Saturday, February 28, 2015
How Portugal Brilliantly Ended the War on Drugs
ATTN:
In the 1990s, Portugal was faced with a drug epidemic. General drug use
wasn’t any worse than neighboring countries, but rates of problematic
drug use were off the charts. A 2001 survey found
that 0.7 percent of its population had used heroin at least one time,
the second highest rate after England and Wales in Europe. So, in 1998,
Portugal appointed a special commission of doctors, lawyers,
psychologists, and activists to assess the problem and propose policy
recommendations. Following eight months of analysis, the commission
advised the government to embark on a radically different approach.
Rather than respond as many governments have, with zero-tolerance
legislation and an emphasis on law enforcement, the commission suggested
the decriminalization of all drugs, coupled with a focus on prevention,
education, and harm-reduction. The objective of the new policy was to reintegrate the addict back into the community,
rather than isolate them in prisons, the common approach by many
governments. Two years later, Portugal’s government passed the
commission’s recommendations into law.
Just as important as the specific policies recommended by the
commission is an entirely different philosophy. Rather than treating
addiction as a crime, it’s treated as a medical condition. João Goulão,
Portugal’s top drug official, emphasizes that the goal of the new policy
is to fight the disease, not the patients.
Decriminalization doesn’t mean legalization.
Legalization removes all criminal penalties for producing, selling,
and possessing drugs whereas decriminalization eliminates jail time for
drug users, but dealers are still criminally prosecuted. Roughly 25
countries have removed criminal penalties for the possession of small amounts of certain or all drugs. No country has attempted full legalization.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Would we be safer if fewer were jailed?
The New York Times
Jails in New York and throughout the country dealing with overcrowding and brutality,
are often filled with inmates who might not need to even be
incarcerated. Some of them are awaiting trial for nonviolent offenses,
others have mental health needs.
Can the use of jails be reformed to reduce the number of inmates without increasing society’s risks?
Monday, February 16, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Monday, February 09, 2015
Thursday, January 08, 2015
The Overcriminalization of America
How to reduce poverty and improve race relations by rethinking our justice system.
As Americans, we like to believe the rule of law in our country is respected and fairly applied, and that only those who commit crimes of fraud or violence are punished and imprisoned. But the reality is often different. It is surprisingly easy for otherwise law-abiding citizens to run afoul of the overwhelming number of federal and state criminal laws. This proliferation is sometimes referred to as “overcriminalization,” which affects us all but most profoundly harms our disadvantaged citizens.
Overcriminalization has led to the mass incarceration of those ensnared by our criminal justice system, even though such imprisonment does not always enhance public safety. Indeed, more than half of federal inmates are nonviolent drug offenders. Enforcing so many victimless crimes inevitably leads to conflict between our citizens and law enforcement. As we have seen all too often, it can place our police officers in harm’s way, leading to tragic consequences for all involved.
How did we get in this situation? It began with well-intentioned lawmakers who went overboard trying to solve perceived or actual problems. Congress creates, on average, more than 50 new criminal laws each year. Over time, this has translated into more than 4,500 federal criminal laws spread across 27,000 pages of the United States federal code. (This number does not include the thousands of criminal penalties in federal regulations.) As a result, the United States is the world’s largest jailer—first in the world for total number imprisoned and first among industrialized nations in the rate of incarceration. The United States represents about 5 percent of the world’s population but houses about 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.
African-Americans, who make up around 13 percent of the U.S. population but account for almost 40 percent of the inmates, are significantly affected by these issues. According to Harvard sociologist Bruce Western: “Prison has become the new poverty trap. It has become a routine event for poor African-American men and their families, creating an enduring disadvantage at the very bottom of American society.”
Reversing overcriminalization and mass incarceration will improve societal well-being in many respects, most notably by decreasing poverty. Today, approximately 50 million people (about 14 percent of the population) are at or below the U.S. poverty rate. Fixing our criminal system could reduce the overall poverty rate as much as 30 percent, dramatically improving the quality of life throughout society—especially for the disadvantaged.
To bring about such a transformation, we must all set aside partisan politics and collaborate on solutions. That is why we have partnered with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers for more than 10 years to bring about positive changes in our justice system.
