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News: Program participants aim to lead productive lives outside prison
By admin | On September 7, 2012 In Smart Justice in FloridaOcala Star-Banner – 8-31-12 Dale Driggers has spent nine years behind the razor wire at the Marion Correctional Institution on a conviction of manslaughter. On Thursday night, his wife, daughter and mother passed beneath the wire to meet Driggers inside and hear him pledge to never return once he is released. “I will take full […]
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News: Prisoner release system in Texas found unfocused, uncoordinated
By admin | On September 7, 2012 In Smart Justice ElsewhereSan Antonio (TX) Express-News – 9-5-12 AUSTIN — Despite nationally noticed criminal justice reforms, Texas still has a fragmented system for releasing offenders into communities with thousands returning to prison after their release, according to an oversight report. The Texas Sunset Advisory Commission — composed of state lawmakers and public members who periodically review state […]
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News: Delaware struggles with high prison costs, retention
By admin | On September 7, 2012 In Smart Justice ElsewhereThe Final Call (Nation of Islam) – 9-6-12 Delaware, one of the first states to adopt mandatory minimum sentencing in the 1980s, is reeling from huge budget deficits and rethinking its policy of locking up non-violent drug offenders. According to budget documents, the state spends over $250 million a year to house 6,528 inmates. “Delaware’s […]
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News: Study: Low-Level Felons Often Are Repeat Offenders
By admin | On September 7, 2012 In Smart Justice ElsewhereIndiana Public Media – 9-3-12 Most people imprisoned for low-level felonies have several prior convictions, according to a new study from the Center for Criminal Justice Research at Indiana University’s Public Policy Institute. The finding could change the state legislature’s effort to reform criminal sentencing. Governor Mitch Daniels tried to push through prison reform legislation […]
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News: South Dakota Examines Prison Reform
By admin | On September 7, 2012 In Smart Justice ElsewhereCorrectionalNews.com – 9-5-12 PIERRE, S.D. — Prison reform has been a background theme in our country for years, existing primarily as a philosophical debate about how our country should address crime and human failings. Our nation’s current financial woes are changing that dynamic, making prison reform seem less like a theoretical concept and more like […]
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News: After 18 Years of “Three Strikes,” Are Californians Ready for a Change?
By admin | On September 7, 2012 In Smart Justice ElsewhereNew American Media – 9-3-12 Supporters of Proposition 36 are optimistic that changing attitudes toward prison reform, coupled with economic considerations, will have Californians voting in favor of tempering their state’s controversial repeat offender law, known as “Three Strikes and You’re Out,” in the upcoming November election. “Popular support has always been high for reforming […]
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News: Campaigners push for prisoners to be asked what will stop them reoffending
By admin | On September 7, 2012 In Smart Justice ElsewhereThe Guardian (London, UK) – 9-4-12 Prisoners should be consulted directly about what is most likely to stop them reoffending, says a report out on Wednesday from campaign group, the Prison Reform Trust. Controversially, it calls on the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to commission a “payment-by-results” pilot to test the effectiveness of the active involvement […]
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Smart Justice for a Safer Florida