Tag: End Mass Incarceration
The Cops At The Capitol
At least 26 sworn members of U.S. law enforcement agencies from at least 11 states have been identified by law enforcement agencies and local reporting as attendees of the Jan. 6 rally in support of President Trump that sparked a riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Beyond that tally, several former law enforcement agents attended the rally, and still more current law enforcement officials are under investigation for making statements in support of the rally.
American policing is rooted in white supremacy: many contemporary police departments originated as patrols dedicated to terrorizing and capturing enslaved people.
REDEMPTION AT STATEVILLE: Battling False Hope 4 Cookies At A Time
He did time in Pontiac. He did time in Menard. He did time in Stateville.
Those places held Smiley but they will not define him which is to say of course they will define him because how can you spend time in a place and not take a part of that place with you?
Now Smiley works at Legacy Reentry Foundation in Waukegan.
Illinois Expunges Nearly 500,000 Cannabis Arrest Records
Governor J.B. Pritzker closed out 2020 by expunging nearly 500,000 non-felony cannabis-related records, an action mandated by Illinois’ marijuana legalization law that went into effect a year ago.
As part of the action, the governor also pardoned 9,219 low-level cannabis conviction records, part of the state’s efforts to repair the damage inflicted by the war on drugs ― primarily on residents of color.
“We will never be able to fully remedy the depth of the damage in communities of color, who have disproportionately shouldered this burden,” Pritzker said. “But we can govern with the courage to admit the mistakes of our past — and the decency to set a better path forward.”
Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which legalized cannabis in the state, required the government to expunge 47,000 cannabis-related arrest records created between 2013 and 2019 by Jan. 1, 2021.
In a unique twist, the law also created a program that reinvests 25% of cannabis tax revenue into a fund for youth development, anti-violence programs, re-entry programs, economic development and civil legal aid services.
Support Parole Illinois: Janet Jackson
Give the gift of resources this holiday season!
Parole Illinois is pushing for policy changes that help reverse cycles of violence and incarceration and give people like Janet a fair chance to be reviewed for release.
With your help, we can bring their stories to a wider audience and gain support for a system of Earned Discretionary Reentry that provides our loved ones opportunities to finally come home.
You can support us by making a donation.
Support Parole Illinois: Howard Keller
Parole Illinois is pushing for policy changes that help reverse cycles of violence and incarceration and give people like Howard fair chances to be reviewed for release.
With your help, we can bring the story of Howard and others like him to a wider audience and gain support for a system of Earned Discretionary Reentry that provides our loved ones opportunities to finally come home.
Make a gift to Parole Illinois this season so we have the resources to pass Earned Discretionary Reentry in Illinois. You can donate here…
Support Parole Illinois: Valdez Jordan
Parole Illinois is pushing for policy changes that help reverse cycles of violence and incarceration and give people like Valdez fair chances to be reviewed for release.
With your help, we can bring the story of Valdez to a wider audience and gain support for a system of Earned Discretionary Reentry that provides our loved ones opportunities to finally come home.
This month we are raising money so we can raise awareness and gain support for Earned Discretionary Reentry in Illinois. You can support us by making a donation…
Stimulus, Round 2: Incarcerated People Will Be Eligible For New Round Of Payments
In the wake of the recently passed stimulus bill, many Americans are complaining about the paltry direct payments of $600.
Without detracting from Congress’s failure to support the millions of people who need help, it is worth pausing to acknowledge one unexpected victory in the bill: It contains no prohibition on stimulus payments for incarcerated people.
It’s a good thing that Congress stuck to the policy of including incarcerated people in the pool of eligible recipients.
Even before the pandemic, day-to-day life in prison and jail was getting expensive, with commissary charges for basic food and hygiene items, and increasingly common pay-to-play e-book and music programs.
COVID-19 Compels America To Rethink Who We Lock Up In Prison
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the limits of our criminal justice system.
Now, we have an opportunity to change it for the better. We should start by following the science, advocating for our most vulnerable populations to have access to protections, treatments and vaccines.
Then we need to ask a bigger question — whether it makes sense to incarcerate so many people in the first place.
Even as the first doses of the vaccine are administered, we are in for a tough winter. And people locked up in prisons, jails and detention centers are among those most at risk of contracting COVID-19, becoming gravely ill, or worse.