CONSTITUTIONAL & CIVIL RIGHTS / RULE-OF-LAW / REIN IN JUDICIAL IMMUNITY / JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY /

Criminal Law Resources & Reform Groups

11-08-06 --

The Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, founded by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in 1992, is a non-profit legal clinic and criminal justice resource center. We work to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through postconviction DNA testing; and develop and implement reforms to prevent wrongful convictions. This Project only handles cases where post conviction DNA testing can yield conclusive proof of innocence. For more information regarding what we do and what kinds of cases we handle, please click on the Innocence Project tab or visit our FAQ page.

CLICK TO LINK TO THE INNOCENCE PROJECTS BY STATE

AdvoCare, Inc. is a non-profit, membership organization that is part of a national effort to reduce crime through criminal justice reform. AdvoCare is working towards responsible justice through criminal justice reform, strong education and supporting civil rights.

Close Up Foundation  -- The sentence of death has been an accepted form of justice through the ages. Geography, culture, and the passing of time have varied its form, the offenses for which it has been imposed and its recipients. Capital punishment has remained a perennial "hot button" issue; when the average person is asked if he or she supports the death penalty, that person is likely to give a definitive yes or no answer. Therefore, as the national debate continues, it is important to understand how capital punishment has evolved in the United States.

DPIC – Death Penalty Information Center --  The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. The Center was founded in 1990 and prepares in-depth reports, issues press releases, conducts briefings for journalists, and serves as a resource to those working on this issue. The Center is widely quoted and consulted by all those concerned with the death penalty. The Executive Director is Richard C. Dieter, an attorney who has written and spoken extensively on this subject.

Equal Justice USA -- Equal Justice USA is a grassroots project of the Quixote Center that mobilizes and educates ordinary citizens around issues of crime and punishment in the U.S. Our work brings into public focus the racial, economic and political biases that permeate our legal system.

FPPP -- Federal Prison Policy Project -- The mission of Federal Prison Policy Project is to return responsible justice to the judicial system and to seek revision of the current laws by educating the public and examining programs for submission to officials and congressional leaders to achieve changes for a fair and just system.

NCADP - National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty -- Since its inception in 1976, NCADP has been the only fully staffed national organization exclusively devoted to abolishing capital punishment. NCADP provides information, advocates for public policy, and mobilizes and supports individuals and institutions that share our unconditional rejection of capital punishment.

Western Prison Project -- exists to coordinate a progressive response to the criminal justice system, and to build a grassroots, multi-racial movement that achieves prison reform and reduces the over-reliance on incarceration in the western states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and Nevada.

Wrongful Convictions Resources & Reform Groups

The Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, founded by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in 1992, is a non-profit legal clinic and criminal justice resource center. We work to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through postconviction DNA testing; and develop and implement reforms to prevent wrongful convictions. This Project only handles cases where post conviction DNA testing can yield conclusive proof of innocence. For more information regarding what we do and what kinds of cases we handle, please click on the Innocence Project tab or visit our FAQ page.

CLICK TO LINK TO THE INNOCENCE PROJECTS BY STATE

America's Wrongfully Convicted -- We welcome stories, with documentation, to be posted. Please submit them through our contacts. There is also links to some resources posted, and we encourage people to review them for further assistance.

Battle Cry of Innocence -- To battle injustice, with an emphasis on helping to exonerate who have been convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Chasing Justice -- After decades on death row, Kerry Cook had to learn how to live again. A rallying cry for criminal justice reform advocates and death penalty opponents.

Center on Wrongful Convictions -- The staff of the Center on Wrongful Convictions pioneered the investigation and litigation of wrongful convictions — including the cases of eleven innocent men sentenced to death in Illinois. These efforts were a driving force behind both Governor George H. Ryan's decision to suspend executions in Illinois and the current nationwide movement to reform the criminal justice system.

IIPP -- Innocent in Prison Project -- exists to campaign on behalf of all innocent prisoners throughout the United States of America.We are the "Army of the Innocence". We are fighting for justice and our "weapons" are facts. This website has been created to "arm" you. Please, check out our INFORMATION page! Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. Make your voice heard and speak out against injustice!

