Tagged With "Sentencing Project"
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Pandemic slows legal voting from California jails (calmatters.org)
Jose Armendariz, 30, has never been able to vote. Sentenced to 90 years to life in prison at 16, Armendariz is barred from casting a ballot by California’s felony disenfranchisement laws. But after learning that many of those behind bars can cast ballots, he has become an inside organizer for Unlock the Vote , an American Civil Liberties Union project aimed at registering voters in Southern California jails. Armendariz goes cell-to-cell at Orange County’s Theo Lacy Jail, educating people...
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New Resource: Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic One-Pager (English & Spanish!)
English: The California Department of Public Health, Injury and Prevention Branch (CDPH/IVPB) and the California Department of Social Service, Office of Child Abuse Prevention’s (CDSS/OCAP) , Essentials for Childhood (EfC) Initiative , ACEs Connection , and the Yolo County Children’s Alliance have co-created a newly developed resource, “Coping with Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic” in both English and Spanish. This material is intended for Californian families experiencing the severe...
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SC inmates use art to heal from sexual assault trauma, domestic violence (The Post and Courier)
By Sara Coello, December 7, 2020, Post and Courier. At two women’s prisons in South Carolina, butterfly wings spread out across the walls. The murals, at Leath and Camille Graham correctional institutions, are the first stage of a project focused on healing for inmates who have survived sexual and domestic violence. Artist Cathy Salser guided 32 inmates, each of whom decorated one of the 16 panels that make up a butterfly. They painted scenes and scrawled poetry that reminded them of their...
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Fritzi Horstman of, Compassion Prison Project, Interviews Dr. Vince Felitti
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-VAUnGV1Vs ( Editor's note: This interview is close to 1 1/2 hours. YouTube provides a timeline of the topics covered if you click on "More" in the description.)
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Zoom Funerals, Outdoor Classes: Jails and Prisons Evolve Amid the Pandemic [themarshallproject.org]
By Keri Blakinger, The Marshall Project, January 19, 2021 When his father died last year of an overdose* , * Rodney Watson thought he would miss the funeral and his last chance to say goodbye—not because of the pandemic, but because he was in jail. Watson, 36, was awaiting trial in Houston after shooting and wounding his brother during a fight, an act he swears was unintentional. In the past, Watson’s incarceration could have forced him to miss the elegant church funeral with the white roses...
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North Carolina to infuse ACEs science into state judiciary system
Plans to integrate practices and policies based on the science of adverse childhood experiences in North Carolina’s 4,000-person,100-county statewide judiciary were announced today. Jon David, district attorney for North Carolina’s 15th District, District Court Judge Quintin McGee of the same district, and Amelia Thorn, of Duke University’s Bolch Judicial Institute, revealed plans to work with North Carolina Chief Justice Paul Newby and Administrative Office of the Courts Director Andrew...
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Prison Yoga Project Goes Behind Bars to Help Inmates Heal Their Trauma (Inside Edition)
By Inside Edition staff, February 8, 2020 Once a week, yoga teacher Chanda Williams walks through the gates at San Quentin Prison with her yoga mat under her arm to teach a class. She’s an instructor with the Prison Yoga Project, a non-profit organization that brings the ancient practice behind the walls of correctional facilities across the world to help inmates heal their trauma. Williams says it’s her way of trying to help break the cycle of incarceration many prisoners find themselves...
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The Language Project (themarshallproject.org)
Reporters and editors have long believed that terms such as “inmate,” “felon” and “offender” are clear, succinct and neutral. But a vocal segment of people affected by the criminal justice system argue that these words — and any other words that define human beings by their crimes and punishments — are dehumanizing. The Marshall Project occupies a unique space in criminal justice reporting. We are not an advocacy organization, but we are committed to sustaining a sense of national urgency...
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Spectrum News LA - CPP's Fritzi Horstman joins Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris at Valley State Prison
Spectrum News joins CPP's Fritzi Horstman and California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris at Valley State Prison in California.
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How “Solitary Gardens” Help Envision a World Without Prisons (yesmagazine.org)
In a small patch of green space on Andry Street in New Orleans’ lower ninth ward, nine garden beds lie next to one another, each 6 feet by 9 feet, each the size of one standard solitary-confinement cell. Each garden bed grows a mix of herbs and flowers, among them pansies, stinging nettles, onions, mugwort. They are a mix of plants with medicinal properties and some that just bring pleasure to the eyes, and their growth is limited to the parts of the tiny space where a person would be free...
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Changing Prison from the Inside Out: Interview with Samual Brown (davisvanguard.org)
Cal State LA BA Prison Program Graduate Fights to End Involuntary Servitude On October 5, 2021, Samual Nathaniel Brown, co-founder of the Anti-Violence Safety and Accountability Project (ASAP), creator of the 10P program, and author of the constitutional amendment proposal, The California Abolition Act (ACA 3), recently became one of the first along with 24 other men to graduate with a bachelors in communication from Cal State LA’s Prison B.A. Graduation Initiative on the yard at California...
