Caring for Ourselves as Political Warfare: Reflections from Essie Justice Group’s Healing to Advocacy Cohort
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” — Audre Lorde…
Rita Williams
Rita Williams is a Michigan-based judicial oversight analyst and founder of Clutch Justice, an investigative platform focused on court system accountability, sentencing integrity, and SCAO policy. Her work examines how courts, policies, and administrative systems operate in practice, with a focus on where process breaks down and harm is created. Drawing on lived experience and systems-level analysis, she writes to make legal structures more readable, expose institutional gaps, and advocate for reforms grounded in both evidence and human impact. Rita’s writing bridges legal analysis, institutional critique, and public education, with a consistent focus on accountability without losing sight of the people most affected by the justice system.
Barry County’s Broken Math: Longer Sentences, More Crime, and the Price of Ignoring Mental Health
The Bottom Line Barry County is recording a record number of murder cases. Its Board of Commissioners has declined to…
Solving More Than Puzzles: The Prison Puzzle Project Is Quietly Reimagining Healing Behind Bars
At first glance, it might sound trivial. Sudoku? Jigsaw puzzles? In prison? But when you dig a little deeper, you’ll…
Traverse City Judge Right to Halt Trial—But Michigan’s Mental Health System Still Failing
The Bottom Line A Traverse City judge correctly ruled a Walmart mass stabbing suspect incompetent to stand trial under the…
Beating Incarcerated People to the Narrative: How Michigan DOC and The Union Spins Violence at St. Louis
The Bottom Line When violence occurs at Michigan’s St. Louis Correctional Facility, the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Michigan…
Allegan County Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker’s Vendetta Wastes More Taxpayer Dollars
On September 10th, a trial is set to begin in a case that the Michigan Court of Appeals has already…
Kent County Jurors Demanding Hard Evidence Isn’t a Problem—It’s Progress
The Bottom Line Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker is concerned about rising mistrials in murder cases. The concern is legitimate…
Nation Outside’s Seeds of Change 2025: Planting Hope After Prison, Cultivating Transformation for All
When the system locks people away, it doesn’t just take years; it tries to take futures. But on September 25, 2025,…
Virtual Academies: A Lifeline for Neurodivergent and System-Impacted Kids
For many families, traditional classrooms are painted as the default path to learning. But what happens when the classroom itself…
Kent County Prosecutor Accused of Denying Speedy Trials, Constitutional Rights
Last week, I received a 14-page manifesto from multiple individuals housed at Kent County Jail around June 2025, many of…
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