Bringing prisoners and students together as classmates
Residents of the California Institution for Women joined a class on memoir writing alongside USC students, facilitating empathy and new perspectives on prison.
Trojan lobbies for safer and healthier food in jails through Agents of Change
During an internship with the ACLU, undergraduate Alyssa Matias successfully worked for dietary improvements for incarcerated people in county jails, gaining real-world legal skills in the process.
Innovative criminal justice reforms come to life in collaborative performance
USC policy and drama students join forces to illustrate “restorative justice,” a model that encourages survivors and formerly incarcerated people to move past the most difficult chapters of their lives.
ICE violated its own internal medical standards, potentially contributing to deaths of mostly healthy men
Many of the deaths were due to delayed care or an inadequate response to abnormal vital signs, USC researchers found.
USC Gould’s Post-Conviction Justice Project changes lives of clients
Two men are free after decades in prison thanks to law students who helped persuade the courts to vacate murder convictions.
How a national police misconduct registry can help rebuild trust in law enforcement
Erroll Southers, USC professor and co-founder of the LEWIS Registry, explains why a comprehensive catalog of fired police officers could repair relationships between cops and the communities they serve.
USC Price’s Safe Communities Institute launches national registry to track police misconduct
The Law Enforcement Work Inquiry System (LEWIS) Registry is the first public database to gather police officer firings and resignations nationwide.
5 ways USC students and faculty heal lives broken by crime
Victims of violence and former prisoners come together in April 27 event; it’s one way Trojans are taking on restorative justice.
Private investigator explores criminal justice issues at USC Bovard College
While Kelani Dungca started out as an HR recruiter, employers quickly picked up on her inquisitiveness and tenacity — skills she’s strengthening through USC’s online program.
Social work professor reflects family legacy in criminal justice research
Robynn Cox believes her family’s history with social justice and her desire for fairness laid the groundwork for her research career at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.
USC Dornsife launches first undergraduate civil rights advocacy clinic in U.S.
Led by noted civil rights attorney Olu Orange, the Agents of Change Initiative enables students to participate in key areas of social reform.
Prison Education Project brings poetry, philosophy and physics to the incarcerated
USC Dornsife faculty and students teach university-level coursework to California prisoners in an effort to reduce recidivism rates and break down stereotypes.
He Was Healed Through a Love of Dogs — and the People Who Believed in Him
Twenty-two years into a life sentence for a crime committed as a teen, a former gang member found hope with the help of USC legal advocates.
L.A. communities of color rely on police yet are stopped and arrested at higher rates
A new USC report found evidence of overpolicing along with a steady increase in 911 calls by community members to law enforcement agencies over much of the past decade.
USC Gould’s Post-Conviction Justice Project inspires — and gets results
After 40 years, the influential program has led the way in parole reform, shaped legislation and policies, and created second chances for incarcerated women and youths.
USC professor wins California Supreme Court case regarding police misconduct
Olu Orange, civil rights lawyer and director of the USC mock trial program, won the reinstatement of an $8 million damages verdict to the family of a Black man killed by sheriff’s deputies.
USC Gould’s Access to Justice Practicum plays key role in DMV ruling
Students gain important career experience working on a high-profile case involving suspended driver licenses.
Three clients freed from California prisons thanks to USC’s Post-Conviction Justice Project
Allen, Celia and Charles all received life sentences for crimes they committed as teens and spent 84 years combined in prison. Through their dedication and the project’s advocacy, they are now free.
New approach to police lineups measures the strength of an eyewitness’s memory
A team of scientists from USC and other Southern California research institutions seeks to remove decision bias from the process of identifying suspects.
‘I Became a Cop to Fight Injustice. We Need to Do Better’
The LAPD reserve officer and USC radiation oncology specialist talks about combating racism as a society.
When Supreme Court justices defy expectations
The recent decision by America’s highest court to retain employment discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community is consistent with a historic pattern of defying expectations, a USC expert notes.
Formerly incarcerated social work scholars unite thanks to new student interest group
Unchained Scholars brings together social work students who were system- or justice-impacted, along with their allies, to organize events and offer one another support.
Why do certain county jails hold detained immigrants for ICE?
A USC law professor investigates which counties are more likely to participate in immigration detention and what those counties all have in common.
Writing Unites USC Students and Ex-Prisoners Seeking a Better Life
Released prisoners share their stories while USC students write their own in an unusual partnership that has changed lives.