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.
“Kim Kardashian West isn’t the only celebrity speaking out for prison reform. It’s a topic that was also very important to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle, and to Common, Kevin Hart and a host of others who consider the criminal justice system often unfair and dehumanizing. “
Philadelphia Tribune
May 26, 2019
Read More“The bulk of this initial commitment funds two organizations—$10 million to the Urban Institute and $7 million to the Vera Institute of Justice. In the context of rising philanthropic engagement in justice reform, Vera’s president Nicholas Turner called Arnold’s investment ‘unique in terms of size and scale and what it’s targeting.’ He added, ‘Arnold is saying that the effort to dismantle mass incarceration requires us to look at the condition of mass incarceration, the how and why and what of incarceration, and that’s a unique statement’.“
Inside Philanthropy
May 20, 2019
Read More“Lindh and other incarcerated American supporters of Islamic militants present a quandary with growing urgency: Is the United States prepared to try to rehabilitate extremists and foreign fighters, and welcome them back into society? “
Washington Post
May 20, 2019
Read More“A prison inmate can’t commit a crime on the outside, so the longer the sentence, the safer we are, right? That is a tenet of the law-and-order movement, which arose in reaction to violent protests in American cities in the 1960s and has dictated criminal-justice policy for 50 years. But as Rachel Elise Barkow, a widely respected legal scholar at New York University School of Law and an expert in the administration of criminal justice, explains in her important new book, “longer sentences can actually threaten public safety.”“
The American Scholar
April 18, 2019
Read More“The Advocate was awarded its first Pulitzer Prize on Monday for reporting on the racial impacts of Louisiana’s unique laws allowing juries to convict defendants without a unanimous verdict. The Advocate’s coverage set the stage for Louisiana’s voters to amend the state constitution, seven months later, to demand unanimous verdicts in criminal cases.“
The Advocate
April 15, 2019
Read More“Nevada prison inmates are taming wild horses gathered from public lands across the West in a partnership program that is changing the prisoners, too. Hundreds of Nevada inmates have been taming the horses since 2000 as part of the program involving the federal Bureau of Land Management and the state Department of Corrections, the Las Vegas Sun reported Wednesday. The animals are given up for adoption after 120 days of training.“
The Spectrum
March 31, 2019
Read More“I came to Columbus Circle at midnight and found a whole fleet of buses. All these women, children and even some men were boarding these buses to go to the upstate correctional facilities. They would ride all night, go through a long, degrading security process, just to spend a few hours with their loved ones, before taking the bus home. As I talked to those women, I knew I was witnessing one of the great love stories of our time.“
Washington Post
March 28, 2019
Read More“Promise works with government agencies to support individuals being released from custody both pre-trial and post-conviction. Promise provides tools for the individuals being released, for the government workers interacting with those individuals, and for government leaders who need data to make better-informed decisions around incarceration and public safety.“
Forbes
March 18, 2019
Read More“There’s an opportunity cost to this. When we exalt the killer, we’re diverting our focus from people and ideas more worthy of our attention. We could be considering the victims and the people they left behind. Or examining how it is that women’s bodies are selected as an outlet for violence, both extreme and quotidian, again and again. “
The Cut
February 5, 2019
Read More“‘Family members of people in prison have needs in every area of life,’ Laure said. ‘Physical, financial, emotional, mental and spiritual. For some people, they might need to know where they can get groceries to feed their families. Others might need a job to make ends meet when the primary wage-earner goes to prison. They need to know how to deal with the mental duress, the stress, what they’re allowed to wear while visiting their loved one in prison, where to find local counselors or even daycare’.“
The Alabama Baptist
January 29, 2019
Read More“Since its launch, Appolition has raised around $200,000 to bail more than 50 people out of jail across the U.S., according to founder and CEO Kortney Ziegler. Upon releasing the app in November 2017, his goal was to reach 200 donors in a month. Instead, he got 5,000.“
Money Magazine
January 23, 2019
Read More“The Jumpsuit Project challenges ideas about mass incarceration, helping to bring about an understanding of prisons and the United States justice system. The experience also opened his eyes to the effect incarceration has on those behind bars, as well as their family and friends. ‘I went into prison judging the other men by the misconceptions we have,’ he said. ‘When I got to know who they really were, it opened my world up a lot. You can’t judge a book by its cover. Everyone is capable of making a mistake’.“
The Two Rivers Times
January 22, 2019
Read More“A homeless veteran living in Baltimore, Mr. Freburger would usually have difficulty securing such an outfit, especially one selected for him personally. But in this instance, he was referred to the nonprofit Sharp Dressed Man. Since 2011, the organization has been helping men improve their lives by equipping them for job interviews and other occasions with well-fitting suits and accessories. This isn’t a “grab any jacket off the rack” kind of experience; rather, the nonprofit provides a measure-to-fit, personalized styling experience.“
Christian Science Monitor
January 17, 2019
Read More“NEADS World Class Service Dogs works with inmates at seven facilities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to train service dogs, while Leader Dogs For the Blind works with prisons in Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan in raising puppies that eventually become guide dogs for people who are blind. At one program at the Erie County Correctional Facility in New York, inmates raise pheasant chicks that are then released into the wild.“
CBS 13 New Hampshire
January 11, 2019
Read More“The season contains heartbreaking juvenile cases, the constantly infuriating combination of arbitrariness in the application of justice and systemic discrimination, the back-breaking fines inflicted on poor people, the community’s frustration and so much more. In the city where police killed 12-year old Tamir Rice in a park while he was playing with a toy gun and the prosecutor convinced a grand jury not to bring charges, it’s important to listen to the stories coming through the Justice Center.“
The Open File
January 4, 2019
Read More“I am 13 now, and I still write holiday cards to people in prison. It’s really fun to think of nice things to say to people you’ve never met. I always try to imagine what I would want to hear if I was forced to be away from my family and was being treated poorly. I would be terrified, sad and worried that nobody remembered that I existed.“
New York Times
December 21, 2018
Read More“Unfortunately, the musical selection on the 15 or so North Carolina stations I can pick up leaves quite a bit to be desired. And this is why I look forward to Friday night. The weekly radio show known as “Penitentiary Rock”—or “Pen Rock” for short—first aired on WKNC 88.1, the N.C. State University station, during the 1990s. This was before my arrival on death row.“
The Marshall Project
December 20, 2018
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“What I want to achieve with the book is to say we absolutely need reform, and we need to reduce the use of imprisonment. But we need to recognise that supervision is a form of punishment and that we have to use it parsimoniously and deliver it in ways that are productive.“
The Herald Scotland
November 24, 2018
Read More“She created a ScholarCHIPS — CHIPS stands for children of incarcerated parents. With her first grant of $1,000 from LearnServe, she went looking for donations and found so many kids like herself. She has raised and awarded more than $100,000 to 51 students. Thirteen have already graduated.“
NBC Washington DC
November 16, 2018
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