Out for Justice (Out 4 Justice)

Background

Out for Justice was founded as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in April 2012 under the name “Out for Justice Inc” in Baltimore, Maryland, by a group of formerly incarcerated criminal justice activists. ^{1 2}

The organization engages in voter registration drives among the formerly incarcerated and facilitates bail payments, home detention fees, and legal representation. Additionally, the organization hosts bi-weekly legal clinics for organization members seeking assistance with warrant recalls and the expungement of legal records. ^{3 4}

Policy

Out for Justice provides written and oral testimony in support of legislation in the State of Maryland and participates in aligned advocacy coalitions. Particular Maryland-state and Baltimore City policies the organization has supported include a 2023 $5 million budgetary increase in a state women’s pre-release program; the REDEEM Act of 2023, which reduced the waiting period to expunge criminal records for certain misdemeanors; a 2023 funding allocation of $500,000 to support a newly created Re-Entry Employment Incentive Program in Prince George’s County, which provides subsidies to employers hiring formerly incarcerated workers; and the Trans Health Equity Act, which requires that the Maryland Medical Assistance Program provide sex reassignment treatments. ⁵

Pieces of proposed legislation that the organization supports include a bill that would allow Maryland state courts to consider and grant petitions at any time to expunge the records of individuals who not only have been charged but have been convicted of a crime, a bill that would eliminate the automatic suspension of drivers licenses for individuals who owe child support and fail to make payments but earn less than $41,000 annually, a bill that would establish a correctional ombudsman in the Maryland Attorney General’s Office to monitor for potential abuses occurring in the State Corrections Department, and a bill that would reintroduce virtual means of participation in Maryland court proceedings the likes of which were temporarily permitted during the COVID-19 Pandemic. ⁵

Partner Organization

Partner organizations of Out for Justice include a variety of aligned nonprofits, such as the Maryland chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Life After Release, the Maryland chapter of Common Cause, Baltimore Votes, the Citizens Policing Project, the Job Opportunities Task Force,  Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), and Freedom Advocates Celebrating Ex-Offenders (FACE). ⁶

Leadership

Nicole Hanson-Mundell

Nicole Hanson-Mundell is the executive director of Out for Justice. In connection with that role, she has acted as an absentee ballot designee for residents in Baltimore City, Maryland, detention centers and was a member of former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s (R) Gang Task Force. Formerly, Hanson-Mundell was a legislative liaison for Maryland State Senator Jill Carter (D-Baltimore) and a nursing assistant at a Veterans Administration hospital in Maryland. ^{7 8}

According to an interview in AFRO, prior to working in criminal justice activism, Hanson-Mundell had gone through a period where she “spiraled,” committed what she describes as “minor offenses,” and “found” herself “caught in the criminal justice system,” spending nine months incarcerated. ⁷

Caryn York

Caryn York is the president of Out for Justice’s board of directors as well as the executive director of the Women’s Prison Association, a women’s criminal justice issues organization based in New York. ⁹ Formerly, York was a policy associate and the chief executive officer of the Job Opportunities Taskforce, a Baltimore-based education and labor issues nonprofit. ¹⁰