Integrity In Justice website raising awareness in the community about concerns in the criminal justice system in America

PLEASE NOTE : THIS SITE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION

"The law and its instruments are shapers; they can be used to eliminate injustice or to sustain it."
"The law masks an extraordinary amount of cruelty. You have to find ways to penetrate it."

Recipient of the 1995 Presidential Medal of Freedom - Judge A. Leon Higginbotham Jr.

Welcome to this site!

There is much work undertaken by many individuals and organizations to raise awareness of social justice issues, especially those involving the American criminal justice system. Most of the work is focused on advocacy for the wrongly accused, particularly those already convicted and serving life or on death row. This site appreciates the great work already being done and does not in anyway attempt to reduce the impact of these individuals and organizations, nor their causes. Not does this site attempt to duplicate those efforts. Instead this site has been established to raise awareness of the following issues which impact our communities:

the alarming rate of arrests in our communities, particularly of the young, the mentally ill and those coming from lower socio-economic backgrounds and committing non-violent crime.
the disparities in charging and sentencing.
the ever increasing building program for correctional programs/facilities which are often privatized (jails, prisons, detention centers, police, probation, etc)
the real consequences of an "arrest" record - lack of job, housing and study options (often leading to homelessness and/or a lifetime of crime)
the lack of transparency in police and prosecutor misconduct cases
the absence of public debate when it comes to counties/cities contributing a component of the (public's) property taxes to fund an ever expanding criminal justice system rather than other suitable alternatives

While accepting that there are many good people managing our criminal justice system, there are real concerns that we do have some in law enforcement and across the criminal justice system who do abuse their power and authority. These issues are not new. The very people who have been entrusted to safeguard our communities are at times also the people we must now fear because they are not always fair in the way they arrest, charge and sentence, particularly those that are marginalized in our society - the young, the mentally ill and the poor.

Our young people in particular suffer a huge disadvantage in the current criminal justice system. Most will agree that drinking and partying were almost a right of passage for young adolescents in the 1950’s, 1960’s and even the 1970’s era. Yet today, the young of that era who are now in position of power speak of zero tolerance and throw today’s young generation into jail with arrest records for non violent crime, most often as a direct result of rebellious years and/or a combination of alcohol and drug use. Some of these young people are denied jobs, housing and access to some colleges (and college housing); some are denied visas to go abroad to study, volunteer or work - i.e. a lifetime of failure (and shaming) rather than access to successful rehabilitation in return for dropping charges in cases where crimes are of a non violent nature. Please continue to read the various sections of this site. Wake up America, we need to do more!

CLICK HERE to read more on
"Issues in the Criminal Justice System"

Mission Statement

To raise awareness in the community about concerns in the Criminal Justice System....
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Volunteers

Volunteer now to help move our criminal justice system to a fairer system for all.
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Our Profile

Find out more about who we are and why we do what we do. Also more about funding
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"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
US President, John F. Kennedy

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Indian Political Leader - Mahatma Gandhi