Prison Reform – The Pen Hustle With Brandy Cavalli

Rapper Meek Mill No Longer Has a Felony Record

Philly’s own, rapper Meek Mill is officially a free man.

Meek announced alongside an interview with the biggest boss Rick Ross that his felony convictions have officially been wiped clean from his record, thus allowing him the freedom to move about like us regular people.

Congrats to Meek Mill because during my time working on criminal and prison reform I know this is actually a huge deal.

A game changer.

The prison pipeline for black men has been catastrophic and ruined many lives even after redemption. The sad part is once the criminal background is marred with felonies, it limits the quality of life.

It’s like you almost belong to the government and most jobs and housing check perform criminal background checks. It can affect so many other important aspects of life including basic human rights such as voting. (I have always thought taking away a person’s rights to vote was ridiculous)

Having a felonious record is a very difficult conviction to overcome, but thankfully there are programs that can assist with record expungement.

Lawsuit Exposes Lack of Mental Health Assistance in the Prison System

I spend a lot of my spare time studying and advocating for crime and prison reform. I’ve never been to prison but it’s something I’m extremely passionate about.

I ran across this story and it really triggered me to want to open up more discussion about what can be done behind bars to not only rehabilitate criminals, but create a pipeline for mental health services that are very much needed both during the entry and residency stages.

After watching the system fail over and over my opinion is it does not a bit of good to send criminals to prison and offer no options to help them navigate both in and outside prison life. Doing the opposite will continue to perpetuate more criminal activity and negligence lawsuits such as this one. I hope this family receives the proper compensation.

There also has to be some kind of clinical medical care provided for substance abuse users. Let’s be honest, drugs are real and people use them. Detox is a crucial phase of rehabilitation.

Why not use our tax dollars to address these issues plaguing the prison system. Doing that will in term rehab the criminals. When we rehab the criminals — down goes the crime. It’s simple math. And a win for us all.

According to CNN – A lawsuit has been filed in Indiana on behalf of a man with a history of schizophrenia and substance abuse who died in 2021 while he was being held in solitary confinement.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

The complaint accuses jailers of putting Joshua McLemore in a small, windowless, padded isolation cell, during his nearly three-week stay at the Jackson County jail where he reportedly suffered from dehydration and malnutrition.

Reality Star Kim Kardashian Plans to Open Pro Bono Law Firm

I don’t follow Kim Kardashian’s career much but I definitely respect her for the work she has done with prison reform. In 2018, she used her massive platform to help free Alice Marie Johnson, a 64-year-old woman who was served 19 years in prison for non violent drug charges. I can respect that.

Keep pushing Kim, you got this!

People Magazine — Kardashian West first announced in Vogue in 2019 that she plans to become a lawyer like her father Robert Kardashian Sr. — a former high-powered attorney who notably represented O.J. Simpson in his 1995 murder trial. She is working on completing a four-year law apprenticeship and has taken the introductory bar exam, known as the baby bar.

Though she did attend Pierce College in Los Angeles, she never graduated. However, California, as well as three other U.S. states, offers a path to passing the bar without attending law school by “reading the law,” or apprenticing with a practicing lawyer or judge.

Back in May, Kardashian West told fans on Instagram that taking the baby bar exam has been “extremely difficult,” but that she would test again.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t passed yet, but I’m not giving up,” Kardashian said. “I’m preparing to take it again soon.”

Her end goal, regardless of the timeline, is clear though: “Hopefully one day I can start a law firm where we can help people pro bono and hire people who were formerly incarcerated.”