What kind of cases does EJI focus on?
Asked by: Arlo Wunsch | Last update: September 28, 2025Score: 4.9/5 (8 votes)
Criminal Justice Reform We challenge the death penalty, extreme sentences for children, excessive punishment, and abusive prison conditions through litigation, advocacy, and education.
What cases does the EJI focus on?
Under his leadership, EJI has won major legal challenges eliminating excessive and unfair sentencing, exonerating innocent death row prisoners, confronting abuse of the incarcerated and the mentally ill, and aiding children prosecuted as adults.
What are the goals of the EJI?
EJI believes ending mass incarceration is the civil rights issue of our time. We challenge excessive punishment in court, advocate for parole and provide re-entry support, and advance systemic reform through research, education, and narrative work.
What is the mission of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI)?
EJI is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the U.S., challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. We've earned a perfect score from Charity Navigator.
What cases did Bryan Stevenson work with?
- Madison v. Alabama (2018)
- Miller v. Alabama (2011)
- Sullivan v. Florida (2009)
- Nelson v. Campbell (2003)
- McMillian v. Monroe County, Alabama (1996)
EJI's Community Remembrance Project
What is Bryan Stevenson fighting for?
An advocate fighting tirelessly for the poor, incarcerated, and condemned, Bryan Stevenson follows the Book of Micah's instruction to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly as he chronicles the legacy of lynching and racism in America, shining a light on what has been and all that we can be as a Nation.
Is EJI credible?
EJI is one of the nation's most effective legal advocacy organizations, earning a Charity Navigator 4-star rating and winning a Skoll Award for its impact on social justice reform. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and do not represent payment for goods or services received.
What does the EJI do besides providing representation?
EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment. We are committed to changing the narrative about race in America. EJI produces groundbreaking reports, an award-winning calendar, and short films that explore our nation's history of racial injustice.
What is an example of sentencing reform?
More recent examples of sentencing reform include Senate Bill 180 , which eliminated a mandatory three-year sentence enhancement for prior controlled substance convictions, and Senate Bill 136 , which eliminated a mandatory one-year prison prior sentence enhancement (except for sexually violent offense convictions); ...
What was Bryan Stevenson's best quote?
There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity. But simply punishing the broken--walking away from them or hiding them from sight--only ensures that they remain broken and we do, too. There is no wholeness outside of our reciprocal humanity.
How many people has the EJI helped?
In 2016, the court ruled in Montgomery v. Louisiana that this decision had to be applied retroactively, potentially affecting the sentences of 2300 people nationwide who had been sentenced to life while still children. As of 2022, the EJI has saved over 130 people from the death penalty.
How did Bryan Stevenson start EJI?
In 1989 Stevenson became director of the Alabama SCHR, which he called the Capital Representation Resource Center. Six years later he turned the organization into EJI, headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama. Like its predecessor, EJI is a human rights organization working for social and racial justice.
What is the restorative justice approach?
Restorative justice refers to “an approach to justice that seeks to repair harm by providing an opportunity for those harmed and those who take responsibility for the harm to communicate about and address their needs in the aftermath of a crime.” 1.
What is the book about the lawyer defending the black man?
A central character of Harper Lee's acclaimed novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” published in 1960, Atticus is a lawyer in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, who earns the ire of some white townspeople — and the admiration of his young daughter — when he defends a Black man, Tom Robinson, accused of raping a white girl ...
What are some of the activities of the Elder justice Initiative?
- Building Federal, State, and Local Capacity to Fight Elder Abuse. ...
- Promoting Justice for Older Americans. ...
- Supporting Research to Improve Elder Abuse Policy and Practice. ...
- Helping Older Victims and Their Families.
What is an example of racial injustice in Just Mercy?
One of EJI's first clients was Walter McMillian, a young Black man who was sentenced to die for the murder of a young white woman that he didn't commit. The case exemplifies how the death penalty in America is a direct descendant of lynching — a system that treats the rich and guilty better than the poor and innocent.
What are the pros and cons of sentencing reform?
- CONS: reformation programs cost money, (although it should be considered an investment. ...
- PROS: it would dramatically lower the prison recidivism rate.
- There would be much less violent crime, and subsequently less victims of violent crime.
- The prison population would within time would decrease by many fold, saving money.
What is the mandatory minimum sentence for drug possession?
Federal Drug Mandatory Minimum Sentences for Possession
For possession, you won't be required to serve a mandatory minimum sentence, unless you have a prior drug conviction from federal or another state jurisdiction, then you'll be sentenced to no less than 15 days of incarceration with a maximum of up to two years.
Can a judge give a lesser sentence?
But the Guidelines will recommend a lower sentence if the defendant has accepted responsibility for his actions, or otherwise played a minor role in the offense conduct. The Guidelines also factor in the defendant's prior criminal history and recommend a more severe sentence for repeat offenders.
What are the two cultural spaces that EJI opened in 2018?
EJI opened the Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration, located on the site of a former warehouse where Black people were enslaved in Montgomery, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, on a six-acre site overlooking downtown Montgomery, in April 2018.
Is EJI a non-profit?
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a non-profit organization, based in Montgomery, Alabama, that provides legal representation to prisoners who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes, poor prisoners without effective representation, and others who may have been denied a fair trial.
What is the history of EJI?
About EJI. As a nonprofit law office founded by Bryan Stevenson in 1989, the Equal Justice Initiative represents clients sentenced to death and condemned to die in prison, challenges inhumane conditions of confinement, and works to expose racial bias in the criminal legal system.
Is EJI free?
Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) provides free legal assistance to about 2,000 people per year. They have won new trials, reduced sentences or exonerations for over 140 death row prisoners.
Who has EJI helped?
The EJI has helped release over 135 wrongly accused prisoners sentenced to death. Stevenson and EJI have worked tirelessly to address the ramifications of slavery and structural racism in the United States. Stevenson played a crucial role in memorializing America's dark past.
How is EJI funded in the United States?
Funding: The Equal Justice Initiative is funded by foundations, corporations, individuals, and government grants.