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Meditations on Enough: 5 meditations on what “enough” means, from food to rest to diversity. (yesmagazine.org)
“Enough food” is each person having daily access to an average of 2,353 calories of culturally appropriate, locally available, affordable, unrefined, and delectable nourishment. The good news is that we already grow enough food to feed 10 billion people . The challenges are that the food is not fairly distributed, a lot of it is thrown away, and the process of growing it industrially is trashing the planet. Contrary to conventional mythology, smallholder farms and regenerative agriculture...
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Examples of Current Trauma-Informed Judicial Systems
Please join us for a new series entitled: Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice. This monthly virtual Zoom series will feature conversations facilitated by Porter Jennings-McGarity, PACEs Connection’s criminal justice consultant, with special guests to discuss the need for trauma-informed criminal justice system reform. Using a PACEs-science lens, this series will examine the relationship between trauma and the criminal justice system, what needs changing, and strategies being used in this area...
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Gentle Men: The Healing Power of Vulnerability (mindful.org)
Growing up, I was taught that traditional male attributes are things like toughness, emotional reserve, strength, power, and staunch individualism. This image of a “traditional man” feeds into once-clear-cut roles like winner and provider . Edward M. Adams and Ed Frauenheim suggest that this version of masculinity is confined : both limited and limiting. In their 2020 book, Reinventing Masculinity , Adams and Frauenheim write, “Confined masculinity focuses more on a man’s sense of...
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Free Wi-Fi Tablets Change Prison Dynamics (prisonjournalismproject.org)
Prison Journalism Project trains incarcerated writers to become journalists and publishes their stories. Subscribe to Inside Story to receive exclusive behind-the-scene looks at our best stories, as well as author profiles and other insights. On Aug. 10, 2021, Valley State Prison (VSP) in Chowchilla, California, became the first to provide free Global Tel Link (GTL) Wi-Fi tablets to its incarcerated population. Earlier in February, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation...
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Re: Putting Their Prison Pasts Behind Them (nationswell.com)
I first attended a 'leadership academy' at Postprandial Toastmasters (Club # 3259) - where I could also 'polish' my communication skills. The international by-laws were changed as a result of an initiative taken by a club member who was also a board member on the International board, so I was able to apply for membership, and have my application voted on by the club. All the members of that club at the time were aware that I'd been in prison (Adjudicated as a "Youthful Offender" [not...
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Inmates in California prison can exit with a better chance of success due to first college behind bars (upworthy.com)
Prison is supposed to serve two purposes: punishment and rehabilitation. But often prisoners emerge with the skills to be a better criminal and little knowledge on how to live an improved life. A prison in California is hoping to change the revolving door effect for some inmates by being the first to have a fully accredited junior college behind bars. At Mount Tamalpais College at San Quentin State Prison inmates can earn an Associate of Arts degree by taking classes in literature, American...
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New study reveals a quiet revolution of repurposed prisons [npr.org]
By Michael Martin, Photo: Unsplash in site, National Public Radio, August 20, 2022 NPR's Michel Martin speaks with The Sentencing Project's Senior Director of Advocacy Nicole D. Porter about her new study on states repurposing closed correctional facilities. MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Defund the police - that phrase has become a rallying cry for some and a political hammer to swing at opponents for others, depending, of course, on your view of the movement to move resources away from traditional...
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"Prison Journalism Project": Independent Journalism by the Incarcerated
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.
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The Marshall Project
The Marshall Project is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that seeks to create and sustain a sense of national urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system. Read more about this organization by visiting their website at themarshallproject.org.
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Rifles, Tasers and Jails: How Cities and States Spent Billions of COVID-19 Relief (themarshallproject.org)
“[T]he American Rescue Plan … provided $350 billion that cities, states, and counties can use to hire more police, invest in more proven strategies like community violence interruption, trusted messengers,” Biden said during his State of the Union address this year. “We should all agree the answer is not to defund the police,” he continued. “It’s to fund the police. Fund them. Fund them. Fund them with the resources and training — resources and training they need to protect our communities.”...
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Pennsylvania prisoners are giving their own money to families impacted by gun violence (whyy.org)
File photo: Hundreds gathered at Gorgas Park Thursday for a prayer vigil following Tuesday's deadly shooting at Roxborough High School. (Cory Sharber/WHYY) Author: Sammy Caiola's article, please click here. A group of Pennsylvania prisoners, many of them serving life sentences for gun crimes, is pooling together their own funds to help Philadelphia families who lose a child to gun violence. The Community Bereavement Fund is a partnership between Right 2 Redemption , a statewide prisoners’...
