Category: Justice System Reform

Your First 48 Hours toolkit spread with cover page, first 48 hours timeline, information about health services, and housing services.

Justice System Reform

SCSJ Updates Resource Guide for Successful Reentry after Incarceration

DURHAM, N.C. (Nov. 19, 2024) — Southern Coalition for Social Justice has released an updated copy of the Your First 48 Hours Toolkit, a resource…

Young girl holding hand of father with megaphone transposed over photo

Justice System Reform

Media Advisory: Advocates to Hold Press Conference About Open Courts Lawsuit

DURHAM, N.C. (Nov. 18, 2024) — On Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at 3:30 p.m., Durham advocates and social justice organizations will host a press conference…

prison cell doors open to resemble prison release

Justice System Reform

Human Rights Organizations Demand Prison Population Reduction to Ease Overcrowding After Hurricane Helene

RALEIGH , N.C. (Oct. 31, 2024) — North Carolina human rights organizations signed onto a letter to demand the release of 400 incarcerated women and…

Reentry Reimagined cover with young queer Black family holding their toddler happily in the background

Justice System Reform

Upcoming Alamance Reentry Event Will Feature Performers, Impacted Panel Discussion

BURLINGTON, N.C. (Sept. 11, 2024) — Several organizations will come together this month to host a powerful reentry event featuring performances of stories from the Hidden Voices' project ReVisioning Rural Reentry. The stories, which highlight critical perspectives from rural communities across the state, will be followed by a candid panel discussion between three individuals who returned to Alamance County after incarceration.

Safe Return: North Carolina's Experience with Bringing People Home Early form Prison report spread with cover and two spreads showing report content over blue gradient background

Justice System Reform

SCSJ’s ‘Safe Return’ Report Details Successes of NC Releasing People Early from Prison

DURHAM, N.C. (Sept. 4, 2024) — During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina safely sent thousands of people home early from prison with no negative impact to public safety, according to a new report, “Safe Return,” from Southern Coalition for Social Justice released as part of its Reframing Public Safety Series.

Hasson Bacote was sentenced to death for a crime that occurred when he was 21.

Justice System Reform

Community Leaders Urge Court to Uphold Racial Justice Act, Condemn NC Death Penalty

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (Aug. 21, 2024) — Closing arguments in the historic Racial Justice Act (RJA) hearing in the case of Hasson Bacote are scheduled to…

Intimidating Police officer watching high school students walk to class

Justice System Reform

SCSJ Focuses on School Resource Officers in First Part of New Ongoing Public Safety Series

DURHAM, N.C. (Aug. 5, 2024) — School resource officers (SROs) create an unsafe environment for children, according to part one of a new series, Reframing Public Safety, from SCSJ.

School Resource Officer standing in an empty school hallway

Justice System Reform

Warnings About Police in Schools: SCSJ Releases Memo to Fayetteville City Officials

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (July 10, 2024) — Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) recommends Fayetteville keeps its schools police-free in a memo addressing the city’s proposal…

Justice System Reform

SCSJ Statements on Supreme Court OK’ing Punishment for Sleeping While Unhoused

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 28, 2024) — In a 6-3 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled penalizing unhoused people for sleeping outside when there is no…

Justice System Reform

REPORT: North Carolina’s Education System Stuck in Cycle of Racism

DURHAM, N.C. (May 1, 2024) — Significant racial disparities continue to infect North Carolina’s school system, disproportionately impacting students of color, according to Southern Coalition…

Justice System Reform

SCSJ Seeks Decision in NC Parole Commission Case

RALEIGH, N.C. (March 5, 2024) — Southern Coalition for Social Justice is seeking a decision in a lawsuit involving a man who was sentenced to…

Justice System Reform

Charlotte Police Body Cam Footage Illustrates Inappropriate, Unjustified Response in Steele Creek Arrest

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Dec. 13, 2023) — The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) released body camera footage this week from an arrest initially caught on a bystander’s…

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