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17 results for "criminal justice reform"
Tasmania is replacing its troubled youth detention center with a new facility that puts children's needs first, featuring small home-like buildings and cultural healing programs. The approach follows a major inquiry that exposed harm at the state's current youth prison.
Somaliland's President has granted freedom to 713 people imprisoned for minor offenses, giving them a fresh start and a chance to reunite with their families. The constitutional decision reflects a growing focus on rehabilitation over punishment.
A small Alberta town replaced punishment with restorative justice, and the results are stunning. Out of 115 offenders who faced their victims and took responsibility, only one person reoffended.
A Pennsylvania county just made fighting addiction easier by creating a new coordinator position that keeps families together while saving taxpayers money. The role is funded mostly by opioid settlement money, not county budgets.
Across Southeast Asia, countries are taking meaningful steps to reduce and eliminate capital punishment. From Vietnam removing eight offenses from death penalty eligibility to Malaysia forming a working group to study total abolition, the region is slowly embracing reform.
A Pennsylvania county is expanding its addiction treatment program with a new coordinator position funded by opioid settlement money. The move will help more people overcome addiction while keeping families together and saving taxpayer dollars.
A Canadian man's death sentence in China has been overturned after years of diplomatic tension, signaling a major breakthrough in relations between the two nations. The decision came less than a month after Prime Minister Mark Carney's historic visit to Beijing.
A Nigerian chief judge reviewed over 500 cases in one day and released 57 people awaiting trial, reuniting them with their families. The move brings relief to an overcrowded facility holding nearly triple its capacity.
A newly renovated facility in Smyrna, Georgia, is making recovery easier by bringing five accountability courts under one roof. The program has already helped more than 1,500 people rebuild their lives with a recidivism rate under 11 percent.
Stanley Richards, who served time at Rikers Island in the 1980s, will make history as New York City's first formerly incarcerated corrections commissioner. His lived experience and years of reform work bring a fresh perspective to a system desperately in need of change.
After three years of advocacy by abuse survivors, New South Wales is set to become the first state in Australia to completely ban criminals from using "good character" references to reduce their sentences. The groundbreaking reform means victims will no longer have to sit in court hearing their abusers described as "good people."
Japan's highest court is changing a practice that forced defendants to appear in public wearing handcuffs and restraints. The new policy will protect the dignity of accused people while maintaining courtroom safety.
Five young men trapped for years under abolished "indefinite" jail sentences are getting their cases reviewed by appeals courts. The UK watchdog's decision brings hope to thousands still serving sentences scrapped in 2012.
Delhi is giving eligible prisoners a second chance by reducing sentences this Republic Day, with women and seniors receiving up to 90 days off their time. The move balances compassion with public safety, excluding violent offenders while helping reformed inmates rejoin society sooner.
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Lady Edwina Grosvenor is launching Britain's first university scholarship program for children of prisoners and young offenders. The program offers nine students at Manchester Metropolitan University full support to break cycles of crime through education.
Costa Rica just made history by creating a specific crime for contract killing, with sentences up to 40 years for those involved in organized crime hits. The unanimous vote reflects the nation's determination to fight back against rising gang violence.
After six years of research, Maryland's Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission has released a groundbreaking report documenting 38 Black lives lost to racial terror and proposing a path forward. The 630-page report calls for reparations, education reforms, and official acknowledgment of the state's role in enabling lynchings between 1854 and 1933.