JNJ Lobby Day May 25!
Join the Jobs Not Jails coalition as we take the Statehouse by storm to push to raise the felony larceny threshold. Massachusetts has the 3rd lowest felony threshold. That must change for #cjreform to happen.
RMV License Reinstatement Information for Persons with Prior Drug Convictions
We passed the RMV bill! Now here are the nuts and bolts of how to reinstate your license.
Bridging the Rural and Urban Divide to End Mass Incarceration
For nearly 20 years now, I’ve met with relatives of prisoners freighted to rural prisons. For working class families, the long distance phone calls and road trips required to keep in touch with an incarcerated loved one are hard to manage and put important human relationships at risk. It’s a problem that gets resolved through broad public awareness and popular dissent. What’s the most pragmatic, sustainable way to make that happen?
AR-CURE quarterly newsletter January 2016
Our quarterly newsletter is sent to our members. The prior newsletter will be posted after we send out the current issue.
Recap on May 7 Gathering
Unable to attend the May 7 Jobs Not Jails community gathering? Read up on what we did, and how you can get involved. #JobsNotJails
Raise the Felony Threshold
The Massachusetts legislative session ends July 31, 2016. There's still time to enact criminal justice reform this session. If you are convicted of larceny of items over $250, it is a felony here in Massachusetts. The present $250 threshold is unjust because it captures many low level offenses and makes felons of countless people. Any felony carries a heavy stigma, creates barriers to jobs, and contributes to reliance on public assistance. There also is a 10 year waiting period to seal criminal records for low level offenses because they are classified as felonies. Increasing the threshold to $1500 would help many young people and numerous others who are trapped in poverty and unemployment for what were actually low level offenses. Massachusetts is an outlier with an outdated $250 threshold enacted in 1987. Every state in the U.S. has a higher amount except New Jersey ($200) and Virginia ($200). It's time to raise the felony threshold.