Why the formerly incarcerated need to be involved in criminal justice reform [AUDIO REPORT]
In recent years, criminal justice reform has become a hot button topic. From President Obama’s ban on private prisons, to New York state’s new proposal of the 2017 Criminal Justice Reform Act, it seems that America is finally taking it’s problem of mass incarceration seriously.
On July 11, Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren introduced the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act. This bill includes changes in standards such as free sanitary napkins and ending the shackling of women when they go into labor.
While all criminal justice reform efforts are moves in the right direction, to really make change effective politicians and policy makers must include those closest to the issue: people who were formerly incarcerated.
I spoke with two people who served time in prison and are now making their voices heard.
Khalil Cumberbatch, who spent almost seven years incarcerated, is a criminal justice advocate and Manager of Trainings at JustLeadershipUSA, a national organization that supports and educates people who were formerly incarcerated on getting involved in criminal justice reform.
Chandra Bozelko, a blogger and emerging journalist who was incarcerated for a little more than seven years in prison, uses her writing skills to shine light on the shortcomings of criminal justice reform.
Listen to what they have to say about the importance of having people who were formerly incarcerated involved in these conversations and legislation.