We support a five-step approach to criminal justice reform:
First, “do no more harm.” Legislators must resist the temptation to criminalize activities that do not fit a common-sense understanding of what is a “crime.” Criminal laws should not impose liability if the accused did not knowingly and willfully intend to commit the bad act. This explosion of criminal laws has led to imposing liability on activities that ordinary citizens would have no reason to believe would be criminal such as converting a wild donkey into a private donkey, bathing in the Arkansas Hot Springs National Park without a doctor’s note, and agreeing to take mail to the post office but not dropping it off. It has led to criminal liability for amateur arrowhead collectors who had no idea their hobby could be a federal crime, as well as criminal charges and a conviction for a former Indianapolis 500 champion who got lost while snowmobiling during a blizzard and unwittingly ended up on federal land.
Second, we must address prosecutorial abuses—especially in the discovery and grand jury processes. Even the late Senator Ted Stevens fell victim to prosecutorial abuse in his trial when during the discovery process, federal prosecutors systematically concealed evidence that supported the senator’s defense and testimony. Prosecutors must disclose all evidence favorable to the accused to ensure that every American should be treated equally and fairly under the law, whether the accused is a disadvantaged urban teenager or a wealthy corporate executive.
Third, we must ensure that all those charged with a crime receive their Sixth Amendment right to representation by a lawyer. Inadequate or no legal representation results in devastating consequences for criminal defendants and their families.
Fourth, end unduly harsh sentences and resulting disparities by eliminating mandatory minimum sentences that dictate punishment unrelated to the nature or harm of the underlying crime and facts. We must honor the ideal of the punishment fitting the crime by allowing judges to exercise discretion.
Finally, after a sentence is served, we should restore all rights to youthful and non-violent offenders, such as those involved in personal drug use violations. If ex-offenders can’t get a job, education or housing, how can we possibly expect them to have a productive life? And why should we be surprised when more than half of the people released from prison are again incarcerated within three years of their release?
Hopefully, every lawmaker and committed citizen will support these proposed reforms. Overcriminalization leads to mass incarceration, undermines race relations and ultimately keeps more people in poverty. We believe the proposed reforms will improve well-being for all Americans, especially the most disadvantaged.
2015 Denver MLK Marade
The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition will participate in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Marade on January 19, 2015. We would like to invite you to participate with us by walking in with CCJRC in the Marade!
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”
Martin Luther King Jr.
Invitation to participate!
- We encourage individual and organization participation; if you belong to an organization please feel free to bring your organizations’ banner.
- Please invite members, staff, volunteer, etc. from you organization.
- Consider wearing all black clothing as CCJRC and several other advocacy partners have chosen to wear all black clothing and march in solidarity of the national campaign #ICANTBREATHE - #BLACKLIVESMATTER , opposing police brutality and the overrepresentation of people of color in the Criminal Justice System.
CCJRC Marade participation instructions!
- CCJRC will meet at the cannon statue site in City Park at 9:00 a.m.
- The cannon statue is located between Duck Lake and the MLK statue in the southwest part of the park between 18th and 20th Ave.
- Look for the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition banner.
- We will then proceed to the MLK memorial statue at 9:30 a.m. for the start of the Marade opening program at 10 a.m.
- The Marade formation will begin immediately following the 10 a.m. program.
- The Marade step-off will start at 10:45 a.m. sharp with participants marching together to Civic Center Park.
The Official MLK Marade route!
The Marade will
proceed south out of City Park by way of Esplanade St. to Colfax Avenue;
then west on Colfax Avenue to Sherman St into the State Capitol
grounds; south to Broadway to Civic Center Park. Motorized vehicles will
proceed south on Broadway to 14th Ave. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
program immediately follows the Marade, in Civic Center Park’s Greek
Theater. The Total Distance Equals 5K.
Please contact
Juston Cooper Juston@ccjrc.org if you have any questions regarding
participating with CCJRC in the 2015 MLK Marade.
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
Children deserve legal standing when parents are sentenced
Children deserve legal standing when parents are sentenced
The current answer is “no.” The answer should be “yes.”
Today, the well-being of a defendant’s children is close to
irrelevant in criminal courtrooms. Institutional indifference to
children is official policy. This is the most profound legal error in
the last 35 years, the mistake that made mass imprisonment possible.
Criminal courts produce millions of orphans every year using
procedures that weigh only the interests of adults in the courtroom.
This is a profoundly ignorant way for a bureaucracy to act. Removing a
mother or father from a child’s life is a not mere “side effect”of the
day’s procedure; it is an “effect,” often the most important thing that
will happen that day.
