Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a national organization that works to transform the justice system from one that harms to one that heals. Their work includes ending the death penalty, strengthening programs that help crime survivors address trauma and rebuild their lives, and promoting trauma-informed responses to violence that can save lives and help heal communities.

Their Vision: A Trauma-Responsive Justice System

Imagine a justice system that is the solution instead of the problem.

Imagine a justice system that works.

It would prevent violence, heal trauma and help people harmed by crime to rebuild their lives, create genuine accountability instead of mass incarceration, and treat everyone fairly and equitably in the process.

A justice system that works would mean fewer victims, fewer defendants, and safer communities for all.

A lot of criminal justice reform work is about taking down parts of the justice system that aren’t working. This is vitally important work – and EJUSA plays a leading role in it with our award-winning campaign to end the death penalty.

They also believe that it is not enough to dismantle the broken parts. They must also build up the justice system that they want in its place – a justice system that is both responsive to trauma and restorative.

Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach like prison, that system would do four core things:

• - Provide life-saving services to all crime survivors at the time of their victimization, including counseling, relocation to a safe space, replacement of lost wages and other financial assistance, time off from work, accompaniment to medical appointments, and much more.
• - Hold people who commit harm accountable in ways that facilitate healing, rehabilitation, and responsibility.
• - Keep communities safe through trauma intervention, community-centered prevention programs, and a well coordinated, multi-system approach that address the key risk factors and social determinants of violence, aggression, other forms of harm.
• - Create system accountability that acknowledges and repairs the harm caused by the criminal justice system, particularly in communities of color and other marginalized communities, and addresses the wellness and trauma of system actors so as not to act with undue force and aggression within the communities they are sworn to serve and protect.