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.

Why Prison Reform Must Include Pell Grant Access

“Not every prisoner in America will want a college degree, of course. But we should insist that every prisoner who seeks one remains eligible for federal student aid, just as other citizens are. Some voters will surely bridle at the prospect of their tax dollars’ assisting offenders. But we already do that by paying huge sums to imprison people over and over again. And the best way to ensure that they don’t go back to jail is by offering them help in going to college.“

Chronicle of Higher Education

November 19, 2018

EducationPhillip ReevesNovember 19, 2018Chronicle of Higher Education, Pell GrantComment

How Georgia’s Probation System Squeezes the Poor and Feeds Mass Incarceration

“There are thousands of people on probation in Georgia facing similarly grim prospects. It is true that probation is typically preferable to imprisonment. However, people convicted of felonies spend, on average, over six years on probation in Georgia. The lengthy supervision terms contribute to high rates of recidivism, given the risk of a simple mistake during this time, like a failed drug test, new offense, or the inability to pay fees and fines that are a condition of probation. A Pew study found that probation revocations accounted for 55 percent of all prison admissions in Georgia.“

ACLU

November 13, 2018

Criminalizing PovertyPhillip ReevesNovember 13, 2018ACLU, GeorgiaComment

Opinion: The Newest Jim Crow

“This progress is unquestionably good news, but there are warning signs blinking brightly. Many of the current reform efforts contain the seeds of the next generation of racial and social control, a system of “e-carceration” that may prove more dangerous and more difficult to challenge than the one we hope to leave behind.“

New York Times

November 8, 2018

Bail ReformPhillip ReevesNovember 8, 2018Michelle AlexanderComment

Beyond Amendment 4: Ex-felons need help restoring lives, not just voting rights | Opinion

“Giving formerly incarcerated people the right to vote is a great first step in helping these men truly get a second chance. If we don’t take these other steps, we will inevitably see more crime and victims, and more ruined lives of the less dangerous ex-felons who should be welcomed back into American society.“

Florida Sun Sentinel

November 8, 2018

PersonalismPhillip ReevesNovember 8, 2018Florida, Florida Sun Sentinel, Amendment 4Comment

Americans less likely to say crime is a national problem: Gallup

“Crime rates have been decreasing nationally since the 1990s, but Americans' perception of nationwide crime has not always followed. Pessimism about nationwide crime peaked in 2009, when 79 percent said that crime was increasing despite a fourth year in a row of the FBI's violent crime rate dropping.“

The Hill

November 7, 2018

Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesNovember 7, 2018The HillComment

We Are Arresting & Incarcerating Moms Who Can't Afford Bail, & The Costs Are Huge

“Currently, there are 219,000 incarcerated women in prison, and 80 percent of those women are mothers. A reported 2.7 million children have an incarcerated parent in the United States, and at least 10 million children have experienced parental incarceration in their lifetimes, so the cost of incarceration has undoubtably impacted mothers, and their children, the most.“

Romper

November 6, 2018

Parental IncarcerationPhillip ReevesNovember 6, 2018RomperComment

Cellmates

“Lee Harris spent years in prison without hope, until an unlikely friendship led to a years-long crusade to prove his innocence“

The Marshall Project

November 2, 2018

False ConvictionsPhillip ReevesNovember 2, 2018The Marshall ProjectComment

Don't jail addicts. Overdose prevention sites work, and the US needs to get on board.

“Today, 200 Americans likely will die from a drug overdose. Most of them will die alone. The government's modern-day response to our nation's overdose epidemic has been woefully inadequate. Rather than relying on medical science, our leaders have been influenced by the same misguided approaches that undergirded the “war on drugs” in the 1980s — fear, stigma and racism. “

USA Today

November 1, 2018

Opioid CrisisPhillip ReevesNovember 1, 2018USA TodayComment

Overcriminalization Leads To Biased Outcomes

“Overcriminalization, therefore, creates a vicious circle, where trust between the public and the police is degraded and serious crime is left unchecked thus creating a less-safe society causing law-and-order conservative types to demand for more aggressive policing. This circle will not be broken until the root problem of overcriminalization is identified and addressed.“

