publications
May 12, 2022
Incarcerated Women and Girls
Research on female incarceration is critical to understanding the full consequences of mass incarceration and to unraveling the policies and practices that lead to their criminalization. The number of incarcerated women was nearly five times higher in 2020 than in 1980.
news
February 25, 2022
Race & Justice News: Biased Criminalization of Gun Possession
Momentum is building for racial impact statement analysis of legislation in more states, public defenders oppose biased criminalization of gun possession, and more in the latest Race & Justice News.
Lawrence and Lamont Garrison
Sentences for federal drug crimes are based on the quantity of the drugs involved, not the individual’s role in the crime. The emphasis on quantity rather than the role of the offender, along with the conspiracy laws, too often result in disproportionate sentencing, even for first-time offenses such as the Garrisons’.
publications
January 25, 2022
Testimony in Support of Nebraska's Racial Impact Statement Legislation
The Sentencing Project offered expert testimony in support of Nebraska's Legislative Bill 814, a Racial Impact Statement Act.
publications
January 13, 2022
State Voting Rights Briefs
The Sentencing Project is committed to expanding voting rights in every state and works with state partners to provide specific data on state felony disenfranchisement.
Willie Mays Aikens
In 2008, Willie Mays Aikens made headlines when a federal judge reduced his lengthy prison term to 14 years as a result of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s adjustment to the crack cocaine sentencing guidelines. Aikens was released in June 2008.
publications
December 16, 2021
Youth in Adult Courts, Jails, and Prisons
This brief reviews the history, harms, pathways and trends that treat children as if they were adults.
publications
December 08, 2021
Successes in Criminal Legal Reforms, 2021
Formerly incarcerated activists, lawmakers, and advocates achieved important changes in criminal justice policy in 2021 to reduce mass incarceration, expand voting rights and advance racial justice. This briefing paper highlights key reforms undertaken in 2021 prioritized by The Sentencing Project.
Christopher Poulos
When Chris Poulos was arrested, he experienced firsthand the difference that money can make in the criminal justice system. He recounts the experience in his own words.
publications
November 03, 2021
Conversation About Crime Survivors and Restorative Justice Issues
The Sentencing Project and national victim/survivor advocate Anne Seymour sponsored a virtual conversation to address the critical issue of restorative justice practices both pre- and post-conviction. The goal of the conversation was to identify strategies that can more wholly address the needs of survivors, those who harm them, and the communities in which they reside.
publications
October 13, 2021
The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons
Black Americans are incarcerated in state prisons across the country at nearly five times the rate of whites, and Latinx people are 1.3 times as likely to be incarcerated than non-Latinx whites. This report documents the rates of incarceration for white, Black and Latinx Americans in each state, identifies three contributors to racial and ethnic disparities in imprisonment, and provides recommendations for reform.
publications
October 07, 2021
Testimony Before DC Council's Committee on the Judiciary in Support of the Redefinition of Child Amendment Act of 2021
The Sentencing Project's Senior Advocacy Associate Josh Rovner submitted testimony endorsing Bill 24-338, the Redefinition of Child Amendment Act of 2021, before the Council of the District of Columbia, Committee on the Judiciary. The hearing considers whether all of DC’s children should be seen as such. The bill would apply to 16-and 17-year-olds who have been charged with any one of a set of serious offenses.
news
September 07, 2021
Meeting the Back-to-School Challenge: Get Involved!
By investing in proven solutions and partnering with the community, the education system can avert potential tragedy in 2021-22 and establish a new normal in our education system that fosters success, promotes equity, and recognizes the realities of adolescent behavior and brain development.
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