South Carolina Justice Alliance (SCJA)
Purpose of SCJA:
- Making our criminal-legal environment more equitable, just, and fair for everyone in society.
- To achieve the deep and sustainable reforms we all desire in the criminal-legal system that we have been unable to accomplish on our own as separate organizations.
Goals/Vision:
We hope we can make what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and later President Barack Obama have described as “the arc of the moral universe,” actually bend towards justice in South Carolina.
What does that mean in real terms?
Here are some of the issues we view as our top priorities for reform long term:
- Sentencing
- Parole
- Economic barriers to re-entry including:
-
- Ban the Box
- Expungement laws
- Occupational licensing
-
At the same time, we will need to address criminal-legal issues that arise during the legislative session, such as bail reform or civil asset forfeiture. Sometimes this will entail fighting against the passage of bad bills, and other times it will require proposing better alternatives.
What do we provide for members of SCJA?
- We will be your eyes and ears at the Statehouse during legislative session, providing weekly legislative updates via email.
- We will spotlight upcoming subcommittee and committee hearings and identify opportunities for members and the public to provide testimony.
- We will provide periodic trainings on issues such as:
- How the legislative process works in South Carolina
- How to testify in the most effective manner
- Root & Rebound
- SC Appleseed Legal Justice – Bridget Brown
- SC Americans for Prosperity – Candace Carroll
- Project Not a Statistic (NAS) – Hameen Shabazz
Organizations that we collaborate with:
- South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (SCACDL)
- South Carolinians Against the Death Penalty (SCADP)
- Hearts for Inmates
- Catholic Diocese of Charleston
- Justice 360
- South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice
- Root & Rebound
- Americans for Prosperity (AFP) of South Carolina
- Black Liberation Fund (BLF)
- Project Not a Statistic (NAS)
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina
- Sisters of Charity
- South Carolina Office of Indigent Defense (SCCID)
- Path to Redemption
- Project Renew
- Turn Ninety
- South Carolina For Criminal Justice Reform (SC4CJR)
- Serve and Connect
- University of South Carolina Assistant Professor Madalyn Wasilczuk (also Director of USC Juvenile Justice Clinic)
- Jump Start
- South Carolina Advocacy for Incarcerated Individuals
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