"In too many states, judicial elections are becoming political prizefights where partisans and special interests seek to install judges who will answer to them instead of the law and the Constitution."
--Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Finding Solutions
to a Compelling Problem
The Ethics Project is a non-profit, 501(c) (3) corporation, with a mission to reduce the impact of crime, wrongful prosecutions and mass incarcerations by ncreasing collaboration of agencies and ministries that serve those most affected by crime and by raising the bar on ethical conduct within the system. By convening consortiums of criminal justice professionals, agencies and faith-based ministries throughout the country, The Ethics Project provides opportunities for integration of services, effective use of resources, heightened awareness of national trends and best practices, and guidance toward joint problem solving and strategic execution.
The Ethics Project
- Educates the public on laws regulating the behavior of lawyers, prosecutors, judges & police
- Brings together agencies and ministries to engage in purposeful collaboration
- Provides links to Innocence Projects to address wrongful prosecutions
- Partners with other concerned individuals and agencies to address incarcerations and their impact on the community.
______________________
Crime is about us - all of us. Directly or indirectly, it affects every man, woman and child in America. Crime reaches beyond the protective doors of class and permeates every culture. It tears families apart and ravages their communities.
With one in every 100 Americans serving time in federal or state penal institutions, the United States leads the world in incarceration rates. The profitable existence of jails and prisons costs tax payers more than 55 billion dollars each year while colleges and universities face declining enrollment and shrinking budgets. The reality that more children are "serving time" than the adults who commit the crimes seems to have little influence on the consciences of those who profit from crowding prisons with the mentally ill, non-violent offenders and wrongfully convicted defendants. Indeed, children are often those being incarcerated.
Once a criminal record is created, the inability to find meaningful employment and thus housing, sends more than one third of all offenders back to prison within three years of release - their newest victims serving a life sentence of fear and loss. Re-entry programs designed to shift financial costs from tax payers to offenders guarantees more corporate profits and creates a burden that often results in re-incarceration - the taxpayer once again, holding the bag.
The disparate rates of incarcerations of African Americans and Hispanics reflect the inequities of a system already fraught with systemic problems. Innocence programs spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal time and expenses to exonerate a single person wrongfully convicted and one too many innocent people have been executed before DNA evidence evolved. Yet, doors are still shuttered at night and locks and alarms portend acts of crime.
The Ethics Project was formed in 2007 following the founders insight to the wide-spread brokenness within the legal system. Lack of ethics and personal advancement underlie the conduct of many prosecutors, law enforcement professionals and judges that has resulted in thousands of innocent people being incarcerated for crimes they didn't commit. Their convictions add to the dismal rate of incarceration in America.
"Be the change you wish to see in the world."
The Ethics Project seeks to impact each of the following causes and consequences of crime and injustice
Meaningful Employment: The inability of ex-offenders to find meaningful employment after their release from prison is a
problem that inevitably leads to the repeated
offense and re incarceration. Criminal records all
but assure that employers will decline applications
or will hire them only for the most menial jobs.
Without the ability to support themselves and their
families through meaningful employment, it is
inevitable that ex-offenders will return to crime.
Mental Health: Increasingly, prisons are being used to house the
mentally ill. The response to actions by those
less capable of making reasoned decisions has been
to add them to the ever-burgeoning prison
population rather than to seek treatment that
addresses the mental condition that exists.
Child Abuse:
Notwithstanding the physical abuse caused by
parents unprepared to re-enter society after years
in prison, a system that "sentences" children to a
childhood with absent parents is child abuse in
itself. The emotional scars suffered by children
of incarcerated parents is an institutional abuse
that inextricably riddles criminal "justice". View
this six minute video on "A Family on Parole".
At Risk Youth:
There are currently more children with one or
both parents serving time in penal institutions
than there are adults behind bars. The lack of
parental supervision during the most difficult and
critical time of a teenagers life spawns hurt, anger
and rebellion. Involvement in drugs, alcohol and
destructive behavior creates the statistical
probability of generational incarceration.
Domestic Violence: While domestic abuse encompasses any violence
occurring within the home, it is more widely
associated with abuse of women. As the rate of
incarceration continues to increase in the United
States, incidences of violence against women has
increased by 42% in a two year period. Issues that
accompany domestic violence are exacerbated by
offenders who, along with their spouses, families
and communities are ill-equipped for their re-entry.
