Twenty-two years into a life sentence for a crime committed as a teen, a former gang member found hope with the help of USC legal advocates.
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Forty years after its founding, PCJP is one of the most enduring and influential clinical programs in the nation.
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 freeing three life-sentenced clients from state prisons.
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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 was formerly sentenced to life without possibility of parole and commuted by Governor Jerry Brown in 2018. Like so many…
Former juvenile lifer client Louis shared his story for Homeboy Industries: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=181986496375414 "To be walking through that tunnel, with no light at the other side was, like, the worst feeling ever. All I know is my life was filled with hopelessness, fear and despair."
The California Assembly Public Safety Committee voted down a bill that would reverse progress in juvenile justice reform Jan. 14.
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Cambodian refugee and PCJP client Tith Ton, 40, spent more than two decades in prison for killing a rival gang member. In December he was granted parole— approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom — but was immediately turned over to federal agents for possible deportation, reports the Los Angeles Times.
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Heidi Rummel, director of the Post-Conviction Justice Project, discussed California’s parole process in The New York Times Magazine Jan. 1 article “Can You Talk Your Way Out of a Life Sentence?”
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KCRW's podcast Greater L.A. hosted PCJP client Louis Pham in a story about how former lifers are welcomed back into the community. When a lifer steps out of prison after so many years, often decades, they are smacked with an onslaught of smells, sights, and unfamiliar sensations. “I remember walking…
PCJP Director Heidi Rummel joined KCRW Host Steve Chiotakis on the Greater L.A. podcast to discuss how the California prison system has transformed in recent years. "Prior to 2008, California's parole system was barely functioning. Very, very few lifers ever went home. The board could deny parole for almost no…