Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 132 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

The long quest to stop a ‘Sugar Daddy' judge

John Shiffman Michael Berens

July 14, 2020 |

Reuters |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Arkansas

Arkansas’ judicial oversight agency has the staffing and persistence to hold bad judges accountable in ways that counter a nationwide pattern of weak enforcement and judicial impunity. The Arkansas Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission has a staff that’s almost three times as large as the national per-judge average and it publicly disciplines judges more than twice the national rate. It is one of the few such agencies that will investigate anonymous complaints, frequently a barrier to starting judicial misconduct probes.

Read More
Go to Original Story
How nonprofits are getting people out of metro Detroit jails during COVID-19 pandemic

Angie Jackson

June 16, 2020 |

Detroit Free Press |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Nonprofit bail funds, which use donated money to pay the bail of low-income people held in jail on pending charges, have won the release of about 55 people in Detroit during the COVID-19 crisis. Beyond the immediate need to free more people from an environment that makes social distancing difficult, the bail funds are part of a larger movement challenging a system that disproportionately affects people of color. The combination of bail payments, bond reductions, and administrative releases have reduced Wayne County's jail population by almost half.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Two Countries Dismantled Their Police to Start Fresh. It Worked—Up to a Point.

Yaroslav Trofimov

June 13, 2020 |

Wall Street Journal |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Ukraine

Georgia and Ukraine offer cautionary advice to Americans whose mass protests seek structural changes in policing, even abolishing entire police forces. The same was true in those two countries. But, in both cases, initial successes at replacing corrupt police forces ended up reversed or at least limited by backsliding, as other parts of government and society resisted the changes.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Outpatient Competency Restoration

Arezow Doost

May 17, 2020 |

KXAN-TV |

Video |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Travis County, Texas

In Texas’ Travis County, a mental health court is helping divert people out of the criminal justice system and into treatment and outpatient programs. The collaborative process gives individuals the opportunity for rehabilitation, and upon completion, the chance to have their case dismissed. This approach has seen a 42% success rate, showing a decrease in recidivism and increased connection to treatment facilities.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Solutions to restore inmates' mental health and get them to trial

David Barer

May 17, 2020 |

KXAN-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Texas

In Texas, legislators and advocates are working to address mental health concerns for individuals entering or in the criminal justice system. For those already in jail, telepsychiatry is being offered to help rehabilitate inmates. For those just entering the system, a mental health court in Travis County has been developed to connect people with needed mental health services so that they can stand trial and even have their cases dismissed.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Newsrooms Rethink a Crime Reporting Staple: The Mugshot

Keri Blakinger

February 11, 2020 |

The Marshall Project |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Around the United States, news organizations are taking a new approach to the use of mugshots in their crime reporting. While still the norm in many places, newsrooms like the Houston Chronicle have stopped publishing the common “mugshot slideshow,” and some, including Connecticut’s New Haven Independent, have stopped publishing them altogether. The practice, often used to generate page views, depict people at their worst, doing more harm than anything else.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Juvenile justice advocates: Let's ‘Raise the Age' again

Kelan Lyons

February 10, 2020 |

The Connecticut Mirror |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Connecticut

Since 2007, Connecticut has taken major steps in juvenile justice reform – namely, the ages that youth are arrested or charged as adults. By moving 16 and 17 year olds out of the adult system and into the juvenile justice system, the state has seen a 40% decrease in new juvenile court cases, leading to less stigma and large taxpayer savings. With such success, the state now looks to make further reforms in the juvenile justice system.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Free Our Youth

Jessica Press

January 28, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s Youth Art & Self-Empowerment Project (YASP) offers support for youth experiencing incarceration. Funded by personal donations and grants, they offer art workshops and classes on how to navigate the justice system, manage funds to bail individuals out, and advocate for criminal justice reform. Their advocacy also helped end the practice of sentencing juveniles to life without parole.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Rewriting the narrative

Angela K. Evans

January 16, 2020 |

Boulder Weekly |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Boulder, Colorado

At the Motus Theater, formerly incarcerated individuals participate in JustUs – a performative program that gives them the space to share their stories. The Boulder-based program aims to complicate the narrative of those that commit crimes, surfacing the systemic, punitive nature of criminal justice. For those that participate, it provides them a literal platform to share their pain, trauma, and growth.

Read More
Go to Original Story
5 billion people around the world lack basic access to justice. These organizations are out to change that.

Alessandra Bergamin

January 09, 2020 |

Ensia |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Peru, Pisco

Microjustice4All, an international legal empowerment organization, provides people in vulnerable communities with legal aid, especially after environmental crises. Another global organization, Namati, trains local paralegals so that they may help their communities in legal issues. This sort of legal empowerment has taken hold on a global scale, with the overarching goal of building power through law and environmental justice – especially as climate change affects the most marginalized populations.

Read More
Go to Original Story