The Ten Best Black Books of 2014, by Kam Williams: The Justice Imperative Makes Honorable Mention.

Progressive Prison Project

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

The Ten Best Black Books of 2014, by Kam Williams: The Justice Imperative Makes “Honorable Mention.”

We are pleased to announce that The Justice Imperative has received an Honorable Mention on Kam Williams’ Top Ten Black Books of 2014 List. Kam’s column is syndicated to over 100 newspapers & blogs around the country. Thank you Kam & Thank you Babz! Babz Rawls Ivy & I serve as Online Editors (blog & social media) for this important new book, The Justice Imperative. Click image above for link to: thejusticeinitiative.org/blogs and to amazon.com to purchase your copy. – Jeff

1. Justice While Black: Helping African-American Families Navigate
and Survive the Criminal Justice System
by Robbin Shipp, Esq. and Nick Chiles
2. An Obama’s Journey: My Odyssey of Self-Discovery across Three Cultures
by Mark Obama Ndesandjo
3. Who We Be: The Colorization of America
by Jeff Chang
4. Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black
by Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-SC)
Foreword by Alfre Woodard
5. Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina
by Misty Copeland
6. One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future
by Dr. Ben Carson and Candy Carson
7. Finding Your Roots
by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
8. What the Word Be: Why Black English Is the King’s (James) English
by Diane Proctor Reeder
9. Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Final Year
by Tavis Smiley
with David Ritz
10. Culture Worrier: Reflections on Race, Politics and Social Change
by Clarence Page
Honorable Mention
The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream by Brian E. Moran, Esq.
Why Vegan is the New Black
by Deborrah Cooper
The Lawyer as Leader: How to Plant People and Grow Justice
by Dr. Artika R. Tyner
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
by Bryan Stevenson
Stokely: A Life
by Peniel E. Joseph
Brown Girl Dreaming
by Jacqueline Woodson
The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching Crusader
by Ida B. Wells
Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Mia Bay
General Editor: Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The Rise
Creativity, the Gift of Failure, and the Search for Mastery
by Sarah Lewis
Success through Stillness: Meditation Made Simple
by Russell Simmons
The Imperfect Marriage
Help for Those Who Think It’s Over
by Darryl and Tracy Strawberry
Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story… and Why It Matters Today
by Edouard Kayihura and Kerry Zukus
Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy
Mother, and Still Came out Smiling (with Great Hair)
by Rosie Perez
The Global Obama: Crossroads of Leadership in the 21st Century
Edited by Dinesh Sharma and Uwe P. Gielen
Black and White: The Way I See It
by Richard Williams
Transforming Pain to Power: Unlock Your Unlimited Potential
by Daniel Beaty
Story/Time: The Life of an Idea
by Bill T. Jones
Place, Not Race: A New Vision of Opportunity in America
by Sheryll Cashin
Old School Adventures from Englewood–South Side of Chicago
by Elaine Hegwood Bowen
The Man from Essence
by Edward Lewis with Audrey Edwards
Foreword by Camille O. Cosby
Nine Lives of a Black Panther: A Story of Survival
by Wayne Pharr
Rainbow in the Cloud: The Wisdom and Spirit of Maya Angelou
by Maya Angelou
Cosby: His Life and Times
by Mark Whitaker
A Black Gambler’s World of Liquor, Vice and Presidential Politics: William
Thomas Scott of Illinois, 1839-1917
by Bruce L. Mouser
Foreword by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
The Myth of Race, The Reality of Racism
by Mahmoud El-Kati
Our Ancestors, Our Stories
by Harris Bailey, Jr., Bernice Alexander Bennett, Ellen LeVonne Butler, Ethel Dailey, Vincent Sheppard and Dr. Orville Vernon Burton
Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs
by Pearl Cleage
Yoga, Meditation and Spiritual Growth for the African-American Community
by Daya Devi-Doolin
How the Poor Can Save Capitalism: Rebuilding the Path to the Middle Class
by John Hope Bryant
Foreword by Ambassador Andrew Young
Not for Everyday Use: A Memoir
by Elizabeth Nunez
This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible
by Charles E. Cobb, Jr.
America’s Music: Jazz in Newark
by Barbara Kukla
240 Ways to Close the Achievement Gap: Teachers Only Workbook (Vol. 2)
by M. Donnell Tenner, Joy Gay and Dr. Marti Dryk
Misdiagnosed: The Search for Dr. House
by Nika C. Beamon
Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights
by Robin Bernstein
Guiou: The Other Blacks – The Afro-Jamaican Presence in Guatemala
by Gloria J. Arnold
Dollar Democracy: With Liberty and Justice for Some
by Peter Mathews
Pageants, Parlors & Pretty Women: Race and Beauty in the 20th Century South
by Blain Roberts
Unbreak My Heart: A Memoir
by Toni Braxton
Thirty-Three Days of Praise: Seeing the Good in Cancer
by Karrie Marchbanks

