Pastor Darron Carmon received $4.4 million in a settlement with the Winterville, North Carolina police department; he was wrongfully convicted of armed robbery in 1994. Pastor Carmon, who was 19 years old, was released in 2001 for good behavior. His conviction was overturned in 2022, and Carmon received a pardon from Gov. Roy Cooper last month.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/crime/general/pastor-darron-carmen-settlement-with-winterville-over-wrongful-arrest-brings-justice/ar-AA1vPKMU

After some years and after the recent events. I've concluded that criminal justice reform (in favour of evidence based policies and away from personal retribution) is a failing goalpost that is better off abandoned by the left

I'm currently studying criminal justice philosophy and one thing I've learned is that many of the policies that have wide support among the population such as punitive measures have very mixed or limited evidence when it comes to effectiveness at deterrence. But the problem is that evidence often isn't enough to convince people because 1) people attach more importance to what's at stake rather than risk of losing what's at stake , for example even if someone or some group of criminals are low risk to not warrant severe deterrence from a risk perspective that still doesn't matter in certain crimes because for example one person murdered or sexually assaulted would still be one too many, not to mention people generally distrust academia and instead of judging evidence on its merits. People often judge based on things like if the researchers have a political affiliation counter to them or not. Not to mention that it's much easier to market harsh penalties because people care more about retribution than rehabilitation and see it as a waste of resources or a further burden on taxpayers. I also feel like this is an issue which will cause even more significant divide among the whole academia vs people narrative

With these facts in mind , is it still possible to market policies that aren't black and white and focused on retaliation only ?

Question above ^ Realistically, what would this look like for someone who is receiving the clemency?

President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of approximately 1,500 individuals who were released from prison and placed in home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent offenses. This marks the most significant single-day act of clemency in modern history.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-clemency_n_675ab4dbe4b073f0369932f8

Hello!

I recently read about the case of Robert Maudsley, and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since. If you aren't familiar with the case, Maudsley had been horrifically abused since he was around 6 months old. He was in and out of foster care, before becoming homeless at 16. He went to jail for murdering a paedophile who revealed his crimes to him, and turned himself in to the police immediately to ask for psychiatric help. In the space of the next few years, he murdered 3 more inmates in prison, all men who had been responsible for CSA, SA and domestic abuse. As a result, he was put into solitary confinement. This was in 1983, and he hasn't been allowed to leave since.

How the UK prison system can pretend this is in any way humane, I can't comprehend. The chances of someone being rehabilitated after spending even half of that time in solitary must be slim, so this length of time is purely punitive. He has spoken in his letters to family of how depressed and lonely he is, and even requested a cyanide pill to end his life in 2000 when the prison once again refused to relax his confinement.

The chances of this petition winning, or gaining any traction at all, are slim. But if I keep thinking about this and don't at least try to do something, I'll think myself in circles. Robert Maudsley is 71 now, and is being treated more poorly than Myra Hindley was during her prison stay. If the case interests you, or you would be willing to sign the petition, it would really be appreciated.

TIA,

https://www.change.org/robert_maudsley_solitary_confinement

My partners and I were disgusted at how other companies were ripping off families just so they could communicate with an incarcerated loved one so we developed a new mail system for both personal and legal mail. No accounts to fund, no extensive registration process. Register and confirm your email and you're up and running. $0.60 for a two-page letter. $1.19 for a real 4x6 photo (cheaper than any other service when you add up hidden costs). And it arrives in the facility the same day, although a lot depends on when the mailroom guys deliver mail. No rush charges ever. For prisons and jails it means zero chance of fentanyl or K2, etc. coming in, and a much more efficient and budget friendly way to handle mail. It's called LIAM Safe and we are quickly gaining ground nationwide. It's in use in Cook County (IL), Westchester and Suffolk Counties (NY) and a bunch others. Great system for all parties. We're hoping to spread the word. Thank you for allowing us to post and if you read this far, double thanks. LIAM Connect LiveIntelligentAutonomous*Mail

This system was developed by a former officer that worked at a facility with over 7 staff stabbings over a 2 year period. This system is unbreakable and un penetrable.

See attached

So im looking for places to donate that are specific to improving quality of life of prisoners. Looking to do something with more immediate impact and for something lesser known than big things like the innocence project. Something for improving overall quality of life and conditions that improve the day to day of what’s going on in prisons right now as opposed to long term projects (obviously these are still very important but from what I can tell these get more attention and I want to find something that’s going to help right now in the system we unfortunately already have) Any ideas?

i am doing an essay in college about the US prison system and UK prison system comparing it to ones in Scandinavia. i will be looking into how to potentially improve the system but i am required to gather information from people who have worked in prison and people who have been to prison. is there anyone would could discuss this with me? all would be anonymous.

