National criminal justice reform leader to speak in Lansing

DeAnna R. Hoskins, the president and CEO of JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), will be the featured speaker at Safe & Just Michigan's Annual Dinner Meeting, which will take place at the Lansing Radisson Hotel ballroom on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. JustLeadershipUSA is a national criminal justice reform organization focused on cutting the number of people incarcerated in the U.S. in half by 2030 by strengthening the leadership of formerly incarcerated people so they more ably lead policy reform across the country.

"Ms. Hoskins is one of the leading voices in the criminal justice reform movement, and we are delighted she will is joining us in Lansing to speak at our annual meeting. Ms Hoskins and her colleagues at JLUSA are powerful advocates for people impacted by the justice system and are changing hearts and minds about criminal justice reform in states across the country, including here in Michigan as we have seen with the Clean Slate Campaign."

Hoskins' appearance in Lansing is well-timed. It coincides with the statewide discussion about Clean Slate, a set of six bills in the Legislature that would expand eligibility for the expungement of criminal records and automate the expungement process. A limited expungement process already exists, but it is complicated and costly. As a result, only 6.5 percent of people eligible for an expungement even attempt to get one. That's unfortunate, because once someone obtains an expungement, their earnings increase 25 percent over the following two years, on average. Without an expungement, someone with a criminal record faces significant discrimination in hiring, finding housing and securing education opportunities.

Hoskins will be speaking for about half an hour at the Safe & Just Michigan Annual Dinner Meeting and will also have press availability from 5-5:30 p.m. inside the ballroom of the Radisson Hotel in Lansing.

Published: Thu, Oct 10, 2019