In America, nearly one out of every three black men in their twenties is in jail or prison, on probation or parole, or otherwise under criminal justice control. Black men are eight times more likely to be incarcerated than white men. Without reform, it is estimated that 40% of the black male population in the State of Alabama will permanently lose the right to vote as the result of a criminal conviction.
During the last 30 years, mass incarceration policies have devastated poor and minority communities. Disenfranchisement of offenders and the erection of permanent barriers for employment and re-entry have created a growing underclass of largely poor people.
EJI is committed to challenging racially discriminatory policies, sentencing, and tactics that have made mass imprisonment a crisis in many communities of color. Indigent defense reform and providing legal assistance to the poor is vital to alleviate the problems caused by unfair criminal justice policies. EJI addresses these issues through education, community outreach efforts, litigation, and policy reform.
News
March 25, 2008On March 17, 2008, EJI asked the United States Supreme Court to review the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals' decision denying relief to Eli Crawford, an Alabama inmate serving a life sentence for attempted murder. At his Birmingham trial, Mr. Crawford's court-appointed trial lawyer did not object when the judge forced Mr. Crawford to wear jail-issued clothing instead of the clothes his family brought for him, even though the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a defendant's right to be presumed innocent is violated when he is forced to attend trial in a jail uniform.
March 25, 2008EJI is appealing the conviction of Marsha Colby, a Baldwin County woman convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole for the death of her newborn son, despite strong evidence that the baby was stillborn.
February 21, 2008A new film by Irish filmmakers on race and the death penalty is now available from EJI. "Death in Dixie," featuring former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and EJI clients and staff, explores race and the criminal justice system and profiles three Alabama death penalty cases involving wrongful convictions. Click here to
watch the preview. Copies of the 28-minute film are available for
purchase from EJI.September 13, 2007The Equal Justice Initiative has recently undertaken a major effort to challenge racial bias in jury selection throughout the United States. In communities across America, racial minorities are significantly underrepresented on criminal trial juries as a result of jury selection procedures that are racially biased and discriminatory. Although federal law in this area is well-established, because of the inherently difficult task of proving exclusion of racial minorities from jury service, there is still much progress to be made in this area.
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