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

In Sacramento, trying to stop a killing before it happens

“So, city officials are flipping the script: intervening directly with young men who are closest to the violence — including known shooters — before they either pull the trigger or become a victim themselves. The strategy is part of a program called Advance Peace, which offers financial incentives to the young men it targets if they stay out of trouble, a relatively radical approach to reducing gang violence. Police consider such violence a major factor in homicides nationwide and say those killings can be among the most difficult to solve.“

Washington Post

November 9, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesNovember 9, 2018Washington Post, Sacramento, Advance PeaceComment

'This place saved my life.' A recovery choir helped these addicts turn their lives around

“As America confronts its crisis of opioid addiction and overdose deaths, a multitude of medical, psychological, spiritual and legal tools are being deployed. The music of a gospel choir may seem an unlikely vehicle for recovery. But ultimately, the struggle with addiction is individual and personal — engaged case by case, life by life. Among these singers, the soul-filling music has helped turn around once-hellish lives.“

North Jersey Record

November 8, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesNovember 8, 2018North Jersey Record, Patterson, New JerseyComment

Formerly incarcerated individuals share their personal experiences with students

“Charles Bell, professor of the Department of Criminal Justice Sciences (CJS) at Illinois State University designed a virtual mass incarceration panel to help students and researchers understand how factors like poverty, poor education, and community violence can adversely affect formerly incarcerated individuals. This panel included individuals who had navigated the carceral settings and were willing to share their lived experiences to help students gain an in-depth understanding of course concepts.“

Illinois State University

November 8, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesNovember 8, 2018Illinois State UniversityComment

This ex-con is bringing prison life to a screen near you

“That was the beginning of what became Escape at Dannemora, the Stiller-directed series starring Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano as the Clinton convicts. It debuts November 18 on Showtime. Jensen is an actor in the series, as well as a consultant and technical adviser, working on everything from props to wardrobe to tattoos to hair and makeup. While films like The Shawshank Redemption and shows like Oz were fiction, Escape at Dannemora is based on actual events — requiring Jensen’s touch for realism. Jensen cast ex-cons and wrote scenes based off memories of real things that happened in Clinton.“

Ozy

November 2, 2018

Civil Society Solutions, PersonalismPhillip ReevesNovember 2, 2018Ozy, ShowtimeComment

Documentary 'Crime + Punishment' Exposes Abuse Of Power In The NYPD

“The film focuses on the so-called NYPD 12, a group of 12 police officers who in 2016 publicly accused the NYPD of continuing to demand arrest quotas despite a state-wide law that made them illegal in 2010, and further for pressuring cops to arbitrarily target black and Latino men ages 14 to 21, solely to keep their arrest numbers high.“

Forbes

October 31, 2018

Civil Society Solutions, Police-Community TrustPhillip ReevesOctober 31, 2018Forbes, NYPDComment

Every city in America needs a Malcolm Jenkins | Opinion

“Using its platform and players' time off the field, the Players Coalition shines a light on the myriad problems surrounding mass incarceration. Malcolm and his colleagues are reaching out to stakeholders to better understand the human impact of criminal justice policy – something that can't happen often enough. And they are taking action.“

Philadelphia Inquirer

October 26, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 26, 2018Philadelphia, Philadelphia Inquirer, Malcolm JenkinsComment

Professor Leads Team to Improve Understanding of U.S. Mass Incarceration

“Wildeman and his team, including Profs. Maria Fitzpatrick, policy analysis and management, and Peter Enns, government, designed and conducted an in-depth survey to gauge just how pervasive mass incarceration is in the U.S. Their research will generate five approximations that illustrate the portion of the U.S. population that has a relationship to incarceration.“

Cornell Daily Sun

October 22, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 22, 2018Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell UniversityComment

Annual prison ministry program to focus on bail reform, jury selection

‘‘Community members and elected officials from throughout the state will tackle bail policies and jury selection practices in Connecticut at the upcoming eighth annual Community Prison Awareness and Prevention Gathering at Shiloh Baptist Church. The free event for adults and youths will take place from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Shiloh Family Life Center, 3 Garvin St.”

The Day

October 19, 2018

Civil Society Solutions, Bail ReformPhillip ReevesOctober 19, 2018The Day, Connecticut Comments

Fewer mugshots, less naming and shaming: How editors in Cleveland are trying to build a more compassionate newsroom

“Quinn has changed Cleveland.com’s policy of automatically using mugshots (‘the worst photos people will ever take’) with minor crime stories. It no longer names perpetrators of minor crimes in its stories. (If you’ve been listening to the current season of Serial, you know the criminal justice system in Cleveland is far from a perfectly fair operation.) “

Nieman Lab

October 18, 2018

Civil Society Solutions, PersonalismPhillip ReevesOctober 18, 2018Nieman Lab, ClevelandComment

How Businesses Contribute To The Second Sentence Of The Formerly Incarcerated

“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

Civil Society Solutions, EmploymentPhillip ReevesOctober 9, 2018Forbes, Florida, Operation New HopeComment

