Jenna Bottler
President & Executive Director
As President & Executive Director for the Justice Action Network, Jenna oversees policy development, communications strategy, and stakeholder outreach across JAN’s state portfolios, while leading the organization’s management and development. She previously served as JAN’s Deputy Director, and comes to this effort from Pew Charitable Trusts. At Pew she led comprehensive juvenile justice policy initiatives. Prior to that Jenna served at the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, researching and educating policymakers on a variety of policy initiatives across the country.
“The only hesitancy we’re seeing is from inside-the-beltway politicians who aren’t in touch with what their voters want,” Justice Action Network Executive Director Jenna Bottler told me. “If the president wants to rejoin the criminal justice conversation, it’s simple: listen to the voters who are smarter than election-year soundbites.”
The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed House Bill 689, a bill allowing the sealing of low-level, nonviolent felonies, sponsored by Representatives Jordan Harris (D-Phila.) and Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland), and led by Senators Lisa Baker and Anthony Williams in the Senate. The effort builds on Pennsylvania’s 2018 framework to expand automated expungements to more Pennsylvanians who have proven they can remain crime free. After a 47-3 vote in the Senate and 153-50 concurrence vote in the House, the bill now heads to Governor Shapiro’s desk for his signature.
“Republican voters deserve to know where their presidential candidates stand on public safety, and Wednesday night’s debate gave them a preview of what’s to come throughout the election cycle. Every violent crime in America is a tragedy, and substance abuse and mental health issues are important issues that need to be taken seriously.
A bipartisan effort to expand Pennsylvania’s 2018 Clean Slate law gathered further momentum today with unanimous passage out of the house judiciary committee.
The vote comes after a coalition of criminal justice advocates, national policy experts, and state lawmakers held a press conference in the state capitol last week.
A bipartisan coalition of criminal justice advocates, national policy experts, and state lawmakers gathered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, April 26 to call for passage of legislation that would expand Pennsylvania’s groundbreaking automated expungement system.
As a divided Pennsylvania legislature considers additional criminal justice reforms this session, the Justice Action Network released a poll showing that Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support expanding the state’s 2018 Clean Slate law and believe the justice system needs improvement.
A longform video featuring Representative Sheryl Delozier has won two Reed Awards this week. The video was produced by Content Creative Media on behalf of the Justice Action Network (JAN) and elevates Pennsylvania’s leadership on providing second chances to returning citizens through the use of automatic expungement provisions while advocating for an expansion of the state’s existing automatic expungement framework.
It comes as no surprise New Mexicans are scrutinizing the state’s use of pretrial detention, especially following headlines from the Solomon Pena case. But while this case is driving heightened public awareness of the state’s pretrial policies, the next steps essential to protect public safety have been pending for months, if not years, before this one case.
EQUAL Act Would Finally Eliminate Crack vs. Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity That Disproportionately Impacts Black Communities, is Widely Supported by Law Eenforcement & Civil Rights Leaders
The task force, which was created to promote policies that will improve access to employment and other opportunities for people who are reentering the community after spending time in prison or the justice system, met for the first time today to learn more about challenges the BOP has faced in maintaining successful reentry programming for the roughly 50,000 people who are released from federal prisons each year.
“The Justice Action Network team joins the nation this weekend in grieving the tragic loss of Tyre Nichols to incomprehensible violence at the hands of members of law enforcement in Memphis,” said executive director Jenna Bottler. “The brutality displayed by the officers who beat Tyre is appalling, immoral and inhumane. The men and women who patrol our communities are the frontline workers of America’s justice system, and it is imperative that we are able to trust them and their conduct on our streets.
The criminal justice reform organization Justice Action Network applauded Hobbs’ move saying, “Robust corrections oversight will bring more transparency and accountability to the way that Arizona’s prisons operate.”
Advocates say a bipartisan effort to seal criminal records for low-level felonies would give more people second chances and boost the Pennsylvania economy.
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to discuss House Bill 1826, which would expand the Clean Slate Act by automatically sealing some low-level felonies.
Today, Pennsylvania lawmakers from across the political spectrum announced new legislation that would expand Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate laws. House Bill 1826 and Senate Bill 1314 build upon Pennsylvania’s groundbreaking Clean Slate laws, which have given more than 1.2 million Pennsylvanians access to meaningful employment, continuing education, and stable housing.
