Can We Reimagine Juvenile Justice for Gen Z?

Emerging Into Adulthood Is Hard for Everyone. Prison Makes It Nearly Impossible

“Emerging adult” is a new phrase for many of us, and a useful term for understanding a stage of human development that is too often overlooked. People between the ages of 18 and 25 aren’t kids, exactly, but they aren’t grownups either: a child does not magically transform into a fully mature human on their 18th birthday (an absolutely arbitrary point in time, agreed upon for such legal purposes as determining voter eligibility or conducting a military draft). Today we know that brain development continues through an individual’s mid-20s, with the …

by Lael E.H. Chester | July 22, 2021

Even After a Decade of Reforms, California’s Era of Mass Incarceration Is Far From Over

The State's Progress in Reducing Prison Populations and Racial Disparities Is Real. So Are the Remaining Challenges

by Joe Mathews | February 25, 2021

Over the past decade, California has made real progress in reforming its criminal justice system and reducing its prison population, but the state’s era of mass incarceration is far from …

Law Enforcement Isn’t Going Away—That Doesn’t Mean It Can’t Be Reimagined

'De-Tasking' Non-Crime Police Work Could Go a Long Way Toward Building a Safer Society

by Joe Mathews | December 11, 2020

If our communities had fewer police officers doing fewer tasks, they could become less dangerous places for everyone, said panelists during at the debut event of a new Zócalo/University of …

Why Is It so Easy to Get Away With Murder?

The Case of Serial Killer Jose Martinez Offers a Disquieting Look at the Disparities of Our Justice System

by Sara Suárez | November 17, 2020

If you commit murder in the United States, there’s a 40 percent chance you’ll get away with it. That shocking statistic belies other realities; you have better than even odds …

The Dark Side of Gavin Newsom’s Moratorium on the Death Penalty

Politically and Morally, Death Row Forced Californians to Examine Their Justice System

by Joe Mathews | March 25, 2019

The death penalty in California is dead! Long live the death penalty!

That lede isn’t a joke. It isn’t even a contradiction. In California, the death penalty has long existed simultaneously …

The 1919 Murder Case That Gave Americans the Right to Remain Silent

Decades Before the Supreme Court's Miranda Decision, a Washington Triple Slaying Paved the Way to Protect Criminal Suspects

By Scott D. Seligman | April 30, 2018

If you’ve ever watched an American television crime drama, you probably can recite a suspect’s rights along with the arresting officers. Those requirements—that prisoners must be informed that they may …

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