by Peter Wagner, April 26, 2009
Keith Richburg covers our work exposing prison-based gerrymandering in the Washington Post: Before Census, a Debate Over Prisoners.
by Peter Wagner, March 20, 2009
Brian Stimson of The Skanner writes about Oregon Rep. Chip Shield’s bill to fix the flawed Census counts of prisoners in Prison Communities: Representation is Not Created Equal: Bill would end gerrymandering in sparsely populated communities
by Peter Wagner, March 12, 2009
I wrote this op-ed for the Valley Advocate on March 12, 2009.
One out of every three Massachusetts school zone convictions is in Hampden County [see “Urban Penalty,” Feb. 26, 2009]. The law requires judges to give a mandatory two-year sentence to anyone convicted of certain drug offenses within 1,000 feet of a school. The one-size-fits-all law prohibits judges from giving more appropriate sentences to minor offenders who pose no risk to children. The state can ill afford a law that disproportionately incarcerates Black and Latino minor drug offenders for long sentences without affording children any extra protection.
The state legislature is considering reforming the school zone law, but Hampden County District Attorney Bill Bennett can take action today. The law gives prosecutors the discretion to look at the facts and decide whether or not an enhanced penalty is appropriate. Hampden County seeks the school zone sentencing enhancement in all cases where it could apply. Justice would be better served if District Attorney Bennett brought his prosecutions in line with the rest of the state. Hampden County is only a small part of the state and should not be taking up such a large portion of the state’s prison and jail cells.
Peter Wagner
Executive Director, Prison Policy Initiative
by Peter Wagner, March 11, 2009
The Valley Advocate prints Executive Director Peter Wagner’s letter to the editor pointing out that 1 out of every 3 school zone convictions in Massachusetts come from Hampden County. The legislature is considering reform, but District Attorney Bennett can take positive action today, simply by bringing his prosecutions in line with the rest of the state.
by Peter Wagner, February 26, 2009
Andrew Beveridge includes the Census Bureau’s prison miscount on his list of big issues for the 2010 Census and cites our advocacy in his article New York and the Fight Over the 2010 Census in the Gotham Gazette.
by Peter Wagner, February 25, 2009
Maureen Turner covers our sentencing enhancement zone reports Geography of Punishment and Reaching Too Far on the cover of this week’s Valley Advocate: Urban Penalty: Do drug-free school zones unfairly target cities and people of color?
by Peter Wagner, February 19, 2009
St. John Barned-Smith writes about our new report Reaching too Far, Coming up Short: How Large Sentencing-Enhancement Zones Miss the Mark in the Bay State Banner: Mass. sentencing laws not doing the job.
by Peter Wagner, February 11, 2009
Chris Faraone writes about our new report Reaching too Far, Coming up Short: How Large Sentencing-Enhancement Zones Miss the Mark in the Boston Phoenix: You’re Probably in a Drug-Free School Zone Right Now: For all the good it does.
by Peter Wagner, February 6, 2009
Brent Staples cites our research and calls on the Census Bureau to stop fueling prison-based gerrymandering in a post on the New York Times editorial writers’ blog: The Census: Phantom Constituents.
by Peter Wagner, February 6, 2009
Matt Kelley features our map of Hampden County, MA sentencing enhancement zones as the Monday map on Change.org. The post goes on to talk about our new report Reaching too far, coming up short: How large sentencing enhancement zones miss the mark.
States fall far short of their duty to meet the health needs of incarcerated people.
The bail industry exploits cracks and loopholes in the legal system to avoid accountability, while growing its profits.
Criminal justice policy in every region of the United States is out of step with the rest of the world.
We are leading the movement to protect our democracy from the Census Bureau's prison miscount.
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