And thank you Jermey Haile and our other panelist for their work. I believe this bill is likely to pass as it has significant bi-partisan support, yet we must look to the states to also evolve and reform, as the majority of offenders are housed in state prisons. In the most recent Bureau of Justice stats, there were a total of 1,561,500 offenders…

From the Inside: Windows to the Soul

By Lydia

Lydia is 18. She is currently at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. Her charges could not be determined.

Eyes are windows to the soul.
 What pain will your eyes behold?
 My soul has wept.
 My soul has…

I watched a documentary of a prison in India where all prisoners had to practice vipassna meditation every day. It’s beautiful to see the transformation that occurred after that. They had reached a state that was far beyond what any human or more punishment could do. The issue with prision is that people may leave worst off than when they walked in…

From My Victim’s Standpoint

By Michael Webb

Dear Mr. Webb,

As I sit at the table to eat breakfast, I begin to feel a knot inside my stomach, anxiety, and I’m experiencing discomfort and a deep sense of sadness in my heart.

My main problem with your suggestions and your framing of the issue is that I think you are just mistaken about the importance of people you are describing as animals, shot-callers, worst-of-the-worst violent people, etc. There isn’t any evidence to suggest that prison violence is caused exclusively or even primarily by a small group of hyper-violent…

Heather Rice-Minus One of the issues in the administration of justice has been the lack of meaningful rehabilitation and re-entry programs. That is one of the issues we are facing in California is that law enforcement continues to control much of the dollars at the county level. They demand bed vs other services that would prevent the needs for more…