The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice is a non-partisan urban research and advocacy organization founded in 1999 by the Amy and Alan V. Lowenstein Foundation. Based in Newark, the Institute promotes the development of economically healthy and vibrant urban communities and challenges practices and policies that prevent urban New Jersey from achieving its full potential.
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New Jersey Prisoner Reentry Fact Sheet
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IN THIS ISSUE
- National Hearing Held in Newark on Overcrowding, Isolation, and Health Care in Prison
- New State-By-State Resource Guide Documents Restoration of Rights Practices
- Delaware Study: Blacks are More Than Four Times as Likely as Whites to End Up in Prison When Convicted of a Drug-Related Charge
- New Report from the Justice Policy Institute: "Ganging Up on Communities"
- "Leaving the Street: Young Fathers Move From Hustling to Legitimate Work"
- Legislative Update: U.S. House Committee Votes Against Amendment to the Higher Education Act (HEA) That Would Have Repealed Drug Provision
- Other News: "Family Members of People Incarcerated" and Other Grassroots Organizers Prepare for an August 13 March on Washington to Demand Criminal Justice Reform
National Hearing Held in Newark on Overcrowding, Isolation, and Health Care in Prison
The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America's Prisons held its second hearing on July 19-20 in Newark, New Jersey. Co-chaired by former U.S. Attorney General Nicholas de B. Katzenbach and the Hon. John J. Gibbons, former Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the hearing offered the public an opportunity to hear testimony about the impact of polices and practices affecting the daily lives of prisoners and prison officials. State corrections commissioners, criminal justice professionals, doctors, advocates, and other experts also testified about the problems nationally and how to solve them.
New State-By-State Resource Guide Documents Restoration of Rights Practices
The Sentencing Project presents a new study by Margaret Colgate Love entitled Relief from the Collateral Consequences of a Criminal Conviction: A State-by-State Resource Guide. A comprehensive review of state and federal laws and practices relating to the restoration of rights and obtaining relief from the collateral consequences of criminal convictions, this study illustrates the extraordinary variety and complexity of state and federal laws that impose continuing burdens on convicted persons long after their court-imposed sentences have been fully discharged. Related topics:
Delaware Study: Blacks are More Than Four Times as Likely as Whites to End Up in Prison When Convicted of a Drug-Related Charge
Blacks arrested in Delaware are about 2.5 times as likely to be sent to jail as whites, and more than four times as likely to wind up in prison if they are arrested on a drug-related charge, according to a report released by Thomas Eichler, a former Delaware state Cabinet Secretary. The report, published by Delaware Center for Justice and Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, also concludes that whites are more likely to be sent to residential treatment programs, while blacks are more likely to be jailed.
New Report from the Justice Policy Institute: "Ganging Up on Communities"
According to a new report from the Justice Policy Institute, despite a rash of sensationalized cases surrounding gang violence, the phenomenon actually decreased over 70 percent from 1994-2003. Currently, several new pieces of federal legislation are being advanced to address the "gang crisis," federalizing law enforcement efforts that have historically been the jurisdiction of the states, and proposing laws to try more youth as adults. According to the data from the brief, some of the policies being proposed may exacerbate the country's crime problem, and steer resources away from local and state groups that have shown success in addressing it.
Leaving the Street: Young Fathers Move from Hustling to Legitimate Work
A Public/Private Ventures' (P/PPV) brief focuses on Lauren J. Kotloff's recent report, "Leaving the Street: Young Fathers Move from Hustling to Legitimate Work." Based on study of participants in P/PV's Fathers at Work initiative, the report provides a glimpse inside the lives of young urban men with criminal records: exploring how they got involved with hustling, their experiences in the labor market, and their feelings about fatherhood. The brief presents early findings from the Fathers at Work evaluation, and touches on the full report's recommendations for programs serving young fathers.
Legislative Update: U.S. House Committee Votes Against Amendment to the Higher Education Act (HEA) That Would Have Repealed Drug Provision
On July 21, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce voted 29-18 against an amendment to the HEA that would have deleted language in the law that denied federal student aid to people who have been convicted of drug sale or possession. However, other options for amending the bill still exist. A House version of the reauthorization bill exists which includes a measure that applies the drug penalty only to those convicted while in school, rather than retroactively to students with any lifetime drug conviction on their record.
Other News...
"Family Members of People Incarcerated" and Other Grassroots Organizers Prepare for an August 13 March on Washington to Demand Criminal Justice Reform
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