Incarceration

White House Aims To Curb Prison Rape

AP | JESSE J. HOLLAND | Posted 05.17.2012

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration ordered federal, state and local officials Thursday to adopt zero tolerance for prison rape as it issued m...

Bronx Parents and Community Members Protest Harsh Disciplinary Procedures

Dinu Ahmed | Posted 05.16.2012

Dinu Ahmed

The Bronx-based groups argue that harsh and punitive disciplinary measures that remove children from the classroom for minor incidents only exacerbate the problem of school pushout, and differentially impact youth of color.

Launched by Australian Visionary, U.S. Peace Index Hits Year Two

Jim Luce | Posted 05.15.2012

Jim Luce

The U.S. Peace Index was launched last year with the aim is to further understand the types of environments that are associated with peace and its economic impacts at a more specific regional level.

Mother's Day: Tears and Triumphs

Gretchen Burns Bergman | Posted 05.14.2012

Gretchen Burns Bergman

For most women, Mother's Day is a time to honor and celebrate motherhood. For countless other women, it also marks a day of grieving and loss.

L.A. Riots: A Rose Grows Through Concrete 20 Years Later

Carol Biondi | Posted 05.04.2012

Carol Biondi

Twenty years after the L.A. riots, can philanthropy play a meaningful role in addressing the gross over-representation of Black males in prisons and correctional facilities in California?

20 Years After L.A. Riots, Nonprofit Fights Prejudices, Advocates A Better First Chance

Carol Biondi | Posted 05.03.2012

Carol Biondi

Twenty years after the L.A. riots, can philanthropy play a meaningful role in addressing the gross over-representation of Black males in prisons and correctional facilities in California?

EEOC issues new Policy Guidance on the Consideration of Criminal Records in Employment Decisions

Glenn E. Martin | Posted 05.03.2012

Glenn E. Martin

The mass incarceration of minority communities, and the resulting mass reentry and lifetime collateral consequences have created the "perfect storm" to ensure that criminal record based employment discrimination serves as a surrogate for race-based discrimination.

'Tough on Crime' No Longer the American Mantra?

Inimai Chettiar | Posted 05.02.2012

Inimai Chettiar

Politicians have held strong to the conventional wisdom that being "tough on crime" will win elections and appease the public's appetite for safety. But the pendulum of public opinion is starting to swing in the other direction.

Galatians 3:23-29: The Law Was Our Teacher

Reverend William E. Flippin, Jr. | Posted 04.29.2012

Reverend William E. Flippin, Jr.

The key to dealing with most criminal behavior may well be the application of basic Christian principles: repent, make restitution, restore relationships and change your ways.

Democracy Restoration Act Would Restore Voting Rights to Millions

Lee Rowland | Posted 04.25.2012

Lee Rowland

Restore the right to vote and you restore a formerly disenfranchised citizen's stake in the community, boosting the chances of a successful reentry into mainstream society.

New Study Shows Violence Costing America Over $460 Billion

Michael Shank | Posted 04.24.2012

Michael Shank

The U.S. Peace Index is based on analysis of homicide, violent crime, policing, incarceration rates and availability of small arms data. With improvements in all five of these indicators from the 2011 to the 2012 USPI, the U.S. was found to be more peaceful than at any time since 1991.

U.S. Incarceration Rate Is a National Disgrace

Nake M. Kamrany | Posted 04.16.2012

Nake M. Kamrany

U.S. jails are overcrowded. By reallocating budgets to improving living conditions and education, crime rates will fall -- so will the stigma of U.S. incarceration and prosperity will rise.

World's Deadliest Wealthy Countries

Howard Steven Friedman | Posted 04.04.2012

Howard Steven Friedman

America's homicide rates, incarceration rates and gun ownership rates are all much higher than other wealthy countries. While the data associated with crime is imperfect, these facts all point to the idea that America is more violent than many other wealthy countries.

Why 2013 Budgets Won't Cut It and the Untapped Treasury in Violence

Michael Shank | Posted 04.02.2012

Michael Shank

Politicians need to realize that in the pursuit of available funds, there are untapped dividends available where they may least suspect it. Increasing the peace not only improves quality of life but the economy as well.

Trayvon Martin's Lesson for Maryland: Appeal Gun Law Ruling by Federal Judge

Michael Shank | Posted 03.29.2012

Michael Shank

Lest we think the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida has little legal relevance for our Washington metro area, think again. All eyes should be on the state of Maryland.

Life After Incarceration: Don't Forget About The 7 Million Children Affected

Mindy Tarlow | Posted 03.27.2012

Mindy Tarlow

When individuals return home from incarceration, they rarely return back to the lives they left behind.

Department of Justice Finds New Program Reduces Violence by Mentally Ill

DJ Jaffe | Posted 03.27.2012

DJ Jaffe

Historically, many mental health departments like California and New York elected to require psychotic individuals who don't recognize they are ill to become "danger to self or others" or "gravely disabled" before offering treatment.

Bringing Florida to Justice, Not Just George Zimmerman

Michael Shank | Posted 05.25.2012

Michael Shank

A bigger question that must also be asked is "Who is Florida?" We could ask a question about the direction America is headed on race and violence but let's stick to Florida for a moment.

"Locked in This Little Room, Things Get to You"

Deborah Jiang Stein | Posted 04.24.2012

Deborah Jiang Stein

For ten years off and on I've sat face-to-face with incarcerated women in various U.S. state and federal facilities, allowed private meetings with nothing but my tape recorder.

Private Prisons Profit From Pain

Jakada Imani | Posted 04.24.2012

Jakada Imani

Incarceration for profit is just plain wrong. Making a business from other people's suffering is wrong. And demanding that states guarantee their for-profit corporation chock-full prisons is immoral.

Occupy The Criminal Justice System: From Stop-and-Frisk To Prison Cells

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg | Posted 04.20.2012

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The private prison industry has devoted time and money to ensuring that crime legislation benefits their financial interests. They have donated millions to political candidates and parties, as well as helped pass more punitive sentencing laws.

America's Gulag: The Money (in Politics) Behind Prison Privatization

Nick Penniman | Posted 04.16.2012

Nick Penniman

If we are to reform the prison system, and fix the other Big Problems, we must first reform the lobbying and campaign financing systems.

I Was Stopped, But Not Frisked

Marc Mauer | Posted 04.09.2012

Marc Mauer

It's hardly a secret that the relationship between African American communities and law enforcement has been fraught with conflict. From the old days of station-house beatings to get a confession to today's "stop and frisk" practices, an awful lot of mistrust has been engendered.

Green Jobs for Ex-Cons: Fixing Broken Systems

Colleen Murphy-Dunning | Posted 04.07.2012

Colleen Murphy-Dunning

Our country, a promised land of opportunity, needs a national green jobs program that targets ex-offenders.

What Nevada, Florida and South Carolina Have in Common & What Republican Candidates Ignored: A Credible Economic Cure

Michael Shank | Posted 04.05.2012

Michael Shank

As the Republican candidates leave Nevada, one topic seems to have escaped their attention entirely: a credible economic cure for what ails the states where they're waging their campaigns for president.