Criminal Justice Reform

A little-known New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision policy has limited access to books in at least nine prisons for years.

The plane’s voyage was commissioned by feminist group UltraViolet to protest former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner’s six-month sentence handed down by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky in 2016 for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus the previous year. The sentence ignited an outcry and an effort to recall Judge Persky.

In Justice Today invited leading thinkers in criminal justice reform to answer the question, “2018 is the year….” This is what they said.

Philadelphia implemented the “focused deterrence” model of gang policing, which includes the promise of critical social services. The reality is much different.

Faith Johnson’s recent indictment of a Mesquite police officer for shooting an innocent man follows years of work by community activists.

Anquan Boldin, DeAndre Levy, Tobias Harris, Anthony Tolliver, Stan Van Gundy

Public defenders in Charlotte say restrictions on communication hinder their ability to help jailed clients.

Why Execution Numbers Continue To Fall Off A Cliff

The evening of August 6th, 2004, 16-year old Cyntoia Brown shot and killed Johnny Allen, a 43-year-old Nashville resident who picked her up for sex. It was an act of self defense, she explained to police later; after Allen took her to his house, he showed Cyntoia multiple guns, including shotguns and rifles. Later in bed, as she described in court, he grabbed her violently by the genitals, his demeanor became threatening and, fearing for her life, she took a gun out of her purse and shot him.

“We have the power to replace these people.”

Alameda County Superior Court reversed license suspensions for 54,000 people who were punished for their inability to pay fines.

Under District Attorney Steve Wolfson, prosecutors in Las Vegas have led the nation in new death sentences, repeatedly engaged in racist jury selection, and maintained a secret bank account to pay witnesses for their testimony in criminal cases.

State law makes it easier to throw Brown away than consider traumas youth face and offer them hope of rehabilitation.