 ________

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org
jg3074@columbia.edu

(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Linked In Twitter  Facebook 

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

___________

 Comments from Social Media:

Are Victims' Rights and Prisoner Redemption Compatible? By Brian E. Moran, Esq.

Progressive Prison Project 

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

Are Victims' Rights and 

Prisoner Redemption Compatible? 

By Brian E. Moran, Esq.

As I travel across Connecticut advocating in favor of right-sizing our prison system, I have encountered audience members who question what prison reform will do for victims.

I am quick to point out that the recent book on which I served as the lead writer, "The Justice Imperative -- How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked The American Dream," is dedicated to "all those who selflessly work in our criminal justice and correction system for the rights of victims, the protection of the public and the rehabilitation of offenders."
I do not see victim advocates and prisoner advocates as interest groups necessarily in conflict with one another. I also respond by noting that (1) The book does not advocate for the early release of violent offenders or those who pose an undue risk to public safety; (2) We recommend taking 3 percent of the cost savings from right-sizing and investing it in a victims fund to pay for counseling and treatment of victims and educational scholarships for family members of victims; and (3) Many of those currently incarcerated are themselves the victims of physical and sexual abuse, particularly women inmates.

Indeed, as we note in "The Justice Imperative," the "typical female inmate in the United States is a woman of color in her early 30s, convicted of a drug or drug-related offense. She is likely to come from a family whose members are caught up in the criminal justice system. She is apt to be a survivor of physical and sexual abuse, both as a child and as an adult. She has significant substance abuse, as well as physical and mental health issues. She has a GED, but only limited non-vocational training and a spotty work history."

I sense, however, that the foregoing response is inadequate. It seems insufficiently empathetic with the anguish felt by victims of heinous crimes. While I have been mugged at knifepoint, I have not suffered a grievous personal loss to violent crime. Thus, I do not believe I can speak to the agony felt by those who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

Nevertheless, I do not regard compassion for victims and affording offenders an opportunity for redemption and reintegration into society as antithetical. When it comes to corrections, our policy choices should be driven largely by what makes economic sense and what works, bearing in mind that public safety is paramount. That said, as a society we should aspire to a system that provides a path for offenders to seek redemption.

Forgiveness is another matter. It should rest within the exclusive province of the victim. The exclusivity of such prerogative is what imbues forgiveness with incredible healing power. I recently read a remarkable book that speaks to the power of forgiveness. The book, "Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst The Rwandan Holocaust," was written by Imaculee Ilibagiza, the 2007 winner of the Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Reconciliation and Peace.

Imaculee, a Roman Catholic Tutsi, survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide by hiding in a tiny concealed bathroom (3 feet long by 4 feet wide) in a Hutu minister's home. She hid there with seven other Tutsi women for 91 days; there were several times when the women were almost discovered.
As she and the other women hid, her parents were slaughtered and her two brothers were tortured and killed. The perpetrators were neighbors with whom Imaculee grew up and was friendly. An older brother studying in Senegal was her only family member who survived. Following her escape, Imaculee learned the identity of her family's killers. Eventually, she visited them in prison and forgave them.

A few years ago, I visited Robbin Island in South Africa. I saw the conditions under which Nelson Mandela was held for 27 years. Mandela, like Imaculee, forgave his captors. As he describes it, such forgiveness had a remarkable effect not only on those who caused him harm, but also on Mandela. He did not feel truly free from his long ordeal until he forgave his transgressors.

