Millions Denied Voting Rights in Midterms Due to Felony Convictions
A new report released by The Sentencing Project estimates that 4.6 million people (one in every 50 adults) are barred from voting in the 2022 midterms due to a felony conviction. Most of these people have completed their sentences or are on probation or parole. You can find the report here. Key findings are on […]
PYP Facilitator Highlight: Jennifer Bourgeois
Jennifer Bourgeois, Ph.D., a member of the PYP Facilitator Community, recently wrote a blog post for the Black Yoga Teacher’s Association (BYTA), sharing her goal to provide accessible wellness programs to system-impacted people in Houston! She is a professor of criminal justice and provides yoga to incarcerated pregnant and postpartum women. BYTA was kind enough […]
Yoga for Youth and Correctional Staff in 2022
I can understand how easy it might be to feel discouraged or even outraged right now with our society so divided. I have a reason to hope, though. Since I began offering yoga in the youth detention center in Little Rock, Arkansas, I’ve witnessed our participants and staff come together in our practices with shared […]
Demonstrating the Impact and Importance of Our Work
For those who don’t know me, my name is Nicole Hellthaler, and I am PYP’s Assistant Director. I live in Little Rock, Arkansas, where I offer yoga to youth and adults at county detention centers. Since I began working with PYP in 2018, I’ve always been impressed that our leadership team also brings yoga inside. […]
A New Lease on Life – People Convicted of Violent Crimes Are Rarely Rearrested for New Violent Crimes
Analysis from a new report by the Sentencing Project, released June 30, 2021, show most state-level studies show that people who are released from life sentences are imprisoned for new offenses at a rate of less than 5%. For more information on these statistics, the history of racism and criminal punishment, and America’s exceptionalism in […]
Raising the Age Without Expanding Secure Confinement in the Youth Justice System
Over the past decade, great strides have been taken to reduce the number of youth incarcerated and to address the racial disparity in the youth justice system. The following report highlights the states that implemented legislation that returned teens under 18 back to the youth justice system. Critics of this type of policy said this […]
The Landscape of Youth Incarceration
This summer, PYP will turn our attention to a series of webinars focused on youth yoga programming, as we anticipate a return inside soon to in-person programs. I will be the guest for the first webinar to share my experiences as an educator and a current yoga facilitator for youth incarcerated at the juvenile detention […]
Quintin Jones Is Not Innocent. But He Doesn’t Deserve to Die.
Quintin Jones was sentenced to death for the murder of his Great Aunt in 1999, committed when he was under the influence of drugs. His family has forgiven him and opposes the execution. This opinion piece is written by Suleika Jaouad, who shares written correspondence and friendship with Quintin. She makes the case for his […]
Youth Justice News
The Sentencing Project recently released an update on their fight for youth justice. They are devoting increased time and energy to address racial disparities and protect children from the most extreme elements of the adult criminal legal system. This link provides information for specific states and their youth incarceration policies that passed, failed to pass, […]
