criminal-justice-reform
Ex-offenders who complete reentry program eligible for Philly Housing Authority housing
The program, which started in 2015, has been so successful that PHA officials made the decision to expand it.
Spring Brings New Life: Let’s pass compassionate release for our incarcerated neighbors | Opinion
Everyone deserves a second chance. This is our chance to give it to them. Let's pass bills sponsored by Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia.
And justice for whom? Pa. lags on commutations, new data shows | Thursday Morning Coffee
A survey of 8 northeastern states found an average of one commutation for every 10K imprisoned people each year.
Senate probation reform bill faces pushback from advocates who say they prefer the status quo
The bill, SB 913, which is currently before the House Judiciary Committee after passing the Senate in December, is based on several other pieces of previously introduced legislation.
The link between race and solitary confinement in Pennsylvania prisons | Analysis
'Solitary confinement is inhumane and ineffective in many ways," state Rep. Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia, said.
The war on drugs failed. Don’t try it again
If prison worked, or if enforcement eliminated drug supplies, the U.S. would have seen a decrease in drug use and overdose deaths in the decades since the war on drugs began.
An Open Letter to Meek Mill: Pa. needs real probation reform | Opinion
We need real probation reform. The bill now before the General Assembly isn't it.
After dropping early in the pandemic, jail populations are rising again | Wednesday Morning Coffee
COVID-19 cases, not actual policy changes, drove the temporary reduction, according to new research.
Report: Unaffordable cash bail is ‘a statewide crisis’ in Pa. | Monday Morning Coffee
Local magisterial district justices 'routinely' set bail that people can't afford, triggering a 'cascade of harmful consequences.'
The slow undoing of the Sixth Amendment | Opinion
A look at the federal criminal justice system is telling. A 2018 report from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers found that fewer than three percent of federal criminal cases result in a trial. Most criminal cases in America end without a jury hearing even a whisper of evidence.
As Philly’s murder rate soars, DA Larry Krasner plays ‘good cop/bad cop’
'This is what people actually want in the United States,' he said. "The mainstream Democratic Party has not figured it out, but this is actually what Americans want'
Pa. Senate approves bill reforming probation system, sends to House for consideration
The proposal, authored by Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Luzerne, would establish mandatory review conferences, guidelines for sending a nonviolent offender on probation to jail.