The Center in the News
Baker: Incarcerating parents yields worse outcomes for them and their kids
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Barbara Baker, CWIT Advocacy Director
May 6, 2021
This legislative session, Republican Rep. David Evans of West Plains filed a bill that, if passed, would profoundly impact the lives of women involved with the criminal justice system and their families.
The legislation, House Bill 531, instructs judges to consider the effect on dependent children before sentencing a mother, father or other primary caretaker convicted of a nonviolent crime to prison. Judges would then consider whether a community-based sentence that allows for convicted parents or caretakers to continue supporting their children is in the interests of the children and the community.....Keep Reading
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
By Barbara Baker, CWIT Advocacy Director
May 6, 2021
This legislative session, Republican Rep. David Evans of West Plains filed a bill that, if passed, would profoundly impact the lives of women involved with the criminal justice system and their families.
The legislation, House Bill 531, instructs judges to consider the effect on dependent children before sentencing a mother, father or other primary caretaker convicted of a nonviolent crime to prison. Judges would then consider whether a community-based sentence that allows for convicted parents or caretakers to continue supporting their children is in the interests of the children and the community.....Keep Reading
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Messenger: SLU, other nonprofits line up to take over federal re-entry program from troubled Dismas House
St. Louis Post-Dispatch By Tony Messenger August 14, 2020 John Bowman was doing double duty. It was July 15, and the president of the St. Louis County branch of the NAACP was speaking to a couple dozen folks at Wellston City Hall, talking about community re-entry for people who have come out of federal prison. “We cannot just throw people away,” Bowman said. The message was similar earlier in the day when he spoke at a news conference in Clayton at which he called for an investigation into a jail captain’s use of a stun gun to subdue Black inmates. The alleged abuse followed several deaths at the St. Louis County Jail during the administrations of former County Executive Steve Stenger and current County Executive Sam Page.....Keep Reading Tracy Stanton: Closure is in sight for the workhouse. Now the real work begins
St. Louis Post-Dispatch By Tracy Stanton July 20, 2020 Legislation to close the workhouse is moving forward, creating a historic opportunity for St. Louis to begin addressing our social problems at their root. That’s because closing the workhouse is about more than just a jail. It’s about a history of unjust and racist policies. From policing to segregation, those policies concentrated poverty and trauma in our city. The solution to the inevitable outcome of those policies was to lock up people like me....Keep Reading |
St. Louis Activist Wants More Formerly Incarcerated People To Have The Right To Vote
St. Louis Public Radio By Marissanne Lewis-Thompson August 11, 2020 St. Louis activists are working to reach out to groups that historically have been disenfranchised from the electoral process. In Missouri, 60,000 people on parole or probation are not allowed to vote. Tracy Stanton, a lead organizer for EX-incarcerated People Organizing, is working to break down that barrier with the Unlock the Vote campaign. Stanton, who also was incarcerated, spoke with St. Louis Public Radio’s Marissanne Lewis-Thompson about how the voting process works for formerly incarcerated people......Listen to the Podcast SLU, Collins Honored for Work with Ex-Offenders
Saint Louis University News By Amelia Flood April 26, 2020 The Center for Women in Transition, a St. Louis organization dedicated to supporting women ex-offenders post-incarceration, have honored Saint Louis University and Christopher Collins, S.J., assistant to the president for mission and identity, for SLU's work helping people make new lives beyond prison......Keep Reading |
Stacy Lannert
All the Wiser Podcast Interview by Kimi Culp July 24, 2020 On July 4th, 1990, 18-year-old Stacey Lannert shot and killed her father, who had been sexually abusing her since she was eight. She was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentence to life without parole: Missouri state law, a disbelieving prosecutor and Stacey's own vulnerable state-of-mind all conspired against her. This harrowing real-life story of survival takes many twists and turns and is as dramatic as any movie. It is devastating, important subject matter and exquisitely told by a brave woman committed to justice for herself and all of man-kind.....Listen to the Podcast Missouri bills would restore voting rights to 60,000 former inmates
KSDK, Local News By Kelsi Anderson February 12, 2020 Voting rights supporters are rallying in Jefferson City Wednesday to in a fight to give voting rights to 60,000 Missourians on parole or probation. Two proposed companion bills are currently in committee at the Missouri State Capitol. Senate Bill 542 is sponsored by Rep. Rasheen Aldridge and House Bill 1780 is sponsored by Sen. Jamilah Nasheed. If the bills were signed into law, they would restore voting rights to convicted felons who have served their time, allowing them to vote while on probation or parole. The bills would not restore voting rights to people who are currently incarcerated......Keep Reading |
