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Vera Institute of Justice

Vera Institute of Justice

All Work by Vera Institute

In Memoriam: Herb Sturz, A Modest Giant Among Advocates

Herb was a listener. He spent time with people incarcerated on Rikers Island and advocated for what they actually needed—aid and access to employment, education, and housing—to keep them out of the system. Even in his last few years, he continued to attend monthly meetings to close Rikers, leading to the historic city council vote in 2019 to do ju ...

News

Vera Institute of Justice

June 11, 2021

News

A Federal Defender Service for Immigrants

Why We Need a Universal, Zealous, and Person-Centered Model

The Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) recommends that the Biden administration draw from time-tested models, data, and knowledge to build a federally funded, universal legal defense service that provides universal, zealous, and person-centered defense to all immigrants. This federal defender service should be modeled on the criminal federal defender ...

Publication

Vera Institute of Justice

February 09, 2021

Publication

Ending Police Violence: What Do Defund and Divest Mean?

Protesters are flooding the streets demanding change after the death of George Floyd and so many other Black people at the hands of police. Crowds are echoing the rallying cry to “defund the police.” But what exactly do they mean? Some advocacy groups are calling for the current policing structure to be dismantled and rebuilt, investing more resour ...

Publication

Vera Institute of Justice

June 17, 2020

Publication

A Look Inside the New York City Police Department Budget

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) is by far the biggest and most expensive police department in the country: The overall cost of the NYPD is actually more than $11 billion annually. In recent weeks, the call to defund the NYPD has reached fever pitch, with calls to pass a budget on July 1, 2020, that includes $1 billion less for policing. ...

Publication

Vera Institute of Justice

June 17, 2020

Publication

Coronavirus Guidance for the Criminal and Immigration Legal Systems

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, has been declared by the World Health Organization to be a global pandemic. As the number of people infected in the United States grows exponentially, we must focus on prevention and containment in the criminal and immigration legal systems. Vera and Community Oriented Correctional Health Services have created a series ...

Publication

Vera Institute of Justice

March 17, 2020

Publication

Don't Let Fearmongering Drive Bail Policy

Crime in New York is at historic lows. Yet critics of bail reform, which went into effect on January 1, 2020, have been hard at work warning that bail reform endangers public safety—claiming that the law has led to a surge in crime. But, as these fact sheets demonstrates, it is far too early to reach any conclusion about the impact of bail reform.

Publication

Vera Institute of Justice

January 28, 2020

Publication

Moving to Action on Ending Money Injustice

A conversation with activist and co-host of Pod Save the People Brittany Packnett

6. You’re emceeing a live music and panel discussion event in New Orleans on July 3—co-hosted by Vera, Global Citizen, and RFK Human Rights. Tell me what inspired you to get involved and what you’re looking forward to? I’m inspired by the work that Vera does to shine a light on the continued injustices in our system, and to make sure that these sto ...

News

Vera Institute of Justice

July 03, 2019

News

Vera mourns the loss of our colleague and justice champion Fred Patrick, and honors his life and legacy

We lost a good man this weekend. It is with profound sadness that we share news of the passing of our beloved colleague and friend Fred Patrick, director of our Center on Sentencing and Corrections (CSC). A mentor to many staff at Vera, Fred was a passionate and tireless advocate for a more just and humane criminal justice system. A son of Baton R ...

News

Vera Institute of Justice

July 02, 2019

News

How New Orleans Communities Rise Up Against Money Injustice

A conversation with New Orleans community organizer Gilda Lewis

5. How do you think New Orleans would change if Vera’s reforms were implemented? If they eliminated bail and conviction fees, it’s less stress. My community will be healthier, it’ll be safer, and people will have more rational decision-making. When you ask somebody for something that they don’t have... well, here we go again… we’re raising money. I ...

News

Vera Institute of Justice

June 28, 2019

News

Confronting the True Harms of Money Injustice

A conversation with New Orleans community activist Roy Brumfield

5. How do you feel about this moment and the potential for reform? I’m angry, honestly. When I was in jail and I couldn’t pay my bond, I had to make a choice: what’s important right now? And I know that’s not unique about me. I’m not the only person who made that decision based upon the circumstances.

News

Vera Institute of Justice

June 21, 2019

News

New Orleans's Road Map to Eliminate Money Injustice

A conversation with Paid in Full co-author Alison Shih

News

Vera Institute of Justice

June 13, 2019

News

Vera Mourns the Passing of Senior Program Associate Amy Judy: 1962-2017

Amy had both a personal and professional commitment to social justice, access, and inclusion. She was actively involved in her Madison community and was a dedicated friend to many. The impact of her life’s work will live on in the countless people she has helped. Indeed, a foundational report she co-authored—entitled “How Safe are Americans with Di ...

News