kaia

The Obama administration announced Thursday a new clemency effort that encourages defense lawyers to refer to the Department of Justice people who have been convicted of low-level, nonviolent drug offenses for early release from federal prisons. Speaking before the New York State Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Section, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole unveiled the […]

Dear Friends:

The Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions is a human justice policy, advocacy and training center founded, directed and staffed by academics and activists who were formerly incarcerated. It is the first and only one of its kind in the United States.

One of our first initiatives is to respond to the negative public perception about our population as expressed in the language and concepts used to describe us. When we are not called mad dogs, animals, predators, offenders and other derogatory terms, we are referred to as inmates, convicts, prisoners and felons. All terms devoid of humanness which identify us as “things” rather than as people. These terms are accepted as the “official” language of the media, law enforcement, prison industrial complex and public policy agencies. However, they are no longer acceptable for us and we are asking people to stop using them.

In an effort to assist our transition from prison to our communities as responsible citizens and to create a more positive human image of ourselves, we are asking everyone to stop using these negative terms and to simply refer to us as PEOPLE. People currently or formerly incarcerated, PEOPLE on parole, PEOPLE recently released from prison, PEOPLE in prison, PEOPLE with criminal convictions, but PEOPLE. […]

In Solidarity and Love,

Eddie Ellis
President

The National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction (NICCC) is a comprehensive database that identifies legal sanctions and restrictions imposed upon individuals because of their criminal record. The NICCC was created as a provision of the 2007 Court Security Improvement Act and is being developed in collaboration by the National Institute of Justice and the American Bar Association. It is set to be completed by April of 2014.

A documentary film exploring barriers to college admissions for applicants with criminal records. While mass incarceration is increasingly being recognized as the greatest civil rights issue of our time, the barriers to higher education have remained a hidden and overlooked consequence to rebuilding lives after prison. The video, Passport To The Future, was produced by […]