Children deserve rights — legal rights, established in law — to end their mistreatment in criminal courts.
In domestic courts, the “best interest of the children” is the trump
card standard that overrides almost all other adult needs in divorce and
custody cases. In criminal courts, defendant’s children are treated as
trash in the back row.
This difference is legally shameful and morally indefensible.
A child is not a “get out of jail free” card. But neither is a
parent’s offense a license for the state to impose any amount of harm on
an innocent victim. The child did not commit the crime. The child did
not forfeit any legal rights.
The criminal justice system mechanistically, one case at a time,
orphans millions of children every year. Today, 2.7 million children
under 18 have a parent behind bars, reports
the Pew Charitable Trusts. One in 9 African American children has an
imprisoned parent, up from one in 38 in 1980. The cumulative toll of all
those who’ve lost a parent, temporarily or permanently, to imprisonment
runs in the tens of millions, disproportionately poor and
disproportionately people of color.
Yet the legal system doesn’t consider itself responsible for the
devastating consequences of its actions. It doesn’t even appear
institutionally aware of its role in destroying families as a matter of policy.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Denver Jail Inmates Sign Up For Healthcare
|
Inmates leaving a
Denver jail already are a step behind in life because of their criminal
records or pending charges. Add a health crisis and no insurance, and
those trying to get their lives in order fall even further behind. But the Denver Sheriff Department and Denver Human Services are trying to help by enrolling inmates in the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare. Since March, 369 former inmates have been approved for Medicaid coverage, said Andrea Albo, deputy director of assistance for Denver Human Services. There are 408 pending applications, and a total of 1,059 people have applied, she said. Those who are denied Medicaid enrollment are referred to Connect for Health Colorado, the state's health insurance exchange. The American Jail Association is encouraging county detention centers across the country to do the same, according to the association's website. The plan also is saving money for the sheriff's department, said Simon Crittle, a department spokesman. | |
Friday, December 19, 2014
Mass Incarceration’s Collateral Damage: The Children Left Behind | The Nation
Mass Incarceration’s Collateral Damage: The Children Left Behind | The Nation
Steven Alexander was in sixth grade when his mother, Carmen
Demourelle, was sentenced to twelve years in prison for pickpocketing in
New Orleans’s French Quarter. Though she was held in a women’s prison
just an hour away, her four children could not telephone her and visited
only about once a year.
At the time of her arrest, Demourelle was working sporadically as a
beautician, though she was mainly making “fast money” by selling drugs
and picking pockets while her children were in school, she said. But
after school, she was an engaged and caring mother—until she was sent to
prison. “I missed everything about her,” Alexander recalled. “I wanted
her home.”
All four of Demourelle’s children moved in with their grandmother,
who worked nights at a hospital. She supported them financially,
Alexander said, but their schoolwork suffered almost immediately without
their mother, who had been strict, especially about school. She hadn’t
allowed them to play outside or turn on the television until their
homework was done. She enforced early bedtimes. And the children were
not allowed to spend time with neighbors deemed troublemakers.
Soon after their mother’s sentencing, however, homework went undone,
forbidden friendships blossomed, and evenings at nightclubs became
common—even on school nights.
None of the children finished high school. Almost all struggled with
addiction. Steven’s older brother Stanton got into constant fights. His
little sister, Sandria, was taunted by classmates, who told her: “If
your mother loved you, she wouldn’t have gone to jail.” While in ninth
grade, Sandria became pregnant and dropped out. Even the oldest,
Stanley, an honor student, quit school as a senior after getting his
girlfriend pregnant.
Steven stopped going to classes during the seventh grade. “I just wasn’t interested anymore,” he said.
read more ..... http://www.thenation.com/article/193121/mass-incarcerations-collateral-damage-children-left-behind
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
Supreme Court case could release thousands of people in Colorado
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Saturday, December 13, 2014
Colorado may appoint doctors to overssee psychotropic medication to foster kids
The Denver Post
PRESCRIPTION KIDS: Read the Denver Post special report on use of psychotropic drugs in the Colorado foster care system.
A medical director would oversee the levels of mind-altering
psychotropic drugs prescribed to children and teenagers in Colorado's
foster care system and at the Division of Youth Corrections under a
budget request submitted this week.
