A first term president has — officially — 1,460 days to enact an agenda through policy and action for the American people. But the first 100 days have always drawn a huge amount of attention as a traditional measure of what’s to come. They are presented with all the opportunity and hope of a new…
Today, Governor Ralph Northam signed the bill to repeal Virginia’s death penalty, enacting it into law. Virginia is officially the 23rd state to end its death penalty. The work on the ground to achieve this victory was amazing, including our partners from Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty and the Virginia Interfaith Center on…
My heart is full as I write this message. On July 31, 2021, I will step down as the executive director of EJUSA after more than 20 years at this organization that I love. The events of the last year have intensified the urgency to reverse centuries of racial injustice in our nation. That…
This week, our allies at the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) released “Enduring Injustice: The Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the Death Penalty System.” For the ever-growing number of people who pay attention to justice issues, that blunt subtitle does not come as a shock. That doesn’t make this report — written by Ngozi Ndulue,…
To transform our justice system, we must change the way we think about accountability. Our culture of punishment as accountability has never made us safer. But there are models of accountability that heal rather than harm. EJUSA has a vision for how this kind of accountability can apply to policing for the damage and pain…
I’m so proud to kick off 2020 with two big announcements. First, EJUSA is turning 30 years old this year! And we’re celebrating this milestone with this new website! The site is a declaration of our bold vision for justice reimagined. With your support, we’re transforming what justice is. We’re rejecting mass incarceration, executions, police…
Statement by Shari Silberstein, Executive Director of Equal Justice USA: “Despite substantial evidence that the death penalty is overrun by racism and the process preys upon the poor and those struggling with trauma, the federal government has made a choice to begin executing again. Executions and death sentences are at historic lows because, as a…
Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. For survivors of torture, justice means education, WBEZ For survivors of police torture in Chicago, repair meant more than a financial settlement. It meant educating the city’s youth on the realities of…
This is a special edition of Reimagining Justice This Month. In conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, from April 7-13, we’re shining a light on stories about survivors of violence, and how they’ve responded to their experiences with trauma and healing. Dealing with Trauma After A Mass Shooting — Over The Long Term, NPR…
Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism. ‘They Was Killing Black People:’ In Tulsa, one of the worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history still haunts the city with unresolved questions, even as ‘Black Wall Street’ gentrifies, The…