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Betty Heron turns 80 in a PA prison this week; Let’s Get Free joins national demands for immediate release of aging and vulnerable people in Pennsylvania prisons at risk of COVID-19

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For Immediate Release: Betty Heron turns 80 in a PA prison this week; Let’s Get Free joins national demands for immediate release of aging and vulnerable people in Pennsylvania prisons at risk of COVID-19

CONTACT: Alan Lewandowski, alanlewandowski67@gmail.com

On Wednesday, April 8, 2020 Let’s Get Free: The Women and Trans Prisoner Defense Committee will join national demands to release aging people in prison in light of the current coronavirus pandemic.  Pennsylanian Betty Heron, for whom Wednesday is her 80th birthday, has served 38 years at SCI-Cambridge Springs. Heron was convicted of killing her abusive husband in 1982 and sentenced to life without parole. “He systematically and continuously abused me, mentally, physically, and emotionally. It was going to be one or the other,” she states. According to Survived and Punished, the majority of people serving Life Without Parole (LWOP) in women’s prisons, are survivors of abuse, including intimate partner battering, childhood abuse, sexual violence and trafficking.

Let’s Get Free is joining the national call from groups like New York-based Release Aging People from Prison demanding that governors address this problem of aging behind bars that has been around long before the novel coronavirus.

This is how the numbers break down in PA:

  • There  are 62 Pennsylvania women over the age of 60 serving life without parole.

  • Six of those 62 women are in their 80’s, with Alice Green, the oldest woman in a Pennsylvania prison, turning 90 in August.

  • In total, there are 1,297 people over the age of 60 serving LWOP, also known as death by incarceration.

  • On average, it costs $60,000 to $100,000 a year to house an aging prisoner while the public safety risk of releasing them is extremely low

“Ms. Betty’s incarceration gives no benefit to society, but instead deprives society and her family of big-hearted leadership.  In the United States, in a state with a forward-minded governor, no family or community should be deprived of their grandmas, aunties and other elders.  This is a moment of crisis! Betty and so many others are not a threat to society; but now due to close confinement during a pandemic, considering her age, she is very much at risk,” says Alan Lewandowski, board member of Let’s Get Free.

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Supporters and friends of Let’s Get Free are encouraged to partake in this day of digital action imploring Governor Wolf, Lt. Governor Fetterman, and PA legislators to use their power to free Betty and other aging and vulnerable people in PA prisons. Additionally, there is an online petition to gather signatures in support.

Sample messaging and graphics for this digital action can be found here on Let’s Get Free’s website soon: https://letsgetfree.info and social channels: @womeninprison on Instagram, @vivamarilynbuck on Twitter, and @LetsGetFreePA on Facebook.

9 replies on “Betty Heron turns 80 in a PA prison this week; Let’s Get Free joins national demands for immediate release of aging and vulnerable people in Pennsylvania prisons at risk of COVID-19”

This lovely Christian lady is my husband’s cousin. She deserves to be among the family who loves her. We miss her so much. Our prayers are always with her. Please release her.

Betty Heron is my mother! I have lost so many years with her due to this. She has done more than her time for this crime. If she was arrested for this today, she would not get any where near this amount of time.I am not going to comment on whether or not she actually committed this offense, but I will say the lawyer should have never put her on the stand.
Even though she has been incarcerated for 40+ years now, she has always tried to be there for me in every way she could. I love her very much and only wish to spend the years she has left with her able to be closer in out lives.

This is my grand mother that I lost time with …. But still have much love for her…She has served here time and hope one day she will be where with us …

Just ran across this post …. With that said she is my grandmother . We haven’t all was been close but the passed three years we have made a relationship. I’ve lost so many years due to what she was convicted of but when is your debt paid . I hope one day to see my grandmother out and able to meet her great great grand kids . People that do more are released in half the time .

I met Betty at SCI Cambridge Springs and she is deserving a second chance. Very honest person and she’s done her time .

I was incarcerated with Ms. Heron and she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Ms. Betty and I met at Catholic Mass and instantly connected. She has a heart of gold and deserves to be released.

Surely this calls for a reflection in compassion. Betty is not a threat to anyone.

Release her. She’s done her time. David Heron was my father. Can’t bring him back and I fell she has done enough time for what happened.

I support her release, I was her unit manager and have known her for so many years. She deserves a day in the sun.

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