Prison Reform

Craig Farris: D.J. Vodicka sacrificed his decorated fifteen-year career, his livelihood, and even his own physical safety to blow the whistle on the shocking, systemic corruption that ruled the California Department of Corrections and its personnel.

There is no proof of anything that can be called a concentration camp or of forced labor, yet these stories are repeated endlessly.

Michael Rapkin: Guantanamo has shown us, and the world, that America’s justice system -- the rule of law -- does not apply to everyone equally and equitably.

Shandre Delaney: I knew if my son could endure what he was going through, even at the threat of losing his life, then I could be brave enough out here on the streets.

Andreya Garcia-Ponce De Leon: Given the increased risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars, Sims’ already unjust sentence could prove fatal if he is not released from jail

Robert Reich: The unregulated operations of prisons has increasingly mandated cheap service for maximum profit.

Jeremy Loudenback: The deal also includes the creation of a new agency – the Office of Youth and Community Restoration – which will be tasked with providing oversight of the state’s juvenile justice system.

Jeremy Loudenback: The proposal increases costs for counties that decide to prosecute youth as adults, and if tried and sent to prison, the youth's county of residence is responsible for the cost.

Jeremy Loudenback: As the virus spreads, one young man’s scary exit from California’s juvenile prisons

Jeremy Loudenback: If approved by voters in November, the Reimagine L.A. initiative would steer at least 10% of the unrestricted revenue in the county’s general fund each year toward the justice goals.

David Bacon: The coronavirus infection spread rapidly through San Quentin. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation [CDCR], as of the date of the vigil there were 928 active cases and eleven prisoners had died.

Phillip Smith: In such a huge—and hugely important—struggle, the fate of some federal prisoners and legal marijuana entrepreneurs may not loom large, but it hangs in the balance.

Jeremy Loudenback: Such experiences bring more trauma and rage, advocates say, and make it harder for young people to emerge from jails and prisons with hope for a peaceful and productive future.

Jeremy Loudenback: If the governor’s plan is approved by the state legislature, it would end the brutal legacy of a youth prison system in California that once housed as many as 10,000 youth and teens.

Jamala Rogers: Once again Black and Brown people must fight for their lives. Only an aggressive, informed, coordinated, multi-racial, non-partisan strategy will get us through this pandemic.

Robert Koehler: Surely now is the time to open our minds, open our souls, to saner ways of maintaining social order. The prison system doesn’t work.

Robin Urevich: Orange County lost $1.7 million last year because it neglected to charge ICE the full cost of jailing immigrants in two lock-ups