Centering Justice is a collaborative project engaging a diverse range of the nation’s top thinkers and doers in an ongoing, ideologically vibrant conversation about criminal justice policy. Two pillars anchor the initiative. One is an allegiance to data and evidence; the second is a commitment to viewing criminal justice challenges through shared principles that enable people of different perspectives to find common ground on measures that strengthen public safety, protect due process, and promote equity.
Centering Justice is led by two CCJ staff members – Director of Strategic Partnerships Khalil A. Cumberbatch and Chief Policy Counsel Marc Levin. Through writings, interactive events, partnerships, and other means, the duo strives to bring light rather than heat to some of the most vexing issues of our time, from the evolving role of policing to sentencing, incarceration, and racial disparities.
Our Work
Washington Monthly
Don’t Abort Local Prosecutors’ Discretion
Levin and Cumberbatch discuss the importance of maintaining local prosecutorial discretion.
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The Crime Report
Guns: Yes, Virginia, There Really is a Middle Ground
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, Levin argues that Americans can find middle ground on guns.
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Washington MonthlyCritical Race Query
Cumberbatch and Levin discuss the role race plays in the criminal justice system.
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About the Art
The banner design was created by an adult in custody designer in the Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE) Graphic Design program. The mission of OCE, in partnership with the Oregon Department of Corrections, is to promote public safety by providing adults in custody with work and training opportunities in a self-sustaining organization.