WIN WITH JUSTICE IS A SOCIAL ACTION CAMPAIGN
Win With Justice is an innovative social action campaign to educate the public on the critical role prosecutors play in the criminal justice system and to free Jonathan Irons, a man who has been unjustly incarcerated for over 20 years.
The local prosecutor plays a huge role in contributing to mass incarceration. Educating local constituents about the power of the prosecutor and their impact on the community can lead to substantial changes in the overall justice system.
Jonathan Irons' petition was filed on December 21,2018.
This is how much time has passed since the courts and DAs have had an opportunity to act:
Prosecutors are the most powerful actors in the criminal justice system.
Prosecutors play a role in bail decisions, whether children should be charged as adults, whether people should be offered diversion programs to prevent criminal convictions and whether to charge specific enhancement crimes that add decades of prison time to charges. They also decide whether to prosecute police who violate the law. The consequences of those decisions can mean the difference between the success or failure of someone touched by the system and the overall safety of the community.
97%
of cases never go to trial
1 IN 15
of the world’s prisoners are in the U.S
1 IN 15
black men is behind bars
The importance of the Jonathan Irons Case
This case involves the (non-fatal) shooting of a home-owner (Mr. Stockman) during a burglary at his home. Jonathan, who was only 16 years old at the time, was in the area but blocks away at the home of some friends (Amy and Christine Buckley). Although it would have been impossible for him to simultaneously be at the victim's home, and despite the fact that NO physical evidence linked him to the crime, he was convicted of the burglary and shooting and given a 50-year sentence even though he had not legally been certified as an adult.