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Athletic Leaders and Sports Coach Prisoners to Success

Victoria Jones is just five feet three inches, but don’t let her diminutive stature fool you — she’s strong enough to take on an entire team of prisoners, and that’s exactly what she does several times a week. Jones is the coach of the Sinclair Community College women’s basketball team in Ohio. The college offers classes in seven

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DOJ Inspector General Outlines Challenges for Federal Prisons

As has been done annually since 1998, in October, the Department of Justice (DOJ) inspector general released a list of what he sees as the leading management and performance challenges confronting the agency in the year ahead. One of the eight areas identified by Inspector General Michael Horowitz was summarized as “Managing an Overcrowded Federal

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Roundtable Ponders Ways to Improve Ex-Inmates’ Re-entry

Both while a candidate and after taking office, President Donald Trump has frequently boasted he’ll get tough on criminals and ensure the justice system promotes public safety. On Sept. 13, he was out of Washington, inspecting hurricane damage in Florida. But back at the White House, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and close advisor, convened a

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Prisons Under Trump: Going Forward, Backward or Standing Still?

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEMS DETERMINED TO UNDO PRISON REFORMS LAUNCHED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA. America has a reputation for dehumanizing rather than rehabilitating its prisoners. Jails are crowded beyond manageable levels. Privatization and for-profit measures have pushed more people into incarceration than ever before; for example, those with minor fines and misdemeanors. The prison population has a

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Packed Prisons a Result of Misdirected Focus

By Christopher Zoukis

What is the main objective of prison? To protect the public. How does the system do this? Well, it purports to punish offenders with incarceration while rehabilitating them to function in society. Does this system work? No.

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New Utah Prison Opening in 2020 Will Emphasize Rehabilitation

By Christopher Zoukis

Major changes are afoot in Utah’s criminal justice system as part of the state’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative.

Approved in March 2015, the initiative is part of a series of changes approved by Gov. Gary Herbert to reduce incarceration and recidivism rates, save taxpayer dollars and provide solutions to the current system of incarceration, aiming not just to lock up offenders, but to change the lives of those who are incarcerated.

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From Ex-Prisoner to Professor and Prison Reform Advocate

Aaron Kinzel faced obstacles after being released from a 10-year prison stint, and now teaches criminology and is an active prison reform advocate. It’s easy to think only of the crimes committed when words like “offender,” “incarceration,” or “prisoner” come up. But we should remember that many offenders in our system of incarceration will be

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Changes to Pennsylvania DOC Improves Life for Prisoners, Staff

Educational and vocational training initiatives in the Pennsylvania prison system have improved conditions for both inmates and staff. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections spent 2016 making laudable strides toward helping improve the state of mass incarceration in this country. Corrections Secretary John Wetzel made a statement in December outlining improvements the Department of Corrections (DOC)

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Museums Take Measures to Spotlight, Reduce Mass Incarceration

The Eastern State Penitentiary is a former prison turned museum that spotlights the issue of mass incarceration using experiential and contemporary exhibits. At a time when museums aim to become more active hubs in communities and are taking stances on social justice issues, some are using their spaces and voices to address the issue of

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