The stories of Imaculee and Nelson Mandela reinforce my belief that any system of criminal justice and corrections must not only make sense from an economic and public safety standpoint, but should strive to be humane to both victims and offenders. As New Canaan resident William J. Fox, Director of The Malta Justice Initiative, has written, "(b)y recognizing the human dignity of all offenders and enabling them to realize redemption and restore their relationships within the community, all of society is ennobled."

Brian E. Moran of New Canaan is an attorney with Robinson + Cole in Stamford.

"The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked The American Dream" can be purchased at Amazon.com. 

 

 Reprinted From The Stamford Advocate, Thurs. Nov. 6, 2014
________

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

The Justice Imperative Book Review, by Kam Williams

Progressive Prison Project 

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

The Justice Imperative Book Review

By KamWilliams

The Justice Imperative:

How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream

by Brian E. Moran, Esq.  

Significance Press  

Paperback, $9.99                                                                     

186 pages, Illustrated

ISBN: 978-0-9886509-7-8 

Book Review by Kam Williams

           

“Our criminal justice system is in need of reform. [It] costs the taxpayers too much, fails at rehabilitation, exacts a life-long toll on offenders, and does not yield corresponding social benefits. 

 

The purpose of this book is three-fold: (1) to provide information about the causes and extent of the problems overwhelming the process of criminal justice… (2) to explain why reform is long overdue and in our collective best interest… (3) to suggest reforms that are supported by empirical evidence…  

 

As a society, we have become hardened toward felons… [But] it is in the public interest to have released offenders rehabilitated… By recognizing the human dignity of all offenders and enabling them to realize redemption and restore their relationships within the community, all of society is ennobled.

 

Excerpted from the Foreword by William J. Fox (pages i-iii)

The U.S. prison population exploded between 1980 and 2000, thanks primarily to the so-called “War on Drugs.” During that interim, the number of people jailed went from about 300,000 to over 2,000,000. 

 

Today, about 2% of our working-age men are behind bars, most for non-violent offenses, giving the country the highest incarceration rate of any nation in the world. Unfortunately, taking this tough stance on crime has come at quite a societal cost. 

 

For, not only is it expensive to house inmates, at over $50,000/year in Connecticut, but there is plenty of evidence that it is failing miserably in its efforts to rehabilitate offenders. Consequently, the State has a high recidivism rate, with over half of its ex-cons returning to the correctional system via a virtual revolving door. 

 

            That is the contention of Brian Moran, lawyer and author of “The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked the American Dream.” Although the book’s focus is on Connecticut, what’s transpired there proves to be par for the course. 

 

This opus points out that the policy of treating juvenile delinquents like adults has been counterproductive, since “it is more likely that an African-American boy who drops out of high school will be arrested than get a job.” It further laments that “one in every three black males born today can expect to serve time in prison.” 

 

Mr. Moran, as a member of the Malta Justice Initiative, suggests a host of reforms to “The New Jim Crow,” as dubbed by Michelle Alexander, starting with making it easier for parolees to find gainful employment. And the group’s other solutions include reserving incarceration for violent offenders. 

 

The goal: to reduce Connecticut’s spending on the prison system, to reduce its prison population, to reduce its recidivism rate, and to close half its number of prisons. An admirable initiative spearheaded by a visionary attorney wise enough to seek out the bipartisan support necessary to implement the urgently-needed changes.

To learn more about the project visit: www.TheJusticeImperative.org

 

Reprinted from KamWilliams.com

 

 _________

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org

jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

A White Lawyer's Take on The New Jim Crow, By Brian Moran, Esq. - Guest Blogger

Progressive Prison Project

Innocent Spouse & Children Project

Greenwich, Connecticut

A White Lawyer's Take on The New Jim Crow

By Brian Moran, Esq. - Guest Blogger

Brian Moran is the lead writer of the new, important book, "The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked The American Dream." It exposes in great detail the truth about the Connecticut criminal justice and prison process, and how we are all paying for it.  It also gives specific recommendations as to how we, and our legislators, can make effective changes immediately. We urge all of our friends, colleagues and readers to order and read this book. Please order individual copies through Amazon and group copies through the book website, thejusticeimperative.org. Thank you. - Jeff 

 ____________

Last year, after reading Michelle Alexander’s book “The New Jim Crow – Mass Incarceration In the Age of Colorblindness”, I came away thinking this will go down as one of the most important books of the 21st Century.  In the year since then, nothing has transpired to change my mind.  If anything, the discussion in this country on race has amped up.

