The growing band of American colonists realized they were among a diverse collection of peoples from different lands, different cultures and different interests, all with one common resolve to live independent and free of fear. So from their perspective of oppression, they focused not on musket and domain, but on commonality.
Visiting my son in jail for the first time, I know that I cannot protect him. Although he is too young to drink, the criminal justice system regards him as an adult.
Our table shows that more than 10% of people incarcerated in state prisons are 55 or older - and in some states, like Montana, the percentage is much higher.
When you lead the Inmate Liaison Committee in a pandemic, you have to deliver bad news with finesse.
Life inside the penitentiary is extremely hard. The violence and deprivation warp your whole view; you see a total disregard for basic human life firsthand. But the after-effects can be even worse.
The apparent suicide of Jerry Epstein has given birth to a flood of media commentaries revealing the shortfalls of the Metropolitan Correctional Center where Epstein was held.
As more convicts hit their golden years in jails not equipped to handle their decline in health, we need shorter sentences and flexible sentencing.
In three decades of advocating for prison abolition, the activist and scholar has helped transform how people think about criminal justice.
My federal prison sentence ended three months ago, and for someone who’s been free only that long, it would appear that I have accomplished quite a lot.
German-style program at a Connecticut maximum security prison emphasizes rehab for inmates.
Filmmaker Denali Tiller had another project in mind when she began following a woman who had been incarcerated for 17 years and had developed a program aimed at addressing the trauma experienced by children whose parents were in prison.
Regardless of how big political disagreements may seem, there are issues that transcend political lines, and criminal justice reform is one of those issues. I know from personal experience that nothing compares to the struggle of seeing that while the holidays are a joy for so many, they can also be a reminder....
During this season of “thanks” and “giving,” the NIA would like for all Americans to take a solemn moment to really focus on the similarities between families as victims of crime and families impacted by the consequences of incarceration...
This isn’t my story. This is a story of unwavering passion and determination. This is a story of a mother’s love.
Everyone heard tales of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy during childhood. As we grew older, a realization dawned within our young minds that in our innocence belief in those fallacies were errant, or worded another way, we believed a lie.
An animated short film about life, death, and compassion. Based on a true story.
When Nathan Deal moved into the Governor’s Mansion in 2011, he quickly made clear that reforming the state’s prohibitively expensive and ineffective criminal justice system was going to be the cornerstone of his administration.
In 2014, investigative reporter Shane Bauer embarked on a daring journalistic experiment. He took a job as a $9-an-hour private-prison guard at Winn Correctional Facility in Louisiana, and managed to capture the inner workings of the sort of place reporters rarely ever venture to.
The stigma against sex offenders means that we have created a huge population of people whose lives are seen as forfeit.
How many formerly incarcerated people are able to find work? Answering this fundamental question has historically been difficult, because the necessary national data weren’t available — that is, until now.
By Kate Boccia Edited by Mark Olmsted I was born in the Midwest from somewhat humble beginnings. At the tender age of 5 we moved to New England where I began school. Every morning we placed our right hand over our hearts and said the Pledge of Allegiance. It was so automatic that we became […]
If you are not in a position of power or wealth, you can be trapped in a cycle that wants to perpetuate your punishment instead of reform your character.
The U.S. criminal justice system is in desperate need of an overhaul that builds off the understanding that crime is primarily a young man’s game and that harsh punishments destroy the lives of salvageable people.
Harvard University sociologist Bruce Western weighs in on the role of prisons in perpetuating human vulnerability.
As we celebrate mothers on Mother’s Day, let us not forget who mothers really are. Mothers are amazing women who love so unconditionally.
What does it take to build a world-class French restaurant? What if the staff is almost entirely men and women just out of prison? What if most have never cooked or served before, and have barely two months to learn their trade?
Meek Mill's release should be a rallying cry, but while we celebrate we must remember that millions like him continue to struggle on a daily basis with our broken justice system.
The loss of life last week as a result of riots at Lee Correctional Institution is a tragedy for the nation, for the state of South Carolina, and especially for the families of the young men who died so needlessly.
April is National Second Chance Month, a time to center the voices, experiences, and promise of people involved in the criminal justice system.
Momma Kate is part of a small package of mammas who devote a lot of attention to the incarcerated and their families, and instinctively they can’t turn their backs on a family in distress.
Robert Hood brought to each of the prisons he oversaw the concept of an individualized education plan (IEP). Hood believes that every person—inmate or not—has the ability to change and can benefit from an IEP.
Authoritarian capitalism and the prison industrial complex is a two-tiered tyrannical system designed to enslave through mass incarceration.
Here is a list of the criminal justice bills that passed this year and now await the governor’s signature.
With help and ideas from incarcerated men and women, Van Buren is creating dynamic spaces that provide safe venues for dialogue and reconciliation; employment and job training; and social services to help keep people from entering the justice system in the first place.
In the past 40 years, incarceration in America has increased by more than 500 percent, with female prisoners the fastest growing population. Here are eight women taking a stand against a criminal justice system that’s anything but just.
