Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Thursday, January 25, 2007

Supreme Court Overrules Limits on Prisoner Litigation

The American Civil Liberties Union today welcomed a unanimous Supreme Court decision striking down a series of barriers to prisoner litigation imposed by the Sixth Circuit. Today’s decision in Jones v. Bock overturned the strict requirements imposed by the Sixth Circuit in the provision of the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) that mandates that prisoners “exhaust” administrative remedies.

The PLRA, a law passed in 1996 and claimed to be directed at frivolous lawsuits filed by prisoners, requires a prisoner to complete an internal prison grievance process before filing a lawsuit in federal court.
The Jones v. Bock decision is online at:
www.aclu.org/scotus/2006term/jonesv.bockwilliamsv.overton/28105lgl20070122.html

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