It is difficult to put race aside when discussing major urban issues, especially mass incarceration.  However, if you take race out of the equation for a moment and look at our prison system strictly from a policy or economic standpoint, an inexorable conclusion is reached:  mass incarceration is simply bad policy.  It is a terrible deal for taxpayers.  The corrections system is enormously expensive and largely ineffective.  As a consequence, the taxpayer does not get bang for his or her hard-earned tax dollars.  In Connecticut, we pay over $1 billion annually on corrections.  It costs $51,000 annually per bed to house an inmate in our state prisons, the third highest rate in the country.  Yet, Connecticut has a recidivism  rate well above the national average, with close to two-thirds of released inmates returning to prison within two to three years.  This revolving door, directly and indirectly, places further strains on our state’s budget.
 
If a CEO at a Fortune 500 Company produced the operating results of our corrections system, he or she would face a shareholder revolt.  So why has there been no taxpayer revolt or outcry?  I would suggest it is a product of a lack of attention and the wide acceptance of the mantra that tough on crime policies necessarily serve the public’s desire for safety.
 
Unlike a lot of the problems we face, our prison system is one that is solvable.  One needs only to look at the proven success of reforms enacted in both red and blue states.  By (1) right-sizing our prison population, (2) using prisons primarily for hard-core, violent criminals and (3) re-investing the cost savings from such right-sizing on drug and mental health treatments and post-release support, we can realize a trifecta of benefits: reduced costs; lower recidivism; and improved crime rates.  Taxpayers should rally behind right-sizing and proven prison reforms.
 
Such reform also comes with the prospect of a fourth societal benefit--improving the fate of inmates, their families and their local communities.  Upon finishing Michelle Alexander’s book and learning about the dire collateral consequences of a felony conviction (e.g., loss of public assistance and housing), I was left thinking that a released felon would be better off leaving the United States and starting over elsewhere.  That is a sad and sobering thought.  We, as a society, must and can do better.  Rehabilitation is not out of reach.  Prison reform, if done properly, can yield not only the trifecta of benefits, but also better the lives of inmates and their families.  If we fail to act decisively, we risk subjecting yet another generation of urban youth to the revolving door of our current prison system, a door that the taxpayer pays to keep spinning.

Brian E. Moran is a partner in the law firm of Robinson + Cole LLP. He is a civil litigator specializing in antitrust, intellectual property, licensing and other commercial disputes. He has co-written two business books, The Executive’s Antitrust Guide To Pricing: Understanding Implications of Typical Marketing, Distribution and Pricing Practices (2013), published by Thomson Reuters, and E-Counsel: The Executive’s Legal Guide to Electronic Commerce (2000).

He is the founder of The Success Foundation, a non-profit that has run summer study programs on college campuses for low-income ninth graders with college potential. In 2006, the Foundation’s Students Undertaking College Career Enhancing Study Skills^TM Program received a Gold CQIA Innovation Prize from The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc. CQIA is Connecticut’s Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Partner.

Mr. Moran received a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia and a J.D. degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.

____________

Here's a six-minute video that will start you off on your journey of learning about the real story in the criminal justice system. Produced by Malta Justice Initiative/the Prodigal Project. - Jeff

Prodigal Project Video June 2012

 ____________

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director

jgrant@prisonist.org
jg3074@columbia.edu
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate, Ex-Pats
gbresnan@prisonist.org

Michael Karaffa, Advocate, Disabilities
mkaraffa@prisonist.org

Please feel free to contact us if we can be of service to you, a friend or family member - we will promptly send you an information package by mail, email via Dropbox. 

____________

Comments From Social Media: 

Betsy Hansbrough Boy, do I agree with the fact that this was the most important book I have read in sometime.

Anna Melissa Jackson We won't revolt against mass incarceration on a national level until this is affecting more than the black and brown communities. 

