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 […]
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 Colleen Chien, Founder of the Paper Prisons Initiative On June 19, 1865, US soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas – the last corner of the Confederacy – to announce that the Civil War had ended and that enslaved Americans were now free. In the two years prior, slave owners quietly and strategically delayed the news
With the start of the new year, Paper Prisons has posted research reports on the “second chance gap” in expungement remedies offered under the laws of Maryland, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Kentucky. We find that in each state, only a fraction of people eligible for relief are getting it. We further estimate the number of people
Kansas is considering legislation to end debt-driven driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines, fees and court costs. It is estimated that over 127,000 Kansas drivers licenses are currently suspended due to failure to appear in traffic court due to unpaid fines, fees, and court costs. These suspensions are often an extension of the debt collection
The 2023 Legislative session is in full swing and Paper Prisons has produced research that has been cited in several ongoing campaigns. Below we highlight key findings from our reports on the “second chance gap” in expungement remedies offered under the laws of Missouri, Oregon, Illinois, Texas, Minnesota, and New York: A summary of the
On Apr. 1, 2023, the Sentencing Law & Policy Blog highlighted “Proving Actionable Racial Disparity Under the California Racial Justice Act“. Link to Article
Last April, members of the Paper Prisons Initiative of Santa Clara University, founded by Prof. Colleen Chien, submitted a research paper to the International Journal on Advances in Internet Technology journal. The research paper focused on the development of the Reentry ID tool that guides the state ID application process. The research paper was accepted