Justice System Reform

From Pulitzer Prize–winning author Gilbert King comes a chilling exploration of one of America’s most haunting wrongful conviction cases. Based on the hit podcast, Bone Valley dives into the dark heart of rural Florida, where a young man’s life was upended by a tragic miscarriage of...

James Comey, former FBI Director and New York Times bestselling author of A Higher Loyalty, uses his long career in federal law enforcement to explore issues of justice and fairness in the US justice system. James Comey might best be known as the FBI director that Donald Trump fired in 2017, but...

An acclaimed legal scholar exposes the Supreme Court’s increasing use of unsigned, unexplained orders to change the law—all behind closed doors The Supreme Court has always had the authority to issue emergency rulings in exceptional circumstances. But since 2017, the Court has dramatically...

What if everything you think you know about crime and punishment is just one moment in a much longer—and stranger—story? And what if understanding that story is the key to reimagining justice today? You live in a world of police, prisons, and headlines about crime waves and crackdowns, yet so much of it feels confusing, unfair, or out of control. Debates about safety, reform, and justice are loud and polarized, while the deeper questions—What is a crime? Who gets punished, and why?—rarely get answered. Without a bigger historical view, it’s easy to feel stuck between fear and ...

An accessible guide for activists, educators, and all who are interested in understanding how the prison system oppresses communities and harms individuals. The United States incarcerates more of its residents than any other nation. Though home to 5% of the global population, the United States...

How states are making their legal systems more equitable, seen through the story of a Black man falsely imprisoned for thirty years for murder. In 1987, Ben Spencer, a twenty-two-year-old Black man from Dallas, was convicted of murdering white businessman Jeffrey Young—a crime he didn’t...

This book is the culmination of a lifetime of love and lessons that have shaped my personal journey from a young man in crisis to a champion for children. There were critical moments in my story where self-appointed “Hope Dealers” like my mother, Alice Lovelace, and my educator, Dr. Lorraine Wilson, intervened in my projected course to failure. The lessons I learned from them became the foundation of my own work with and for young people facing challenges that they often did not believe they can face alone: hopelessness, shame, disability, tragic home life, generally summed up as the ...

Your VoicePrint Is Your Weapon™ 50 Fifth-Dimensional Prayers to Break Chains, Govern Realms, and Release Dominion By Dr. Tieasha Stephens This is not a book. It is a portal. It is a scroll opened from the fifth-dimensional realm—written for the remnant who no longer beg for breakthrough but legislate as divine government in the earth. Your VoicePrint Is Your Weapon™ is a throne-issued repository of decrees, dimensional prayers, and prophetic blueprints for those who war from their seated position in Christ. These pages are not inspirational—they are instructional, judicial, and ...

Unlock the hidden layers of the world's penal systems with International Perspectives on Penal Systems. This comprehensive eBook delves deep into the intricacies of penal reform movements, offering a global viewpoint on the effectiveness of different penal policies. Begin your journey with a historical overview of penal systems, understanding the importance and the drivers behind reforms. Explore the significant role of human rights and see how international standards shape prison policies across continents. Investigate real-world case studies that highlight human rights violations and ...

Locked In is a revelatory investigation into the root causes of mass incarceration by one of the most exciting scholars in the country. Having spent 15 years studying the data on imprisonment, John Pfaff takes apart the reigning consensus created by Michelle Alexander and other reformers, revealing that the most widely accepted explanations - the failed War on Drugs, draconian sentencing laws, an increasing reliance on private prisons - tell us much less than we think.

In Get Off My Neck, Debbie Hines draws on her unique perspective as a trial lawyer, former Baltimore prosecutor, and assistant attorney general for the State of Maryland to argue that US prosecutors, as the most powerful players in the criminal justice system, systematically target and criminalize Black people. Hines describes her disillusionment as a young Black woman who initially entered the profession with the goal of helping victims of crimes, only to discover herself aiding and abetting a system that prizes plea bargaining, speedy conviction, and excessive punishment above all else.

Electronic monitoring. Locked-down drug treatment centers. House arrest. Mandated psychiatric treatment. Data-driven surveillance. Extended probation. These are some of the key alternatives held up as cost-effective substitutes for jails and prisons. But many of these so-called reforms actually widen the net, weaving in new strands of punishment and control, and bringing new populations, who would not otherwise have been subject to imprisonment, under physical control by the state.

Trauma from abuse can crush your spirit unless you confront your enemies. After years of stuffing her emotions, putting on a happy face, and enduring hardship like a good airman, Jakia Lindley realized she needed to stand toe-to-toe against her foes. She needed to fight back.

Dowry: Destroyer of Families exposes the harsh reality of a social evil that continues to survive despite laws and modern thinking. This book explores how dowry shatters families, robs daughters of dignity, burdens parents, and turns marriage into a financial transaction. Drawing from real-life observations, moral insight, and social awareness, it challenges society to move beyond legal compliance toward collective responsibility. Powerful, thought-provoking, and deeply human, this book calls for a moral awakening—urging families and communities to unite against dowry and build marriages ...

Bob Hatrak: The "Scared Straight" Warden In 1973, Bob Hatrak became the youngest warden of a maximum-security prison in America, Rahway State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey. Not on My Watch is an inspirational story of how one man with a visionary plan became one of the most notable and progressive prison reformers in American history. A pitching phenom in high school, Bob lost his hand in a machine accident and almost lost his spirit-until his tight-knit Trenton community rallied to his side. After college, he thrived as a high school teacher and head basketball coach. He started a career ...

They’re Still Kids: A Juvenile Probation Guide for Parents, Caregivers, Caseworkers, and Juvenile Offenders This compassionate, no-nonsense guide offers a rare and vital look into the world of juvenile probation. Written for families, educators, youth advocates, and young people themselves, They’re Still Kids delivers clarity in a system often clouded by confusion and stigma. Through 15 informative chapters, readers will explore every stage of the juvenile probation process—from arrest and court conditions to rehabilitation and reform. With real-life case studies, expert insights, and...

How can we be proud of a system of justice that often pressures the innocent to plead guilty? How can we claim that justice is equal when we imprison thousands of poor Black men for relatively modest crimes but rarely prosecute rich white executives who commit crimes having far greater impact? Federal Judge Jed S. Rakoff, a leading authority on white-collar crime, explores these and other puzzles in Why the Innocent Plead Guilty and the Guilty Go Free, a startling account of our broken legal system.

"In God's Will" "In God's Will" is a gripping, emotionally charged journey through the eyes of Demetric Richardson, a 19-year-old Black teenager from Saginaw, Michigan, wrongfully convicted of a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life in prison, Demetric's world collapses as he loses his family, his hope, and nearly his life. But fate intervenes when he finds an ancient bottle in the prison yard that holds a powerful genie, offering him three wishes that will change the course of his destiny. This hauntingly beautiful story explores the depths of loss, the struggle for justice, and the ...

ALL DAY is a behind-the-bars, personal glimpse into the issue of mass incarceration via an unpredictable, insightful and ultimately hopeful reflection on teaching teens while they await sentencing. Told with equal parts raw honesty and unbridled compassion, ALL DAY recounts a year in Liza Jessie...

What would happen if the systems within our society focused on care and healing instead of growth and profit? In A Case for Compassion: What Happens When We Prioritize People and the Planet, Sara Schairer—a leader in the compassion field—examines five of our most influential systems: education, health care, corrections, law enforcement, and the workplace. Using personal narratives, research, thought-leader interviews, and examples of compassionate institutions, Schairer shows us that compassion can solve many of our society’s most pressing problems. You’ll read inspiring stories ...