As Black Lives Matter draws national attention to the pervasive systemic racism of the U.S. criminal system, USC’s Post-Conviction Justice Project continues to work on the front lines, in June...
Read More
Previous
Next
“Law school classes taught me to think like an attorney, but PCJP made me an attorney.”
— Alex Hurd, JD 2016
For nearly 40 years, the Post-Conviction Justice Project (PCJP) at the USC Gould School of Law has been tirelessly advocating for the incarcerated.
PCJP fights for second chances — through parole representation, parole-readiness workshops in prisons, courtroom representation and legislative advocacy. A clinical program directed by professors Heidi Rummel and Michael Brennan with certified law student interns, PCJP works with men and women — many sentenced to life-terms for crimes committed in their youth over 20 or 30 years ago. Since 2008, PCJP has co-sponsored or written nearly every juvenile justice bill in California, impacting tens of thousands of lives.
“We believe in the power of hope.”
Heidi Rummel
Co-Director
0
Clients Assisted
0
Life-Term Clients Released
0
Law Students and Alumni
0
Workshops in 20 Prisons
The Latest News
Virtual Parole Hearing Victory: A Message from the Directors
On April 9 USC Gould School of Law student Simone Rudolf-Dib won a parole grant for her client at his initial youth offender hearing in PCJP’s first-ever virtual parole hearing. Her client...
Read More
PCJP client shares thoughts on gratitude and mindfulness
Former juvenile lifer client Louis shared his story for Homeboy Industries: “To be walking through that tunnel, with no light at the other side was, like, the worst feeling ever. All...
Read More
“We are not going back” — damaging juvenile justice bill defeated
The California Assembly Public Safety Committee voted down a bill that would reverse progress in juvenile justice reform Jan. 14.
Read More
PCJP client paroled and immediately detained by ICE
Cambodian refugee and PCJP client Tith Ton, 40, spent more than two decades in prison for killing a rival gang...
Read More
“Like threading a needle” — PCJP director talks parole in The New York Times Magazine
Heidi Rummel, director of the Post-Conviction Justice Project, discussed California’s parole process in The New York Times Magazine Jan. 1...
Read More