Above the Law

October 30, 2018

OvercriminalizationPhillip ReevesOctober 30, 2018Above the LawComment

Getting Back on Course: Educational exclusion and attainment among formerly incarcerated people

“Throughout their lives, people who serve time in prison are held back from educational opportunities, making it nearly impossible to earn the credentials they need to succeed after release. Using data from the National Former Prisoner Survey, this report reveals that formerly incarcerated people are often relegated to the lowest rungs of the educational ladder; more than half hold only a high school diploma or GED, and a quarter hold no credential at all.“

Prison Policy Initiative

October 30, 2018

EducationPhillip ReevesOctober 30, 2018Prison Policy InitiativeComment

Man convicted of obstruction for refusing to open his door for police

“If McLemore’s conviction stands, Washington would most likely be the only state to criminalize the refusal to assist police in a warrantless search.“

The Appeal

October 17, 2018

OvercriminalizationPhillip ReevesOctober 17, 2018The Appeal, WashingtonComment

One year after Cook County's bail reform, court watchers say things are getting worse

“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

Bail ReformPhillip ReevesOctober 5, 2018The Appeal, Chicago, Cook County, IllinoisComment

How cutting food stamps undermines prison reform

“We only exorcise the principalities of mass incarceration by guaranteeing certain public economic trusts such as food, housing, and health care, and by reforming our grossly punitive culture of mandatory minimums and racialized sentencing disparities. An enduringly moral vision for a free society hinges on our will to divert and decrease incarceration, not merely resourcing prisons with programs that allegedly reduce recidivism.“

The Hill

October 4, 2018

Diversion Programs, Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesOctober 4, 2018The Hill, Food stampsComment

Employment is a crucial step after release from incarceration

“A joint study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Anne E. Casey Foundation and Justice Center, found that employment strongly contributes to recidivism-reduction efforts because ‘it refocuses individuals’ time and efforts on prosocial activities, making them less likely to engage in riskier behaviors and to associate with people who do.’ Another critical aspect of obtaining employment that the study cites is employment allows individuals to financially support their families which generates stronger support networks, more positive relationships, enhances self-esteem, and improves mental health.“

Right on Crime

September 25, 2018

EmploymentPhillip ReevesSeptember 25, 2018Right on CrimeComment

When Cities Rely on Fines and Fees, Everybody Loses

“This potential for injustice is one reason why states and cities should be weaning themselves from fines and fees. Another is that these revenue boosters carry economic costs that far outweigh the short-term revenue gains.“

September 25, 2018

Governing Institute

Criminalizing PovertyPhillip ReevesSeptember 25, 2018Governing InstituteComment

Florida should ease restrictions on state aid for crime victims

“The problem is Florida’s strict guidelines for who can and can’t get financial aid make no provision for people who have turned their lives around; they do not take into consideration how long ago the offense occurred and treats convicted murderers the same as it treats those convicted of some lesser crimes, such as burglary.“

Tallahassee Democrat

September 22, 2018

Economic IssuesPhillip ReevesSeptember 22, 2018Tallahassee Democrat, FloridaComment

The Incalculable Costs of Mass Incarceration

“Fiscal savings don’t come from reducing inmate populations—they come from reducing staffing. And the social costs of prisons and jails have little to do with budgets and far more to do with the physical, emotional, mental, and other harms incarceration imposes on inmates, their families, and their communities.“

The Appeal

September 20, 2018

Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesSeptember 20, 2018The Appeal, John PfaffComment

Harvard Prof. Bruce Western Shares Research on Reintegration of Formerly Incarcerated Individuals

“Mass incarceration is the result of the ‘criminalization of social problems related to racial inequality and poverty,’ Western said. More than just ‘shrinking the system’ is required if the problem is to be addressed, Western cautioned — the outlook of the criminal justice system needs to be ‘fundamentally changed’ to be less punitive and more restorative.“

Cornell Sun

September 18, 2018

PersonalismPhillip ReevesSeptember 18, 2018Cornell Sun, Bruce WesternComment