BY ANDREW THOMAS Christopher Poulos fulfilled his dream of becoming a lawyer and is now the head of Washington State’s Reentry Council As a little kid, Christopher Poulos would stand in his grandfather’s basement reading through the attorney’s old legal case books. “I realized that all cases are people’s stories, they tell the stories of people’s […]
Sarah Mehta, Researcher, ACLU Human Rights Program & SK Rossi, Advocacy and Policy Director, ACLU of Montana Indigenous people have suffered several centuries of injustice at the hands of the United States government. In Montana, the injustices continue, particularly when it comes to the scourge of mass incarceration. Indigenous people comprise approximately 6.5 percent of the […]
California lawmakers are continuing a years-long movement to lower criminal sentences, ease restrictions on suspects, and keep juveniles out of adult prisons despite objections that the moves could harm public safety. By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The recently completed California legislative session continued a yearslong effort to lower criminal sentences, ease restrictions on […]
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. – A peer support group works inside the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center to help veterans get on the right path. Roughly 1,800 inmates are currently incarcerated at the jail, with about 10 percent being veterans. (About 40 percent of El Paso County residents are active duty military members or veterans.) Some veterans are in for […]
by Allison Steele, Without the thick metal cables that keep the knives tethered to the counters, the training ground for the newest educational program at the women’s prison in Muncy, Pa., might be indistinguishable from other culinary schools. Heads lowered in concentration, the nine students chopped cucumbers on one recent morning, aiming for slices that all looked the same. […]
By Magdala Louissaint – Lynchburg Bureau Reporter LYNCHBURG, Va. – Military vets coming out of prison may find new opportunities in the Lynchburg area, thanks to local organizations in the Hill City that are making the return to society easier. A house sitting on Craddock Street in Lynchburg that was built in the early 1900s will soon be a new place for veterans […]
By Daniel S. Throop “I can’t believe they lost!” I blurted out to confused looks from my five cellies while reading a recent edition of The New Yorker. Thinking my outburst was likely baseball-related, one of the guys asked me, “Did your Pirates drop another one, Throop?” “No,” I replied. “Norfolk lost to Harvard.” With […]
By Rahsaan Thomas Prison advocates and educators who believe in the benefits of classes held on prison grounds are seeking to revive a program that once brought Harvard students into prisons to learn desk-by-desk with incarcerated students. San Quentin already has similar programs. “By creating opportunities for Harvard students to learn with and from students in […]
Joe Garcia Marcus Bullock discovered a wealth of entrepreneurial insights during his time behind bars. His prison experiences inspired him to create Flikshop—an innovative app that helps incarcerated people remain close to their loved ones. Flikshop takes any image sent from a cellphone and turns it into a postcard that the inmate will receive through regular […]
Rahsaan Thomas David Jassy playing music for Common and guestsHip-hop artist Rashid “Common” Lynn heard about the positive music being produced from prison by David Jassy, a Grammy-nominated Swedish rapper and producer, and came into San Quentin to meet about a collaborative project. “He (Common) has a genuine interest in prison reform,” Jassy said. “They heard […]
