SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG

Read and share extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change

California Racial Justice Act Could Be a Check on Racist Gang Injunctions
Racial Justice, Criminal Justice Reform Ashley LaFranchi Racial Justice, Criminal Justice Reform Ashley LaFranchi

California Racial Justice Act Could Be a Check on Racist Gang Injunctions

Gangs are commonly associated with organized crime and terror. However, young people typically join gangs to find community, not to commit violent crime. The concept of a gang has racial implication as well, due to historical discrimination of young Black and Brown men. When we think of white supremacist organizations that commit violent crime, they are usually called “groups,” a word with much less stigma surrounding it. Because of the negative and violent associations pushed by the media and government around gangs, the public fear of gang violence increased from the late 20th century to the early 21st century. In an attempt to curb gang violence and reduce fear surrounding gangs, local governments across the country have implemented gang injunctions.

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Being convicted of a crime has thousands of consequences besides incarceration – and some last a lifetime
Criminal Justice Reform, Prior Conviction, Civil Rights Teddy Basham-Witherington Criminal Justice Reform, Prior Conviction, Civil Rights Teddy Basham-Witherington

Being convicted of a crime has thousands of consequences besides incarceration – and some last a lifetime

One thing I’ve learned while researching criminal justice reform and teaching college classes in prisons is that the reason the transition to life outside the corrections system is so hard is that there are more than 44,000 indirect consequences of a criminal conviction. These restrictions, which the Council of State Governments tracks in great detail, can include everything like making it impossible to get a license to work as a barber, manicurist, plumber, driver, interior designer or midwife, to restricting where the formerly incarcerated can live, study and volunteer.

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Criminal Justice Reform, Debtors' Prison Teddy Basham-Witherington Criminal Justice Reform, Debtors' Prison Teddy Basham-Witherington

Cleaning Up The Criminal Justice System in Paris, Texas

Under Texas law, individuals can be required to pay for their court-appointed defense attorney. While the Court of Criminal Appeals has clarified that a court must determine that a defendant actually has the ability to pay attorney fees before ordering them to do so, not all courts follow the law. In Lamar County, a local defense attorney, relatively new to Texas, was shocked when he saw defendants ordered to pay money they didn’t have for a court-appointed attorney, and then threatened with jail if they missed payments.

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