Civil Society Issues — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Civil Society Issues

Many issues that are primary drivers of mass incarceration cannot be remedied through government solutions alone. Issues such as broken families and mental health, both forever altered by over criminalization, cannot be simply be repaired through legislation. Civil Society has the unique capability to address certain social issues that government cannot, or to address them more effectively than government can. This section also addresses issues in which over-policing attempts to fix issues that should be handled through the community.

Community Policing Is Not the Answer

“Proponents of community policing argue that embedding police, particularly in Black communities, can build trust and partnerships that would have changed my calculus, to call NYPD. But the strategy is flawed and has drawn resources away from communities that need it and instead directed them toward policing. Time has shown that community policing is merely an expensive attempt at public relations, after a long history of racialized police violence and injustice, and does little to reduce crime or police violence.“

The Appeal

December 2, 2019

Police-Community TrustPhillip ReevesDecember 2, 2019The Appeal, Community PolicingComment

There's a Pattern of Police Unions Attacking People Who Call for Criminal Justice Reform, Especially When They Are Black

“Nationally, the FOP represents 330,000 members across 2,200 lodges. Local unions often make political endorsements of elected officials, as the South Bend, Indiana, FOP did in 2011 with then mayoral candidate and now Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg. But most candidates in the Democratic field have released criminal justice reform plans than include proposals to strengthen police accountability for misconduct. In 2016, the national FOP endorsed President Trump, who has championed federal prison and sentencing reforms, but has also advocated for nationwide expansion of stop-and-frisk policing. The tactic led to disproportionate stops and arrests of Black and Latinx people in Trump’s hometown of New York City.“

The Appeal

November 27, 2019

Police-Community TrustPhillip ReevesNovember 27, 2019The Appeal, Fraternal Order of Police, Malcolm JenkinsComment

Incarcerated People Can Do More than Beat Harvard in a Debate

““Ninety-five percent of people who are incarcerated will eventually get out,” Ken Burns, the executive producer of the documentary, told Rolling Stone. “And the question is, do we want them as contributing members of society, or do we want them having used prison as a different kind of school to hone criminal skills? If you’re spending $100 billion a year to maintain our prison system and it has a 75 percent recidivism rate, something is broken.” This is the question that the four-part film examines with a critical eye. Directed by Lynn Novick and produced by Sarah Botstein, College Behind Bars profiles the Bard Prison Initiative, a Bard College program that extends its curriculum and has awarded nearly 550 full degrees thus far to matriculated students in six New York State prisons.“

Rolling Stone

November 26, 2019

Civil Society Solutions, Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesNovember 26, 2019Rolling Stone, Bard Prison Initiative, Ken Burns, PBSComment

When People in Prison Can Vote, Officials "Treat Them with Some Respect"

“She added that voting from prison “does not negate their incarceration or any work done by law enforcement to put them there” but that it could “force elected officials who played a part [to] think twice about likening them to animals. If more district attorneys, mayors, governors or attorney generals, knew that every inmate could vote in their elections, they may start seeing them in a different light…maybe even treat them with some respect.”“

The Appeal: Political Report

November 22, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesNovember 22, 2019The Appeal Political ReportComment

The My Favorite Murder Problem

“There is a definite whiff of the Colosseum about the whole thing. But it’s easy to see how you could get swept along to these reactions—they provide the clarity and catharsis that the stories demand. But My Favorite Murder didn’t develop these vindictive tendencies in a vacuum. In fact, the show partakes in a long-standing relationship between the crime-story genre and modern law enforcement, in which the stories we tell about crime and how to stop it prop up a system that is often as much about maintaining fantasies of social order as it is about implementing real justice.“

The New Republic

November 22, 2019

Media CoveragePhillip ReevesNovember 22, 2019The New Republic, My Favorite MurderComment

Their Voting Rights Have Been Restored, But Only A Fraction Of Former Felons Are Registered To Vote

“This year in Louisiana almost 37,000 people became eligible to vote, thanks to a law that reinstated voting rights for formerly incarcerated people after they’ve served five years of parole. But only a small portion of those people have actually registered to vote in time to participate in the statewide election.“

New Orleans Public Radio

November 14, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesNovember 14, 2019New Orleans Public Radio, LouisianaComment

We Investigated the Crisis in California’s Jails. Now, the Governor Calls for More Oversight.

