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

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  • Efforts to Expand Ballot Access in Washington State Jails Face Local Pushback

    Washington lawmakers allocated $2.5 million in grant funding to help jails improve voting access for people incarcerated there, which resulted in a big spike in ballots cast in one facility that participated. But only five counties applied for the grant program, and jail officials interested in participating have faced opposition from political representatives in some areas.

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  • Cleveland voter advocacy groups get access to jails for first time in years, push for clear policies

    After a few years of virtual outreach due to the pandemic, Northeast Ohio Voter Advocates held an in-person drive in the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center to help people incarcerated there get registered to vote and request mail-in ballots. Over two days, the organization added 69 inmates to the county's voter rolls and helped 75 request ballots.

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  • Bail Reform Is Picking Up Across Counties Nationwide

    The Bail Project allows defendants to go free while awaiting trial. Bail reform takes the burden off of the poor and prevents people from losing their jobs while sitting in jail awaiting trial because they can’t afford to pay their bail, specifically for those with misdemeanor charges. In the first six months following the bail reform, there were 1,500 more people released. Following them for three years, there was a 6% decrease in prosecutions and guilty pleas and time served also dropped.

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  • D.C. Residents Are Voting from Prison This Week

    In July 2020, the District became one of three places in the country to grant people who are incarcerated the right to vote. Officials have conducted outreach to people in DC jails to make sure the are aware of their rights and the Board of Elections has provided staff with information and documents they need to ensure people can register to vote.

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  • Decongesting Nigerian correctional facilities through Technology

    Headfort Foundation provides free legal services to people who can’t afford lawyers. Through their app, Lawyers NowNow, users can access free legal advice and get connected to pro bono lawyers. The group of all-female lawyers work exclusively with people who do not have the resources to hire lawyers, especially those that have been victims of police brutality or wrongfully incarcerated. The group has worked on over 1,000 cases in three years and secured the release of almost 300 people in that time.

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  • Shakespeare in Prison program offers far more than an escape

    The Detroit Public Theater's Shakespeare In Prison (SIP) program allows incarcerated people the opportunity to learn about and perform Shakespeare. The program helps to foster communication but also allows participants to express themselves and build self-confidence. It’s also been found that SIP participants experience long-lasting effects even outside their sentence, like a positive sense of community, self-efficacy, and increased empathy for themselves and others.

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  • India's 'Open Prisons' Are a Marvel of Trust-Based Incarceration

    The Sanganer open prison serves as an important alternative to traditional incarceration in India by remaining open for 12 hours a day and allowing inmates to go out. It is one of 88 open prisons in India that works on a model of reform and helps inmates to keep their connection with work, family, and society. In doing so, it enables the development of trust as well as skills that can help them not just during incarceration but also after release.

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  • Laughing Bear Bakery has a recipe for a fresh start out of prison

    At her non-profit business Laughing Bear Bakery, retired chaplain Kalen McAllister hires only those with a criminal record and offers them a chance at employment, gaining work experience, and rebuilding their lives.

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  • How cellphones transformed life in a women's prison in Argentina

    As Argentine went into strict quarantine in March 2020 and prison rules got stricter, the Court of Appeals in the Province of Buenos Aires allowed the use of cellphones to inmates to ease some of their isolation. It is one of four provinces that legally implemented this measure to last the span of COVID restrictions, but the ruling is still in place and has allowed inmates to keep in touch with loved ones, study, learn new skills, use digital payments, and even participate in virtual protests,

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  • From prison to freedom: How a firm is helping detainees get justice

    The Headfort Foundation runs pro bono cases for incarcerated people in need of legal representation. The Foundation recently launched a Lawyers Without Borders initiative that grants easily accessible, free legal services to those in need by setting up mobile offices. This initiative alone has helped more than 175 people thus far.

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