The Systemic Justice Project at Temple Law’s Sheller Center for Social Justice
Pennsylvania has the highest incarceration rate in the Northeast. It has the second highest rate of people under some form of correctional control (incarcerated or on probation or parole) in the country.
Tens of thousands of people return to Philadelphia from state and federal prison every year, and approximately 44,000 people in Philadelphia are on probation at any given time.
The Systemic Justice Project partners with community groups, social-service providers, legal organizations, and others operating within the space of criminal law, civil rights, inmates rights, and re-entry to identify the most pressing areas for intervention on the local and state level.
Collateral Consequences
Collateral consequences serve as barriers to reentry for each and every person who has had contact with the criminal legal system – potentially dictating where (and with whom) they can live, what kinds of work they can do, what they can own, and what opportunities they will have to participate as members of our society.
Someone once said that collateral consequences are the interest that we continue to exact after someone has already paid their debt to society.
In the Systemic Justice Project, we look for ways to reduce that interest, so that folks can live full and free lives.
Parole
In states with indeterminate sentencing schemes, the parole process is just as — or arguably even more — important than a person’s sentencing hearing.
We want to help ensure that people who are incarcerated receive the fairest possible process at parole.
Inmates’ Rights
People don’t disappear when they are incarcerated, only to re-materialize in 5 to 15 years. Nonetheless, outside society often seemingly forgets about both the needs and the rights of incarcerated folks.
We believe that incarcerated people are no less a part of our community when they are away, than they are when they are home. And that their lives matter.
For more information, please visit the website for the Sheller Center for Social Justice.