For the first time, the state
child welfare department wants to hire a staff of medical professionals
— headed by a physician — to monitor prescription medication use in
youth corrections and the child welfare system, as well as other health
issues. Officials have asked the legislature's Joint Budget Committee
for $700,000 to hire a contracted doctor and four staff members,
including two nurses.
Colorado is one of only 10 states without a medical director overseeing the foster care system.
Rising
numbers of foster children nationwide are prescribed potent
psychotropic medications because of behavioral problems, anxiety and
depression, often brought on by trauma in their lives. Child advocates
have called for fewer drugs and more therapy to treat the root cause of
the children's behavioral problems.
Critics say that few studies have examined side effects on children and that heavy doses make kids seem detached and sedated.
Friday, December 05, 2014
Thursday, December 04, 2014
From Ferguson to Staten Island, Justice and Accountability Are Nowhere in Sight
From Ferguson to Staten Island, Justice and Accountability Are Nowhere in Sight
December 4, 2014
In New York City yesterday, a grand jury failed to indict the officer who killed Eric Garner in Staten Island.
The grand jury decision isn’t just disappointing, it’s downright alarming.
Grand juries aren't supposed to find innocence or guilt - they're
supposed to decide whether there is enough evidence to accuse someone
and bring them to trial.
The killing of Eric Garner was caught on camera and the video went
viral. The coroner ruled the death a homicide. In the face of such
compelling, awful evidence, the Garner family and communities across the
country reasonably expected some accountability.
In refusing to indict the officer who choked Eric Garner to death,
the grand jury is saying the loss of Garner’s life doesn’t require even
the most basic inquiry and process of a trial. Once again, the deep
flaws with our broken criminal justice system are exposed.
Unfortunately, these flaws are found not only in New York City, but
across the country. Last week in Ferguson, MO, a different grand jury
refused to indict the police officer who shot and killed Michael Brown.
From discredited stop-and-frisk practices, to the controversial “broken
windows” policing, to the indefensible racial disparities in drug law
enforcement, systemic racism – long a part of the failed war on drugs –
is clearly a standard feature in our criminal justice system.
Yet because this racism is about systems and not individuals, it
makes it harder for some people to see and understand. In her
bestselling book The New Jim Crow,
law professor, Michelle Alexander, popularized the concept of systemic
racism by outlining the long history of racial subjugation in the U.S.
and its modern manifestations, wherein policies, institutional practices
and politics combine to criminalize, stigmatize and devalue people of
color.
Yesterday, my colleague Yolande Cadore wrote
about these connections from Ferguson, where she’s marching for justice
along with faith leaders from around the country. She wrote:
“Many may ask – what does the death of Michael
Brown and America’s war on drugs have in common? My answer is simple:
Black lives matter. And other than slavery and Jim Crow laws, no other
social policy has served to devalue Black lives more than America’s drug
war.”
Black lives matter. And other than slavery and Jim Crow laws, no other
social policy has served to devalue Black lives more than America’s drug
war.”
In August, when nationwide protests erupted after the killing of Michael Brown, another DPA colleague, Sharda Sekaran, wrote about
how the war on drugs “fuels the underlying thread of judgment, stigma
and marginalization that permeates how we value human life and it
enables acts of violence.”
These connections are becoming ever-more apparent in the light of
these tragedies and the subsequent absence of accountability or justice
for those who have lost their lives. A recent report by the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement found that every 28 hours, a Black man is killed by police in the U.S.
Too often, those in power attempt to justify these killings by
engaging in character assassination of those who lost their lives.
Authorities will claim, for instance, that the person who was killed was
using drugs – both Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown were accused of
marijuana use, as if this somehow justifies a death sentence.
Eric Garner was accused of selling cigarettes, as if this somehow
justifies a death sentence. These vulgar efforts at character
assassination, coupled with the tired calls to "respect the process" in a
broken criminal justice system, represent petty attempts to obscure the
brutal, ugly reality of systemic racism. In the wake of this latest miscarriage of justice, there are again
calls for reform. The president has promised change, the Department of
Justice has launched an investigation into the Garner case, and elected
officials in New York have promised action.
What will make these promises and investigations lead to justice and
accountability? The pressure brought by peoples movements – like those
that are growing now across the country.
We know that Black lives matter, regardless of what a grand jury
concludes. We know that our country can do better – and we must.
