Our Mission
Building a better justice system.
Our Vision
Mass decarceration and the transformation of the criminal justice system.
Our Work
Reform Georgia is a nonprofit criminal justice policy think tank and advocacy organization working to reform the criminal justice system at the state and local level through research, education, and organizing.
We believe Georgia should be a safe, equitable, and prosperous place for everyone to live.
We can do better.
We are impatient for progress.
What we don’t do.
- As a nonprofit, we are a nonpartisan organization and do not endorse any political parties, candidates, or elected officials.
- As a registered 501(c)3 organization, all donations are tax-deductible.
- We do not provide direct services or legal representation.
- We do not try to duplicate the work of established organizations. Instead we seek to collaborate with and support other organizations that share our mission and values.
Our Coalition
Our coalition is made up of individuals, organizations, and community leaders who want the end of mass incarceration in Georgia.
Together we work to reform Georgia’s overgrown justice system and defend the rights of all Georgians, including the most marginalized of society.
Our Values
Coalition Building
- We seek to work with others and support the efforts of existing organizations and activists whenever possible. We must respect the work of those who have been doing the work and give credit where it is due.
- Creating connections, building relationships, and finding ways to unify and reinforce efforts instead of replicating them makes us stronger and more effective.
- We have found the Community Tool Box from the Kansas University Center for Community Health and Development to be a helpful resource.
Evidence Based Policy and Ethical Decision-Making
- From top to bottom, the criminal justice system should be informed by sound research and ethics. We believe our policy positions should be too.
- Our policies must adapt as new research and information reveals where and how laws and policies are resulting in injustice or inequality.
- Above all, we must ensure that our choices are informed by a respect for human dignity and civil and human rights.
Intersectionality and Allyship
- The problems of the criminal justice system and policies causing mass incarceration are intersectional, meaning they overlap with many other social issues, especially issues of racial and economic discrimination.
- We acknowledge that criminal justice reform is about racial and economic justice and that we must address the structural problems in the system if we truly hope to build a better justice system.
- We must listen to and elevate the voices of those most impacted by the criminal justice system, rather than try to speak for them.
- We must stand as strong allies with those who are marginalized. This often requires some learning on our parts. We have found this Guide to Allyship to be a helpful resource.
- We must combat all the injustices we encounter in the system.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. — “Letter from Birmingham Jail”