Smart Justice Advocates

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” - Bryan Stevenson, Equal Justice Initiative

The ACLU of Kentucky Smart Justice Advocates are a unified group of diverse people who work boldly to inspire change, relying on values of hope and integrity to advance the fight for freedom and equality for all those impacted by the criminal legal system. SJAs:

• Believe all people deserve dignity and respect.
• Know recovery is real and possible.
• Could be people who have experienced incarceration, either directly or indirectly (such as a close friend or family member).
• Are diverse and include members of the LGBTQ+ community.

• Register to attend our monthly Smart Justice Advocates meeting or contact the organizer in your region to learn more.
• Join us for an upcoming meeting or lobby day.
• Stay up-to-date and network with fellow SJAs in our Facebook group.
• Join SJAs in Frankfort to meet with legislators and promote justice reform in Kentucky.
• If you have a past felony conviction, see if your voting rights have been restored, register to vote, and learn more here.

• Restoring voting rights: A 2019 executive order automatically restored voting rights for 175,000 justice-involved Kentuckians. SJAs can:
  • Raise awareness of this fact and check their eligibility to vote.
  • If their rights were not automatically restored, assist them in petitioning toward that end.
  • Help people register to vote, understand the voting process, and prepare to go to the polls.
• Reforming Persistent felony offender (PFO) laws
• Reforming parole boards
• Promotiong second chance employment
• Advocating for Clean Slate legislation that automates portions of the expungement process for certain felonies
• Advocating for addiction recovery and rehabilitation
• Assisting in the Liberation Identification campaign, which advocates to give a free and automatic state-issed ID to people reentering their communities after incarceration

Kentuckians affected by the criminal legal system are leading our work and are guided by ACLU of Kentucky organizers. In addition to working on policy solutions to reform Kentucky’s criminal legal system and meeting monthly to build leadership skills and analyze Kentucky’s political landscape, we:

• Share our stories with state legislators,
• Testify in front of state legislative committees,
• Present at and attend conferences, panel discussions, and film screenings,
• Table at community events to share SJAs’ work and engage more people,
• And more.