Author Archives: Rebecca Katz

Why Prison Phone Justice? Why Now?

In mid-March, the video visiting lobby at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections closed because of COVID-19. Yet, now five months later, there is still no alternative for families to visually see their incarcerated loved ones and no information about when video visiting can resume.

Family Justice is More Important Now Than Ever

In mid-March, the video visiting lobby at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections closed because of COVID-19. Yet, now five months later, there is still no alternative for families to visually see their incarcerated loved ones and no information about when video visiting can resume.

Photography by Layfierre Mitchell

On May 29th, when people in Louisville and across the nation marched in protest of the most recent police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, LFJA community photographer Layfierre Mitchell knew it was a historic moment. He “stands behind the movement,” he says, because “he is living the movement” and “some people have toContinue reading “Photography by Layfierre Mitchell”

Reimagining Family Justice

On June 17th, Louisville Family Justice Advocates, ACLU-KY and The Bail Project-Louisville created a Virtual Forum centering on author and journalist, Sylvia A. Harvey’s important new book. The Shadow System: Mass Incarceration and the American Family. The Forum, integrated a keynote from Harvey, first-hand stories from Christina Walker and LeTonya McNeal, two courageous mothers featured in the book, State Representative Attica Scott, and Amanda Hall, ACLU-KY Policy Strategist. This powerful combination inspired participants to reimagine family justice and consider what it means in our community.

Putting Community Health First

COVID-19 brutally demonstrates that local incarceration is not only about criminal justice; it is also about community health. Even before the pandemic, national health experts and the American Bar Association connected incarceration and public health with calls for holistic actions to address the root causes of both.

Kentucky’s History of Confining African American Women Matters Now

Historian Charlene J. Fletcher is a scholar focusing on black women’s history in Kentucky, a survivor of domestic abuse, and an advocate for social change. Her powerful presentation, combining experience, activism, and research, demonstrated the importance of lived experiences in transforming our criminal justice systems.

Justice, Health and Hope in Two Kentucky Communities: Berea and Louisville

Louisville Family Justice Advocates and Partners for Education, Berea College gathered for our third of four collaborative learning exchanges. Participants included teams from Louisville and Berea who work in health, criminal justice and the arts. Some have direct experience with the impact of incarceration. All are committed to connecting our home communities across the rural/urban divide in our state.