Tools

  • If you seek to center the voices of people who have been impacted by the criminal legal system—in public campaigns or community events or elsewhere—ensure that you work collaboratively to identify and provide necessary supports, including proper compensation, media and communications training, and help with coordination and logistics related to events.
  • Read and amplify the writings, work, and personal narratives of both formerly and currently incarcerated people: for example, women’s voices, young men and women creating culture change inside prisons and jails, and transgender people who have been incarcerated.
  • Use intentional and humanizing language when referring to people impacted by the criminal legal system. Use person-first language such as “person who is incarcerated,” as opposed to “felon,” “convict,” or “inmate.”