The Prison ‘Old-Timers’ Who Gave Me Life

“We must seriously consider whether society would benefit by letting reformed offenders re-enter their community, and whether it’s economical and humane to punish solely for the sake of retribution. When I hear of all the gun violence on Chicago’s South Side, for instance, I can’t help wondering what would happen if Illinois’s many reformed old-timers, who hail from those neighborhoods, were granted parole with a mission of working to reduce the violence.“

New York Times

October 6, 2018

Personalism, Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 8, 2018New York TimesComment

NBA Coaches and Players Public Service Announcements

“Wrongful Conviction Day is an international day to raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful conviction and to recognize the tremendous personal, social, and emotional costs of wrongful conviction for innocent people and their families. Watch Wrongful Conviction Day videos from NBA Coaches and Players.“

The Innocence Project

October 2, 2018

Civil Society Solutions, False ConvictionsPhillip ReevesOctober 3, 2018The Innocence Project, NBAComment

Author speaks on America's broken legal system

“Fourteen years after Tim Junkin recounted Kirk Bloodsworth's decades-long legal saga, his ‘creative nonfiction’ book ‘Bloodsworth: The True Story of the First Death Row Inmate Exonerated by DNA Evidence’ is reaching new audiences. ‘Bloodsworth’ was picked to be part of Maryland Humanities' 2018 ‘One Maryland, One Book’ tour representing the theme of justice.“

Herald-Mail Media

October 2, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 3, 2018Herald-Mail Media, Maryland, Tim JunkinComment

Philosophy Department Holds Conference on Incarceration and Reentry

“Professors, formerly incarcerated individuals, lawyers, and students crowded together in the Barker Center for several hours Friday afternoon for ‘Belonging: The Challenges of Reentry,’ a conference dedicated to discussing the experiences of individuals who reenter society after serving time in prison.“

Harvard Crimson

October 1, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesOctober 3, 2018Harvard Crimson, Philosophy Comment

Literature for Justice

“The National Book Foundation's Literature for Justice program (LFJ) includes five contemporary titles that shed light on mass incarceration in the United States, selected independently by five committee members tasked with elevating the books' visibility. This committee worked alongside the Foundation as part of a three-year campaign that seeks to contextualize and humanize the experiences of incarcerated people through literature of different genres, creating an accessible and visible collection of books crafted for broad public consumption. “

National Book Foundation

September 28, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 28, 2018National Book Foundation, Literature for JusticeComment

ASU researchers shine light on the impact of local incarceration

“On display at Burton Barr Phoenix Public Library until Oct. 27, the display contains student research from 20 universities in cities disproportionately affected by mass incarceration. ASU’s panel in the States of Incarceration exhibit explores local stories to promote national awareness and conversations on immigration incarceration.”

Arizona State Press

September 25, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 26, 2018Arizona State Press, ArizonaComment

Crime Is Declining, So Why Don’t We Feel Safer?

“But one factor, in particular, is often overlooked in this analysis: community groups. Sharkey says that investment into places like the Boys & Girls Club of America and substance abuse organizations started getting more funding and began drastically mobilizing in ways they hadn’t before. And the work they did helped reform often-overlooked areas of cities.“

WGBH Boston

September 21, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 24, 2018WGBH BostonComment

For Valentino Dixon, a wrong righted

“The case is complicated, but on the surface it involves shoddy police work, zero physical evidence linking Dixon, conflicting testimony of unreliable witnesses, the videotaped confession to the crime by another man, a public defender who didn’t call a witness at trial, and perjury charges against those who said Dixon didn’t do it. All together, a fairly clear instance of local officials hastily railroading a young black man with a prior criminal record into jail. Dixon’s past wasn’t spotless, he had sold some cocaine, but that didn’t make him a murderer.“

Golf Digest

September 19, 2018

Civil Society Solutions, False ConvictionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 19, 2018Golf Digest, Valentino DixonComment

Chef-Activist Kurt Evans Will Staff His Upcoming Pizzeria With Ex-Offenders

“Chef Kurt Evans is taking the idea behind his End Mass Incarceration dinner series several steps further with Down North, his upcoming North Philly pizza shop. The restaurant, at 28th and Lehigh in the city’s Strawberry Mansion section, will employ ex-offenders in a move to help former prisoners reenter the community and find work. He hopes it have it up and running in mid-November.“

Eater Philadelphia

September 14, 2018

Employment, Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 15, 2018Eater Philadelphia, PhiladelphiaComment

Jenkins, Players Coalition putting weight behind justice reform movement

“The purpose of gathering all of the influencers in one room was not just about planning a single event, however. It was to connect them all -- policymakers with public defenders, company heads with job placement providers -- to ensure the essential components of a complicated system are communicating with one another moving forward to promote greater efficiency.“

ESPN

September 12, 2018

Civil Society SolutionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 15, 2018ESPN, NFL, Players CoalitionComment