20 Apr Breaking Down ‘Defund the Police’ and Community Supervision Programs
Phrases like “abolish the police” and “defund the police” may be common, but not everyone has a firm grasp on what these phrases mean.
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19 Apr Police Accountability Remains an Issue Despite Justice Reform Efforts
Police accountability is an essential part of justice reform if legislators want meaningful ways to investigate officer-involved shootings.
19 Apr New Bill In Mississippi Looks To Tackle Women’s Incarceration Issues
Women often face issues that are unique to them in jails and prisons. These issues, such as lack of access to essential medical supplies, are often overlooked. Now, a new bill in Mississippi looks to confront some of the issues with women's incarceration in the
16 Apr Chauvin’s Choice of Force Versus Police Use of Force Training
The video of Floyd’s death shows him losing consciousness and posing no threat to officers. The Chauvin trial brings into question the training capabilities of police departments and the choices officers make outside of their training.
16 Apr Texas Prisons Find Some Answers About Where Contraband Comes From
After Texas tried to put a hard stop to contraband in prisons, specifically drugs, there ended up being more than before inside the state's correctional facilities. This increase in contraband, despite more regulations, made Texas a kind of controlled experiment about where contraband in prisons
15 Apr Chauvin Defense Raises Questions About Police Training, Use-of-Force
Witnesses have called it murder. Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with Floyd’s death, calls it reasonable use of force. Now, his defense is arguing that Chauvin did what he was trained to do. In other words, the defense maintains that the police department trained Chauvin
15 Apr Bills Born From Controversial “Back the Blue Act” Advance In Iowa
The "Back the Blue Act" received opposition from both civil rights groups and police associations. As a result, lawmakers broke the bill down into a trio of bills. Most of the legislation from SSB 1140 made it into Senate Files 479, 534 and 476. One
14 Apr What The People’s Justice Guarantee Does (And Doesn’t Do)
On March 11, Rep. Pressley reintroduced the People's Justice Guarantee. With the current wave of justice reform around the country, will the outcome be different this time around? And if it passes, what would that even mean?
14 Apr Racial Disparity in Sentencing for Drug Related Crimes on the Decline
Mandatory minimums have also perpetuated mass incarceration, and many states are working to reduce or eliminate the use of mandatory minimums in their courts. In short, criminal justice reform has solved one problem while exacerbating another.
13 Apr Nevada to Weigh Paying Prisoners Minimum Wage
Federal prisoners made an average of $0.12 - $0.40 at the time of the report. That means that even people who managed to work 40 hours per week would make, at best, $16 per week.