In the midst of our frustration, despair, and anger, let’s redouble
our effort to build vibrant movements for real change, dismantle the New
Jim Crow, and advance justice, equity and human rights for all.
Wednesday, December 03, 2014
Take Care Health Matters
We are very excited to share with you the launch of the Take Care Health Matters website. The website serves as a tool and resource to assist justice involved individuals access health care due to the new opportunities under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This website is part of CCJRC’s larger health care access campaign, which we have been engaged in over the past year with our partners the Colorado Center on Law and Policy (CCLP).
TELL YOUR STORY!!!
http://takecarehealthmatters.org/stories/tell-your-story
An estimated 70% - 90% of justice involved individuals in Colorado are currently uninsured. The ACA offers unprecedented opportunities to help connect these justice involved individuals with health care. Not only do we believe the ACA promotes alternatives to the overuse of the criminal justice system, but connecting justice involved individuals with health care has been shown to reduce recidivism and improve the health and lives of individuals. The ACA also provides an opportunity to treat mental health and addiction disorders as a public health issue, not a criminal issue.
We are hopeful this website serves as a resource to increase the number of justice involved individuals who are able to utilize and access health care services in Colorado.
Specific on the website you'll find:
- Video stories from both justice involved individuals and criminal justice staff sharing the importance of health care
- A research library highlighting the significance and impact the ACA can have on justice involved individuals
- Resources for justice involved individuals on who to contact to enroll in and access health care services, including behavioral health
- Recorded webinars for health care, criminal justice, and community members
- A professional guide geared towards health care, criminal justice, and community members to establish relationships and connect with one another
- How to find a health care provider
- And much, much more………
We are extremely grateful for our partnership with CCLP and all of you who have helped contribute to this project. While the ACA offers new strategies to reform the criminal justice system, we know there are challenges and gaps in health care services, particularly for mental health and substance abuse treatment. CCJRC will continue to engage in, monitor, and work to improve the ability for justice involved individuals to enroll in and access health care. As always, we appreciate your continued support as we work to end mass incarceration and promote healthcare as a human right.
Tuesday, December 02, 2014
The Marshall Project
The Marshall Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization founded on two simple ideas:
1) There is a pressing national need for high-quality journalism
about the American criminal justice system. The U.S. incarcerates more
people than any country in the world. Spiraling costs, inhumane prison
conditions, controversial drug laws, and concerns about systemic racial
bias have contributed to a growing bipartisan consensus that our
criminal justice system is in desperate need of reform.
The recent disruption in traditional media means that fewer
institutions have the resources to take on complex issues such as
criminal justice. The Marshall Project stands out against this landscape
by investing in journalism on all aspects of our justice system. Our
work will be shaped by accuracy, fairness, independence, and
impartiality, with an emphasis on stories that have been underreported
or misunderstood. We will partner with a broad array of media
organizations to magnify our message, and our innovative website will
serve as a dynamic hub for the most significant news and comment from
the world of criminal justice.
2) With the growing awareness of the system’s failings, now is an
opportune moment to amplify the national conversation about criminal
justice.
We believe that storytelling can be a powerful agent of social
change. Our mission is to raise public awareness around issues of
criminal justice and the possibility for reform. But while we are
nonpartisan, we are not neutral. Our hope is that by bringing
transparency to the systemic problems that plague our courts and
prisons, we can help stimulate a national conversation about how best to
reform our system of crime and punishment.
A Letter from Our Founder
By Neil Barsky, 11.15.2014
The seeds of The Marshall Project were planted a few years ago after I read two books. The first, Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow,” argues that mass incarceration — which dates roughly from President Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs in the 1980s to the present—represents the third phase of African-American oppression in the United States, after slavery and Jim Crow. Alexander documents how the United States came to be the world’s biggest jailer by enacting policies that represented a bipartisan shift in how we address addiction, mental illness, and other non-violent forms of misconduct. Fueled in part by a reaction to civil rights gains and in part by fear of escalating crime, Alexander claims, we enacted tough drug laws, imposed greater mandatory minimum sentences, and ignited a prison boom. Intent can be difficult to prove; impact is irrefutable.The second, Gilbert King’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Devil in the Grove,” explores the case of four African-American males falsely accused of rape in Lake County, Fla., and the vigilante violence that ensued. At the center of the drama was NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney Thurgood Marshall, the future Supreme Court justice, who bravely but largely futilely fought in Florida's courts to spare these young men's lives. This took place in 1949, before Brown v. Board of Education (a Marshall legal triumph) and before an organized national movement to combat the Jim Crow segregation laws. The national press did not cover the proceedings.