The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration Has Hijacked The American Dream

Progressive Prison Project

Innocent Spouse & Children Project 

Greenwich, Connecticut

The Justice Imperative: How Hyper-Incarceration

 Has Hijacked The American Dream

By Brian E. Moran and the Malta Justice Initiative

 

 We are honored to be among thirty Connecticut criminal justice professionals called together to write and edit this important book. It exposes in great detail the truth about the Connecticut criminal justice and prison process, and how we are all paying for it.  It also gives specific recommendations as to how we, and our legislators, can make effective changes immediately. We urge all of our friends, colleagues and readers to order and read this book. Please order individual copies through Amazon and group copies through the book website, thejusticeimperative.org. Thank you. - Jeff 

The U.S. has become the world’s leading jailer, housing 22.4% of the world’s inmates, but has only 4.6% of its population.

MYTH: The staggering, budget-breaking price tag of this hyper-incarceration is justified by our low crime rates.

REALITY: Connecticut’s prison population has soared from 3,800 to 17,000 since 1980, mostly with non-violent drug users. Annual spending on prisons now exceeds $1 billion at $51,000/year to house each inmate. Yet, hyper-incarceration has a negligible impact on public safety.

Over 95% of Connecticut’s prisoners are eventually released, most without adequate supervision, and ill-equipped to succeed on the outside. Well over half end up back in prison. We need to stop this revolving door.

The state’s failure to rehabilitate its offenders exacts an enormous cost on our state budget and a devastating human toll that is crippling our cities. The current system is not sustainable.

The Justice Imperative: Reforms in states like Texas and Oregon demonstrate that Connecticut can slash costs, lower recidivism, increase public safety and create better and more productive lives for ex-offenders and their families.

Connecticut, what are you waiting for? ACT ON THE JUSTICE IMPERATIVE.

• Buy the book

Buy the book

About Brian E. Moran and the Malta Justice Initiative

Brian E. Moran is a partner in the law firm of Robinson + Cole LLP. He is a civil litigator specializing in antitrust, intellectual property, licensing and other commercial disputes.

He has co-written two business books, The Executive’s Antitrust Guide To Pricing: Understanding Implications of Typical Marketing, Distribution and Pricing Practices (2013), published by Thomson Reuters, and E-Counsel: The Executive’s Legal Guide to Electronic Commerce (2000).

He is the founder of The Success Foundation, a non-profit that has run summer study programs on college campuses for low-income ninth graders with college potential. In 2006, the Foundation’s Students Undertaking College Career Enhancing Study Skills^TM Program received a Gold CQIA Innovation Prize from The Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Partnership, Inc. CQIA is Connecticut’s Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Partner.

Mr. Moran received a B.A. with distinction from the University of Virginia and a J.D. degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.

---

The Malta Justice Initiative (MJI) is a sponsored work of the Order of Malta. Prison ministry is the core mission of MJI. MJI provides support, including visitation and instruction, to the incarcerated to help them lead faith-focused and productive lives.

MJI is a separate 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. It is subject to general oversight by the Order of Malta. The Order of Malta—technically The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta—is one of the oldest institutions of Western and Christian civilization. The Order constitutes the sole unbroken continuation of the order of the Hospital of St. John, recognized in 1113. Present in Palestine in around 1050 to provide medical care for pilgrims to the Holy Land, it is a lay religious order. Its 13,500 members are devoted to the exercise of Christian virtue and charity. The Order provides assistance to the poor and the suffering. The Order of Malta is a sovereign subject under international law, with its own constitution, passports, stamps and public institutions. Today, the Order carries out its charitable works in over 120 countries and does so without regard for religion, race, gender or national origin.

__________

Progressive Prison Project/
Innocent Spouse & Children Project 

at Christ Church Greenwich 254 East Putnam Avenue
Greenwich, Conecticut 06830

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1232, Weston, Connecticut 06883

Central Ministry & Office: Weston, Connecticut

Rev. Jeff Grant, JD, M Div, Minister/Director
jgrant@prisonist.org
(o) +1203.769.1096
(m) +1203.339.5887

Lynn Springer, Advocate, Innocent Spouses & Children
lspringer@prisonist.org
(m) +1203.536.5508

George Bresnan, Advocate
gbresnan@prisonist.org