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Common Justice: Responding to Violence Without Incarceration

With the 2020 Democratic presidential primary heating up, we are already seeing criminal justice as one of the most controversial and important issues in progressive circles. 

While it is not uncommon for progressives to talk about reform and ending incarceration for non-violent convictions, we do not hear much about changing our approach to violent crime, which accounts for over half of the incarcerated population in state prisons. But the fact is that to achieve a truly just system, we must address violent crime. Common Justice is doing just that.

The core mission of Common Justice is to respond to violence without incarceration. The organization works directly with victims to find solutions that break cycles of violence and secure healing. Common Justice believes that no justice can come from incarceration, as incarceration recreates and reinforces cycles of violence. The answer to what the alternative to incarceration is isn’t easy, but Common Justice has already been successful in finding community-based solutions that ensure accountability while considering racial equity and the innate oppressiveness of the American punitive system.

Common Justice Executive Director Danielle Sered joined us on the podcast to discuss abolition politics, restorative justice, the prison-industrial complex, and more. Listen on iTunes or in your browser below: