After months of thoughtful analysis, deliberation and conversation, Mass Liberation Arizona has made a conditional endorsement to the candidate most aligned with our abolitionist values. Our endorsement is more than a commitment to engage a candidate; it is also an affirmation of our values and demands. We do not subscribe to the idea of “progressive prosecutors” because the problems of the system aren’t based on the actions of individuals. The system isn’t broken; it was designed to function as it does. The changes we seek are structural and systemic. The Maricopa County Attorney’s office is inherently harmful; we do not believe it can be reformed. Abolitionism requires us to establish practices of healing and accountability outside of the existing racialized punishment system. Therefore, as abolitionists, we must continue to push for a future without prosecutors, prosecution, policing or surveillance. 

We focus our demands on reducing the power and size of the office. Our 10-point platform to decarcerate Arizona includes a set of demands that serve as a condition to endorsement. The candidate must accept these demands and publicly agree to sign on to our platform at the time of endorsement. The candidate must also agree to standing monthly meetings with Mass Liberation Arizona and our affiliates through the duration of their term in office.

On Tuesday, June 29, 2020, Will Knight was presented with our endorsement proposal and he promptly accepted. Mass Liberation Arizona now formally, but conditionally, endorses Will Knight. 

Mass Liberation Arizona is confident that Will Knight is the 2020 candidate for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office who is most aligned with our values and policy platform. We have seen his dedication to our community in his regular attendance of our meetings, particularly those in our Black community. We endorse Will Knight because we believe he can lead us to a future that rejects the anti-Blackness of the MCAO that is at the root of mass incarceration in Arizona. 

Policy/Platform: 

1. Transparency 
   • Hold MCAO Prosecutors Accountable
2. Reduction of the office
   • Lobby for budget reductions
3. Treat Children like Children
   • Stop prosecuting children as adults
4. Stop Punishing Poverty 
   • End cash bail 
5. Stop Criminalizing People with Mental Health Issues
   • Alternatives to incarceration 
6. Stop the state sanctioned separation of Families and Violence Against Children
   • Do not participate in DCS proceedings 
   • Lobby for ending incarceration as a form of “neglect” in DCS case
7. Debts to Society are Paid-In-Full
   • Lobby for expungement
8. End death penalty and Natural Life Sentences in Arizona
   • Do not seek DP 
9. Addressing Conditions of Confinement
   • Seek alternatives to incarceration for LGBTQI+, undocumented, and other people vulnerable to violence in carceral spaces 
10. Community Based Alternatives to Incarceration and Community Healing
    • Do not seek incarceration as a first response to harm