When my son was first convicted, I was thrust into an arena that was beyond my wildest fears. The chaos and destruction of my world was devastating. My son was suicidal and in a system that could not and would not help me help him. I knew in my heart that I would fight every day for his life.
A new interactive report that identifies the major trends and developments in justice systems.
Join with Prison Fellowship in celebrating "Second Chance Month" in April! Together we can unlock brighter futures for 65 million Americans who have repaid their debt to society.
In response to an article in the Washington Post about the increasing curtailment of book privileges in prison, I wrote this Op-Ed. They didn't use it, but that's okay. It was definitely a long shot.
Uniting grassroots leaders and elected officials to build empathy for those impacted by the criminal justice system.
A growing readiness exists to reinvent corrections. Bold thinking and experimentation are needed. So, how can prisons be improved? Here are three general ideas.
There’s little doubt among researchers that mass incarceration is wreaking havoc on our society, in particular on people of color, LGBTQ and the poor. What’s often overlooked in this discussion is the damage that prisons and jails do to our health.
Kate Boccia, President & CEO of National Incarceration Association, shares her passion for ending mass incarceration, and giving second chances.
While prison admissions have dropped almost 19 percent in the past eight years, the incarceration of black inmates fell by 30 percent. And the number of black inmates entering the prison system last year was at its lowest level in decades.
Questions and answers with Georgia supreme court Justice Michael Boggs about the state criminal justice reform.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions retracted an Obama-era guidance to state courts that was meant to end debtors’ prisons, where people who are too poor to pay fines are sent. Its withdrawal is the latest sign that the federal government is retreating from protecting civil rights for the most vulnerable among us.
Inmates who study for years are often barred from law, medicine and other fields when they get out. With 700,000 released annually, the distaste for ex-cons poses a problem.
Fulton officials on Monday filed suit against more than two dozen drug manufacturers, distributors and doctors, accusing them of causing an ongoing opioid crisis that has killed hundreds of people in that county alone.
Studies have proven that incarcerating young offenders actually leads to more criminal behavior and more serious crimes. The harm done to their families and the community is profound.
NEWS RELEASE: Fulton County Unveils Drug Disposal Box in Union City
Upon release, discontinuity of care is the norm, and when continuity is established, it is often hindered by distrust, discrimination, poor communication, and racism in the health system.
Today’s celebration of the American worker should continue to call us to reflect on the freedoms due every worker – the opportunity to work and the dignity that comes with sustaining work at livable wages.
Only when my personal reality was shattered did I realize all of my assumptions were built on quicksand. October 24, 2012 is when everything changed. That was the day my son went to prison. As one of the new friends I made in line waiting to visit him later told me: “Honey, that’s the day you became...
Despite the enactment of justice reforms in many states, the nation’s prison and jail population has dropped only slightly in recent years. Well over two million people remain behind bars, and there has been little dent in the “mass incarceration” that that has been criticized by many on both the left and the right.
As women go to jail in record numbers, who's watching out for their kids? No one.
The United States professes a belief in blind justice while eagerly distributing photos of its accused. It’s not that police departments in England and Canada don’t collect photographs of people they’ve arrested; they just release them only on occasion.
The new presidential administration has given mixed messages, sometimes using strong rhetoric about increasing criminal penalties, but other times speaking with thoughtfulness about expanding treatment for opioid addiction.
“I guess I want people to know that while they certainly fought for country, they died protecting their buddies.” Perhaps then, the greatest wish of the fallen hero would be to continue to care for his buddies – those still alive, still struggling to adjust. To make things right and to make them whole.
By all indications, Jeff Sessions aims to bring back the Reagan-era war on drugs, a generational struggle that has imprisoned millions and has been wrongheaded at best, racially discriminatory at worst.
If I could only look a parent in the eye who happens to also be a policy maker, I would ask, “how do you want my son to return to society?” Or better even, “is it starting to make more sense to care how my son will return to society?”
Criminal justice reform is happening all across the country—reducing jail and prison populations through alternative sentencing. However, most professionals engaged in reform are focused solely on the perpetrators of crime, not the victims.
I’ve heard so much talk recently about this “Ban the Box” initiative. I just learned a little bit more about it. Apparently, a company or an agency can eliminate the box on a job application that asks if you’ve ever been arrested or convicted of a crime.
Since the collapse of Atlanta’s I-85 expanse at the Buford-Spring connector, emotions have been ignited and people want answers. Why was he still on the street after so many arrests? How long can he be locked away this time, once and for all? What judges kept letting him out? Did the District Attorney drop the ball? How much is all this going to cost us as taxpayers?
Virginia prosecutors hid exculpatory evidence and defied a federal judge in a death-penalty case. Will the Supreme Court let them get away with it?
This family photo shows Richard Tavera with younger family members. Tavera, who was bipolar and had a history of depression, committed suicide in 2014 in a Georgia prison. The circumstances surrounding Tavera’s death on that December night in 2014 are now the basis of federal lawsuits.