Injustice System (The)  is hosted by The Castle of Hope for Lost Souls. It is organized for the purpose of finding and exposing corruption in our criminal justice system.  We want to fight for a just criminal justice system where innocent people are not imprisoned and executed.  We want to fight for the innocent victims of the system. We are also fighting against the Death Penalty. MICHIGAN

Justice on Trial -- Formed in May of 2002, Justice On Trial is a non-profit corporation, headquartered in Northern California. We operate a website, www.JusticeOnTrial.org primarily for, but not limited to, the purpose of helping those wrongfully charged with or convicted for crimes in the U.S. -- EMAIL: info@JusticeOnTrial.org

Truth in Justice -- Truth in Justice is an educational non-profit organized to educate the public regarding the vulnerabilities in the U. S. criminal justice system that make the criminal conviction of wholly innocent persons possible.

INNOCENT -- a Christian-based non-profit organization, refers prison inmates and their families to a national network of Innocence organizations following receipt and review of claims of wrongful conviction. Utilizing expertise in the media and in community organization, INNOCENT increases public awareness of legitimate claims of innocence and problems associated with wrongful convictions.

Prison Resources & Reform Groups

Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)  -- s the national voice for fair and proportionate sentencing laws. They shine a light on the human face of sentencing, advocate for state and federal sentencing reform, and mobilize thousands of individuals and families whose lives are adversely affected by unjust sentences. 

Georgia Justice Project -- The Georgia Justice Project is an unlikely mix of lawyers, social workers, and a landscaping company. They defend people accused of crimes and, win or lose, they stand by their clients as they rebuilt their lives. They believe this is the only way to break the cycle of crime and poverty. Email: david@gjp.org

Prisons Foundation Org.-- The Prisons Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting education and the arts behind bars and alternatives to incarceration. . . . In addition to publishing several reference publications and a bimonthly news digest for libraries, prisons, inmates, colleges and individuals throughout the world, we hold prison arts and craft shows around the United States and will soon establish an online Prisons Gallery of Art to showcase and sell the work of inmate artists from all over. / E-mail: Staff@PrisonsFoundation.org

PAPA -- People Against Prison Abuse is an Inmate & Family organization that was formed in 1994. PAPA attempts to provide quality help and assistance for the FAMILIES and FRIENDS of the MEN, WOMEN, and CHILDREN who are presently incarcerated in PRISON Facilities and released on PAROLE/PROBATION. PAPA is primarily concerned with one thing "AWARENESS"!. If we can create a greater "AWARENESS" among the general populace as to exactly what is occurring within the confines of our PRISON SYSTEMS then Positive Reform will not have to be a “goal” but rather a “natural consequence.”

P.A.T.R.I.C.K. Crusade -- The PATRICK CRUSADE consists of a group of people committed to making a peaceful change in the policies and procedures that direct the actions of those responsible for operating our courts and our State and Federal prison systems. Our efforts are directed at educating those who are unaware of the injustices and human rights abuses that occur in these systems everyday all across the country. The PATRICK CRUSADE is aware, from firsthand experience, of the extent and viciousness of these abuses.

SPR -- Stop Prisoner Rape -- SPR seeks to end sexual violence committed against men, women, and youth in all forms of detention. -- "The horrors experienced by many young inmates, particularly those who are convicted of nonviolent offenses, border on the unimaginable. Prison rape not only threatens the lives of those who fall prey to their aggressors, but it is potentially devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and a shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual terror the victim thereafter must endure." -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Farmer v. Brennan

Unjust Sentences for First Time Non-Violent Offenders

WE BELIEVE GROUP --  A group of concerned citizens, supporting and helping ALL NON-VIOLENT 1ST TIME OFFENDERS in the prison system. Today, prisoners are serving harsh unjust sentences, in a system, that is failing not only them, but YOU also.

The Two Million Signature Campaign

We are shooting for over 2,000,000 signatures
on the LERA petition!

http://www.petitiononline.com/LERA/petition.html

That is one signature for every person
incarcerated in the United States!

http://www.petitiononline.com/LERA/petition.html

H.R.4752

Title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to award credit toward the service of a sentence to prisoners who participate in designated educational, vocational, treatment, assigned work, or other developmental programs, and for other purposes.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:h.r.04752:

Help make this a reality!

http://www.petitiononline.com/LERA/petition.html

Pass it on!

For up to date details on the campaign, go to:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LERAlegislation/

SPREAD THE WORD!

www.advocareflash.org

www.fppp.org

www.vacure.org

"The laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy."
-- John Quincy Adams  (1767-1848) 6th US President --

"One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws, but conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
-- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), US civil rights leader --