For A More Just Texas, We Must Restore Hope for the Formerly Incarcerated

It is well documented that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs applies to individuals during incarceration and upon returning back to the community. Of the five levels of the hierarchy of needs, physiological needs are first and the minimum necessity for every person. But accessible and affordable housing remains elusive for many recently released individuals. Even as we make strides across the state and the nation to work through justice and prison reform issues, new barriers arise for families that are justice-involved. Here in Texas new rules that would restrict or even permanently bar justice-involved individuals from receiving state-supported housing are under consideration. This is just one of countless examples of the ways our society makes it harder for those leaving prison to avoid recidivating.

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Why we should pardon the Jon Ponders, Alice Marie Johnsons of the world

Fox News Opinion Editorial September 9, 2020

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/pardon-jon-ponders-alice-marie-johnson-dawn-freeman

President Trump put criminal justice reform front and center during the Republican National Convention last month when he pardoned Jon Ponder and Alice Marie Johnson. Trump’s decision to pardon this man and woman, who have paid their debts to society, is worthy of celebration, and it should remind us that pardons are not political tools but instruments of restorative justice. Presidents, governors, and legislatures must expand the use of pardons at the federal and state level to eliminate some of the lifelong collateral consequences of incarceration.

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2020 Race Could Come Down to a ‘War of Words’ on Justice Reform

Inside Sources Opinion Editorial

Both political parties seem acutely aware that America has reached a moment of reckoning on justice reform. Since the death of George Floyd, Americans have poured into the streets to deliver an indictment on America’s recent past, in which leaders of both parties have failed to fix the inequities of a lopsided system.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump each have an opportunity to claim the mantle of reform. But to do so, they must choose a side in the war of the words.

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