Freedom, with an asterick
The Fourth of July, a Supreme Court victory (with a small “v”) on plea waivers, and new conversations about survival and second chances. Independence and N.J. Detention Tours In the wake of this weekend’s Independence celebration, I’d like to highlight some terrific pieces reflecting on the meaning of the holiday: Anne Lamott’s “The Fourth Is With […]
A Tough Month for Second Chances: Supreme Court Round Up
Compassionate release takes a major hit, a death-row prisoner wins an important victory, Just Justice expands to YouTube, and take action on Delaney Immigration Detention Center. Dear Friends, June brings fresh strawberries and summer solstice, my favorite day of the year. It also gives us a time to process the Supreme Court end-of-term rulings, including […]
The Big Reveal…
As many of you know, for the last two years I’ve been working on a book with the University of California Press about a question at the heart of American justice: should people forever be defined by the worst thing they have ever done? This book is intended to challenge a system built around permanent […]
Second Chance Month 2026: What’s New
Dear Friends, April is Second Chance Month, a time to celebrate redemption and the reality that people can and do change. It’s also a time to take stock of our criminal laws, how those laws are enforced, and our overly punitive punishment practices. One in 3 Americans has a criminal record, and together they navigate more than […]
Carmen Mejia Spent 22 Years in Prison for a Crime that Never Happened
What her conviction tells us about women, no-crime wrongful convictions, and junk science Carmen Mejia spent 22 years in a Texas prison for killing a baby. The problem is that no crime ever happened. In January, the highest court in Texas finally declared Ms. Mejia to be actually innocent. She was released last week. Over […]
When Custody Means Death
A prison sentence or an immigration case is not a death sentence, but inside America’s prisons and detention centers, it too often becomes one.
New Jersey, A Case Study In Justice
Dear Friends, Bruce Springsteen (a native New Jerseyan) released a new song this week about Minneapolis. Listening to it, I was struck by how much it captures this moment, where grief, anger, and persistence — especially persistence — coexist. It’s a time where the work of justice continues, even when the world around us feels […]
A Constitutional Crisis is Brewing
Special Edition of All Things Justice
Criminal Justice Action Plan for 2026
Small Actions. Real Impact.
Retirement Reflections
Dear Freinds, Today is my last day of classes, so it only seems fitting that today I also write to share some personal news. After 20 years of teaching at Montclair State University, I am retiring at the end of this semester. When I left my work as a New York City public defender to […]