“Solitary confinement is not rehabilitative. It does not prepare people for transition to the general prison population or back into the community. It does not make prisons – or our communities – any safer.” (2016)
In response to the “tough on crime” era, some states this year continued a national trend to get “smart on crime” instead.
Postsecondary education in prison puts people on a path toward a brighter future by disrupting the cycle of poverty and incarceration. But it has not been offered at scale due to the numerous barriers—including the 1994 ban on Pell Grants to people in prison—that prevent students and postsecondary institutions from accessing state and federal funding programs. And so, while the majority of people in prison are interested in pursuing postsecondary education, only a fraction are able to enroll.
By: Lauren Hobby, Brian Walsh, and Ruth Delaney
(July 2019)
Suicide is the leading cause of death in jails across the country. At a time when the public is paying closer attention to local jails and their primary role in mass incarceration, it is critical to shine light on the problem of jail suicide and the steps jails can take to prevent future deaths.
By: Jason Tan de Bibiana, Therese Todd, and Leah Pope
This report outlines the ways in which people experiencing homelessness are vulnerable within the system and how this leads to negative outcomes at each justice system decision point. It also highlights the urgent need for alternate approaches to break the cycle.
By: Madeline Bailey, Erica Crew, and Madz Reeve, Aug. 2020
While this guidance should be read in its entirety, there are two important points to emphasize. Landlords should not deny housing based on an arrest alone, as arrests without convictions do not justify the denial. This guidance also prevents the use of blanket restrictions related to certain types of convictions. Accordingly, convictions should be considered on a case-by-case basis, in light of mitigating factors, such as the person’s age at the time a crime was committed, evidence of good behavior since the crime was committed, and how long ago the conviction occurred.
(current as of April 2020)
Housing Access for People with Criminal Records
By: Elayne Weiss, Senior Policy Analyst, National Low Income Housing Coalition
Give Job Applicants with Criminal Records a Fair Chance
Answers to frequently asked questions, definitions and additional resources for those interested in issues of pretrial justice.
“Plea bargaining is more a part of the American justice system than the formal trial and, in fact, makes up the vast majority of criminal justice transactions today. Only 2 percent of federal criminal cases—and a similar number of state cases—are brought to trial. More than 90 percent of convictions, at both federal and state levels, are the result of guilty pleas.” — In the Shadows: A Review of the Research on Plea Bargaining.
By: Ram Subramanian, Léon Digard, Melvin Washington II, and Stephanie Sorage