George Bernard Shaw is credited with the quote: "To Punish a man, you must injure him; to Reform a man, you must improve him; and men are not improved by injuries."

Chronic stress, trauma exposure, frequent threats of violence and the relentless grind of gun crimes’ impact: A recently-released report from the University of Illinois Chicago reveals in stark terms the strain and struggles that many frontline violence prevention workers face as they try to combat gun violence. In 2022, Chicago is coming off another record year of homicides, similar to many other major cities across the U.S. 797 people were killed in 2021 with 3,677 non-fatal shootings—an...

In San Joaquin County, California in 2010, 19-year-old Emmanuel Mendoza helped lure a robbery victim to a location where a masked accomplice waited with a firearm. When a struggle with the victim over the firearm ensued, Mendoza’s accomplice fired a fatal shot. Although Mendoza did not have a weapon and the killing had not been planned, he was convicted of felony murder with special circumstances, and automatically sentenced to life without parole (LWOP). 1) In prison, he ended his gang...

If Mendoza renounced his gang membership to be eligible to serve his sentence in what was once called the California Honor Prison- before it reportedly was closed down, that might explain a relevant part of the story.... (that was a requirement for admission to the Honor Prison.) The title of Angela Davis' book may be worth pondering: "Are Prisons Obsolete?" George Bernard Shaw's quote may also be: "To punish a man, you must injure him; to Reform a man, you must improve him; and men are not...

John Legend is an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award-winning entertainer, who recently kicked off a Las Vegas residency and just released a new single. But he's also a well-known activist and advocate for criminal justice reform and voting rights who has supported a number of Democratic candidates over the years. He's also throwing his support behind a number of progressive prosecutors who are running on a promise to reform a criminal justice system that they say is outdated and that...

We are excited to launch several exciting new initiatives designed for PACEs Connection’s trauma-informed criminal justice communities this fall. You talked, and we listened! Using the excellent feedback we have received from those of you who have participated in our trauma-informed criminal justice CRC, GRC, and SRC events this year, beginning in September we will offer more opportunities for connection and dialogue for individuals and communities interested in this specific realm of...

The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.

The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. Learn more about this organization by visiting their website at eji.org .

The Prison Journalism Project trains incarcerated writes to be journalists and publishes their stories to empower a marginalized community to be a vital voice in criminal justice reform. To read stories and learn more about this organization, visit their website at prisonjournalismproject.org.

The Foundation’s juvenile justice reform agenda is designed to improve the odds that at-risk youth can make successful transitions to adulthood. We are working to create a system that locks up fewer youth and relies more on proven, family-focused interventions that create opportunities for positive youth development. To learn more, visit https://www.aecf.org/work/juvenile-justice .

If we consider 'Panther Clinics' and other forms of 'Civic Engagement', such as I also witnessed in the South Bronx-where a 'gang' accompanied Resident Pediatric and Internal Medicine Residents who made 'House Calls' in a 'neighborhood' with 100,000 Heroin Addicts at the time, and the prior requirements for admission to the California Honor Prison-before it was closed (Renouncing [violent] Gang Membership; commitment to Non-Violence; etc.), we might not miss the meaning behind George Bernard...

Because of a collaboration with Columbia University and UW-Madison, we have answers to these questions. By Peter Peter Pecora, Casey Family Programs, March 17, 2023 - Overview The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently released a “ roadmap ” to reduce child poverty by as much as half through the implementation of a series of social policy packages. The aim of this study was to simulate the reductions in Child Protective Services (CPS) involvement and foster care placements that are...

Information from Summit Brochure and registration site available here . North Carolina’s first Statewide Trauma Summit – a virtual and in-person summit – will beheld Thursday and Friday, April 27-28, in Raleigh, at The McKimmon Conference and Training Center, Summit leaders announced recently. “Momentum is growing in NC for building trauma-informed systems that strengthen resilience and weed out systemic and often intergenerational sources of child trauma. To advance this work, it is...

To mark the anniversary of the passage of the landmark legislation of the Georgia Mental Health Parity Act, we are sharing a letter written a year ago by Roland Behm, Co-founder of the Georgia Mental Health Policy Partnership, Board Member and Former Board Chair, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Georgia Chapter. The letter is to his son, Kyle, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2010 as a junior in college and died by suicide in August 2019.

Susan Burton and Cari Lynn’s social justice memoir follows Burton’s journey from a prison inmate to a leading campaigner for criminal justice system reform. Susan Burton is the founder of A New Way of Life, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and other support to formerly incarcerated women. She is nationally known as an advocate for restoring basic civil and human rights to those who have served time. Susan is the 2010 recipient of the Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award from the...