Civil Society Solutions — 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.

Posts in Civil Society Solutions

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

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

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

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

It’s hard to land a bank job if you have a record. But JPMorgan Chase tells people in Chicago with criminal records: ‘We’re hiring.’

“The nation’s largest bank by deposits has partnered with several Chicago nonprofits to mentor, train and recruit applicants who might otherwise not have considered banking because they thought their criminal records would preclude them from working at financial institutions. Since launching the pilot a month ago, Chase said it has made nine offers for positions such as associate bankers, personal bankers and remittance processors. The recruits tended to have records for drug possession or driving under the influence.“

Chicago Tribune

October 21, 2019

Employment, Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 21, 2019Chicago Tribune, JPMorgan Chase, ChicagoComment

Project Reset: Avoiding prosecution of minor offenses through art

“A new partnership between the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office and the Brooklyn Museum will allow those arrested for certain minor offenses to avoid prosecution through art. District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the launch of Project Reset, a diversion program that holds people accountable for minor crimes without prosecuting them. He said a pilot program that launched in 2015 proved to be more effective than traditional prosecution.“

ABC 7 New York

October 2, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 2, 2019ABC 7 New York, Brooklyn, New York CityComment

Kurt Evans Is Cooking to End Mass Incarceration

“Learning from and underscoring the brilliance of cooks like his grandmother inspires him when creating menus for his EMI dinners. Evans has hosted over 25 dinners, featuring dishes like piri piri prawns and roasted cauliflower and fonio salad, alongside a "chi chi," or a "correctional cake,” a microwaved cake made from commissary ingredients like M&M’s, Oreo cream filling, and mayonnaise, which acts a binder. Evans hopes to show diners the creative depth and ingenuity of incarcerated people, through the lens of cooking. The intent is not to objectify, but rather to illustrate the nuanced reality of the prison experience. “These people are really passionate and resilient," he says.“

Food & Wine

September 13, 2019

Civil Society Solutions, EmploymentPhillip ReevesSeptember 13, 2019Drive Change, Kurt Evans, New York City, Philadelphia, Food and WineComment

Using Plants to Combat Prison Recidivism

“The results and information gathered support the notion that horticultural activities can play an important role in influencing an offender’s successful reentry into society. The researchers found that individuals who engaged in horticultural programs demonstrated the lowest rate of recidivism over all other categories of released inmates.“

Sci-tech Daily

September 8, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsAnthony BradleySeptember 8, 2019Sci-tech Dailiy, HorticultureComment

In his fight for prison reform, Pusha T spotlights the 'domino effect' of mass incarceration

“"We never speak in terms of fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers, mothers," the rapper said. "We never speak in a family sense and I think everyone seems more focused on stats and numbers. If people just thought about it and spoke about it more in a family sense maybe the sensitivity and the compassion would come back to the issue."“

ABC News

September 4, 2019

Civil Society Solutions, Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesSeptember 4, 2019ABC News, Pusha TComment

Oakland's Restorative-Justice Hub Wants to Redefine Public Safety

“For years, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a local nonprofit focused on community-building and reducing incarceration, and the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC United), which fights for fair wages for restaurant workers, collaborated to develop the concept for Restore Oakland, a nonprofit hub and community center. In a 20,000-square-foot building catty-corner from the Fruitvale BART station,Restore Oakland will house local organizations and provide job training and housing assistance“

City Hub

August 23, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesAugust 23, 2019City Hub, Oakland, Restorative JusticeComment

How Orange Is The New Black Plans to Aid Criminal Justice Reform Offscreen

“Said series creator Jenji Kohan, ‘Through the Poussey Washington Fund, our characters can live on and continue to make an impact after the show has come to an end. Taystee recognized an opportunity to make a difference for her fellow inmates, and we saw no reason why we couldn’t launch our own initiative to have an effect in the real world’.“

