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Bringing a Veterans Treatment Court to Sedgwick County

Carly Willis

May 10, 2021 |

KSNW-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Wichita, Kansas

Kansas' only veterans treatment court started small, but it has proved the concept to Sedgwick County officials who want to copy its success. Veterans courts provide treatment in lieu of conviction and punishment for veterans charged generally with non-violent, less-serious offenses. The costs are much lower than for incarceration, with greater benefits to the defendants. National statistics show a 14% recidivism rate, much lower than for the criminal justice system overall. In Johnson County, 41 veterans have gone through the 18-month program; none have reoffended.

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National bail fund to expand in the Deep South

Aaron Morrison

May 04, 2021 |

Associated Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Since 2018, The Bail Project has turned $41 million in donated money into cash bail to free more than 15,500 people in dozens of cities from pretrial detention. The project grew out of the work of Bronx Defenders, which saw over a decade the people it bailed out nearly all showed up for court dates and most did not get into new trouble while out of jail. Now the Bail Project is expanding with new offices in four Southern states, a reflection of the region's high incarceration rates and racial disparities. In the campaign to end cash bail as a penalty for poverty, bail funds serve as a stopgap.

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Michigan aiming to reduce seclusion and restraints at institutions that care for children

Tianna Jenkins

April 29, 2021 |

WSYM-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Michigan

After the death of a 16-year-old boy who was tackled and restrained by staff at a juvenile justice facility, Michigan children's services officials imposed emergency rules limiting the use of restraints. In the past year, the use of restraints – which include handcuffs, straitjackets, even chemicals and medication – dropped from about 600 cases per month to fewer than half that. The state now is considering permanent rules restricting their use and is requiring more training for staff in preventing physical conflicts. One advocate says Pennsylvania serves as a model for nearly eliminating the problem.

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Dependency Court Programs Focus On Babies' Health

Martín Macías, Jr.

April 29, 2021 |

The Imprint |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Tacoma, Washington

The Safe Babies program model trains judges to oversee foster-care cases with the goal of fixing the problems that led social workers to remove young children from their homes. Operating swiftly, so that babies do not lose precious weeks and months apart from their parents at a critical time, programs like Best For Babies in Pierce County, Washington, put teams of medical and mental health experts on a case. Nationwide, the program used in 30 states makes family reunification much more likely and rapid, with healthier parental attachments and child development.

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How Kenya turned the tide against ivory poachers

Andres Schipani

April 27, 2021 |

Financial Times |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nanyuki

More and more park rangers, judges, prosecutors, and wildlife investigators are working together to stop poaching in Kenya. Through training and a new app that allows all parties to track wild animals in a protected conservation area, the number of poaching cases has decreased from 449 creatures killed illegally in 2021 to 93 in 2018. The number of court cases have also decreased in recent years.

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Part 2: “There is no Champion” — Granite State News Collaborative

Jordyn Haime

April 22, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, North Conway, New Hampshire

White Mountain Restorative Justice offers juvenile and adult court diversion and victim-offender mediation programs. WMRJ aims to guide first-time low-level offenders through restorative justice processes to hold offenders accountable, repair the harm caused by crime, and prevent reoffences.

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In Nation's Incarceration Capital, a New D.A. Is Freeing People From Prison

Katie Jane Fernelius

April 21, 2021 |

The Appeal |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

In his first months as the New Orleans district attorney, Jason Williams has pushed a prosecution-reform agenda that not only limits who gets sent to prison on the front end, but also takes a backward look at who should be let out of prison. Nearly two dozen people convicted by non-unanimous juries have been granted new trials. Some people have been granted early release from prison after conviction under unduly harsh sentencing laws that no longer will be enforced. Williams' ultimate goal is to restore community trust so that necessary prosecutions have community support.

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Restorative Justice Part 1: Juvenile Court Diversion is Cheap and Effective, But Inconsistent Across NH

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

New Hampshire's 40-year-old system of diverting many juvenile prosecutions away from courts and incarceration, and into community-based restorative justice programs, has saved public money, lowered youth crime rates, and changed lives. By addressing root causes of lower-level offenses, the programs provide treatment to youth who apologize and atone for their offenses, and who then often perform community service projects to erase their arrest record. But there are many fewer resources now than at the program's start, creating an uneven and inequitable patchwork of available services statewide.

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Restorative Justice Part 2: "There is no Champion”

Jordyn Haime

April 20, 2021 |

Granite State News Collaborative |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Hampshire

In some New Hampshire counties, diversion programs give some people charged with generally low-level crimes the opportunity to make amends, get treatment for underlying problems, and move on in life without a criminal record. While data are spotty, one county showed that people who went through its program committed fewer offenses afterward. But a lack of statewide standards and funding means that such opportunities are not available uniformly.

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Restorative Justice in Indian Country

Michelle Chen

April 16, 2021 |

Dissent Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Maine

Like standard drug courts, the Penobscot Nation's Healing to Wellness Court refers people facing drug-related criminal charges to substance abuse counseling as an alternative to punishment. But this court and other tribal wellness courts are steeped in indigenous customs, blended with restorative justice approaches, to emphasize rehabilitation based on trust, support, and native traditions. The threat of punishment looms over participants should they fail in their counseling program. But no one has been jailed in the past two years in the Penobscot program.

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