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Better laws, less punishment, more freedom – from Cuba to Oklahoma [csmonitor.com]
By Nick Roll, Photo: Sue Ogrocki/AP/File, Christian Science Monitor, October 24, 2022 1. United States Oklahoma has reduced its prison population by 21% over the last five years. Through a series of legislative reforms and voter initiatives, Oklahoma eliminated prison time for some low-level drug and property offenses, and reduced the length of sentences for other crimes. A community-led campaign called Project Commutation has helped people with long sentences have them commuted. And a...
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How much would the NAS poverty reduction packages reduce referrals to CPS and foster care placements? Would they reduce racial disproportionality in child welfare? (nasonline.org).
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...
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Re: Washington State Department of Corrections is Providing Trauma-Informed Training
Lisa Flynn noted one item that a project I participated in found 'relevant'. After the Attica 'Rebellion' , the Rochester office of the American Arbitration Association's /National Center for Dispute Settlement had a 'Task Force' of both gender former prisoners, African-American former guards at Attica, and assorted 'Academics & Dispute resolution staff ......; about the same time, a resident Family Physician embarking on a new 'Prison Sick-Call Strategy' at Attica- using both prisoners...
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The 2023 Creating Resilient Communities Summer Curriculum is Now Open for Registration
PACEs Connection is excited to roll out our summer 2023 *CRC* curriculum dates. Members who complete the CRC will qualify for a fall 2023 fellowship program.
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“Caring for our own” theme emerges at May Meeting of North Carolina Chief Justice’s Task Force on ACEs Informed Courts
Ben David, co-chair of the North Carolina Chief Justice's Task Force on ACEs-Informed Courts, shares plans to sustain the work done during the two-year term of the Task Force, to "care for our own" speaking of North Carolina's children, youth, families, communities, victims of crimes, members of law enforcement, the judiciary and court officers and staffers. He also shared Chief Justice Paul Newby's hopes of "getting ACEs-informed courts" into the culture, and said a national conference for...
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PACEs Research Corner — May 2023, Part 2
[Editor's note: Dr. Harise Stein at Stanford University edits a web site — abuseresearch.info — that focuses on the effects of abuse, and includes research articles on PACEs. Every month, she posts the summaries of the abstracts and links to research articles that address only ACEs, PCEs and PACEs. Thank you, Harise!! — Rafael Maravilla] Domestic Violence – Effects on Children Makris G, Eleftheriades A, Pervanidou P. Early Life Stress, Hormones, and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Horm Res...
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“Caring for our own” theme emerges at May Meeting of North Carolina Chief Justice’s Task Force on ACEs-Informed Courts
Ben David, co-chair of the North Carolina Chief Justice's Task Force on ACEs-Informed Courts, shares plans to sustain the work done during the two-year term of the Task Force, to "care for our own" speaking of North Carolina's children, youth, families, communities, victims of crimes, members of law enforcement, the judiciary and court officers and staffers. He also shared Chief Justice Paul Newby's hopes of "getting ACEs-informed courts" into the culture, and said a national conference for...
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Announcing the Trans in Custody Project (pointofpride.org)
About the Trans in Custody project Please click here: https://www.pointofpride.org/trans-in-custody Point of Pride has developed a series of resource guides designed to help trans people who are incarcerated access gender-affirming chest binders by empowering themselves and the people in their lives to advocate and effect positive change. Today, we've released our first guide to provide support to counselors in correctional facilities who work directly with trans folks. In the coming days,...
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Becoming Abolitionist: A Lawyer’s Radical Vision (yesmagazine.org)
Noelle Hanrahan and Mumia Abu-Jamal on February 25, 2023. PHOTO COURTESY OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL & NOEL HANRAHAN, SCI MAHANOY To read more of Sonali Kolhatkar's article, please click here. More than 30 years ago, Noelle Hanrahan launched a journalism project called Prison Radio built on a simple idea: Give incarcerated people a media platform to tell their own stories. Hanrahan, who made a name for herself producing radio commentaries by the well-known political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal ,...
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What the New Wave of Prison Art Tells Us About Incarceration Today [themarshallproject.org]
Sable Elyse Smith’s “Backbend” (2019) on display at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City. MAURICE CHAMMAH/THE MARSHALL PROJECT By Maurice Chammah, The Marshall Project, August 12, 2023 At first glance, the “Federal Prison Inmate Activity Book” looks like something a child might get at a fast food restaurant. But then you see that the word search puzzle includes terms like “larceny” and “embezzle.” On another page, above drawings of a panda and a one-eyed snake,...
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Early Relational Health Innovators Partner In Program Supported by PACEs Connection Cooperative of Communities Members in Twelve California Counties
Christina Bethell, Ph.D, MBA, MPH, founder of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI), principal author of the groundbreaking study on positive childhood experiences, and creator of the free Well Visit Planner, among other innovations. Two internationally-respected leaders and innovators in complementary aspects of early relational health and childhood and maternal health equity recently launched a partnership they believe will benefit everyone from newborn babies and...