The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia will debut a video series “Voices of Smart Justice” to elevate the voices of three Georgians who have been harmed by the state’s criminal justice system and to highlight the necessity of electing candidates in 2018 who support real reform on Oct. 24.
In partnership with the Georgia State University Black Law Students Association, the series will be shown at the Ceremonial Courtroom at the GSU Law School, at 6:30 p.m. After each individual video, Dorothy Adams, Kate Boccia and Burrell Ellis, will share more details regarding their experiences and answer questions from the audience.
“Criminal justice reform is on the ballot in November,” said Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia. “Criminal justice reform is a pre-eminent racial justice issue which is the reason we must vote for candidates who support Smart Justice.”
The ACLU of Georgia’s Campaign for Smart Justice is an unprecedented, multi-year effort to reform the criminal justice system by ending mass incarceration and eliminating racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
People of color are disproportionately impacted by Georgia’s criminal justice system. According to the NAACP, African Americans comprise 31 percent of the state’s total population yet represent almost two-thirds of its prison population. While the United States incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world – even more than Russia, China, or North Korea, Georgia’s incarceration rates are higher than the national average. In 2016, Georgia’s prison population was the fourth largest in the nation.
The ACLU of Georgia works to end mass incarceration.
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