news
November 18, 2020
Race & Justice News: Whose Lives Matter?
Oregon ballot measure tackles racial disparities in drug possession enforcement, San Francisco will respond to behavioral crisis calls without police, Black Kansas City residents cite distrust of police as contributor to gun violence, and more in Race & Justice News.
publications
November 13, 2020
COVID-19 in Juvenile Facilities
The widespread incidence of COVID-19 inflicts devastating impacts on incarcerated youth, their families, the staff who work in those facilities, and the communities they call home. The Sentencing Project is tracking COVID-19 positive diagnoses among youth and staff at juvenile facilities and the number of known cases in each state.
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.
news
October 30, 2020
State Advocacy News: Community Challenges to Life Imprisonment
The Sentencing Project convened a national day of action in commemoration of the 49th anniversary of the Attica uprising and to demand life sentenced prisoners be included in COVID-19-related decarceration efforts. Groups around the country organized grassroots actions in support of prison releases.
publications
October 14, 2020
Free the Vote
A new video by The Sentencing Project introduces you to four Americans eager to vote and regain their rights of citizenship.
July 26, 2017
Dr. Stanley Andrisse
From prison cells to PhD, Dr. Stanley Andrisse shares his transformation to inspire those impacted by the criminal justice system.
publications
September 30, 2020
Youth Justice Under the Coronavirus: Linking Public Health Protections with the Movement for Youth Decarceration
Despite almost two decades of declines in U.S. youth incarceration, The Sentencing Project reveals more than 1,800 incarcerated youth have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, including more than 300 cases in Florida and Texas.
news
September 28, 2020
Race & Justice News: Disarming Traffic Enforcement
Sentencing disparities examined in Massachusetts and Washtenaw County, Michigan, federal prosecutors targeted black communities while handling DC gun charges, Berkley to disarms traffic enforcement, and more in Race & Justice News.
Marlo Hargrove and David Waller
Marlo Hargrove and David Waller both successfully regained their voting rights after receiving felony convictions and serving their sentences.
news
August 26, 2020
State Advocacy Update: From Defund the Police to Defund Prisons
The Sentencing Project hosted an online discussion highlighting efforts in California and Colorado to decarcerate and prioritize funding towards crime prevention and community.
publications
August 25, 2020
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.
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.
news
August 18, 2020
People with felony convictions under supervision are barred from voting. Let them be heard.
North Carolina's felony disenfranchisement law mutes the political voices of Black residents, preventing them from meaningfully changing systems that, like the criminal justice system, so often discriminate against them.
news
August 17, 2020
Disenfranchisement News: Iowa Gov. Ends Lifetime Ban on Voting for People with Felony Convictions
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order restoring the right to vote for people with felony convictions. Iowa was the only state that still permanently disenfranchised those with felony convictions unless the governor intervened.
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.
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