Criminal Justice

A Primer on Criminal Justice

Qhtgwlmobcgsjch-200x148-cropped

At least 9.25 million people are in prisons and jails around the world, with incarcerated Americans making up a disproportionate number of prisoners (the U.S. takes up less than 5% of the world's population, yet more than 2.5 million people -- more than one-quarter of the world's prison population -- are incarcerated in its jails and prisons). In addition, one in 100 Americans is in prison or jail.

Read A Primer on Criminal Justice ยป

Background Posts on Criminal Justice

  • Cghtaffjrvujpbl-111x83-cropped Ten Must-See Criminal Justice YouTube Videos

    Use YouTube to see inside our courtrooms and our prisons. Here are a few short videos on prisons, crime and courts - and one rockin' Michael Jackson dance performance.

  • Default-blog-large Beyond CSI: Real justice in TV and film

    Courts and prisons are popular topic in Hollywood, but film and TV rarely looks anything like the real world. Here are ten films and TV shows that get it right - at least some of the time.

  • Xkvrgeknjgyauki-111x83-cropped What You Can Do to Reform the Criminal Justice System

  • Default-blog-large Key U.S. Supreme Court decisions and their place in today's criminal justice system

    Individual rights are tested in the American criminal justice system perhaps more than in any other segment of society. The U.S. Supreme Court is charged with weighing and interpreting our Constitutional rights and balancing them against the state's mission to protect public safety. Here are four of the most important criminal rights decision of the last century and their relevence today.

  • Default-blog-large Innocent in Prison?

    There's no doubt that there are innocent people in prison and on death row. But who are they and how can we overturn their convictions? Here are several cases of inmates where a closer examination of the evidence is badly needed.

  • Default-blog-large Exonerated: wrongful convictions overturned and the lessons we can learn

    How does a wrongful conviction happen? How many innocent people are behind bars in America? Have we learned how to prevent more injustice in the future?

  • Default-blog-large The movement to end the death penalty

    As opposition to capital punishment has increased around the world in recent years, an active and organized movement has developed to oppose the practice, citing worries about its effectiveness, fairness, and morality.

  • Default-blog-large Controversies in criminal justice

    By its nature, criminal justice is often adversarial. In a system that finds truth through argument, controvery is bound to follow.

  • Default-blog-large The Fortune Society

    Fortune, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, provides direct services to about 4,000 clients a year in the New York metropolitan area. Learn how they're setting an example for reentry and alternative to incarceration programs nationwide.

  • Default-blog-large Ten must-read books on prisons and criminal justice reform

    There are hundreds of books on criminal justice out there - from pulp legal thrillers to dry law texts. But somewhere between trashy and arid, we find these 10 gems - must-reads from the last four decades that cover the world's courts and prisons from every angle.

  • Default-blog-large Criminal justice by the numbers

    The American criminal justice system is a sprawling empire that touches millions of lives across the country. Here are some numbers:

Criminal Justice Editor

Twitter Feed

Te-Ping Chen Te-Ping Chen
Washington, DC

Te-Ping Chen is a Change.org Editor. Most recently, she was a staff reporter for the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. In recent years, her writing has appeared in outlets that include the Nation Magazine, the American Prospect, the South China Morning Post magazine, Le Soir, and Slate.com. She is a U.S. Truman Scholar whose work has shared awards from the Overseas Press Club and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Writers
Matt Kelley Matt Kelley
New Haven, CT

Matt has worked and volunteered in various capacities in criminal justice reform for several years. When he's not blogging, he works as the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project. Views expressed here are Matt's, and don't represent the positions of the Innocence Project.

Andrew Marantz Andrew Marantz
Brooklyn, NY

Andrew Marantz is a 2006 graduate of Brown University and freelance journalist currently living in Brooklyn. Previously, he has worked for the Obama campaign in North Carolina and the Open Planning Project in New York City.

Colin Starger Colin Starger
Brooklyn, NY

Colin is an acting assistant professor of lawyering at New York University School of Law and was a Staff Attorney at the Innocence Project from 2003 to 2007.

Chris Cassidy Chris Cassidy
Washington, DC

Chris is the Assistant Director of Communications at the American Constitution Society. The views expressed here are solely attributable to Chris.

Mike Smith Mike Smith
San Francisco, United Kingdom

Mike Smith is associate editor at Change.org.

close

This user's Profile page is not public. They have restricted it to only their friends.

Already a Member?

Create an Account

You must create a Change.org account to complete this action. If you already have an account click here.

  Cancel