The Appeal — Social and Economic Issues — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Social and Economic Issues

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.

Posts tagged The Appeal

What Happens When Prison 'Lifers' Get a Chance at Healing and Redemption?

“When Cruz was just 4 or 5, his father was murdered, leaving his mother to raise him and his three sisters. With few outlets to help him cope with his trauma, Cruz said he channeled his pain and anger into the “criminal gang mentality.” Gangs provided a semblance of camaraderie and social support, and they dealt with issues using violence, a language fluent to Cruz. When Cruz wanted something, he was taught to take it. He admitted he was irresponsible, impulsive, and selfish—not exactly unusual behavior for a teenager. But in his neighborhood, it happened to be much easier to get a gun than it was to get help.“

The Appeal

December 3, 2019

Re-entry, PersonalismPhillip ReevesDecember 3, 2019The Appeal, Restorative JusticeComment

New York State Judges Are Jailing People Who Can't Afford Their Fines

“The Fund for Modern Courts, a nonprofit advocate for reform and improvement in New York’s court system, charges in an April report that the state’s justice courts aren’t considering defendants’ ability to pay fines before jailing them for nonpayment. The report, “Fines and Fees and Jail Time in New York Town and Village Justice Courts: The Unseen Violation of Constitutional and State Law,” concludes that state law needs to be amended so that all courts consider ability to pay when a fine is imposed and again before jailing people for nonpayment.“

The Appeal

October 28, 2019

Criminalizing PovertyPhillip ReevesOctober 28, 2019The Appeal, New YorkComment

Millions of Children Lose Their Parents to Incarceration. That Doesn't Have to Happen.

“Today, the number of children separated from their parents totals in the millions. One out of every 28 children has a parent who is incarcerated, and 1 in 4 Black children will have a father who has been incarcerated by the time they turn 14. That’s millions of children not only experiencing the pain and stigma of having a parent behind bars, but also the myriad adverse consequences that come along with it, including financial hardship, health and educational challenges, and often permanent separation from their parents as a result of incarceration.“

The Appeal

October 24, 2019

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesOctober 24, 2019The AppealComment

Convicted of a Deadly Crime as a Teen, He Worked for Decades to Get a Second Chance at Life

“Despite his rejections, Rivera never gave up. At 16, he entered prison illiterate. By the time he left, he was working toward a bachelor’s degree in sociology through Bard College’s prison initiative program.“

The Appeal

September 16, 2019

Re-entryPhillip ReevesSeptember 16, 2019The AppealComment

Painting a distorted picture of crime 'spikes' in New York City

“But Watkins’s coverage moves the goal posts and relies heavily on simplistic police narratives. She first reports on an increase in homicides in Brooklyn, but when those decrease, she narrows in on murders in North Brooklyn. When those also go down, the reporting zooms in on two precincts—all while letting pro-police voices drive the narrative that there’s a worrying “spike” in crime. These articles are a study in how not to report on crime, given that such reporting will most likely influence how authorities police Black and Latinx neighborhoods.“

The Appeal

August 16, 2019

PersonalismPhillip ReevesAugust 16, 2019The Appeal, New York City, New York TimesComment

Ohio Governor Wants to Detain Fewer Mentally Ill People Before Trial

“The week before the shooting, 79 percent of the roughly 1,200 adults in the hospitals were court-ordered to be there, many until their competency is restored for trial, DeWine said. According to the state’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, almost a quarter of those people were facing nonviolent, misdemeanor charges.“

The Appeal

August 14, 2019

Mental Health, Pre-trial DetentionPhillip ReevesAugust 14, 2019The Appeal, OhioComment

Sensationalist Tale of an Elderly Killer Feeds False Narrative

“The public’s perception of crime is often significantly out of alignment with the reality. This is caused, in part, by frequently sensationalist, decontextualized media coverage. Media Frame seeks to critique journalism on issues of policing and prisons, challenge the standard media formulas for crime coverage, and push media to radically rethink how they inform the public on matters of public safety.“

The Appeal

August 9, 2019

PersonalismPhillip ReevesAugust 9, 2019The Appeal, New York TimesComment

New York City's Homeless Diversion Program is 'Smoke and Mirrors' Reform, Advocates Say

“If the goal is to help homeless people, ‘you try to earn somebody’s trust and offer them services that they need,’ Goldfein said. ‘You don’t start off by giving them a summons and then say to them ‘but I’ll remove this threat hanging over your head if you come in and accept services.’ That’s coercive. No one’s going to do it’.“

The Appeal

July 26, 2019

Criminalizing PovertyPhillip ReevesJuly 26, 2019The Appeal, New York CityComment

Media Frame: 5 Common Tactics Used to Discredit Reform D.A.s

“As with all progressive change, however, these reforms are being met with a backlash. A recent spate of articles and opinion pieces—relying heavily on police and pro-police sources—are using tired tropes to attack reform DAs and their records. Here are five of the most common tactics, and why they don’t hold up under scrutiny.“

The Appeal

July 19, 2019

PersonalismPhillip ReevesJuly 19, 2019The AppealComment

Progressive Philly D.A. Krasner's Bail Reform Plans Seem Stalled, Advocates Say

“Though Krasner’s office has made it clear that bail reform is a work in progress and advocates acknowledge some improvements, staff and volunteers at organizations that work directly with defendants say they are surprised at how slowly it’s moving.“

