Please share my newest for #Massachusetts on our #criminallegalsystem on Commonwealth/Beacon
“It’s a marathon to earn parole… To assure that those leaving prison have the best possible opportunity for success and to ensure safety for all, our Parole Board should not be limping along.” MORE
Please read and share my newest article at BINJ A “New Hope,” which details “unprecedented opportunities for release from life sentences, updated trainings for attorneys, and a big shift in the system.” Read More.
Please read and share my newest at BINJ. It begins:
On Oct. 20, the Massachusetts Parole Board, under the leadership of chairperson Tina Hurley, met with state legislators from the Black and Latino Caucus, the Criminal Justice Caucus, and the Justice-Involved Women’s Task Force of the Women’s Caucus. It was the first such meeting, Sen. Jamie Eldridge said at a legislative briefing on parole bills at the State House on Oct. 31. He told BINJ the meeting with the board represented a “greater focus on parole” for legislators.
“I’ve never been so encouraged,” Sen. Liz Miranda echoed during the briefing, adding that she had “tried unsuccessfully for four years to meet with the Parole Board.” In a followup email, Miranda wrote, “Having worked on parole reform for many years, I see momentum building amongst legislators.” MORE
Please see my newest at Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism (BINJ) here. It begins:
“On Aug. 31, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey nominated social justice advocate and social worker Sarah Coughlin to the state’s Parole Board, and stated in a press release that Coughlin shared “the administration’s commitment to making our criminal justice system more just and equitable for all.”
Coughlin is currently the director of community engagement and partnerships at Mass General Brigham, and has wide-ranging experience with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated men and women in re-entry, substance use disorder, trauma,and healing.” MORE
Please read and share my latest article which examines why Massachusetts should expand college education behind bars. This is a subject near and dear to my heart since I taught in prison for 10 years before Pell Grants were abolished. Here
It begins “Knowledge of the power structure that runs society has made the biggest difference in my life.”
John Yang was released from MCI Concord in 2020, and is now completing his BA at Emerson College in Boston. In a far-ranging interview, he spoke about being one of four students featured at a March 24 Education in Prison conference at Emerson which aimed to show how and why college programs behind bars need expansion.
“By picking up a book, I was creating a different way of being, finding new strengths and abilities that I didn’t know I had.” MORE