Vanity Fair

July 26, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesJuly 26, 2019Vanity Fair, Orange is the New Black, Poussey Washington FundComment

Atlanta nonprofit to spearhead criminal justice push

“Now the state will serve as a hub, pushing criminal justice issues nationwide with a newly formed nonprofit based in Atlanta. Members hail from across the political landscape. Its advisory board includes prominent Democrats, such as former California Gov. Jerry Brown and ex-Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Gov. Matt Bevin of Kentucky.“

Atlanta Journal Constitution

July 23, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesJuly 23, 2019Atlanta Journal Constitution, Atlanta, Council on Criminal JusticeComment

The Hardships and Rewards of Making Music in Prison

“In the early years of his time at Hunt, Cook, a vocalist and percussionist, and about five other musicians formed one of the preeminent prison bands, which was never identified by a specific name, only by genre: reggae. Beginning in 2009, they performed annually at the prison’s Fourth of July celebration for nearly 2,000 inmates, some of whom might never hear a live music performance outside of a prison yard again. Cook’s specialty was Bob Marley covers. “Music is needed when you have 22 years hanging over your head,” Cook says. “It was a godsend for me. In the band room, we became like brothers.”“

Topic Magazine

June 30, 2019

Access to Outside World, Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesJune 30, 2019Topic Magazine, LouisianaComment

The Next Big Celebrity Chef? This Former Gang Member

“The traditional Mexican entree that Ruiz deployed to beat Bobby Flay, chiles en nogada, is a dish from the 1800s that combines the Mexican flag’s colors — red, white and green. “To be able to beat him, kind of at his own game, at his own style of cooking, Southwestern Mexican, and for it to be a unanimous decision on the judges’ part, blew me away,” Ruiz says. Since the show aired in March, Ruiz has been inundated with offers. “I didn’t know what to do,” Ruiz says. “I wanted to leave. I wanted to [head for] the mountains and hide for 30 days. I never thought this was going to happen.”“

Ozy

June 28, 2019

Civil Society Solutions, EmploymentPhillip ReevesJune 28, 2019OzyComment

For Bail Reform to Work Invest in Communities, Not Prosecutors

“New York City has a tremendous opportunity to reinvest in communities to help them thrive and to make them safer. To get there, we must expand the scope of this discussion and address the root causes of the social problems that we have tried and failed to address through mass incarceration, policing, and criminalization while stigmatizing generations of our fellow New Yorkers. “

Gotham Gazette

June 12, 2019

Bail Reform, Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesJune 12, 2019Gotham Gazette, New York CityComment

Prison Films and the Idea of Two Worlds

“Prisons have been one of the key settings for movies ever since the earliest days of cinema. Among the first prison films is Edwin Porter’s 1901 short film Execution of Czolgosz with Panorama of Auburn Prison. Its primitive structure emphasizes the spectacular nature of many prison films: starting with two panoramic views of the exterior of Auburn Prison, the camera then moves to the interior, closer to the prisoners, guards, and narrative action. “

The Brooklyn Rail

June 2, 2019

Civil Society Solutions, PersonalismPhillip ReevesJune 2, 2019The Brooklyn RailComment

Top Foundations Are Keen to Smooth Reentry for Incarcerated People. Here’s What They’re Learning.

“Employment, housing and transportation have traditionally been identified as three pillars necessary for successful reentry into society for incarcerated individuals. A recently released study, backed by nationally known funders, has identified a fourth: education. “

Inside Philanthropy

May 31, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesMay 31, 2019Inside PhilanthropyComment

The Pathological Politics of Criminal Justice

“Rachel Barkow contends criminal justice policy is driven primarily by ‘politicized gut instincts’—a combination of fearmongering appeals to voters’ worst impulses and an aversion to evidence of what actually works. “

Center for Court Innovation: New Thinking Podcast

May 29, 2019

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesMay 29, 2019Rachel Barkow, Center for Court Innovation, New Thinking PodcastComment