The intersection of Prison Reform and Mental Health

The second Civic Action Project (CAP) created by Civic Fellows this semester focused on the intersection of Prison Reform and Mental Health, created for the Lucy Lang for Manhattan District Attorney Campaign. Check out Amalie Seth’s description of her experience.

In the second semester of my NextGen Civic Fellowship,  I chose criminal justice as my topic due to my deep interest in the systemic roots and fabrics that make up our justice system and my long-standing goal to be a force for change within them. I was part of a really interesting group of five Fellows given the opportunity to work alongside Lucy Lang and her District Attorney campaign in Manhattan to write criminal justice policy for her platform. At the beginning of our endeavors, we were told to look through Lucy's policy platform and find aspects that we feel to be missing. As we dove in, exploring her prior policies and stances, we collectively agreed to place our focus on prison reform. The more we researched prior case studies, circumstances, and legislation, our points centered around rehabilitation over incarceration for substance abuse and potentially mental health changes meant to proactively curb re-entry into the prison system. In this day and age, these topics are pertinent to de-stigmatize mental health issues, end the cycle of re-entry into prisons, and bring about effective change to the individuals in the justice system. 

Please check out the slides for our CAP presentation here and better yet, watch the video below:

Amalie Seth is a Next Generation Politics Civic Fellow finishing her sophomore year at The Spence School in Manhattan.