Overcriminalization significantly undermines human flourishing and social well-being by harming the family, social networks, and social citizenship. Additionally, it prevents capable men and women from utilizing their creative capacities in the marketplace. This creates vast issues involving relations with family while incarcerated and reintegration into society after release. On the economic side, draconian cash bail systems undermine justice through basing someone's ability to attain pre-trial release upon their wealth, not their actual threat to society.
“The findings indicate that bail practices are deeply entrenched in the court. Judge Evans replaced all six judges who oversee bond court last September with ones expected to stick to his order. Although many of those new judges at first released more people on their own recognizance, the progress has slipped.“
The Appeal
October 5, 2018
Read More"A deeply divided Illinois Supreme Court upheld an appellate court decision in favor of a convicted felon fighting the state’s use of his criminal history to terminate his parental rights. In a strongly worded dissension, three of the seven justices warned of judicial overreach and the unintended consequences of new precedent."
Cook Country Record
August 14, 2018
Read More"Even though there is a modicum of evidence that public registries may have some deterrent effect on potential offenders, any benefit is more than offset by the increased recidivism risk from those who are publicly listed. Public registration exacerbates known criminogenic risk factors (like poor housing, unemployment, social isolation and poverty), and larger public registries appear to result in more rather than fewer sex crimes."
The Appeal
July 20, 2018
Read More"Though their numbers overall are dwarfed by the size of the male prison population, nearly 2,300 women are now serving time in Illinois. With 8 of every 10 female inmates in Illinois a mother and often the primary parent, their removal from society has damaging ripple effects on families and neighborhoods, experts say."
Chicago Tribune
July 18, 2018
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