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March 16, 2022

Opinion: Nearly 60 years after Voting Rights Act, some voter protections still undermined

Thousands of people in federal custody or who have been released still face roadblocks that prevent them from gaining full access to the ballot box. The Sentencing Project's Keeda Haynes penned an op-ed in USA Today that highlights the importance of universal suffrage.
publications
March 15, 2022

Too Many Locked Doors

Josh Rovner
The scope of youth confinement is vastly understated. A one-day count cannot accurately reflect the wide and deep footprint of youth incarceration.
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James Inge

James D. Inge is one of 300 individuals age 60 or older arrested between 1965 and 1980 that was sentenced to life imprisonment in Pennsylvania. Learn more about his campaign to give rehabilitated seniors serving life a second chance.
publications
March 07, 2022

Sign-on Letter: Ensure Fair Process for "Old Law" People in Federal Process

Justice organizations urge Attorney General Merrick Garland to exercise oversight of the U.S. Parole Commission and ensure that the Commission provides a fair process for the several hundred "old law" people within its jurisdiction.
publications
February 28, 2022

Vermont Must End Life Without Parole

Nicole D. Porter and Ashley Nellis, Ph.D.

Vermont must pursue new reforms to undo the harmful and ineffective warehousing of people that life sentences result in and to offer opportunities for rehabilitation and redemption. 

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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
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.
news
February 22, 2022

Can COVID-19 Teach Us How to End Mass Incarceration?

In the University of Miami Law Review, Amy Fettig penned an essay that examines the federal, state and local government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons and what lessons can be learned in our ongoing need to decarcerate and end the era of mass incarceration.
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Kimberly Haven

Kimberly Haven’s journey as an advocate began when she sought to regain her own voting rights after release from a Maryland prison in 2001. She soon became passionate about the unfairness of disenfranchising citizens after they have completed their sentence and returned to the community.
publications
February 14, 2022

Letter to Justice Department on Appointment of Bureau of Prisons Director

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, The Sentencing Project urges the Department of Justice to hire a new Bureau of Prisons Director who is capable of and committed to leading the Bureau through systemic reform.

publications
February 09, 2022

State Action to Narrow the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Thanks to a $122 billion infusion of federal funds for public education included in the March 2021 American Rescue Plan, schools and communities have the opportunity to invest vast resources in effective new approaches to close the school-to-prison pipeline. The Sentencing Project has examined the plans submitted by every state for use of these federal funds.
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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
January 26, 2022

Testimony in Support of Maryland Bill to End Automatic Transfer of Youth to Adult Court

Josh Rovner
The Sentencing Project offered expert testimony in support of Maryland's SB165, a bill to end the automatic charging of Maryland’s youth as if they were adults.
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.
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Dorothy Gaines

Dorothy Gaines's life changed when Alabama state police raided her home for drugs. Police found no evidence of Gaines having possessed or sold drugs, yet federal prosecutors charged Gaines with drug conspiracy.
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