E-mail: naporterandassociates@gmail.com
Exciting news for Wrongful Convictions advocates around the country. The Trudeau government is prepared to consult Canadians on how to go about creating an effective independent commission to review possible wrongful convictions for criminal offences, something advocates and Innocence Canada have been keenly awaiting for years. As Jim Bronskill reported in a Canadian Press publication …
To read full plan, please visit: John Howard Society’s 5-Point Plan to Improve Corrections
“More than £9m has been paid in compensation since 2010 to 16 people who have had their criminal convictions overturned in Northern Ireland. New figures show that 84 people were wrongly convicted of crimes between 2007 and 2017. Charges ranged from murder to rape and included people serving life sentences. At least half of those …
Studies by American academic Leslie Scott, who specializes in prison reform law, show the mental impact of prisoner’s experiences often leaves them in psychological chains, even after the prison shackles have been removed. When those who have been wrongfully convicted are finally released, it isn’t surprising they often struggle. For example, they may struggle to find employment …
“Federal inmates’ risk assessments determine everything from where a prisoner is incarcerated to what rehabilitation programs they are offered. After controlling for a number of variables, The Globe found Black and Indigenous inmates are more likely to get worse scores than white inmates, based solely on their race.” To access entire investigation, please visit: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-investigation-racial-bias-in-canadian-prison-risk-assessments/
“The Structured Assessment of PROtective Factors for Violence Risk (SAPROF) is an assessment tool that examines protective factors when assessing violence risk. There is limited research on clinicians’ perceptions of the use and implementation of risk assessment tools, and this study aimed to examine the experiences of clinicians using the SAPROF in a low secure …
It has been more than 80 years since a government-ordered report into the conditions inside Canada’s prisons recommended nothing less than “radical change.” The better part of a century later, there are concerns that the wisdom of that report has been lost. Lawyers and human rights advocates say conditions in Canada’s prisons and jails have deteriorated to …
It appears wrongful conviction isn’t uniquely a Canadian issue. Nor is the problem of fair compensation. Prosecutors in the US are also adopting strategies to keep from having to pay for mistakes. In this article is the story of Jimmy Dennis, who agreed to a no-contest plea from the City of Philadelphia so he would …
Author: Nicole Porter, N.A. PORTER & ASSOCIATES Those proven to have been wrongfully convicted, either through post-conviction DNA testing, or otherwise, spend on average, more than 14 years behind bars. But the punishment often continues long after incarceration. The agony of prison life and one’s complete loss of freedom are only compounded by feelings of …
Author: Nicole Porter, N.A. PORTER & ASSOCIATES When a person spends time in prison, they inevitably miss out on a lot of things. What makes this reality even harder, is when those individuals are serving time for crimes they didn’t commit. Imagine Tammy Marquardt, who spent 13 years in prison. David Milgaard who spent 23 …