Education: Education is the single most factor affecting the
impact of crime on communities. While over 55
billion dollars in state and federal tax payer funds
are spent each year to imprison the highest
percentage of it's citizens in the world, colleges
and universities are laying off faculty and staff as
financial aid decreases. Homelessness contributes
to our youth failing to enroll in school and brings
drop out rates to over 50%. Community leaders and
corporate executives share a common need - greater
education about those they serve.
Homelessness:
It follows that lack of employment will lead to
homelessness. Housing costs require regular income
and most applications require a history of stable
employment. For ex-offenders and their families,
neither exists. Even in a two parent family, the
incarceration of one parent has damaged the credit
of the other. The resulting homelessness contributes
to a myriad of social problems including poor health
care, truancy, and substance abuse. It also further
contributes to the tax burdens of businesses and the
general workforce.
Wrongful Prosecutions
It's believed that more than two hundred thousand
individuals are currently imprisoned due to wrongful
prosecutions. Such prosecutions occur due to eye-
witness misidentification, improper forensic evidence,
false confessions, as well as misconduct on the part
of prosecutors, expert witnesses, police and judges.
DNA evidence and hundreds of thousand of dollars in
legal representation has succeeded in exonerating
only a small percentage of those serving time. Even
after exoneration there is seldom compensation paid
to the exoneree and no programs to assist in re-entry.
With an average of 12 years served in prison prior to
exoneration, there is no compensation or program
here.)
Prisons for Profit
Concurrent with the staggering increase in prison
populations in the United States, is the trend toward
the privatization of prisons. It is estimated that 7% of
prisoners are held in corporate run prisons. But
regardless of whether a prison is owned and run by a
corporation or a governmental entity, all prisons produce
profits for corporations that build them, maintain them
and provide services to them. Every prison produces
profits - as well as cheap labor. The level of wrongful
prosecutions and laws enacted with the intent of
keeping them filled costs tax payers billions of dollars
each year and may do more to increase the rate of
crime than in decreasing it. What the PBX video on
Racial Injustice
The statistics tell the story. Nationwide, African Americans
are incarcerated at a rate more than 8 times that of whites.
In the District of Columbia, African Americans are
incarcerated at a rate 34 times that of whites; among African
American men - a rate of one in every four. Even in
states where African American men make up only 12% of the
population, they represent more than 70% of the prison
population. Increasingly, the rate of Hispanics has also out
paced that of whites. While the racial injustice accounts for
much of the disparate rate of prosecutions and
convictions of African Americans and Hispanics, the
unemployment rates of both groups are twice that of whites.
Elder Abuse
Elder abuse comes in more than one form. It not only
involves the physical abuse of older adults but often the
most dire consequences of incarcerations. Hundreds of
thousands of older adults have found it necessary to
abandon retirement and the role of grandparent to take on
the role of primary breadwinner and parent for children
whose parents have been incarcerated. Often economically
and physically unable to assume these roles, many senior
citizens find themselves bankruptcy and physically ill. They
are also the target of fear and intimidation when ex-
offenders, released into society ill equipped to reenter the
work force, rely on elderly parents and grandparents to
provide housing and cash for their support. __________________________________________
Founder
Christi Griffin is a 1977 graduate of Webster College and received her Juris Doctorate from St. Louis University School of Law in 1983. Dr. Griffin began her private law practice as a ministry in 1984 and continued heading one of the largest consumer bankruptcy law firms in the State of Missouri until 2007. When faced with the realities of a broken legal system, Dr. Griffin proved with unequivocal evidence the degree of ethics that guided her law practice for 23 years. Following her experience with the Missouri Bar and Missouri Supreme Court, disclosing the existence of broad misconduct on the part of the prosecutor, hearing officers, attorneys and judges, Dr. Griffin began The Ethics Project to reduce wrongful prosecutions and convictions by educating the public about professional ethics. The project has evolved to include consortiums of agencies and ministries who serve various populations affected by crime, including offenders, ex-offenders, children of incarcerated parents, abused women, victims and the community as a whole, Youth Gang Summits, Leadership Workshops, Youth Empowerment Forums, collaboration with Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of slain human right leader, El Hajj Malik Shabazz, Malcolm X and nationally acclaimed speaker, author and CNN contributor, Victor Woods.
