news
August 07, 2018
Race & Justice News: Homicide Clearance Disparities Contribute to Capital Punishment Disparities
Homicides involving white victims are significantly more likely to be "cleared" by the arrest of a suspect than homicides involving victims of color, causing racial disparities in capital sentencing to begin as early as police investigations. Learn more in Race & Justice News.
publications
July 17, 2018
Felony Disenfranchisement: A Primer
A striking 6.1 million Americans are prohibited from voting due to laws that disenfranchise citizens convicted of felony offenses. Felony disenfranchisement rates vary by state, as states institute a wide range of disenfranchisement policies.
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’.
news
July 10, 2018
OJJDP Administrator’s Words on Racial Disparities Shock Us
Administrator Harp’s simplification of the core protections of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act prioritizes public safety over racial justice. The administrator fails to understand that the two goals are intertwined.
publications
July 06, 2018
The Sentencing Project files Amicus Brief in Florida Felony Disenfranchisement Suit
Our amicus brief highlights the punitive and arbitrary nature of Florida's voting rights restoration process, and argues that disenfranchisement is counterproductive to effective reentry.
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.
news
June 29, 2018
Race & Justice News: Churches Divest from Police to Protect People of Color
As awareness around state violence towards people of color grows, several churches decide to stop calling the police to protect communities of color. A church in Oakland is instead investing in de-escalation trainings to handle situations without calling the police.
publications
June 22, 2018
Trends in U.S. Corrections
The Sentencing Project's key fact sheet provides a compilation of major developments in the criminal justice system over the past several decades.
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.
news
June 22, 2018
The Sentencing Project on the Incarceration of Migrant Children
We call on the Trump Administration, Congress, and federal agencies to act urgently to reunite all children who have been separated from their families, to revoke the zero-tolerance policy and to reject an expanded policy of family detention.
news
June 18, 2018
State Advocacy News: Advocacy Planning for Criminal Justice Reform
Summer offers an opportunity for advocates to build momentum for policy and organizing goals. Our State Advocacy Newsletter offers strategies and tools you can use for your next campaign.
news
May 30, 2018
Race & Justice News: Civil Rights Enforcement May Drop Under DeVos
Though racial and ethnic disparities in school punishment grew worse in the 2015-2016 school year, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights may be stepping back from investigating racially disparate enforcement of school discipline policies.
news
May 24, 2018
Disenfranchisement News: Louisiana expands voting rights to people on probation and parole
Louisiana lawmakers pass a bill to restore voting rights to people on probation and parole after a 5 year waiting period, Indiana lawsuit seeks damages for denying people in jail access to the polls, and more in Disenfranchisement News.
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