Managing Attorney Lilli Paratore writes for SacBee in a powerful Op Ed.

A new report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) suggests the state’s parole process could lead to bias in how parole is granted. 

The parole board’s refusal to free Janet Carter, 69, is part of what advocates warn is a growing humanitarian crisis across the US.

“This process depends on the subjective opinions of people who, for the most part, have spent their careers locking up people that we, as a society, have been taught to fear. As a result, we see that people who are Black, brown, gender-nonconforming, differently able, are most likely to be denied parole.”

“As a lawyer, I have the ability to try and bring a little bit of humanity into a system that is so inhumane.”

"Under the worst circumstances, just about anyone is capable of killing another person. Shows that capitalize on those worst moments do so at the peril of healing and repair for victims and survivors and for those who caused the harm." 

Keith Wattley was recently interviewed by SAMHSA’s GAINS Center and Policy Research Associates, Inc. on UnCommon Law’s uncommon approach to legal services and criminal punishment reform, and what it means to provide “trauma-informed” advocacy.

UnCommon Law’s Keith Wattley featured as the cover story for Oakland Magazine’s December 2019 edition.