City Council tackles ‘prison gerrymandering’

By Jack Tomczuk Posted on May 24, 2022

Murals painted by inmates and barbed wire are seen outside Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 7, 2015. Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the prison on September 27 during his six-day visit to the United States. Picture taken August 7, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Makela

In a change long-sought by advocates, Philadelphia may soon consider prisoners as living at their last known address, rather than where they are currently incarcerated, for the purposes of drawing political boundaries.

A bill introduced in City Council last week would reallocate more than 7,500 prisoners locked up in state and municipal correctional facilities to the population of council districts in which previously resided to combat what’s known as “prison gerrymandering.”