. There is a heat advisory warning as I write and we have had multiple this summer.

As David Fathi of The National Prison Project at the American Civil Liberties Union said, “high temperatures can be lethal, particularly to those who can’t take steps to cool themselves. Whenever there’s an extreme heatwave, people die — prisoners and nonprisoners alike.” People like Robert Allen Webb. Click here to read more about his story!

While the opposition will say, “They’re prisoners. Why should they be comfortable in AC?,” I challenge you to view them like the human beings they are. If a condition can lead to death and we have the means to control it/prevent it, I believe that we have to be responsibility to inform the public and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

There are more than 50,000 inmates in New York that could be impacted. There are many more nationwide. It also didn’t take someone or some organization behind me. All it took was EMPATHY. Imagine yourself trapped in a hot room for hours or days and not being able to do anything about it!

Please support this petition because it is the right thing to do. Join me in doing something decent for a marginalized group of people that are often forgotten. I heard a problem and I want to do something about it. I hope that you will do the same.

Your support and signature means everything!

Yours,
Kershey