Children of incarcerated parents are at risk for future financial insecurity, food insecurity, lack of healthcare and low education, according to Hagan, who also noted the role race plays in the outcomes of at risk youth.
There are an estimated 94,000 children in Louisiana who have or have had an incarcerated parent. Many of those incarcerated parents have parents. They have siblings, significant others, spouses. All those people together form a sizable demographic, one that should be able to demand more family-friendly policies.
Since the mid-1990s, legislators have devised increasingly byzantine rules for those who have been punished. That ever-tightening leash has produced unintended outcomes with an almost mechanical predictability.
But consider a third party, those who also pay when a crime is committed- the taxpayers. From a literal perspective, it is taxpayers' dollars used to build and maintain the prison system across the Land of the Free.
“One of the best ways that someone can move on after they’ve been released from prison is their ability to eat and take care of themselves,”
If people in their twenties are a lot like adolescents socially and biologically, should they really be considered full adults under the law? Many advocates who work directly with this population say no.
Did you know that under certain conditions the United States constitution does not allow Americans the right to vote? We feel as Americans – as patriots, that we are “exceptional” in the world because of values like our solemn duty to vote. Except of course...
It was very cold in the jail. Notice how the guys have coats and thermals on under their uniform. These layers are necessary, despite
Giving inmates the ability to set themselves apart from those who choose to continue to misbehave would give an inmate a reason to care about his future.
Trading lethal injection executions for lethal terms of imprisonment does not end the death penalty, and this lie needs to be rejected.
The NIA remains keenly and actively focused on its primary objective: Find ways and push opportunities to challenge apathy and connect prospective stakeholders for common social interest.
Every year the United States Prison system burgeons with incarcerated individuals. Prepare yourself with these top 21 Prison slang terms you've never heard.
This topic is something that affects each and every one of us who live and pay taxes in this country. It is our moral obligation to fully understand the impact that our ignorance is having on all of us.
Suddenly an elderly man collapsed. The heat was too much for him. The crowd was scared and screamed for help. The officer on duty got him inside and cooled him off, then the family left. I have no idea who they were, how long they drove or if anyone would let the man who they were visiting know what had happened.
It is obvious to each of us that we in no way intend to forgo the safety and security of our communities. We all understand the need to incarcerate individuals that are a danger.
I have played with children in line, wrote letters of appreciation to officers, counselors and wardens. I have challenged the system to be better at communicating with families and loved ones. I have addressed the visitation issues and helped get things improved.
I am very concerned about the future of African American males in our community. Too many African American boys are dropping out of high school, too many are in prison or jail, and too many commit violent crimes upon others.
Kate Boccia knows what it’s like to struggle with a loved one behind bars. When her son, Daniel, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for armed robbery, she experienced all the emotional and financial struggles that come with having an incarcerated family member.
If we look back to the 2012 presidential election, the criminal legal system, much less mass incarceration, were not even on the list of issues to be debated
Rarely a day goes by that there isn’t some kind of article or news story on criminal justice reform. If you haven’t been paying attention to this very important subject, you need to.
The sweeping order, in a swing state that could play a role in deciding the November presidential election, will enable all felons who have served their prison time and finished parole or probation to register to vote. Most are African-Americans, a core constituency of Democrats, Mr. McAuliffe’s political party.
WASHINGTON — A government report, blocked from publication a decade ago, presciently warned of an advancing, double-barreled health crisis of mental illness and substance abuse that has currently swamped the nation’s vast prison systems.
Most suburban readers are far more interested in the new restaurant or coffee shop opening up down the street and not nearly concerned enough about a problem that is happening in their own subdivision every day.
Mary Ziman already had debilitating fibromyalgia and, unable to work, was on permanent disability. Then she was arrested and sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute marijuana, methamphetamine and cocaine, charges she says stemmed from fabrications by a woman with mental illness caught with drugs and a gun. That was 17 years ago.
In essence, we can reasonably assume that each and every one of us have or know of someone who is under some form of supervision, whether it is prison, probation (3.9 million), parole, (850,000) or jails (more than 11 million people cycle through each year, according to the Prison Policy Initiative report.
The political climate is poised to make the necessary changes to truly reform our criminal justice system because without these changes we will have a collapse. The catastrophic fallout and collateral consequences have affected each and every one of us who pay taxes.
THE growth in the nation’s prison population has been nothing short of staggering. The United States’ incarceration rate is now more than four times the world average, with about 2.2 million people in prisons and jails.
Mass incarceration is an issue that many Democrats and Liberals have taken up and fought against dating back to Bill Clinton’s presidency. In a rare, but important case, Kate Boccia- a Republican- is too a advocate against mass incarceration. She spoke with Rashad Richey about her advocacy, and the effect mass incarceration has had on […]
By Rick Badie – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Friday, June 20, 2014 Asleep in her upstairs bedroom, Kate Boccia awoke to frantic voices and hurried footsteps descending the stairs. She flung open the bedroom door. Frank, her husband, carried one passed-out young woman in his arms. Daniel Jay, her 21-year-old son, carried another. They were joined […]