Blog of Rights
Dan
Zeidman

Dan Zeidman is a Lobbyist Assistant focusing on criminal justice reform for the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. Before coming to the ACLU, Dan worked as a Legislative Assistant for the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He graduated from Williams College in 2009 with a BA in Political Science and a concentration in Leadership Studies.

08/01/2012
Overincarceration

Senate Hearing Explores the Exorbitant Costs of Incarceration

By Dan Zeidman, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:51pm

Over the last 30 years, the population of the federal prison system has increased exponentially – nearly 800 percent – largely due to the overrepresentation of those convicted of drug offenses, many of whom are low-level and non-violent. Today, a record 218,000 people are confined within Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) operated facilities or in privately managed or community-based institutions and jails.

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07/25/2012
Youth PROMISE Act

Interrupting the Violence

By Dan Zeidman, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 12:00pm

Across the country, states are working to reform their juvenile justice systems in order to emphasize youth rehabilitation and violence prevention.  Just this past Thursday, the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians – which was created by Gov. Nathan Deal – held its first meeting and discussed its top priority of crafting a juvenile justice reform bill.  In order to draft the reform legislation, the panel is looking at states such as Texas and Ohio, which have been able to reform their juvenile justice systems and reduce the number of children they incarcerate by, in part, emphasizing alternatives to incarceration for youth and, when appropriate, reducing the amount of time children spend in prison.  These changes have played a significant role in reducing the states’ juvenile prison populations and saving scarce taxpayer dollars while maintaining public safety.  

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05/21/2012
Overincarceration

Seeing Is Believing: Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Is Possible

By Jennifer Bellamy, Washington Legislative Office & Dan Zeidman, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:38pm

Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, makes opening remarks

Vanita Gupta, ACLU deputy legal director, Center for Justice, serves as moderator

The panel, from left to right, Texas State Rep. Jerry Madden, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, ACLU’s Vanita Gupta, Georgia State Sen. Curt Thompson, Nebraska State Sen. Dwite Pedersen. (Not pictured, Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz)

The panel, from left to right, ACLU’s Vanita Gupta, Texas State Rep. Jerry Madden, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz, Georgia State Sen. Curt Thompson, Nebraska State Sen. Dwite Pedersen
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