“There’s a difference between those inmates we’re ‘mad at’ and those we fear. Let’s release and help assimilate into society those who we can, and let’s humanely work with those that we fear while they’re inside the criminal justice system.”
~Peter Ninemire
FAMM: Families Against Mandatory Minimums
FAMM’s mission is to create a more fair and effective justice system that respects our American values of individual accountability and dignity while keeping our communities safe. This organization was instrumental in my early release.
NIDA: National Institute of Drug Addiction
Principles of Drug Abuse Treatment for Criminal Justice Populations – A Research-Based Guide | https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-abuse-treatment-criminal-justice-populations/principles
Reaching Out from Within (ROFW)
Reaching Out From Within, Inc. (ROFW) supports prison rehabilitation programs for inmates who want to make lasting changes in their behavior so they can become a role model for non-violence, while still in a penitentiary, and also be contributing members of society when they return to society. ROFW has been supporting prison rehabilitation programs since 1982.
Equal Justice Initiative
Fighting poverty and challenging racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.
- TED Talk: We need to talk about injustice by Bryan Stevenson| | March 2012
- CBS Ted Talk: Charlie Rose interview Bryan Stevenson | https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-talks-60-minutes-charlie-rose-2/?authenticated=1 | August 9, 2015
T.R.U.E.
Connecticut’s Cheshire Correctional Institution has a program that reimagines incarceration for young men aged 18-25. Inspired by the German approach to incarceration based on rehabilitation, not punishment, the name is an acronym for Truthfulness (to oneself and others), Respectfulness (toward the community), Understanding (ourselves and what brought us here), and Elevating (into success).
- The Marshall Project: The Connecticut Experiment | https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/05/08/the-connecticut-experiment | May 8, 2018
- CBS 60 Minutes: German-style program at a Connecticut maximum security prison emphasizes rehab for inmates | https://www.cbsnews.com/news/german-style-true-program-at-cheshire-correctional-institution-emphasizes-rehab-for-inmates-60-minutes/ | March 21, 2019
Vera Institute of Justice
Vera’s mission is to drive change. To urgently build and improve justice systems that ensure fairness, promote safety, and strengthen communities. Check out the state trends in incarceration.
- Total Number of People in County Jails and State Prisons, 2015 | https://www.vera.org/publications/state-incarceration-trends
- Dispatches from T.R.U.E. | https://www.vera.org/blog/dispatches-from-t-r-u-e
Portugal
The Guardian: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working. Why hasn’t the world copied it? | December 5, 2017
Time, Inc: Want to Win the War on Drugs? Portugal Might Have the Answer | August 1, 2018
Stay safe and be strong.
~~Peter