By Adriana R., Age 17 My name is Adriana, and I am a 17-year-old African American child from Riverside County, California. I have never seen my father face to face… When I was still in my mother’s belly, my father was arrested for a case that would forever impact my life and upbringing. On December […]
By Ryan Flaco Rising, a PhD student at UC Irvine My name is Ryan Flaco Rising, and I am empowered by the Racial Justice Act to stand up against the injustices of a racist system that has manipulated our judicial system to uphold white supremacy. Being labeled as a documented gang member, I have experienced
By Shaunak Chaudhary, a Master’s Graduate in Computer Science from Santa Clara University and a member of the Paper Prisons tech team. As an international student from India studying in California, my journey in the United States has been a mix of excitement, opportunities, and challenges. One of the most significant challenges has been navigating
By Esther Wolczynski, CEO of Checkmate My name is Esther Wolczynski, and I’m honored to lead the work of the non-profit agency CheckMate as the CEO. Our mission is to enhance individuals’ quality of life and increase accessibility to resources by providing safe, inclusive, and uplifting experiences for all families in San Joaquin County. Our
By Chesa Boudin, Executive Director of the UC Berkeley Criminal Law and Justice Center I’ve been face-to-face with the racial disparities in the criminal legal system my whole life. When I was 14 months old, my parents, both White, were arrested and, later, sentenced to decades of incarceration. My earliest memories are of waiting in
By Alonzo Harvey, a rising senior at University of California Berkeley majoring in political science My name is Alonzo Harvey, a 37-year-old father of three and a rising senior at Berkeley, where I major in political science and minor in public policy. I am a Berkeley Underground Scholar and a member of the Paper Prisons
Anonymous, a warrant officer in the U.S. Military I am an African American woman from California actively serving in the U.S. Military overseas. However, my nephew, who is 53 years old, is currently in year 17 of a life sentence under California’s Three Strike Law in Alameda County. Before his current term, my nephew was
Anonymous As a White woman with no criminal record, my testimonial here is far from intuitive; however, I am sharing my story as a victim impacted by the racism inherent in the justice system. When I was 19 years old, I was violently raped by someone I had dated when I was 13. This man
By Akhil Raj, lead engineer on the Racial Justice Act Tool A year ago, I embarked on an incredible journey that has significantly shaped my professional and personal aspirations. I joined the Paper Prisons team, driven by a passion for justice and a commitment to leveraging technology for societal betterment. My inspiration to do so
We are excited to announce that the beta version of our new tool for exploring racial disparities in the criminal justice system under the California Racial Justice Act (CRJA) is now live at rja.paperprisons.org! You can start using the tool immediately to access and analyze data on arrests, charges, convictions, and sentencing across counties in California. Please
By Alonzo Harvey, Paper Prisons Expert Advisor As a formerly incarcerated advocate and member of the Paper Prisons team, I’ve seen exactly where the justice system fails the people trapped inside it. I’ve worked on Racial Justice Act (RJA) teams, and one truth is clear: incarcerated individuals cannot fight racial bias in their cases without
By Alonzo Harvey and Colleen V. Chien Examples of Letters received by the Paper Prisons Initiative The Judicial Council of California is proposing, as described in its invitation to comment W26-05, to change Form HC-001, the official Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus used in California courts. Form HC-001 is a form that can be
By Colleen V. Chien, Founder, Paper Prisons Initiative and Professor, Berkeley Law School One in three adults has a criminal record. As such, one of the most important and unresolved questions in criminal justice policy is whether people can move beyond their past records and re-integrate into society. The evidence suggests that they can —
New year, new partnership, with the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office, on “Digital Juneteenth” initiatives. While California’s “Clean Slate” laws automate record expungement, many individuals remain unaware they’ve been cleared. Drawing inspiration from the spirit of Juneteenth—where freedom required awareness to be realized—in 2024, Paper Prisons launched a “Digital Juneteenth” research initiative to address
By Colleen V. Chien, Founder, Paper Prisons Initiative and Professor, Berkeley Law School What do the Supreme Court’s landmark civil rights decisions have in common with the rescue of Healthcare.gov or the delivery of effective digital services during the COVID pandemic? Each transformed the lives of millions of Americans—and each was made possible, in part,
By Audrey Im, Berkeley CS ‘23 grad, Paper Prisons research associate, Shreya Shankar, Berkeley CS PhD candidate The California Racial Justice Act provides a mechanism for defendants (and the convicted) to challenge a charge, conviction, or sentence if it is sought or obtained in a racially disparate manner. Paper Prisons’ RJA data tool provides data
At least 10M Americans have lost their licenses for reasons unrelated to driving. What is the impact of reforming license suspension practices and restoring licenses to drivers? Using CPS data and a staggered diff-in-diff design, our new working paper suggests an unexpected payoff – measurable increases in state-wide employment when reforms are of high-quality and
By Alivia Dawson, 2nd year undergrad student, Berkeley The Paper Prisons Initiative recently presented our Racial Justice Act (RJA) tool, forthcoming “Digital Juneteenth” expungement notification campaign with the Santa Clara Public Defender, and how AI tools can be leveraged to increase access to justice, before hundreds of public defenders during a webinar on Technological Developments
Nearly all white defendants were given the chance at parole. Nearly all Black defendants were not SAN DIEGO, Ca. (KPBS) – When Laila Aziz moved back to San Diego, the names on everyone’s lips were Brian Mason and Thabiti Wilson, the younger brothers of people she grew up with. They were both convicted of robbery
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS) — On February 5, a coalition of Illinois leaders, advocates, and community members gathered at the Illinois State Capitol Building Rotunda to rally support for the Clean Slate Bill. This legislation aims to modernize the state’s record-sealing system by replacing the outdated petition-based model with an automated system. The bill seeks to remove