@smartjusticeca.bsky.social
We support criminal justice reforms that promote safety, fairness, and healthy communities. Smart Justice California is a project of Beyond Impact, a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization.
Chabria: The U.S is in the death business. Newsom can change that, and win votes
Commentary: The U.S is in the death business. Newsom can change that, and win votes
Under President Trump, the federal government is increasingly normalizing death and corruption as tools of state power. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a unique ability to send a different message.
latimes.com
A judge sent Lil Nas X into a two-year mental health treatment program instead of prison. The data shows it works—but most California counties are barely using it. In partnership with @smartjusticeca.bsky.social. youtube.com/shorts/jEV23...
A judge sent Lil Nas X into a two-year mental health treatment program instead of prison. It WORKS!
YouTube video by Eliza Orlins
youtube.com
California has proven that we don’t have to choose between safety and justice, and @tomsteyerhq.bsky.social is the candidate who will make sure we don’t have to. www.ocregister.com/2026/05/06/a...
Anne Irwin: Tom Steyer is a proven champion of justice and fairness
Indeed, the future of safety and justice in our state is on the ballot.
ocregister.com
“The death penalty is both unavoidably flawed and unworthy of a decent society,” the editorial board writes.
Opinion | The Death Penalty Is Indefensible. It’s Also on the Rise.
The surge in capital punishment is a cruel and unjust development.
nyti.ms
From artists rapping over prison phones to those starting labels and nonprofits to release their work, prison music speaks to the resilience of people behind bars. Our limited-run newsletter Redemption Songs will send a new song by incarcerated artists to your inbox each Sunday — sign up now:
Redemption Songs: A Limited-Run Newsletter
The story of mass incarceration, one song at a time.
themarshallproject.org
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate for women in the world. This #WomensHistoryMonth, we're thinking of all the women locked behind bars, away from their families. They can't get lost in the fight to end mass incarceration.
Gun violence intervention programs save lives. Thank you @governor.ca.gov for recognizing that the best way to stop crime is by preventing it from happening in the first place 👏
Governor Newsom Press Office@govpressoffice.gov.ca.gov · 9mo agoTHE MOST RECENT DATA SHOWS VIOLENT CRIME IS DOWN 12% IN CALIFORNIA’S MAJOR CITIES! @governor.ca.gov Gavin Newsom is building on that progress — announcing an additional $107 million to be invested in communities to further prevent gun violence and reduce crime.
NEW: Two women incarcerated in a CA prison have come forward to report sexual assaults by a staff cook while they were working in the kitchen, paid 12¢/hr. They told me he threatened discipline if they spoke up. The prison concluded abuse occurred, a very rare outcome, but he hasn't faced charges.
Women in California prison accuse staff cook of rape and urge criminal charges
Exclusive: After investigators concluded an abuse incident occurred, women speak out for first time – ‘I was so scared to tell anybody’
theguardian.com
For too many people, parole does not offer a real chance for release. Watch Carol and her son, Bill, speak about their experience navigating Mississippi’s parole system. Their story represents so many families waiting to be reunited.
For CA women who are arrested, convicted, and sentenced for offenses like homicide that arose out of their own victimization, the law generally fails to account for domestic and intimate partner violence even when this abuse is supposed to be considered as a mitigating factor.
19thnews@19thnews.org · 9mo agoIn January, Nicole Boynton became the first person freed as part of Georgia’s Survivor Justice Act. The law allows retroactive resentencing, giving people already behind bars a way to return to court and ask for a new sentence that accounts for abuse as a significant contributing factor.
I am deeply saddened by the passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose life and leadership shaped our nation’s ongoing journey toward equality. He was a voice for the voiceless, an advocate for those too often left out, and a servant to the oppressed worldwide.
During his first year in office, L.A. D.A. Nathan Hochman has dismissed or severely reduced charges against several police officers accused of excessive force. Hochman says he's just following the law. Victims families are growing frustrated. My latest: www.latimes.com/california/s...
Police cases under L.A. district attorney ending in dropped charges, losses and plea deals
L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman's handling of police violence cases during his first year in office has been met with praise from law enforcement advocates — and criticism from those who say he...
latimes.com
Join us for a powerful Black History Month conversation honoring Black prosecutors shaping justice—past, present, and future. 📅 Feb 19, 2026 | 🕒 3 PM ET / 12 PM PT 💻 Virtual | ✅ Free | 🎓 1-hr CA CLE 🔗 Registration link: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
In 1996, a 17-bed, state-licensed hospice began caring for dying incarcerated men at California Medical Facility in Vacaville. At that time, the hospice unit mainly took care of patients dying of AIDS. Today, many of the patients housed there are dying of cancer.
‘This Place Is Love’: A Prison Unit for the Dying — in Pictures
In this prison hospice unit in California, incarcerated people tend to their dying peers so no one dies alone.
prisonjournalismproject.org
Homicide has dropped sharply for three straight years—potentially to the lowest level in a century. What’s driving the decline? We asked leading experts what may be behind this historic shift. Here’s what they said ⬇️
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman -- who received significant campaign $$ from real estate interests in 2024 -- hasn’t prosecuted a single price-gouging case.
