Reimagining Justice This Month highlights stories about effective responses to violence – responses that disrupt cycles of violence, heal trauma, and address structural racism.
I Survived a Violent Crime then the Justice System Let Me Down, The Marshall Project
A woman shares her personal experience as a victim of violent crime and how she was forced to navigate the court system. She recounts the traumatic experience of assault and the flawed process of the court procedures as well as the meager financial restitution she received. However, she still rejects the label of victim and now heads the organization Crime Survivors.
What If We Treated Violent Crime the Way We Treat Ebola?, The Washington Post
Radley Balko compares the high rates of crime in Chicago to the lower crime rates of New York City. He links it to the interventionist, public health strategy that was used to address crime during the 1970s and 1980s in New York. Organizations such as Cure Violence are showing the effectiveness of this approach in Chicago today.
What You Should Know About Family Separations, The Marshall Project
This piece offers clear information about the recent family separations occurring at the border and about the logistical and real-world effects of the “zero tolerance” policy implemented by the Trump Administration. It also outlines how these new policies differ from the previous immigration policies and the way in which they affect families and children.
Restorative Justice Works For Perpetrators and Victims, The Seattle Times
Three authors directly respond to detractors of restorative justice, who champion more traditional punitive methods as a way to protect victims of crime. They challenge traditional approaches, arguing that restorative justice seeks to protect all parties impacted by the crime. They also point out that most crime survivors favor alternatives to imprisonment.
The man in charge of Sacramento’s new anti-gun violence program was once a shooter himself, The Sacramento Bee
Julius Thibodeaux is the new leader of Sacramento’s Advance Peace, an innovative anti-gun violence program. The program began in Richmond, CA, and since its founding there, gun crimes have fallen. The program offers fellowships to former shooters like Thimbodeaux, who go on to mentor at-risk members of the community.
The Era of Mass Incarceration Isn’t Over. This New Report Shows Why., Mother Jones
Many reformers were heartened by the steadily decreasing rates of incarceration, but new information from the Vera Institute signals that these statistics tell only part of the story. The number of people incarcerated in local jails is actually increasing. Many states have just reclassified crime in order to shift people from larger prisons to local jails.
