Over the past quarter century, there has been a profound change in the involvement of women within the criminal justice system. This is the result of more expansive law enforcement efforts, stiffer drug sentencing laws, and post-conviction barriers to reentry that uniquely affect women. The female incarcerated population stands over seven times higher than in 1980. More than 60% of women in state prisons have a child under the age of 18.On this episode of Free Thinking, Montel talks with Qiana Johnson, the founder of Life After Release Inc, a formerly incarcerated women-led organization supporting system involved people in DC, Maryland & Virginia. She is organizing to build a post-conviction movement challenging the integrity of convictions and the judicial system. She is a local community organizer with Black Lives Matter DC, a national trainer with Silicon Valley Debug, Participatory Defense, and a proud member of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com