Stephanie Shepard has had unsettling feelings in the pit of her stomach ever since she was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute marijuana. She couldn’t believe that a drug sentence’s mandatory minimum carried more weight than a homicide-related offense. Before Shepard was transferred from New York to a […]
war on drugs
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Social Welfare
One Mistake Led to a Lifetime Ban of SNAP Benefits. This Reform Rollback Can End It.
It’s been three years since Yasmeen Covington spent the night of her 29th birthday wearing a pair of handcuffs. It was her first and last brush with the criminal justice system, but she’s still paying for it. Shortly after her criminal case ended in 2021, Covington’s parents campaigned for her to leave the Bronx in […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Incarceration
Recent Rise in Women and Girls Behind Bars Is Rooted in the War on Drugs
Reforming the criminal legal system has been a persistent rallying cry among advocates, a growing number of prosecutors, and some lawmakers. At the height of the pandemic, there was a 37% drop in the jail population of girls and women. Stay-at-home orders and slowdowns to routine court proceedings contributed to the decrease, according to 2021 […]