Mass Incarceration is Big Business for Rural Towns
Something a colleague said made the proverbial lock tumblers in my head fall into place: incarcerating people in rural areas…
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.
Criminal Sentencing Is Broken: Why It Fails and How to Fix It
Key Takeaways The four goals of criminal sentencing — retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, incapacitation — often fail to achieve justice, and…
Article Synthesis: Impacts of Parental Incarceration on Children
Today, I am offering up a Sneak Peek of my Doctoral Program work and the formative capstone project for my…
Spending Christmas at a Michigan Prison
For the second Christmas in a row, my children and I will open presents, have some lunch, and then we…
Wronged by the Michigan Court System? Here’s What Actually Helps—and What Doesn’t
This is not legal advice; it’s survival guidance from someone who has learned, repeatedly, how the system actually responds. I…
Jail and Prison Commissary Prices Are Predatory—And Families Pay the Price
Over the course of 9 months, The Appeal developed a commissary database, tracking prices for the staple items commonly purchased…
DOJ Research Finds Prison Does Not Deter Crime
The National Institute of Justice — an arm of the Federal government that researches crime and produces its findings —…
Proposed Safer Michigan Act Provides Path to Early Release
Legislative Update — Bill Did Not Become Law This piece was written December 17, 2024 — the same day the…
Center for Justice Innovation Offers Backlogged Courts FREE Help
The Center for Justice Innovation is on a mission to help courts facing Sixth Amendment issues that prevent speedy trials…
Felony Stigma and Employment: What the Trump Narrative Gets Right and Wrong
I keep seeing this CNN article around social media and it spawns A LOT of thoughts. Gripes, mostly. I agree…
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