Bill's Place, Inc.

Get engaged. You can help someone, even yourself.

I'd like to acknowledge the death of my brother, Billy who died from a heroin overdose (31) years ago today. Bill's Place, Inc. was founded in his honor. I love & miss you so very much!

Senator Winfield takes the "Clean State Bill," & stretches the benefits so much further. These are humane changes necessary for humane reforms to take place in Connecticut. Easily adaptable in the higher incarcerated states like Georgia, so many possibilities abound for low-level offenses to be discarded & burdens lifted from families, employers & communities alike. Yes, sir!!!

Healthcare inside, for the most part, is less than exemplary in prisons across the country. Low wages lead to poorly trained staff with insufficient experience or skills to adequately serve the inmates. But, when deaths occur due to negligence - that's another story. Do you want mold & mildew in your home? Backed up sewage in your cells? Poor common area sanitation practices abound. Let's confirm something is being done to manage this. Speak up.

We don't profess to be IN the legal profession by any stretch of the imagination. But, watch the brief video & ask yourself - "did you ask the right questions, consult honestly with your attorney, stay in regular communication (when the opportunity presented itself), etc.?" Email can be painless unless you're one of "those clients" who is a pain & no one will give you theirs. If you are dealing with a public defender, speak up LOUDLY so you can be heard.

Have you asked yourself why 700,000 people are locked up in the United States? Here's one answer, but it doesn't tell the whole story.

This speech is given (22) years ago! What has changed, continues to change & still needs to change? Bernie's politics are skewed, but from a community and humanitarian perspective - right on the money!

Let's read between the lines and the heading. Criminal Justice reforms are working (in some places). However, ask the right questions & you just may get the right answers when it comes to deciding whether a defendant is "worth being given a non-cash bail release pending the next or future court date." Get past the jargon, please!!!

I could not have said it any better! Hats off to Governor Lamont for making reforms where it really counts in a community.

Our own professor, Sandra Mayson at UGA Law School said it best - "critics argued that no probability of future crime was sufficient to authorize preventive detention."

Most bail & custody reforms face blowback when "business as usual," was easier than thinking through what works for a society, like really looking hard. People in custody frequently don't have the means to turn their lives around at that given moment but presented with options, can make an impact on themselves, their families, employers & the community in which they live.

What a compassionate opportunity for elderly offenders! See if your loved one is eligible.