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.
“But Florida has no monopoly on strange events, drug addiction, or mental illness, the lifeblood of the form. What it does have is strong public records laws that make obtaining mugshots and arrest reports easier than in many other states (including California and New York, which aren’t known for their lack of eccentricity, either).“
Columbia Journalism Review
May 30, 2019
Read More“Voting along party lines, Republicans advanced the measure, which would require felons pay back all court fees and costs before being eligible to vote, even if those costs are not handed down by a judge as part of the person’s sentence. That standard goes beyond the old system, which only required someone pay back restitution to a victim before applying to have their civil rights restored. And Democratic representatives and others blasted it.“
Tampa Bay Times
March 19, 2019
Read More“Yet the fight for equal access to the ballot is just beginning. With voting rights, voter knowledge and empowerment are everything. And as of now, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner is dragging his feet on enforcement rather than taking proactive steps to advertise Amendment 4’s impact.“
Tampa Bay Times
December 14, 2019
Read More“What’s clear is that it’s not working for either the person committing the harm or the people being harmed. People living behind bars are people and should be treated as such. Consideration and education are simple tools that we can offer the imprisoned that will help them upon release. It is also important that we hire formerly incarcerated people and that we not use stigmatizing language like inmate or ex-con and correct others when they use it. Donate time and money to organizations doing the work all over the U.S.“
Newsweek
November 29, 2018
Read More“The second sentence of the formerly incarcerated is a stigma that each of us contributes to. It begins the moment a returning citizen is released. Sometimes the second sentence is easy to recognize, like the ‘have you ever been convicted of a crime’ question on an employment application. Other times, it is harder to identify, like when we cross the street to avoid a homeless person asking for spare change.“
Forbes
October 9, 2018
Read More"There is no greater indicator of citizenship than having the ability to vote, and nothing speaks more to the founding of our country than second chances."
Human Rights Watch
August 27, 2018
Read More"Rules like that aren’t unique—22 other states keep out-of-state visitors on their registries for life, according to a study released last November. It’s one reason state lists misrepresent the actual number of people with sex-crime records living in communities. As already-bloated lists keep ballooning, they feed the impression of a growing population of dangerous people who require ever-more-extreme laws to monitor and control."
Criminal Legal News
August 17, 2018
Read More"Each episode of Felony Miami centers around a different topic in the criminal justice world, from bail bonds to mass incarceration to public corruption. Now in its second season, the show's eclectic lineup of guests has included Miami-Dade chief public defender Carlos Martinez, activist and reality star Angela "Myammee" Pitts, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School teacher Chris Mattox."
Miami New Times
July 5, 2018
Read More"Children of Inmates, an organization dedicated to bringing incarcerated families together, facilitates these unusual visits on a quarterly basis, where parents can directly interact with their children, with volunteers instructing them to get into full “mommy” or “daddy” mode...."
TIME
May 17, 2016
Read More