Bartolotta’s engagement with criminal-justice issues comes at a time when legislators have worked to advance a raft of legislation meant to help people who get caught up in the system.
People from Adams and Philadelphia counties are hoping their shared views on the criminal justice system can make a difference.
Pennsylvania’s legislature passed the proposed amendment by wide margins, but it still faces organized opposition.
“It’s not fair that I have to do this, just to be slapped in the face constantly with this case, over and over and over again,” Maureen Faulkner, 62, told The Associated Press this week. “I’m in a mental prison.”
A state commission that creates sentencing policy for Pennsylvania’s criminal courts is approving a new risk-assessment formula to help judges determine which defendants aren’t likely to be violent reoffenders, but critics say it’s based on discriminatory data and could expand prison ranks.
