Topic: Criminal Justice Reform

A. Leon Higginbotham Social Justice Champion Marsha Levick
The Juvenile Law Center co-founder has spent 50 years advocating for the rights of youth in the legal system, taking on corrupt judges, changing policy and contributing to victories in the U.S. Supreme Court
By Malcolm Burnley
Painting Behind Iron and Steel
As a young man, Spel was one of Philadelphia’s most-recognized graffiti writers. Since 1990, he’s been restricted to making art behind bars, incarcerated for a crime that he says he did not commit. The next in our Art for Change series
By RJ Rushmore
Tyree Wallace is home. What did it cost him — and us?
The Point Breeze native spent 26 years imprisoned for a murder he says he didn’t commit. His release comes after years of efforts by lawyers and high-profile activists, including sports reporter Michael Barkann and local business leader Jay Coen Gilbert
By Christina Griffith
Where Do the Candidates Stand on Criminal Justice Reform?
Princeton journalism students investigate. Here’s what they learned
By Anna Salvatore, Cora LeCates and Siyeon Lee
My Message For Joe Biden
The Abolitionist Law Center’s executive director met with members of the Biden administration in D.C. this week. Here’s his advice for how the president can change his mass incarceration rep
By Robert Saleem Holbrook
Treat Kids in the Juvenile Justice System as … Kids
Two Philadelphia women incarcerated in their mid-teens ask for support for comprehensive juvenile justice reform bill that has lingered too long in Harrisburg
By Aqilah David and Alexandria Rivera
Is the Tide Turning on Larry Krasner?
The progressive prosecutor movement is losing momentum. Its poster boy may have to adjust to a new political zeitgeist
By Larry Platt
Sentences for the Sentenced
West Philly non-profit Books Through Bars has provided the incarcerated with books for more than 30 years. Now, with growing inaccessibility, its work is needed more than ever
By Norah Rami
A “Wake Up Call” on Guns
A District Attorney diversion program is offering a second chance to those with no prior convictions and whose only crime was having an unlicensed gun. It aims to work around a state law that treats Philadelphians more harshly than other Pennsylvanians
By Mensah M. Dean
Pardon Me
Shuja Moore’s short film about the benefits — to all of us — of pardons for returning citizens screens Monday in West Philly
By Rachel Wisniewski