Crisis. Reform. & Repeat.
What lessons are relevant today as we navigate a new cycle of reforms in our criminal legal system?
The Correctional Reform Working Group is a diverse group of academics, practitioners, policy makers, and researchers seeking to understand and share effective strategies for reform in the criminal justice system. Our focus spans critical moments in correctional history, analyzing crises, reforms, and the cyclical nature of change within these systems.
Learning from the Past
Our Mission
The Correctional Reform Working Group is dedicated to understanding the elements and factors that contribute to successful change within the criminal justice and correctional system. Our mission is to encourage progress towards a more just, equitable, and successful system by learning from leaders who have brought about positive transformations in the criminal justice and correctional system.
Reflections
Lessons from Correctional History
THE John Boone Era
Our May 2023 panel reflected on correctional reform in the 1970s when John Boone, was Massachusetts’ first Black Commissioner of Corrections.
The conversation explored challenges and tensions surrounding reform — including the time when incarcerated people temporarily “ran” Walpole — and the lessons future leaders can learn as new changes unfold in our criminal legal system.
- Special Message -
Peter Goldmark
Former Secretary of Human Services,
Executive Office of Human Services
panel sponsored by
