Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Could this one simple idea stop the revolving door to prison?

    In Pennsylvania, “500 men and about 10 women juvenile lifers who have been locked away for decades” will be released due to a recent Supreme Court decision that said it was unconstitutional for judges to strike automatic life-without-parole sentence for juveniles. Unfortunately, recidivism rates show that “ 60 percent of people are locked up again within three years of being released.” However, pairing a former prisoner with a mentor is an old school solution that has been proven to be successful. Studies show “participants who had mentors were twice as likely to find jobs and 39 percent less likely to reci

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  • I'm FREE, Prisoner Re-Entry Program for Women, Takes a New Approach

    “Female offenders are the largest-growing prison population.” Key to making sure women don’t return to prison are effective reentry programs like FREE, a program for female offenders. However, FREE isn’t like other programs. It focuses on exploring the root causes that lead woman to commit crimes through a method called “cognitive shifting.”

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  • N.J. will eliminate cash bail, speed up criminal trials in 2017

    New Jersey has eliminated cash bail and will instead make a determination, driven in part by computer algorithms, on whether someone is likely to commit another crime or not show up for their court date. This eliminates a system where more than a third of people awaiting trial were behind bars only because they could not afford bail. If a judge does decide to hold someone in jail, another reform kicks in assuring a speedy trial by setting required deadlines for cases to be heard.

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  • Why this program for ex-offenders is working better in rural areas

    Rates of recidivism in Pennsylvania have dropped substantially in recent years. Part of this decrease is due to the efforts of the Union County Justice Bridge Housing Program, which assists ex-offenders with housing. Other counties across the state are trying to replicate this success, yet face geographic and socioeconomic barriers.

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  • Prisoners With Hep C Get Cured In Some States But Not Others

    Currently, debates are ongoing about what to do with the substantial number of US prisoners with Hepatitis C. This piece highlights successful legal action in Pennsylvania that ensured costly treatment for prisoners.

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  • Getting Tried as an Adult Depends on Skin Color

    Many minors, especially those who are black or hispanic, are tried and sentenced as adults. A new New Jersey law requires minors to at least begin their sentence in juvenile facilities, but there are still problems.

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  • Germany has a different approach, better results

    In the United States, minors are often tried and sentenced as adults, leading to traumatizing circumstances and high recidivism. In Germany, minors cannot be tried as adults and are put in prisons that double as farms, aiming to mirror the outside world.

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  • In Kenya, HIV-Positive Prisoners Combat Stigma, Trauma With Support Groups' Help

    Among the challenges for HIV-positive inmates are lack of food that meets their dietary needs and susceptibility to tuberculosis. The support groups, part of an HIV prevention and care program active in all the nation’s prisons, mitigate those challenges and create awareness about HIV prevention and care.

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  • Meet the Full-Service Social Media Secretary for Prisoners

    "A social secretary for people who have been deprived of the forms of communication that are now ubiquitous almost everywhere except for prisons," Renea Royster is part of a network of organizations (including Pigeonly, Infolincs, Inmatefone, and Phone Donkey) helping prisoners keep in touch with people on the outside.

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  • In Search of the Felon-Friendly Workplace

    One of the hardest parts of being in prison is not knowing what to do when you get out. By pitching ex-cons as good for business, the Eastern District of Missouri’s prison-to-work program has become a model for inmate re-entry nationwide.

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