Following a collaboration with U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young, former adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Griffin established The Ethics Project's Ambassador Andrew Young Award for Outstanding Ethics, Service and Commitment to Family and Community. The award is given to members of the community who exhibit exceptional ethics in the execution of their efforts as well as an unequivocal commitment to their family and community.
Through collaboration with other agencies, thoughtful discussions and exploration of meaningful solutions, The Ethics Project seeks to minimize the impact of crime by reducing wrongful prosecutions, increasing collaboration between agencies and ministries throughout the country and through educational experiences for high school students.
Dr. Griffin 's service to the community includes serving as former Chairperson of the St. Louis Civil Rights Enforcement Commission, serving as a former member of the Boards of Directors of the Joint Boards of Health and Hospitals for the City of St. Louis, The Missouri Catholic Conference Public Policy Committee, The St. Louis Archdiocesan Board of Education, former Co-Chair of The St. Louis Archdiocesan Pro-Life Committee, The Today and Tomorrow Educational Foundation, The Gateway Classic Sports Scholarship Foundation, The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, The St. Louis Archdiocesan Charitable Bequest Council, The Archbishop's Committee on Parish/Teachers Relations, The St. Louis Association of Bankruptcy Attorneys (Founder), The United Way of Metropolitan St. Louis (including member of the Finance Committee, Cabinet Member of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society and Chair of the Attorney Market of the Charmaine Chapman Society) volunteer for The Employment Connection, volunteer lawyer with Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, the Steering Committee of The Midwestern Innocence Project, member of the steering committee of the Urban Leagues Public Safety Advisory Council, and community volunteer in numerous capacities. Dr. Griffin continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Metropolitan St. Louis, the Board of Trustees of Kenrick Glennon Seminary (School of Theology), the steering committee of the St. Louis Alliance for Re-Entry (STAR) and the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis Public Safety Advisory Council, member of STRYVE (Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere), and Chair of the Advisory Committee of the Charles Sumner Preperatory Charter High School. In 2010, Griffin designed, chaired and implemented the 2010 St. Louis City Youth/Gang Summits in the four St. Louis Public Schools Comprehensive High Schools.
Dr. Griffin is a 2010 recipient of the President's Call to Service Award and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award. She has also been named one of five 2011 Classic Outstanding Women of Achievement Award by the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation and is a Blue Ribbon Toastmaster Speaker.
Board of Directors
Kymberly Smith Jackson, JD
Principal - Phoenix Law Firm
Board Member - Legal Advisor
President/CEO Christian Counseling
Chairman of the Board
Rev. Douglas Parham
Past President, Clergy Coalition
Vice-Chair
Community Volunteer/ Mo Dept. of Education Pioneer in Education
Treasurer
Brittani M McClure Williams
Founder, Jewels Inc.
Secretary
Racial Justice Initiative
ACLU- EM
St. Louis, MO
Keith Sayles, MA
Director, African American Male Initiative, Forest Park Comm. College
Melba Moore
Commissioner, St. Louis Department of Health
Robin Boyce
Principal, The Hastings Group
Michael L. Yarbrough
Director, Community Outreach
The Rams Foundation
Board of Advisors
President/CEO
Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
St. Louis, MO
Principle, AHC Consulting
St. Louis, MO
Executive Director
Crime Victim Advocacy Center
St. Louis, MO
President & CEO
United Christian Services, Inc
Palm Harbor, FL
Physician
St. Louis, MO
Publisher
Delux Magazine
St. Louis, MO
Alfred A. Vann II
Senior Social Worker
Richmond Public Schools
Richmond VA
Ex-offender &
Founder/Executive Director
Homeless & Reentry Helpers, Inc.
Indianapolis, IN
Founder
The Messages Project
Norfolk, VA
Founder/Ex-Offender
Beyond the Conviction
Kansas City, KS
______________________________
Location:
222 S. Central, Suite 204
St. Louis, MO 63105
Mailing Address
PO Box 23422
St. Louis, MO 63156
Hours:
Mon - Fri: By appt.
Sun: Closed