UPDATE Firstly, I thank everyone who contributed. I appreciate the kind words and the hard messages (that I'm choosing to take as tough love 😋😋)

I have done something I haven't done in years -- read through the transcripts and evidentiary documents that my father has sent. Here is what I found:

1. The original DNA collected to justify the warrant for arrest was collected from the ground at a gas station.
2. The DNA collected from the ground was declared a match to a majority fraction of the DNA mixture taken from victim by the DNA analyst (who was later called on to testify to this fact)
3. In the analysis report, written by the same analyst, stated that "further DNA interpretation and statistical calculations will be performed when buccal swabs are collected"

In my state, DNA identity cannot be declared unless statistical analysis is completed. The analyst testified that statistical analysis was not performed on this initial, pre-arrest sample -- it can be assumed that the "inconclusive" results came from a lack of statistical analysis, although that is not clear 4. More samples were collected from my father during his pre-trial and trial which were also not subjected to statistical analysis 5. During sentencing, the judge referred to sample taken surreptitiously as the definitive match and therefore scientific evidence of guilt. 6. The unknown DNA collected from the victim was also never run through statistical analysis because the analyst was only testing for 7 locations rather than the 10 minimum locations suggested in order to enter into CODIS. With less than 10 locations, there is a greater chance of getting hits to multiple people.

So, even if statistical analysis was done the 4th collection from my dad, that same analysis was not done on the unknown DNA and therefore a 1:1 match beyond a reason of doubt could not have been determined......right??

When I was in high school, he was arrested under a warrant that stated his DNA matched that of a person who committed a sexual assault years prior.

Once he was in custody, he was subjected to another DNA swab.

During the court proceedings, the prosecution stated that they had never received any evidence that my father's DNA, which was collected surreptitiously, was a match to the perpetrator who assaulted the victim, and therefore requested another DNA sample.

(This is now a total of 3 DNA samples that were taken from my father, none of which were actually matched to the perpetrator.)

Almost 3 months, and another DNA sample later, was a "match" somehow declared.

The previous inconclusive matches were disregarded, as was the fact that the initial sample was not a match, and should have nullified my father's arrest.

He should be home.

Instead, he's missed the birth of his 3 grandchildren, and his niece and nephew, 6 graduations, and the wedding of his eldest son. My wedding is coming up. With the current speed of the legal system, it seems like he may miss my wedding as well.

My father has reached out to innocence projects, lawyers, civil rights attorneys, and filed motion after motion -- all to no avail.

My question is: Can evidence collected after a defendant's arrest constitute probable cause for his arrest?

Hello all. I wanted to share a project that has been in the works for about two years to hear what you all think of it.

I've been collaborating with an artist and activist, Darrell Fair, on a project about mass incarceration call Bird. Bird is an interactive documentary where players can piece together memories from Darrell's life, told through recorded interviews of him and his family, his own hand-drawn art and animations, and through various interactions such as home-video projects and telephone calls. The goal is to leverage the digital technology of video games to connect to people outside of the black-box of prison, so that people can have meaningful conversations about mass incarceration.

It's a very intimate and vulnerable look at Darrell's life, resulting in what I think is a powerful experience of humanization of the prison population. I'm at the point where I am ready to share this project with players and at festivals and I'm searching for an audience that would have a genuine vested interest in this story.

For those that would like more information about this, you can find out more about it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2920280/Bird/ or a short video on it here: https://youtu.be/61cSbcWhRfA

I understand this is a divisive topic, and an unorthodox medium for exploration of mass incarceration, but I'd love to hear your honest thoughts. What do you all think? Is this something you would be intrigued by?

Screen Capture from Darrell's \"Conviction\" Memory, Hand-Drawn Animation from Stateville Correctional, IL

FESTIVAL AWARDS LIST: Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival - Audience Award Short Film

Bend Film Festival - Audience Award Best Short

Santa Fe International Film Festival - Oscar Qualifying Best Documentary Short Award

Lake County Film Festival - Jury Award for Best Short Documentary

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/jenifermcshane/review/933308180/5780c85d10

Hi all,

I am Charlotte, a Casting Associate for director Joshua Z Weinstein. We are currently casting real people to play roles in his upcoming feature-length film. As it has to do with a man who is out on parole and trying to navigate life after prison, we want to give people who have been formerly incarcerated the chance to apply. NO ACTING EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED, JUST AN INTEREST IN ACTING!! The film will shoot on Staten Island in the Spring of 2025.

We're looking for BIG PERSONALITIES. Casting both men and women, and people of all ages -- tell your sisters, wives, aunts, and uncles to apply too!

If you are interested, please fill out the submission form, which is the first step of our casting process. It takes less than 10 minutes to do, and is fun to fill out.

Early bird gets the worm! Please apply ASAP!!

The link to the open call is on Google Forms, the link is: https://forms.gle/x9MvxPGRGnD8WxNK7

Questions? Email: tugboatcasting@gmail.com

All the best and I look forward to seeing you!!