“Newsom’s comments follow a yearlong investigation by McClatchy and ProPublica that exposed how county jails have struggled to handle an influx of inmates serving longer sentences after realignment, the 2011 series of reforms that diverted inmates from the state’s unconstitutionally overcrowded prisons to local facilities.“

ProPublica

November 14, 2019

Media CoveragePhillip ReevesNovember 14, 2019California, ProPublica, Gavin NewsomComment

Tabloids Fuel Collective Anxiety Attack Over Bail Ban

“Nowhere did the articles note that only six defendants, out of the nearly 5,000 who go through the city’s “supervised release” programs every year, have ever gotten to go to a baseball game—that it was a one-time event, six months before the law was even set to take effect. And it was a private donor who’d paid for their tickets, not taxpayers. The teens were there as a reward for having attended every one of their court dates, for actively participating in their group therapy sessions and for being responsive to feedback on their behavior.“

The Marshall Project

November 14, 2019

Media CoveragePhillip ReevesNovember 14, 2019The Marshall Project, New York PostComment

Opinion: How a Crusader Wins

“The résumé that won John Koufos his job as national director of re-entry initiatives for Right on Crime, a project aimed at winning support from conservatives for criminal justice reforms, is one few would want. Before he landed on the radar of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the think tank behind the project, he was an ex-convict who had been disbarred from practicing criminal law in New Jersey, his home state.“

New York Times

November 13, 2019

Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesNovember 13, 2019New York Times, John Koufos, Right on CrimeComment

Voting from behind bars: Pa. allows many inmates to vote, but access varies by county

“In Pennsylvania, tens of thousands of people confined to county jails for non-violent offenses or who are awaiting trial are eligible to vote. Whether they do is an entirely different question. Currently, inmates confined to a county jail can apply for an absentee ballot by mailing an application to their county elections board. But advocates say the current mail-in absentee ballot process is difficult to navigate for anyone serving a jail sentence. And while the new voting reform package signed into law last week by Gov. Tom Wolf stands to make absentee voting even easier for the incarcerated, advocates say there needs to be follow through by county jail administrators.“

PA Post

November 5, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesNovember 5, 2019PA Post, PennsylvaniaComment

In 'Felon', Reginald Dwayne Betts Reflects On Life After Prison

“At sixteen years of age, Reginald Dwayne Betts went to prison for carjacking. Decades later, Betts is a celebrated poet and graduate of Yale Law School. But, like many ex-offenders, the consequences of those teenage mistakes have followed him for years. This hour, we sit down with Betts to talk about his third collection of poetry, Felon.“

Connecticut Public Radio

November 5, 2019

Civil Society Solutions, Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesNovember 5, 2019Connecticut Public Radio, Dwayne Betts, FelonComment

People with criminal records deserve a second chance — and business can help provide it

“The new JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter’s first initiative will help reduce barriers to employment for people with criminal backgrounds. One-third of Americans have a criminal record. A criminal record can be a major barrier to employment. In fact, the unemployment rate is an estimated 27 percent for the five million formerly incarcerated people in the U.S. — more than five times the overall national rate. More than 600,000 people are released from prison each year. We all must do our part to help formerly incarcerated people support themselves and their families by connecting them with opportunities to work and pathways to lead stable and productive lives.“

The Hill

November 5, 2019

Civil Society Solutions, EmploymentPhillip ReevesNovember 5, 2019The Hill, JPMorgan ChaseComment

‘I wanted to prove people wrong and take ownership of my past’

