After a successful legislative session, Just Liberty has a lot going on this summer and, thanks to you and other supporters, we’re continuing to have an impact on the terms of debate surrounding criminal justice in Texas. But we need to keep the momentum going, and prepare for the battles to come.
Just last week, we launched a new campaign aimed at the Texas Department of Public Safety seeking a rules change to disallow most arrests for Class C misdemeanors for which the maximum punishment is a fine. Go here to send a message to DPS if you haven’t done so already.
In the coming weeks, we’ll also be advocating for best practices as the Texas Commission on Jail Standards implements rules to implement the Sandra Bland Act. And this fall, we’ll be launching a statewide campaign aimed at limiting use of debtors’ prison practices by the judiciary.
To keep up with these issues and all the other important criminal-justice news, I hope you’ll check out Just Liberty’s podcast featuring our Policy Director Scott Henson and Amanda Marzullo, executive director of the Texas Defender Service. The title of the podcast is “Reasonably Suspicious,” and we’re conducting a soft launch over the summer to work out the kinks out before promoting it widely beginning in September. Go here to listen to the podcast, or you can access it through YouTube or SoundCloud. I think you’ll especially enjoy the new music created for the program by some of the most talented musicians in Texas. It really made the podcast pop!
Finally, Just Liberty now has three full-time employees, up from one and two part-timers when we started. I’m now onboard full-time to help our Policy Director manage our email campaigns, and our executive director Shakira Pumphrey is now with Just Liberty full-time, moving over after sharing time between Just Liberty and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition during the legislative session. We’re all very excited and proud to be engaged in this work.
Thanks for supporting Just Liberty and until next time, take action, listen to our podcast, follow our Policy Director on his blog, Grits for Breakfast, like us on Facebook, and take every opportunity you can to support criminal-justice reform in Texas. We have a long way to go, but with your help we can accomplish big things!