Criminal justice reform advocates in the Commonwealth are asking Gov. Andy Beshear to decriminalize marijuana possession. The request follows President Joe Biden's announcement of mass pardons at the federal level for people who were convicted of carrying marijuana.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, explained state decriminalization policies would ensure Kentuckians with minor drug possession and paraphernalia charges would have the option for record expungement.

"And what Biden recommended is that governors look into what those possible pardon powers are," Kulkarni noted. "And to use them, to make sure that his focus on the decriminalization aspect of cannabis use is done on a state level."

She added mounting evidence indicates simply legalizing marijuana does not significantly affect the number of people facing barriers in employment, housing and reduced income as consequences of drug-possession charges, particularly Black and brown people.

Kungu Njuguna, policy strategist for the ACLU of Kentucky, pointed out marijuana possession is a major driver of incarceration nationwide.

"What we know in Kentucky is we know that in 2020, there were over 7,000 Kentuckians who had a conviction for possession of marijuana," Njuguna reported. "That's one year. So, the governor could do a great many things by doing this pardon."

Earlier this year, Kulkarni introduced legislation which would have decriminalized cannabis possession, of an ounce or less, for adults 21 and older, and also provide funding for clearing their records.

"In Kentucky, it's $500 per application," Kulkarni emphasized. "Which is pretty prohibitive, when you think about how difficult it is for people with convictions on their record to get jobs."

Gov. Andy Beshear has created a Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee to provide feedback on how legalizing medical cannabis could help Kentuckians with chronic pain and other medical conditions.

Imagine being locked in a cell for 23 hours a day, under constant artificial light, with no human contact for months or even years. It is the reality for thousands of incarcerated people across the U.S. and new research confirmed the damage extends far beyond psychological trauma.

Michaela Romero, neural systems and behavior researcher at the University of Washington, is studying the effects using an unexpected subject: bumblebees. Her work reveals how solitary confinement biologically alters the brain and body, with particularly urgent implications for states such as Mississippi where extreme isolation remains standard practice. Romero's research, conducted in the ZYWang Lab, replicated prison-like solitary conditions with bumblebee colonies.

She said the findings are alarming.

"Twice as many bees died in isolated housing as opposed to group housings," Romero reported. "I had two treatments. One set of bees were completely alone in their cells and then other ones were in groups of four, under all of the same conditions. The ones in isolated housing died twice as much as the group housing."

Romero's research adds to growing evidence prolonged isolation may cause genetic and neurological harm, potentially increasing risks of aggression, depression, and premature death.

Mississippi's Parchman Farm, already under federal scrutiny for extreme isolation, denied medical care and 24-hour lighting, now faces new questions as the study suggested such conditions could inflict lasting damage.

Romero's study exposed troubling contradictions in treatment standards which would violate ethical guidelines for laboratory animals.

"I have to provide day and night lighting to octopuses," Romero pointed out. "If I did not, they would take them away immediately, yet they are not having a problem with the fact that humans in solitary confinement in our state are exposed to 24-hour light and have for decades."

For Romero, the research is personal. Her fiancé, Trevor Hendrix, has endured years in Washington's solitary confinement under conditions which would be illegal for lab animals. Her findings revealed solitary confinement is not just punishment but systemic harm with lasting consequences.


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April is National Second Chance Month but across West Virginia, resources to help people leaving prison find gainful employment are dwindling.

According to data from the Prison Policy Initiative, out of more than 50,000 people in 2010, 33% found no employment in the four years following release.

Patience Lewis-Walker, deputy executive director of the Center for Employment Opportunities, in the South Mountain Plains Region, said the benefits of employment programs far outweigh the costs.

"We are able to also change communities, change this intergenerational cycle of poverty and incarceration, and really make longer-term impacts across our nation," Lewis-Walker explained.

The Mountain State releases around 37,000 men and nearly 13,000 women from its prisons and jails each year, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Nationwide, more than half million people are released from state and federal prison each year.

Walker added entry-level, on-the-job learning programs can stabilize families and grow the local workforce.

"As they're matriculating through our program, they then begin to learn other skills and have more opportunities to really create more advancement and more of a career pathway," Walker outlined.

Without housing, it is difficult for individuals to obtain employment. According to federal data, at least one-quarter of returning individuals leave jails and prisons without a stable living situation. Research showed people who were previously incarcerated are around 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population.


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As Mississippi grapples with one of the nation's highest incarceration rates, a new national campaign highlights the economic and social toll of prison recidivism - and the proven benefits of investing in re-entry programs.

This week, the Center for Employment Opportunities launched "At What Cost?" The campaign says redirecting funds from incarceration to job training could save taxpayers billions and reduce repeat offenses. In Mississippi, nearly 30% of people who are released from prison are back within three years, according to state data.

Center president Samra Haider said the math is simple.

"We're spending millions to keep people in cycles of poverty and incarceration, and that can be all the way from policing, sentencing, keeping people incarcerated for a long time - then, like I said, that cycle of incarceration," she said. "So, sometimes 60% in certain jurisdictions of people will be reincarcerated within a year of release."

The campaign cited research showing every dollar invested in re-entry programs yields $3 in savings by reducing recidivism. In Mississippi, where annual prison costs exceed a $500 million, advocates have said the solution can't wait.

The group will detail its proposal in a webinar on Tuesday.

Patience Lewis-Walker, the center's deputy executive director for Southern programs, said immediate employment changes lives.

"Individuals who are coming home from incarceration have significant amount of barriers," she said, "and if we can alleviate at least some of the financial burden - by providing them an opportunity for employment and training - then that helps to just kind of set that foundation."

Lewis-Walker noted that Mississippi faces particular challenges, such as housing shortages and scarce mental-health services, that often derail re-entry efforts. Nationally, the group estimates the $81 billion spent annually on incarceration could instead fund tuition-free community college across the country.