While the criminal legal system treats “victims” + “people who commit crimes” as separate groups, the reality is the opposite: “90-95% of people who get arrested and convicted of a crime were a victim before.”
If victims were actually helped after surviving crime, it would go a long way in preventing future harm, says advocate Lenore Anderson in her new book.
New: Alameda County, California is the first in the US to pass a law banning landlords from conducting criminal background checks on prospective tenants.
NEW article from me: An elderly woman in California prison has Parkinson's, dementia + major memory loss.
Despite her diagnoses, CA keeps denying her parole because she's "manipulative," "lacks insight" + struggles to speak.
My story on Janet Carter, 69, and a growing crisis of the elderly denied freedom in CA:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/19/california-elderly-prison-losing-memory-release