Eradicating a Stain on Our City

“A stain on human dignity and decency.” - Melissa Mark-Viverito, Speaker, NYC Council “A mass incarceration model that stains everything and everyone it touches.” - Honorable Jonathan Lippman, Former New York State Chief Judge and Of Counsel, Latham & Watkins LLP  At a time when the streets of New York City are as safe as they’ve ever been ...

The Trump administration is inflicting unprecedented violence and cruelty on immigrants. Legal service providers are trying their best to protect them, even as the system crumbles.

Maria Chavez has seen firsthand the horror her clients are living with. After fleeing violence in Sudan, Yousif* applied for asylum in the United States. Chavez, the legal director for the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, represented him through the process. During a break in proceedings as the judge considered his application, t ...

We need to expand parole. Many states are doing the opposite.

Bobbi Cobaugh wrote in Inquest that “the only way to atone for a murder was to become a better person.” While incarcerated in the New York State prison system, she earned a paralegal degree, associate and bachelor's degrees in sociology, and a master’s degree in criminal justice. She has completed—and taught—anger replacement programs. And she at ...