The Appeal

June 25, 2019

Bail ReformPhillip ReevesJune 25, 2019The Appeal, Philadelphia, Larry KrasnerComment

Media Frame: Using Gun Fears to Demagogue Bail Reform

“As the movement to reform cash bail—a practice that experts say disproportionately punishes poor people and people of color—gains steam throughout the country, local media continues to rely on fearmongering police narratives in lieu of evidence and nuance. One recent example, CBS 2 Chicago’s report on police fears of bond reform, serves as a useful case study in how this misinformation spreads uncritically. “

June 14, 2019

The Appeal

PersonalismPhillip ReevesJune 14, 2019The Appeal, ChicagoComment

Spotlight: Prosecuting Lifesavers Exposes Deep Problems with Laws and their Enforcement

“Warren is pointing out that unjust laws are only half the problem. Unjust laws on the books are nothing new. For them to do the most harm, they must be enforced as such. Warren notes that smuggling and harboring laws ‘have always been applied selectively: with aggressive prosecutions of ‘criminal’ networks but leniency for big agriculture and other politically powerful industries that employ scores of undocumented laborers’.“

The Appeal

June 11, 2019

Personalism, OvercriminalizationPhillip ReevesJune 11, 2019The AppealComment

Video Hearings: The Choice 'Between Efficiency and Rights'

“After someone is arrested but not yet convicted of a crime, the next step is to appear before a judge, magistrate, or bail commissioner, who decides whether to release the person or require that they post bail in order to go free until the court date. But in Philadelphia, those arrested don’t physically appear in a courtroom during that crucial first hearing. Instead, they stay in the police booking center and their images and voices are sent to the judge, prosecutor, and public defender by video.“

The Appeal

June 5, 2019

Bail ReformPhillip ReevesJune 5, 2019The Appeal, PhiladelphiaComment

A New Moral Panic Targets Moms

“‘We are making a moral judgment of the mom,’ Skenazy said. ‘We think that we’re making a scientific and clear-eyed judgment of the danger, but actually we are always judging the mom’.“

The Appeal

May 30, 2019

Parental Incarceration, Female IncarcerationPhillip ReevesMay 30, 2019The Appeal, PennsylvaniaComment

This grandfather was granted parole in 2018. Why is he still in prison?

“That’s because there’s virtually nowhere he’s allowed to live. Under the New York State Sexual Assault Reform Act (SARA), people who are on parole or other types of community supervision for certain sex crimes can’t live within 1,000 feet of a school. Until the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) approves a SARA-compliant home, Zada will remain in prison. “

The Appeal

May 17, 2019

PersonalismPhillip ReevesMay 17, 2019The Appeal, New YorkComment

Atlanta Bail Reform is Leaving Behind Homeless and Mentally Ill People

“‘The reality is that a lot of people who populate our local jails are people who are homeless [and] people who have psychiatric disabilities,’ said Sarah Geraghty, a managing attorney at the Southern Center for Human Rights, ‘and by definition those are going to be people who cannot afford to pay small, preset bail bonds to buy their liberty’.“

The Appeal

May 16, 2019

Bail ReformPhillip ReevesMay 16, 2019The Appeal, AtlantaComment

Jailed Men Get Help While Women Languish, Georgia Lawsuit Claims

“Men found incompetent to stand trial are housed at Fulton County Jail, where they are provided full-day programming, including counseling and group activities, according to the complaint. However, women must often wait months in isolation for a hospital bed to become available, according to Geraghty. Approximately 30 to 40 women are held in the jail’s mental health pods at any one time, she said in an email.“

The Appeal

April 19, 2019

Female IncarcerationPhillip ReevesApril 19, 2019The Appeal, GeorgiaComment

Risk Assessment: Explained

“Over the past decade, a growing number of cities, counties and states have recognized the profound injustice of a cash bail system, in which people who can afford bail walk free while those who can’t are detained. But that awareness gives rise to a thorny question: What should replace it? How should judges decide whom to detain pretrial? In many cases, the answer has been to rely more heavily on risk assessments, algorithmic tools based on predictive analytics.“

The Appeal

March 25, 2019

Bail ReformPhillip ReevesMarch 25, 2019The AppealComment

The 'Failure to Appear' Fallacy

“Most FTAs are the result of forgetfulness or circumstances beyond a defendant’s control, according to Atara Rich-Shea, director of operations at the Massachusetts Bail Fund. They might need child care, or they are just confused by the court system. A court appearance might take place months after a ticket—long forgotten—was issued.“

The Appeal

January 9, 2019

Bail ReformPhillip ReevesJanuary 9, 2019The AppealComment

I Gotta Be Strong for My Babies

“Shaffer spoke to the Appeal from the Tulsa County jail, but she was transferred soon after to a state prison to serve out her 18-month sentence. Her crime? Permitting child abuse. Oklahoma, like many states, has a “failure to protect” law that allows the prosecution of a caregiver who ‘knows or reasonably should know that the child will be placed at risk of abuse’.“

The Appeal

December 18, 2018

Female IncarcerationPhillip ReevesDecember 18, 2018The Appeal, OklahomaComment