
Akua
Amaning
Director, Criminal Justice Reform
We focus on developing policies to shrink the justice system’s footprint, improve public health and safety, and promote equity and accountability.
Our work is centered around developing and supporting policies that will end unjust punishments and reduce the social and economic harms of mass incarceration, which have disproportionately devastated Black people and other communities of color.
We are working to advance measures that will increase police transparency and accountability, overhaul harmful police practices, and prioritize community-based solutions to public safety.
We are working to drastically reduce the criminalization of drugs in America while restoring communities that have been most affected by harsh drug enforcement measures.
We advocate for policy options that remove obstacles and barriers for people affected by the criminal justice system while simultaneously highlighting the leadership of affected people in the reform movement.
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The Criminal Justice Reform team collaborates with a number of justice reform partners at the national, state, and local levels to help build a more progressive justice system.
The Justice Roundtable is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 organizations working to reform federal criminal justice laws and policies.
Justice Roundtable
The Clean Slate Initiative is a national bipartisan coalition advancing policies to automatically clear all eligible criminal records across the United States and help state partners provide people with a fresh start.
Clean Slate Initiative
The Marijuana Justice Coalition is a broad coalition of national advocacy organizations, convened by the Drug Policy Alliance, who have joined forces to advocate for federal marijuana reform through a racial and economic justice lens.
Drug Policy Alliance - Marijuana Justice Coalition
This week, Ed spoke with Capt. Ersie Joyner of the Oakland Police Department about the city's successful and comprehensive Ceasefire program to address gun violence and crime in the community.
Ed and Daniella chat with Ari Melber—host of MSNBC's "The Beat With Ari Melber"—to discuss the increasingly strained relationship between Congress and the Trump administration, as well as the debate around criminal justice reform.
This week, Daniella and Ed spoke with filmmaker Edward Zwick to discuss his new project, "Trial by Fire," as well as the ways in which movies and popular culture can help advance policy change.
This week, Daniella and Ed talk with Emily Bazelon, staff writer at The New York Times Magazine, and Rachel Barkow, professor at the New York University School of Law, about how to end mass incarceration through comprehensive criminal justice reform.
This week, Daniella and Ed speak with Kim Foxx, the state's attorney for Cook County, Illinois, about what it means to be a progressive prosecutor.
This week, Ed hosted a panel of experts at the South by Southwest conference that explored what policing should look like in this day and age and how it intersects with criminal justice reform.
This week, Daniella and Ed chat with Candice Jones—president and CEO of the Public Welfare Foundation—to reflect on this year's Black History Month and discuss criminal justice reform.
This week, Daniella and Ed spoke with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti about how his city is moving the needle forward on issues such as infrastructure, immigration, and criminal justice.
This week, Daniella moderates a panel with Cannon Lambert, the Bland family attorney, and David Heilbroner, co-director of the documentary, “Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland,” during a live screening of the film at the Center for American Progress.
Daniella and Ed sit down with Valerie Jarrett and Mayor Michael Tubbs and discuss criminal justice reform at the local level, as well as the sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh.