NATIONAL DAY OF EMPATHY: Christina and David Arquette (right), pictured here with "Survivors Guide to Prison" director Matthew Cooke, will speak at a rally in Little Rock on criminal justice reform.

NATIONAL DAY OF EMPATHY: Christina and David Arquette (right), pictured here with "Survivors Guide to Prison" director Matthew Cooke, will speak at a rally in Little Rock on criminal justice reform. VICTOR CHALFANT

A rally is set for tomorrow at 10 a.m. at the Arkansas State Capitol, part of a “National Day of Empathy” campaign to raise awareness about mass incarceration and disfunction in the nation’s criminal justice system.

Christina and David Arquette, producers of the 2018 documentary “Survivors Guide to Prison,” will speak at the event, along with criminal justice reform advocates and citizens who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system.

The event includes participating organizations from both right and left that have advocated for overhauls to the criminal justice system, including #cut50, Americans for Prosperity, Union A.M.E. Church, Arkansas Youth Coalition for Social Change, Poor People’s Campaign, and others.

Form the event’s press release:


The groups will hold a rally at the Arkansas State Capitol Building and meet with legislators in an effort to pass legislation that brings Dignity to Incarcerated Women and reduces the state’s prison population. The reforms are modeled on a bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Trump – the First Step Act. Speakers will include #cut50 cofounder Jessica Jackson who worked closely with White House officials and Members of Congress to pass the First Step Act, as well as Wayne Lucas, a man freed by the bill earlier this year. In addition to legislative meetings, activists will hold a hygiene drive for women in the Arkansas prisons. Women now account for a larger proportion of our prison population than ever before in our nation’s history. Many incarcerated women face horrible choices, like whether to pay for a phone call home to their children or use commissary funds to purchase feminine hygiene products. Organizers are also supporting the development of Dignity for Incarcerated Women legislation to make common sense reforms to conditions for women in the state’s prison system.

“Survivors Guide to Prison” screened at the Arkansas Cinema Society’s Filmland last summer. Molly Mitchell interviewed the Arquettes for the Arkansas Times in August, on their movie and the movement.