Jessica S. Henry

Reducing Severe Sentences

Some academics and policy makers have begun to challenge the use of severe sentences not only for nonviolent offenders but also for all offenders. The call for an across-the-board reduction in severe sentences reflects several basic truths: Severe sentences are a significant driver of both increased incarceration rates and increases in the absolute number of people in prison. Severe sentences carry staggering financial and social costs with millions of dollars expended on sustaining mass incarceration policies that have decimated poor communities of color. Severe sentences are not always necessary or effective in meeting punishment goals such as retribution, deterrence, or incapacitation; nor are they aligned with human rights, human dignity, or international punishment norms.

Closing the legal services gap in prisoner reentry programs

Formerly incarcerated individuals face significant legal barriers as they seek to reenter society. The legal barriers include preclusion from public housing and public assistance, licensing prohibitions and employment prohibitions. This article examines the data from major reentry initiatives to determine whether the legal needs of formerly incarcerated individuals are being met. The data suggest that reentry programs do not adequately address the legal needs of their clients. This article then examines the potential for partnership between reentry programs and existing legal service providers in an effort to close the legal services gap in reentry.

Virtual Life Sentences: An Exploratory Study:

Virtual life sentences are sentences with a term of years that exceed an individual’s natural life expectancy. This exploratory study is one of the first to collect data that establish the existence, prevalence, and scope of virtual life sentences in state prisons in the United States. Initial data reveal that more than 31,000 people in 26 states are serving virtual life sentences for violent and nonviolent offenses, and suggest racial disparities in the distribution of these sentences. This study also presents potential policy implications and suggestions for future research.

Promoting the Study of Wrongful Convictions in Criminal Justice Curricula

Criminal justice education promotes interdisciplinary learning, critical thinking skills, and ethical decision making. A course on wrongful convictions falls squarely within that paradigm, as it draws upon criminology, criminal justice, law, psychology, and forensic science to examine basic assumptions about the criminal justice system and the actors within it. In a wrongful convictions course, students learn to think critically about the criminal justice system, and what happens when it fails to function as it should. Students identify practice and policy reforms that improve the accuracy and reliability of the system. This article first considers the broad objectives of criminal justice education. It next situates the subject of wrongful convictions squarely within criminal justice education curricula. Finally, this article provides a comprehensive overview of an effective undergraduate course in wrongful convictions. It sets out clear goals, learning units, and potential resources for members of the academy who might be interested in developing such a course.

When Poverty Is the Worst Crime of All A Film Review of Gideon’s Army (2013)

This review of the Sundance Award-winning documentary film, Gideon’s Army, examines the disparate impact of the criminal justice system on the poor and, particularly, poor people of color.