Posted on 08/05/19 by Intern Writer in Justice Reform
Innocent people who can't make bail end up serving time, accepting plea deals
By Sydney Diewald
In the United States, everyone is supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. But before they even stand trial, many people accused of a crime are forced to serve time in jail or accept a plea deal, regardless of whether they committed the crime in question, purely because they can’t afford to buy their freedom through cash bail.
Bail reform is gaining headway because people are waking up to the obvious injustices in the current system, which penalizes the poor, compounds the cycle of poverty, and... read more
Posted on 07/09/19 by in Justice Reform
People want to live in a community that feels safe. They also want their neighbors who struggle with addiction to recover. For too long, Ohio – like most states – has relied on the criminal... read more
Posted on 06/19/19 by Guest Writer in Justice Reform
damareo cooper | BlackPAC
Today, on Juneteenth, we commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. Slavery was more than cruel, inhumane and barbaric, it was the foundation of an economic system, culture, and legal... read more
Posted on 01/21/19 by Caitlin Johnson (she/her) in Justice Reform
In the United States, questions of race and racism are almost always simmering just below the surface in every institution. The tension often boils over most dramatically in our criminal justice system, whether in black... read more
Posted on 10/30/18 by Guest Writer in Justice Reform
By Wendy Johnson
Hi Ohio, I miss you. I grew up in Toledo, went to OSU for undergrad and medical school, and took my first job as a young doctor at MetroHealth in Cleveland. I remain... read more
Posted on 10/25/18 by Guest Writer in Justice Reform
Dear Ohio,
Hello from Oklahoma! Being in different regions of the country, we don’t often have much interaction besides when the states are read in alphabetical order or when the Sooners play the Buckeyes (sorry about... read more
Posted on 10/16/18 by Ben Stein (he/him) in Justice Reform
Virgil Pittman was going to be a teacher. He was 19, had graduated from Cleveland’s John F. Kennedy high school. He was taking classes at Cuyahoga Community College. It was 1995, the height of America’s... read more