The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/corrections/prisoner-reentry/)
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is proposing a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to convicted felons, citing “the beauty of grace” and second chances. If approved, the proposal would overturn a ban on felon voting imposed by former Gov. Terry Branstad.
The Homecoming Project in Alameda County, Ca., is a first-of-a-kind program providing vitally needed housing for inmates released from prison. The project matches prisoners being released after long sentences with homeowners and renters who want to take part in the experiment. A nonprofit pays the former inmates’ rent for six months.
Some 30 states and the District of Columbia passed laws or enacted statutes aimed at helping people with criminal records overcome barriers to reintegrating with civilian society last year, according to the Collateral Consequences Resource Center.
Many of the more than 1.4 million individuals convicted of felonies are set to register as voters Tuesday, but Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis and some legislators are seeking to delay implementation of the measure approved by voters last November.
Finding gainful employment is the most effective deterrent to falling back into a life of crime, studies show. Felons have long been some of the last candidates in the hiring pool. The Wall Street Journal tells the stories of three who found work.
Almost all the jail growth in the U.S. since 2000 has been in pretrial incarceration, but in St. Louis County, a program that allows more pretrial defendants to be released under supervision has bucked the trend. It’s been a life-changer for Renita Syas.
An Atlanta program called “Gangstas to Growers’ plans to train at least 500 formerly incarcerated young people by 2025, and expand the idea to other major U.S. cities that struggle with gang violence.
Charles Rivers spent 30 years cycling in and out of the justice system. He finally broke the cycle after conquering the demons of his own past, and learning the life skills that he now teaches others.
More than half of formerly incarcerated individuals hold only a high school diploma or GED, and a quarter hold no credential at all, according to a new study by the Prison Policy Initiative.
“If an individual has stayed out of the criminal justice system, then why should they continue to have that stain forever?” said Terry Curry, the prosecutor in Marion County, In., which includes Indianapolis,