criminal justice reform
May 24, 2019 -
As the movement for criminal justice reform takes center stage ahead of the 2020 elections, governors and legislators in the South are offering reforms to create a more welcoming reentry process after prison and to restore rights stripped from ex-felons — though progress on that front faces backlash in Florida.
February 28, 2019 -
A bill in the Georgia legislature would overturn local reforms across the state that keep people from being locked up just because they can't afford bail. The bail bonds industry lobbied for the bill, which would reverse recent bipartisan reforms, and contributed to the campaigns of lawmakers who back it.
July 20, 2018 -
President Trump recently commuted the federal prison sentence of Alice Marie Johnson of Tennessee, who was serving life without parole for a first-time, nonviolent drug offense. The move came after a decade of effort by criminal justice reform advocates, who now see hope for more systemic change in a bill that's been introduced in Congress by a key GOP leader.
March 23, 2018 -
Sheriff candidates in some Southern counties are campaigning on a promise to stay out of immigration enforcement, but new state laws could force police and judges to participate in the Trump administration's crackdown.
July 28, 2017 -
Since 2010, the number of children under the age of 18 in U.S. jails, prisons and juvenile facilities has plummeted due to reforms like "raise the age" legislation. But the U.S. still remains a world leader in the number of children it puts behind bars — and the South leads the nation.
June 13, 2017 -
Measures for Justice, a nonprofit that gauges the performance of criminal justice systems at the county level, has released data for six states including Florida and North Carolina. The effort shows how criminal justice is being carried out locally and where change is needed.
December 1, 1978 -
This article originally appeared in Southern Exposure Vol. 6 No. 4, "Still Life: Inside Southern Prisons." Find more from that issue here.
