When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help.
Thich Naht Hanh
Statistics
Facts about the US Prison Population
“The U.S. prison population is more than 2.4 million. That’s more than quadrupled since 1980. That means more than one out of every 100 American adults is behind bars. The average inmate in minimum-security federal prison costs $21,000 each year. The average inmate in maximum-security federal prisons costs $33,000 each year. The most serious charge against 51 percent of those federal prison inmates is a drug offense. Only four percent are in for robbery and only one percent are in for homicide”
~Changing Paradigms~
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Restorative Justice: Transforming Corrections
….is a big picture strategy of addressing the true causes of crime within the offender, repairing the damage caused and giving the victims a voice in the process.
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Restorative Justice: A Practical Alternative to Prison
More than forty years ago, Patrice Gaines spent three weeks in jail for a drug charge; ever since, she’s been subjected to judgment and discrimination. The daily punishment she faces as a result of her criminal history led her to become a advocate for prison reform, dedicated to finding an alternative form of punishment that offers a second chance.
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Salvation Army
Through cooperative arrangements with prison, probation, and parole officials throughout the country, The Salvation Army plays a growing role in prison rehabilitation and crime prevention. Community-based rehabilitation centers are the trend in the field of corrections. Many Salvation Army rehabilitation centers and Harbor Light Centers have served as designated halfway houses where former prisoners can participate in work-release programs. Those convicted of minor offenses often are given the opportunity to accept placement in community service programs at the corps community centers and institutions as an alternative to incarceration, or in the last months of their sentences.
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Mothers and babies
The vast majority of the 2,000 or so inmates who give birth in American prisons are separated from their babies shortly after birth. Bedford is one of the handful of women’s prisons that allows some incarcerated moms to keep their newborns with them, in some cases until the babies are 18 months old.
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One Billion Rising Prisons Project
With little to no programming in place to help prisoners reflect on or come to terms with their history, trauma, and crime, the criminal justice system further oppresses prisoners. And, when women and men are released from incarceration, they are met by an unwelcoming world that stigmatizes formerly incarcerated individuals, creating even more barriers that prevent them from becoming healthy and productive members of society. The ONE BILLION RISING FOR JUSTICE U. S. Prisons Project is asking one of the most pressing questions of our time: What could true justice look like?
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Legalizing Drugs
Should Governments Legalize All Drugs?: debate.org weighs in with a poll and listing the debaters pros and cons. The result- 72% say yes. 28% say no. Here’s why
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More Pros and Cons
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Ten Ways to Reduce Prison Overcrowding
Supporters of prison reform argue that it’s possible to reduce overcrowding without compromising public safety.
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See also, New Treatment Paradigms under Mental Health, addictions in this website.
Please send us your stories about the changing paradigms in justice that are making a difference on the planet!