“One of the first things I learned behind bars was how to fish. Fishing is a way to share items and information with other inmates across the unit while confined to your cell, sometimes for 17 hours a day. We fished every day. Fishing created our community.“

Washington Post Magazine

October 28, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 28, 2019Washington Post MagazineComment

How Mass Incarceration Has Led to Absentee Fathers and Troubled Children

“Research has found that when children and incarcerated fathers can spend time in the same room, physically interacting, it can help sustain parent-child bonds. Clearly, addressing the “saturation of disadvantages” — from poverty and dangerous neighborhoods to poor schools and access to health care — is critical for these children.“

Yahoo Lifestyle

October 28, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesOctober 28, 2019Yahoo LifestyleComment

3 Questions: Ariel White on the impact of incarceration on voting

“What’s more, my work suggests that felony disfranchisement (legal restrictions on voting by people convicted of felonies) is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to voter participation. The people whose cases I studied were all facing misdemeanor, not felony, charges, which means that everyone sent to jail was still eligible to vote in the next election. These are people convicted of things like “stealing something worth less than $500,” which is not the sort of offense that we as a society have decided should result in disenfranchisement. Nevertheless, my research found spending time in jail was life-changing enough that these people became less likely to make it to the polls afterward.“

MIT News

October 28, 2019

Felon DisenfranchisementPhillip ReevesOctober 28, 2019MIT News, Ariel WhiteComment

Running group offers a different kind of escape for women in Oregon prison

“The program began after Swanson visited the prison while volunteering with Oregon Women's Prison Ministry, a Christian organization providing inmates with weekly church services. When inmates learned Swanson was a runner, completing half-marathons, marathons and ultra-marathons, they told her they, too, wanted to run.“

The Oregonian

October 27, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 27, 2019The Oregonian, OregonComment

What Does Our Fascination with True Crime Say About Us?

“True crime has never been more popular. The 2014 hit podcast Serial ignited a burgeoning genre whose recent entries include Netflix shows (Making a Murderer, Unbelievable), books (I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Bad Blood), and countless podcasts (Doctor Death, based in part on a Texas Observer story; My Favorite Murder, Criminal, S-Town). Meanwhile, crime rates have fallen to record lows. So why is our desire for grisly stories so insatiable?“

Texas Observer

October 7, 2019

Media CoveragePhillip ReevesOctober 25, 2019Texas Observer, True CrimeComment

How Private Companies Are Profiting from Mass Incarceration

“We know it’s no accident that our prisons and jails have been filled to bursting over the past 40 years. America imprisons more people than any other nation on earth—a staggering 25% of all the world’s incarcerated people are behind bars in the US. This lock-’em-culture has its roots in slavery and the racist “tough-on-crime” laws that started being passed back in the 1970s. But here we are on the cusp of 2020, with studies showing that mass incarceration doesn’t make us safer, with political leaders on both sides of the aisle agreeing that the criminal justice system needs to be transformed, and yet mass incarceration is still with us. What’s the reason for that? We think there are billions and billions of them...“

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream

October 23, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 23, 2019Ben and Jerry's Ice CreamComment

Mass Incarceration and Remorse

“However important a role forgiveness played in the jury’s decision to spare Guyger decades behind bars, according to interviews with some of the jurors an even greater factor was Guyger’s expression of remorse during her trial testimony: “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I never wanted to take an innocent person’s life...I wish he was the one with the gun that killed me.”“

Gotham Gazette

October 22, 2019

PersonalismPhillip ReevesOctober 22, 2019Gotham Gazette, Amber Guyger, Botham JeanComment

Exploiting New York City's Chinatown Killings to Attack Bail Reform

“The New York Post used a tragedy to target bail reform activists, rather than point to the challenges of a failed mental health system and poverty.“

The Appeal

October 21, 2019

Media CoveragePhillip ReevesOctober 21, 2019The Appeal, New York Post, New York City, ChinatownComment