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.
“For eight hours, Goodell listened attentively — sometimes interjecting questions — as defense attorneys and formerly incarcerated people spoke. In the day’s first session, Orleans Parish Chief Public Defender Derwyn Bunton explained the plethora of bail fees and court costs that defendants pay to help support the city's criminal justice system.“
The Advocate
September 11, 2018
Read More“Over the next few years, Safe Streets & Second Chances will assist Goodwill and the DOC with research and data analysis as Pennsylvania changes its methods for rehabilitation and reentry. The agency will work with incarcerated individuals from the day they enter the prison system through the months following their release to prepare them for reentering society. That work includes job training, mental health support, substance abuse treatment and other programs that prepare individuals to live outside of prison and never return.“
Safe Streets & Second Chances
September 7, 2018
Read More"Often using state-issued material or contraband, imprisoned artists use a myriad of genres and styles to create political collages, portraits of other imprisoned people and mixed-media works that comment on abuse, racism and the exploitation of prison labor. In Dimanche’s story, I see the stories of thousands of others in U.S. prisons who are using art and creativity to shine a light on their experiences and advocate for systemic change."
The Conversation
August 31, 2018
Read More"Launched in New York City in April 2016, “States of Incarceration” is run by the Humanities Action Lab, a coalition of more than 20 universities that collaborate to produce projects that foster public dialogue on pressing social issues by exploring local histories to understand shared global concerns. More than 700 university students and formerly incarcerated individuals from 30 communities across the country contributed to the exhibition, funded by a $310,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities."
Arizona State University
August 31, 2018
Read More"On Friday, Aug. 24, students at Stearne received backpacks filled with notebooks, crayons and other school supplies in time for the new school year. Men of Action’s members, many of whom are serving life sentences, each donated at least $28 to purchase the supplies."
Generocity
August 30, 2018
Read More"Now more than 100 Slack employees have visited San Quentin to meet and mentor people enrolled in The Last Mile’s coding program. And Butterfield offered up his company as the test case for getting prison-trained coders into high-growth start-ups, something that has not really worked yet."
The Atlantic
August 29, 2018
Read More"We got “broken windows,” not “abandoned property,” and a very different policy response ensued. But what if the authors—and the policymakers who heeded them—had taken another tack? What if vacant property had received the attention that, for thirty years, was instead showered on petty criminals?"
The New Yorker
August 23, 2018
Read More"The United States leads the world in both food waste and mass incarceration. In response, L.A. Kitchen’s founder and president, Robert Egger, developed an organizational model that confronts the overlapping social injustices of both."
KCET
August 22, 2018
Read More"Orians is a staff attorney with The First 72 Plus, so named in reference to that first 72 hours after release. The New Orleans-based non-profit was founded by six men who had all previously been incarcerated. Prior to founding the First 72, all of the men had made a habit out of helping others returning home from prison by helping them secure a place to return home to."
Next City
August 20, 2018
Read More"'I have seen and heard of things at some of the concerts that would chill the blood of the average citizen,' Cash told the Subcommittee on National Penitentiaries. 'But I think possibly the blood of the average citizen needs to be chilled in order for (change) to come about because right now we have 1972 problems and 1872 jails… People have got to care in order for prison reform to come about'."
Sacramento Bee
August 19, 2018
Read More"The fund's press release says that the latest round of grants "use the power of art to transform hearts and minds and transform the way we think about criminal justice in America." Extending this line of thinking a bit further, I asked Huang about the fund's plans to change the hearts and minds of members from a particularly powerful demographic—the federal and state legislators who can rewrite the laws."
Inside Philanthropy
August 16, 2018
Read More"'We live in a society right now where we are building a lot of jails, but schools aren't getting the funds ... the resources they need,' Smith said. 'You have kids who aren't educated or don't have access to a quality education, and you tend to get in more trouble or not have the resources that they need to deal with their issues, whether that's anger issues or family issues at home, which leads them to make a bad decision'."
Charleston City Paper
August 15, 2018
Read More"The show (produced by Sky Vision and distributed by Netflix) is a documentary series that interviews a different man on death row in each episode. The show represents the crossing of a cultural rubicon, the transformation of something abnormal into ordinary entertainment."
New Republic
August 15, 2018
Read More"Initially, The Last Mile was a six-month program intended to help participants create a business that included a technology angle and a social cause. By 2014, it launched the first coding program inside a US prison and now aims to have 500 classrooms within the next 10 years."
PC Magazine
August 13, 2018
Read More"What would justice look like if we recognized that violence is contextual often attaching to conditions of poverty and that victimization haunts those who have hurt other people? The anger that drips from our harshest sanctions — the death penalty, life without parole and lengthy enhancements for third-strike felonies — might be softened by mercy and compassion"
USA Today
August 9, 2018
Read More"Puppies Behind Bars (PBB), a nonprofit founded in 1997, trains prisoners to raise both service dogs and explosive detection dogs. The future K9 officers enter prison at the age of eight weeks and live with their prisoner-trainer for about two years. According to the PBB’s website, the program 'gives inmates the opportunity to contribute to society rather than take from it, and lets law enforcement see that inmates are capable of doing something positive for the community'."
Prison Legal News
August 7, 2018
Read More"The collaboration between the NBA family and organizations of the Innocence Network began in 2014 when representatives from NBCA and the Innocence Project met to learn about the issue of innocent people in prison. Inspired by the exonerees he met at the 2016 Innocence Network Conference, Coach Popovich recorded a PSA along with Coach Rick Carlisle, Coach Steve Kerr and several NBA players in honor of Wrongful Conviction Day."
Innocence Project
August 7, 2018
Read More"Mass incarceration, solitary confinement, maximum penalties, domestic violence, and sexual assault—these topics are regularly analyzed, discussed and contemplated at John Jay. But to really feel the impact of the criminal justice system in America, Associate Professor Amy S. Green in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies worked for three years developing and then directing the play whatdoesfreemean?, which recently finished showing at Nora’s Playhouse in Manhattan. To learn more about the play, her process and her hopes for change, we sat down and chatted with professor Green. "
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
August 1, 2018
Read More"The week-long program allows incarcerated fathers to spend each day with their children. They do more than just play games, do arts and crafts and sit down for meals together, though. They throw a party for all the birthdays missed and hold nightly discussions on the pain of having incarcerated loved ones, said Karen McDaniel, executive director of Place4Grace, which organizes Camp Grace."
The Californian
July 31, 2018
Read More"Rick Aguilar was facing ten years in prison and for many in his situation there would be two options upon release: return to prison or die back on the street. Aguilar found and developed his own skills while in prison, positioning him for a third option when he was released."
Charles Koch Foundation
July 31, 2018
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