ABOUT MINDFUL JUSTICE
The Mindful Justice conference, which took place in September 2015, brought together the pioneers of mindfulness-based programming in the criminal justice system, as well as teachers, researchers, and policy-makers with an interest in this work, to explore how we can establish a shared vision for system-wide transformation drawing on the principles and practices of mindfulness.
This might have seemed utopian 10 years ago. Times have changed, however. Meditation, mindfulness, and other contemplative practices are more widely understood and frequently discussed in popular media.
A body of scientific data has been published which validates and explains the processes by which contemplative practices alter brain function and structures.
And this is a moment of unusual openness to ideas for reforming the criminal justice system. Calls for reform come from every point on the political spectrum. But no one has yet articulated a philosophy for transforming the system, grounded in contemplative principles: compassion, community building, and respect for the dignity of all participants. We propose to do that and to put it forward into the public debate.
We believe that that integrating mindfulness principles and practices at all levels of the system, from police encounters on the street to our courts, prisons, and reentry process, could create a dramatically different criminal justice system, one that leads to less suffering, and lower human and financial cost.
Our goal with the September conference was to explore and refine this vision together, and discuss how we can put it forward into the mainstream criminal reform discussion, with the hope that over time it leads to deep and meaningful change that benefits all those impacted by our criminal justice system.
We are deeply grateful to the Frederick P. Lenz Foundation for American Buddhism for seed funding that made this project possible.
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES
In the weeks leading up to the conference, and during our time together in Michigan, we formulated a set of principles that we believed should guide our work to foster change in the criminal justice system.
These are our draft principles:
#1
Facilitating inner change among the individuals who operate the criminal justice system, those who are caught in it, and those in our communities is a critical element in addressing the fundamental inhumanity of our criminal justice system. Such change involves deepening compassion, reducing reactivity, and increasing a sense of interconnection with others. Widespread inner change by the individuals who comprise the system is a necessary precursor to and catalyst for changing the system itself.
#2
All people, including those who have committed serious crimes and made mistakes, have inherent goodness that can and should be cultivated and nurtured. Acknowledging this basic goodness and capacity for rehabilitation entails an obligation to provide the means to cultivate the potential of all individuals--including juvenile and adult offenders, probationers, parolees, and others.
#3
Our institutions of criminal justice should be guided by principles of respect for human dignity and compassion for others, and these principles should be reflected in institutional practices and policies.
#4
Training and supervision of criminal justice workers should involve practices—meditation or otherwise—that support mindful practice, behavior, and values.
#5
The transformation of the criminal justice system should be guided by community engagement and input, and enacted in partnership with community organizations.
#6
The integration of mindfulness into the criminal justice system must be done in a way that repairs the disproportionate harm the system has had on poor communities and communities of color.