After 40 years of waging a failed war on crime in poor communities, policy makers finally are being compelled to reform our troubled criminal justice system. The prevailing solution involves risk-assessment tools that quantify the experience of incarcerated people to determine the extent to which they pose a public safety threat.

Risk assessment tools measure only statistical probabilities, however; not capabilities, intentions or redemption. Do we believe that people have the capacity to change?

Help us identify and honor extraordinary individuals who are enabling employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals. These leaders will be invited to the White House to celebrate their accomplishments and showcase their actions to support stronger and safer communities.

For most people, talking on the phone is cheap. But for many families with a loved one behind bars, astronomical phone bills mean they have to choose between covering their living expenses and staying in touch.

Following the lead of other cities like Seattle and Richmond, Calif., San Francisco employers could soon be prohibited from asking in job applications if prospective employees were ever convicted of a felony... The proposal builds on a national effort commonly referred to as “ban the box,” a growing trend in states and cities for both public and private employers.

Incarceration imposes substantial costs on society at large and on the life chances and families of those locked up.

The Minneapolis-based Target Corporation, one of the nation’s largest employers, has announced that it will remove questions about criminal history from its job applications throughout the country.

Like everyone, I have the choice to either focus on how things could be better or how they could be worse. A choice between illogical sadness or eternal contentment. I’m blessed in so many ways and will continue to share my good fortune in order to build up those headed for or caught up in destruction. I just hope I can make a difference. Keep boxing temptation.

Pioneer-owned businesses employ former inmates in jobs in manufacturing, food services and construction. All programs are self-funding. Pioneer employs more than 430 adults with a criminal history or past addiction issues.

Herman Wallace...passed away early this morning, on Friday October 4, just three days after being released from prison in Louisiana after 42 years in solitary confinement, and shortly after the state announced it would re-indict him. Wallace was suffering from terminal liver cancer and would have turned 72 on October 13.

...like everyone, I have the choice to either focus on how things could be better or how they could be worse. A choice between illogical sadness or eternal contentment. Keep boxing temptation. Give freedom a hug for us.