Los Angeles Times@latimes.com · 9mo agoRampant post-fire price gouging went unpunished, report alleges
Incarceration is deadly. People incarcerated on a single day in 2008 had a 39% higher risk of death compared to similar people who were not incarcerated:
In the words of Vera’s Claudia Gonzalez, “Punishment is not prevention, and prison is not a path forward.” Diversion programs provide a non-punitive alternative to incarceration and addresses trauma, promotes healing, and helps break the cycle of incarceration. www.marinij.com/2026/01/28/o...
California Voice: Diversion a lifeline for those in school-to-prison pipeline
A proposed state law offers non-violent offenders the chance to change ‘their lives, support their families and pay restitution to those they’ve harmed.’
marinij.com
“It’s a mess,” told @missionlocal.org, describing vomit on the floor of cells, maggots in trash bins and human feces beneath bunks missionlocal.org/2026/02/sf-j...
A month of cold showers, vomit and human waste inside S.F. jail, arrestees say
Six people incarcerated in San Francisco’s County Jail No. 2 said that perhaps hundreds of detainees had limited hot water in January.
missionlocal.org
Really beautiful work from @themarshallproject.org documenting the Californians who took part in a massive hunger strike 13 years ago to challenge the use of solitary confinement in state prisons
Echoes of Isolation
A 2013 prison hunger strike in California led to a dramatic decline in the use of solitary confinement. More than a decade later, people impacted by solitary reflect on the toll of separation.
themarshallproject.org
Great thread on what could be causing the historic decline in homicide rates nationwide 👇
Council on Criminal Justice@counciloncj.org · 9mo agoHomicide has dropped sharply for three straight years—potentially to the lowest level in a century. What’s driving the decline? We asked leading experts what may be behind this historic shift. Here’s what they said ⬇️
“Newsom’s past actions have made it clear he deplores capital punishment as deeply as many civil rights advocates,” writes columnist Robin Epley.
CA’s death penalty is broken, says Newsom. So why won’t he end it for good? | Opinion
“Newsom’s past actions have made it clear he deplores capital punishment as deeply as many civil rights advocates,” writes columnist Robin Epley.
bit.ly
Many California prisoners get a second chance. A declining parole rate shows that's no guarantee
Many California prisoners get a second chance. A declining parole rate shows that's no guarantee
Many California prisoners can get a chance at release through expanded parole opportunities. But gaining release requires someone to demonstrate personal growth and accountability before the state Parole Board.
bit.ly
When Donald Trump broke the law, @agrobbonta.oag.ca.gov held him accountable — again and again. That’s the kind of Attorney General California needs. We are proud to support his reelection. Join us at robbonta.com.
🧵It’s a new year, but at least one thing’s still the same: The death penalty does not make our communities safer. Decades of research show that the death penalty does not deter crime or protect the most vulnerable from harm.
Even with seemingly much more opportunity and incentives, the success rate for Californians to be found suitable for parole has gradually declined — from 39% in 2018 to roughly 35% for 2019 through 2021 to below 25% in 2025. @calmatters.org's Joe Garcia explores why calmatters.org/justice/2026...
Many California prisoners get a second chance. A declining parole rate shows that's no guarantee
Many California prisoners can get a chance at release through expanded parole opportunities. But gaining release requires someone to demonstrate personal growth and accountability before the state Par...
calmatters.org
“When people think of incarcerated people, they often see us as a danger, with our past mistakes magnified. Amid the smoke, ash, and destruction of the LA fires, people saw us as heroes, recognizing the good we could achieve when given a second chance.” calmatters.org/commentary/2...
Opinion | Fighting LA wildfires broke my heart but prepared me for life outside prison
During the LA-area fires, Jose Angel Amezcua, an inmate firefighter, was where he was supposed to be — helping save the communities he had harmed.
calmatters.org
During a time meant for celebration, the nearly 2 million people incarcerated in the U.S. endure loneliness and separation from loved ones. Incarcerated writer Demetrius Buckley reflects on 16 holiday seasons behind bars and how moments of joy are still cultivated, even in the darkest of places.
Holiday Funk: What Christmas is Like in Prison
Facing my 17th holiday behind bars, here’s how I connect and seek joy.
vera.org
A CalMatters investigation looks at the limitations of this model and its impact on people accused of crimes in rural parts of the state. calmatters.org/investigatio... 6/7
The WalMart of public defense: How justice goes to the lowest bidder in rural California
The Ciummo firm has become the face of the privatization of California’s public defense. Even their courtroom adversaries wish they’d put up more of a fight.
calmatters.org
But flat-fee contracts for public defense has created a second-tier justice system in rural stretches of the state: Seven of the eight counties with the state’s highest jail and prison incarceration rates have flat-fee contracts. 4/7
