Straight Ahead Blog

Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley’s decision not to seek re-election to the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas is welcome news to Philadelphia’s social justice …

Contact:Connease Warren713-304-8990connease@straight-ahead.org Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 21, 2023 – Survivors and family members will hold a press conference on Wednesday, August 23, 2023 at the …

The following piece was written by Kempis “Ghani” Songster as a speech he planned to deliver to the United Nations Permanent Forum on People …

A Letter to the United Nations In an effort to secure international support for the movement to end Death by Incarceration (DBI) sentences in …

Last week at City Hall, community leaders rallied with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Kranser to deliver a message to Republican legislators moving forward with …

Hundreds Rallied in Harrisburg, Demanding an End to Death by Incarceration On Tuesday September 20th at 1 pm, hundreds of people from across the …

On November 8, 2021, John L. Buckalew, or Buck, was released from SCI Frackville after serving about ten years in prison. Five months later, …

April is Second Chances Month, and while the state paints “victims” in opposition to second chances for people in prison, a growing network of …

The following piece was written by 63-year-old Frederick Page, who was born and raised in North Philadelphia and has served 34 years of a …

By: Mari Morales-Williams It was October 2019. The legislative body of Pennsylvania had just suppressed legislation to end death by incarceration for first and …

Kyle Rittenhouse is free. I served thirteen and a half years for taking the life of my abuser. Which is self-defense?

We talked to three survivors of violent crime—Movita Johnson-Harrell, Antoinette Kreiselmeier and Jean Mayes—about what they need to heal.

The following piece is written by David “Dawud” Lee, who is currently serving a Death by Incarceration sentence for a crime he did not …

The Urgent Need For Second Chances In Pennsylvania’s Sentencing System What better time for justice than 2022. As we dive into this new year, …

This past week we hosted a panel highlighting the voices of survivors, both of street violence and to prisons. We were joined by a …

Grassroots Coalition Calls on City to Release Loved Ones from Philadelphia Jails Immediately This year, the Christmas season was tainted with blood on the …

Pittsburgh residents are showing their desire to dismantle mass incarceration. A recent referendum banned solitary confinement in the Allegheny County Jail. Chemical and militaristic weapons were also banned at the jail. All in the last year. Now, demand is rising to decarcerate our prisons and bring home our elders. 

Over the last year we grew. We listened. We organized. And we fought and won. And now we need your help to keep the momentum going.

When initially sentenced as a child to between 40 to 80 years in prison, Kevin Butler struggled to grasp what a virtual life sentence meant. It seemed like the beginning of forever, a time too long to understand. An exceedingly rare commutation brought him freedom after 32 years of that sentence.

Mid-day on September 30, 2021, community members and lawmakers gathered outside of Philadelphia City Hall around the 12-foot bronze Octavius Catto statue for a …