On October 26, the Missouri HIV Justice Coalition met for its final strategic planning meeting of the year. Just over half of the group was present in Kansas City and engaged in a full day of activities and conversations looking ahead to the next legislative session and beyond. The underlying theme of the day was...Read More

It has been clear to criminal justice advocates in Empower Missouri’s network for some time that poverty has been criminalized. Among the ways we have drawn attention to this topic were an April 2017 forum and a special Media Award to Tony Messenger in May 2018 for his series on policies that create debtors’ prisons,...Read More

I really couldn’t have imagined the hearing going any better. The room was packed, standing-room-only in the gallery, nearly every one of the 19 (!) committee members were present. A Republican from the rural bootheel sat next to a Democrat from the big city of St. Louis, and together Reps. Holly Rehder and Tracy McCreery...Read More

While crime has dropped across the nation and also in Missouri, our state is one of only eight states in which the prison population has been growing. In fact, we rank #3, and we have been in a nip-and-tuck race with Kentucky to take home the coveted (NOT!) prize for most women being incarcerated. How...Read More