Attorney Laura Sheppard, PhD

15/06/2026

This! We're Hobbits, recipients of war and ruin

12/06/2026

11/06/2026

If you're in the Bay Area, consider joining GRIP's Walk for Peace. It's one of those rare opportunities to come together in person with others in the community of folks advocating for a less punitive, more restorative society.
Check out the details here: https://givebutter.com/2026-walk-a-thon-zmd1l5

11/06/2026

AB 2434 (Bonta) establishes clear, consistent standards governing visitation in California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) facilities, ensuring that family visits are accessible, humane, and not subject to arbitrary restriction or denial. It will be voted on by the public safety committee soon, so write a letter to support it using the portal. Remember to focus not just on yourself and your loved one, but on why this law is needed, and is good for everyone's safety, based on your knowledge and experiences.
You can read about the bill here: https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AB2434/id/3399937
You can track the bill's progress here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2434
And you can submit a letter thru the portal here: https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/

Bill Text (2026-06-10) Inmates: visitation. [Referred to Com. on PUB. S.]

09/06/2026

Between state & federal prisons & local jails, about 2.3 million people are incarcerated in the U.S. That's about 540 people per 100,000. The average rate globally is ~145 people per 100,000. The only nations that incarcerate more per capita are El Salvador, Cuba & Rwanda (and many of our states have rates higher than Cuba or Rwanda).
We incarcerate people more readily than Russia, China & Iran. BY FAR more than Western Europe, which averages 80-90 per 100,000.
So what does this mean?
Do we just have more CRIME than everywhere else? Not likely. And if we do, maybe we should ask WHY? Or if not, then why do we arrest and lock up so many more people (and for so much longer) than everywhere else?

In academia, we talk about the purposes of criminal "justice":
1) Retribution: We punish people to to make them suffer proportional to what they "deserve"
2) Deterrence: For the sake of public safety, we punish people to teach them not to do harmful things again, and to warn other people not to break the law. (this includes incarceration, also fines, classes, community service...)
3) Isolation: For the sake of public safety, we lock people up to prevent them from hurting more people. This can be retributive (make the lockup painful) or rehabilitative (to force rehabilitative treatment until you're safe to release)
4) Moral education: We impose punishments so that everybody receives the same shared message about what our society is not ok with.

Ultimately, I'm a utilitarian, which means I believe we should aim for laws that minimize crime while also minimizing unnecessary punitive suffering. That means locking people up only when NEEDED to protect others, and only so long as punishments are EFFECTIVE. I believe in rehabilitation because it respects people's rights to decency and liberty, recognizes that behavior can change, and doesn't waste resources locking people up for longer than necessary.
The numbers prove that America has the balance wrong. We are not categorically safer than everywhere else, yet we lock people up far more. This shows we are leaning too far into retribution rather than a utilitarian focus on doing the most good for the greatest number of people

08/06/2026

This is a new law we WANT!!
AB 1759 requires CDCR to contract with a research entity to reassess the current security classification system and recommend changes to ensure incarcerated people aren't being unnecessarily held in higher-level facilities with limited access to rehabilitative programming. It can/should help deserving incarcerated people get to a lower classification level, which reduces their exposure to violence and gives them greater hope of rehabilitation.
To support it, write a short, personalized letter of support (focus on the reasons why we as CALIFORNIANS should want this law, not just why you want it for your loved one). And submit it using the portal linked below - if possible by tomorrow, June 9 at 3pm.
https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/faces/index.xhtml

07/06/2026

On this page, we know who we are. We are a community of people who believe in redemption, compassion, and human dignity. Yes, victims matter to us, AND we know that incarcerated people are victims too, who unfortunately responded in harmful ways to their own suffering. So we fight for the healing they need to be able to be their best selves and return to their communities.
We don't let the hate bother us, because we know who we are. We are the ones who care about the people society chooses to throw away. We don't believe in hate or retribution here, so we don't let the words of haters bother us.
Keep your heads up!

06/06/2026

6 minutes hearing from both "sides" about the California model - criticism and praise. Worth watching.

Violence is rising inside California’s prisons—and correctional off...

06/06/2026

"In the same way that police value tools that help them prevent crime, correctional officers know what works to keep prisons safe and reduce the likelihood that someone will return to prison after release." A law enforcement survey reported on in this USA Today story found that "nearly three out of four officers favor policies that allow parole boards to consider earlier release for individuals who participate in rehabilitation, education and job training and demonstrate a commitment to change."

Public safety is not achieved through enforcement and incarceration alone. It depends on a system that invests in prevention.

06/06/2026

Poor sleep. Add it to the list, along with bad food, overcrowding, boredom, and lack of hope, as the factors that contribute to violence in prison. The more we can identify these factors, the more we can make prison a safe and rehabilitative space to restore humans to their best selves and make our communities stronger.

People in prison are routinely denied something essential to human health: sleep.

A new report from Prison and Jail Innovation Lab documents how constant noise, lighting, nighttime disruptions, and unsafe sleeping conditions lead to chronic sleep deprivation—fueling illness, anxiety, and even violence behind bars.
The good news? These harms are not inevitable. They are policy choices—and they can be fixed.

🔗 Full report: https://pulse.ly/tzrbeynqwj