JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORM

America's Incarceration Crisis

America’s incarceration crisis is the ultimate example of the politics and underlying culture of dehumanization we must end together.

endingmassincarceration

Featured Cases

State v. James Richardson

James Richardson is an innocent man serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit. In 2011, James Richardson was arrested and capitally charged with the murders of Landon Blackley and Andrew Kirby in Pitt County, NC. Following a hotly contested trial, James was convicted and given two life sentences.

Learn More

Karon Joye

SCSJ is submitting a clemency petition to the Juvenile Sentencing Review Board (JSRB) on behalf of Karon Joye. Karon was sentenced to over 34 years in prison for a crime he committed when he was 14 years old.

Learn More

Abrams v. Fowler

SCSJ is challenging North Carolina’s parole system in federal court on behalf of Brett Abrams, who was sentenced to life in prison in 1983 at the age of 14 for a senseless and tragic crime.

Learn More

What's at Stake?

Our government is not merely failing to eliminate systemic racism and reduce vulnerability but instead exacerbating both with the carceral state. The United States locks up more people than any other country on Earth. We criminalize poverty, needlessly separate children from their parents, and destabilize and destroy families, even entire neighborhoods, in the process. 

SCSJ seeks to reduce the number of people entering and remaining in the criminal legal system. We focus on front-end issues, like policing, over-criminalization, and the prosecutorial function. We also focus on back-end issues, like safely bringing people home from jails and prisons and ending excessively harsh policies fueling mass incarceration. 

Ending Mass Incarceration Resources

Booklet 'the case for commuting NC's death row' spread across a semi-transparent image of the NC Supreme Court benches.

The Case for Commuting NC’s Death Row

This booklet outlines how NC's death row is infected with racism and threatens the lives of innocent vulnerable groups. 

Learn More
North Carolina Death Row Infographic outlining the statistics surrounding the death penalty in NC.

North Carolina’s Death Row Infographic

This infographic explains the myriad ways in which NC’s death penalty is a failed public policy that is riddled with error and inequity.

Learn More
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

Safe Return: North Carolina’s Experience with Bringing People Home Early from Prison

This report analyzed "early" reentry efforts and their outcomes to determine whether early reentry and prosecutorial “second look” approaches can and should be continued or expanded.

Learn More

Ending Mass Incarceration News

Justice System Reform

Federal Court Denies Judgment in Lawsuit Over Parole Commission, For Now; Orders Further Inquiry 

RALEIGH, N.C. (April 2, 2025) — A federal judge has denied issuing a judgment before trial in a lawsuit challenging the North Carolina Parole Commission’s review process for people who were children when they were sentenced to prison and ordered additional fact finding by the parties involved.  Southern Coalition for Social Justice asked for summary…

Read More Federal Court Denies Judgment in Lawsuit Over Parole Commission, For Now; Orders Further Inquiry 
Hand reaching out to bars in front of SCOTUS building and handcuffs