Headfort Foundation Provides Free Legal Aid

As a part of the National Bail Out effort in the United States, the Free Black Mamas DMV campaign bails incarcerated women out of jails in the Washington D.C. area in time for Mother’s Day.

In 2017, a Pennsylvania county court system began to expand its offerings of free legal support, and now in 2023 the county provides defendants with public defenders at all arraignments 9am to midnight. In the first two years of its more-limited services, a study proved defendants with lawyers were more likely to be released without cash bail. Also, chances that a defendant would be in jail three days after their hearing dropped. Research also showed, however, increases in some costs and one type of crime.

The California law firm UnCommon Law is helping people in prison make parole through group counseling and training. The firm facilitates conversations around insight, helping participants understand and explain their own personal journey and reckon with the impact of their actions, so that they can convey this to their parole board. Since 2006, UnCommon law has helped 248 men and women receive parole, a 60% success rate.

A digital tool called Restore Your Vote launched in the summer of 2018 to help ex-convicts understand their voting restoration status after re-integrating into society. The initiative, which has been piloted in Alabama, aims to reduce disenfranchisement in ex-convict communities by targeting unclear language, misinformation, and lack of access to education.

People affected by fetal alcohol syndrome disorder are more likely to be convicted. In Alaska, one court provides convicts with FASD counselors and patience, making the court system more equitable and hoping to reduce recidivism.

Mental health courts divert people with mental illness from prison into community-based programs with treatment, counseling, and court supervision. These programs graduate around 50% of participants, reduce recidivism, and have saved counties an estimated $485 million in avoided incarceration costs over 15 years.

Partners in Justice pairs trained client advocates with public defenders to help people facing charges get access to support and resources that can improve their outcomes in court. One study found that this type of holistic model helped reduce expected sentence length by 24 percent.

The Carmelite Prisoners’ Interest Organization works to release people unlawfully detained in Nigeria. At the same time, the organization provides legal representation and religious support to those awaiting trial.

Headfort, a nonprofit in Nigeria, is helping residents serving jail time while awaiting trial who cannot afford lawyers by representing them in court for free. The organization tries to be as accessible as possible by searching for people in need, being active on social media, and communicating through a smartphone app for legal advice.

The Women and Survivors Project provides legal representation to women imprisoned for crimes that stemmed from histories of abuse. Nearly all incarcerated women have suffered violent abuse. Many end up punished for fighting back or when their abuser forces them to participate in his crimes, but their defenses often get overlooked in court. The project so far has helped free five women by getting judges or parole officials to reconsider their cases, including one woman convicted of first-degree murder. It has dozens more cases in the pipeline.