Spurred on by these chapters in American history, I continued to explore our country's system of crime and punishment. What struck me was not only how expensive, ineffective, and racially biased it is, and how difficult it is to find anyone, liberal or conservative, who defends the status quo. But also how our condition has become taken for granted. Other American crises — soaring health-care costs, the failure of public education — typically lead to public debate and legislative action. But the spike in mass incarceration appears to have had the opposite effect: The general public has become inured to the overuse of solitary confinement, the widespread incidence of prison rape and the mixing of teens and adults in hardcore prisons. The more people we put behind bars, it seemed, the more the issue receded from the public consciousness.
The Marshall Project represents our attempt to elevate the criminal justice issue to one of national urgency, and to help spark a national conversation about reform. I named our organization after Justice Marshall simply because he embodies the principles we hold dear. He was scholarly, he was courageous, and he fiercely believed that the U.S. Constitution was the template to secure civil rights for all.
The Marshall Project will practice open-minded, fact-based journalism without fear or favor. Our editor, Bill Keller, has assembled a first-class team of reporters and editors dedicated to excellence, nonpartisan reporting, and innovation. We are a journalism organization because we think that journalism, done honestly and well, has infinite power to drive change. One need only look to the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements to appreciate how important journalists were in shaping public opinion. We do not need to be strident or ideological or selective in our use of facts . When the truth is as disturbing as it was in the segregated South, or in Vietnam, or today's prisons and courts, truthful reporting can have a powerful impact. We will explore what is working as well as what is broken, and where the potential exists for meaningful reform. Our commentary section will be written by individuals whose views encompass a broad range of perspectives. Our board of advisers, for example, includes both the inspirational civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson from the Equal Justice Initiative, and the conservative thinker Marc Levin from Right on Crime, both of whom have devoted their careers to making our system more humane and effective.
Being nonpartisan is not the same as being neutral. We approach the issue with the view — shared by a growing number of conservatives and liberals — that our system needs serious rethinking. Thank you for your interest in The Marshall Project, and please do not hesitate to tell us what you think.
A Letter from Our Editor
By Bill Keller, 11.15.2014
In March I left The New York Times after 30 years there as a reporter, editor and columnist to help launch something new: a non-profit newsroom devoted to coverage of the American criminal justice system.In the ensuing months we have assembled a diverse team of journalists, set in motion a wide range of reporting projects, built a website to serve as a worthy stage for our journalism, and begun to forge partnerships with a range of established media organizations that will amplify our voice.
We are not here to promote any particular agenda or ideology. But we have a sense of mission. We want to move the discussion of our institutions of justice — law enforcement, courts, prisons, probation — to a more central place in our national dialogue. We believe, as the great jurist Thurgood Marshall did, that protection under the law is the most fundamental civil right in a free society. Yet, by the numbers, the United States is a global outlier, with a prison population matched by no nation except, possibly, North Korea, with a justice system that disproportionately afflicts communities of need and of color, with a corrections regime that rarely corrects.
We aim to accomplish our mission through probing, fair-minded journalism, combining investigative rigor, careful analysis, and lively storytelling. We will examine the failings of our criminal justice system — but also test promising reforms. While a number of news organizations are doing distinguished reporting on crime and punishment, the journalistic energy devoted to this kind of reporting, time consuming and expensive as it is, has been sapped by the financial traumas of the news industry. Our aim is both to restore some of that lost energy and to be a catalyst for coverage elsewhere. We will publish the fruits of our reporting here and expand our audience by collaborating with first-rate newspapers, magazines, broadcasters and other online news sites.
In addition to our original reporting, we will compile the most interesting news and commentary from around the world of criminal justice, distributing our findings in our daily email, and offer this site as a hub for debate and accord. We are nonpartisan and nonideological, which means you will find here the voices of progressives and conservatives, centrists and provocateurs. As it happens, criminal justice is one of the few areas of public policy where there is a significant patch of common ground between right and left.
We are also nonprofit, dependent on the generosity of foundations and individuals. Our website and email are free of charge, but we invite you to click the “donate” button if you find The Marshall Project to be of interest and value. And join the conversation on social media or through our Letters to the Editor feature.
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