by Mandie Sellars | Aug 15, 2018 | Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
Recently, a company called JPay signed a contract with the New York Department of Corrections to give the people incarcerated there free tablets. The Prison Policy Initiative decided asked an important question about this contract that the lawmakers didn’t: “What...
by Mandie Sellars | Aug 13, 2018 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration, Policing
By Mandie Sellars, CJPC Board Member It wasn’t until I saw the coffin-sized metal box above my head with the name Wake County on it that I froze. My body could no longer move, as tears streamed silently down my cheeks. The box bore three simple pieces of data: the...
by Mandie Sellars | Jul 13, 2018 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
The prison safety issues in North Carolina are representative of a larger, national issue. Federal prisons nationwide are understaffed and have been so for some time. However, the hiring freeze at the beginning of the Trump administration and emphasis on reducing the...
by Mandie Sellars | Jul 13, 2018 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Policing
The Police Accountability Community Taskforce, or PACT, is calling for the creation of an official community police oversight board in Raleigh. The Carolina Justice Policy Center and an advocacy group called Save Our Sons are also working with PACT. This move comes in...
by Mandie Sellars | Jul 13, 2018 | Criminal Justice Reform, Emancipate NC News, Mass Incarceration
From 1998 to 2017, 12 people committed suicide in the Durham County jail by hanging themselves from window bars or ventilation grates. Although public records show that Durham County officials were aware of the suicide hazards, the last updates are just now being...
